AIYIMA A08 PRO TPA3255 Power Amplifier Bluetooth 5.1 with VU Meter 300W+300W HiFi Class D Stereo Digital Audio Amp 2.0 Channel Amplifier for Passive Speaker Home Audio

Spoiler alert: Disregard the price, because this little amp sounds better than some amps costing 20 to 30 times its price. Buy one. Yesterday.I read and watched the various reviews (and IT HAS A VU METER!), and I wanted to see and hear for myself, so I decided to get one.From the first moment I fired it up, expectations were met and exceeded. This amp is one of the new breed of Chinese class D amplifiers, which is to say they sound nothing like the Class D amplifiers of a year or two ago. Using the best amp chip currently available (the Texas instruments 3255), they have the ability to pump out plenty of power for the needs of 95% of listeners.It was nice that it came with a larger power supply than the one typically available with these amps. This one had a 36-Volt 6-Amp power supply (for a total theoretical output of 216 watts across both channels, or 108 watts each. At normal efficiency, I would figure actual output at about 70 to 80 watts per channel into 8 ohms), as opposed to the standard 32-Volt 5-Amp (160 watts total, figuring for about 50 watts per channel into 8 ohms). Bottom line: it has more oomph.The AUX OUT port was also a very nice feature, as it means that you can run a powered subwoofer with this amp. Keep In mind that it outputs a full range signal, not just 80 Hz and below. Most subwoofers have an internal crossover, so this should not be an issue for virtually anyone.The Bluetooth is, like many of these amps, VERY eager to be used, so once it is paired, it will grab onto your phone automatically, anytime you are near. This will be good news for some, and bad news for others. It is easily solved by turning off Bluetooth on your phone. I ran the A08 Pro with a separate preamp feeding it, but it was also cool to be able to run it with no outboard DAC, no preamp, nothing but the A08 Pro itself, using only my phone as both the source and preamp. Bluetooth had very good sound, showing just how good of a built-in DAC it has, and when in a rush, it was fine to use. For the price, the built-in DAC is superb.The sound quality is nothing short of amazing, especially considering the price. I've got some very efficient speakers (97 dB, 8 ohms), and some very inefficient speakers (80 dB, 4 ohms), and the A08 Pro sounded amazing with both of them. There was PLENTY of power for my efficient speakers (Zu Audio), but I was wanting to know if there was enough for my inefficient ones (Magnepan). I didn't need to worry. The Zu towers easily topped 100 dB cleanly, and the Magnepans went cleanly up to 90 dB. I never push my amps to clipping, and 90 dB is louder than I ever use for critical listening, so there was more than enough power for any listening scenario. There was (of course) some hum and hiss with the extremely efficient speakers, and very little with the lower efficiency ones, which is true of virtually every amp on earth. This is to be expected when always running an amp with the volume knob turned all the way up. Having said that, it certainly does reduce the hum/hiss by far if you leave the volume knob between 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock (which I'm sure most people will do), whereas I always had mine turned up to 5 o'clock/100%.The EQ controls are right on the money, cutting or increasing the frequencies that virtually ALL listeners will want to adjust, and I never found the tone knobs to be deficient in any way. In fact, I was surprised by the fact that I LOVED them and their effects on the sound. I've got a (VERY) much more expensive EQ from Schiit, and I prefer the Aiyima tone controls.How does it sound? FABULOUS. This little amp has very low damping factor, and lots of 2nd and 3rd order harmonics, so it has some very tube-like traits in how it presents the music. For those who understand this sort of nerdy terminology, in tube amp terms, it sounds more like an AB push-pull than a single ended triode (SET). The soundstage is wide, separation is great, soundstage depth is similarly great, and it gives ZERO listening fatigue. I've sat for hours, going through my music library, enjoying every song, without ever tiring of the musical presentation.In short (and especially considering the price!!!), the Aiyima A08 Pro is one of those overachievers that blow your mind and reshuffle your perception of affordable Class D amplifiers. It's one of the best amps currently available that is attainable by virtually any music lover. It works with almost any speaker, and it just sounds GREAT. What more could you want?Highly recommended. VERY highly.p.s. I'm still CRAZY about that VU meter. It NEVER gets old.

I currently have been using a Yamaha TSR-700 receiver (same as the RX-V6A), my setup consists of:-Yamaha TSR-700 7.2 channel receiver (100w x 7)-NHT SuperOne 2.1 bookshelf speakers on IsoAcoustics stands-RSL Speedwoofer 10s subwoofer-Topping E50 DAC with an upgraded power supplyI wanted a smaller integrated amp to not have to use a 7.2 channel receiver for stereo-only sound, which is a waste. Swapping the Yamaha TSR-700 with this Aiyima A08 Pro, I expected a tradeoff of power and sound quality for a more compact setup and no need to use a remote to control volume.Unbelievably, not only is the Aiyima more powerful, it sounds better by far! My SuperOne 2.1 speakers are not the most sensitive (86 dB) and are a sealed design, so they are not the easiest speakers to drive. My room is small, 11 x 11, but the Yamaha I had to crank up pretty high to get the sound to be dynamically loud. The Aiyima, I barely have to have it turned up and it rocks my room. The sound is warm and clean, with no audible hiss or other issues.The treble and bass controls are very musically setup, they boost or cut just the right frequencies. I have a competing amp from SMSL which sits in a tote in my basement, it just did not sound nearly as good as this, and it was more expensive and almost double. It has an annoying remote which wobbles on the desk and was small, fumbling for it to quickly turn down the sound was annoying. The Yamaha receiver remote is stable, yet huge and takes up real estate on my desk. This is not much bigger than the Yamaha remote (look at the picture, my Topping E50 is right next to it and shows how tiny it really is. The subwoofer connection needs a 3.5mm to stereo RCA connection, which works perfect for my RSL Speedwoofer 10s. You then use the internal crossover on your subwoofer, which I love (my SMSL forces you to use a 50hz crossover, which I hated!). Now I can seamlessly blend my subwoofer with whatever speakers I use.The Aiyima A08 Pro is fairly tiny, but the power brick it comes with is huge and is upgradable to a 48V 10 amp linear power supply, which will unleash the entire power output capability. This would easily rock even a big area, especially with efficient speakers, so I think it is good as it is (and I am hard to please with audio equipment).The VU meters are functional and I love them, the orange/amber display matches my Topping E50 well, and the LDAC protocol for the Bluetooth sounds incredible, usually Bluetooth sounds audibly muffled and missing dynamics, not with this!If you are on the fence about this, just get it! The value is off the charts, as I seriously cannot believe I got something that sounds this good for what I paid for it! I can see this competing with most units under $1000, the new TI chipset has convinced me it is a huge step up from amps that have been made in the last couple of years.This has honestly been one of the biggest surprises, as I wrote it off without hearing it and never expected it to exceed my expectations. I would like to try it with the matching tube preamp, but even without the sound is warm, yet can be adjusted to your preference through tone controls.No remote, no cryptic menus to go through. Rotary turn on, turn up or down, and tone controls, so easy to set the sound to your liking. The analog VU meter is icing on the cake, and the LDAC codec sounds incredible for the Bluetooth.To summarize, I expected a 2-3 star product, due to the cost and past experience with Chinese amps. Instead, I got a solid 5 star mini-amp, that blows away my $600 receiver and $230.00 integrated amp in sound, and simplicity is a huge blessing.As for you, you got my highest recommendation I could give. I think all but the most snobbish consumers would see how great this is, and wait until you hear it! I am now a big Aiyima fan!

Needed some amplification to power my front effects speakers in my Dolby Atmos setup. Also liked that it connects via Bluetooth, so it serves a duo purpose in my system. Enjoyed the clean sound coming out of my speakers in Bluetooth mode with more than enough power to keep up with my other speakers in Dolby Atmos mode. Like the illuminated meter but the needle only moves when the volume is turned up. Also, when I want to power my front speakers in Atmos mode I have to remember to turn off Bluetooth on my source device otherwise this amp will lock on the Bluetooth source if it is in range. The size of this amp is not large, so it did not take up much space on top of my other equipment and the aluminum body makes it a very light weight and sturdy device. Overall, truly enjoy the sound and the versatility this amp offers.

There's nothing remarkable to my ears with this amplifier other than it works and it does its job. My most notable gripe is the power curve behavior of the volume control. With my Elac Debut B6.2 speakers in use, I can't get it past 10'o clock on the volume knob without getting them too loud. I got around this by controlling the volume through a separate DAC.