Amazing Budget Amplifier Find: AIYIMA A07 TPA3255 Review

Finding a low cost, small and high performance amplifier has been an impossible mission until recently. There are now amplifiers based on a new chip from Texas Instruments, TPA3255 which match and beat performance of many discrete amplifiers. The AIYIMA A07 is an amplifier based on this chip with extremely good performance despite costing just $70.

[HoundStuff]

The YouTube channel is such a great companion and complement to the website, great work on both! Thanks for your efforts in all of this.

[Douglas_Blake_]

I just re-ordered a bunch of A07s ... they've made multiple improvements.
The op-amps all test as genuine
The heat sink is bigger
The output filters have been re-worked with better grade capacitors.
The bulk caps are upgraded to 2, 200uf (from 1, 000)
The volume control is now Audio Taper
The power brick supplied now has inrush limiting built in

Sound quality is improved... much better low bass and better clarity in upper mid and presence ranges.

Overall ... the July 2023 amplifier is much better than the original from 2 years ago.

[thegroove]

Love these kind of finds that are affordable that you recommend based upon your most excellent insights. More please

[jmorsfan]

Thanks, Amir. This is an awesome little amp, very happy with the cleanliness of highs. Here's my setup for total USD460: JBL Stage A170 (USD360 on sale), best budget class D amplifier Aiyima A07 (TPA3255, $80), Echo dot 2nd gen (budget DAC ;-), $20). You can save $180 by using bookshelf JBL Stage A130. Amazing things happened with amplifiers in the last 20 years. Happy building your perfect setup!

[pedrocols]

Since power tubes are so expensive now, I bought one of these to power my Magnepans 1.7s. This little amp gets the job done. I don't listen at high volumes but I can listen to the same loudness as when I powered the speakers with tube amps. I paid $61 with the power supply for this amp which is pretty awesome

[hjhifijunkie]

I was astonished at the A07. Everything you say and found I agreed with. And also the lovely sound. I decided to use Aiyima's 36v/5A supply and it works very well. Being old school I decided to downsize from a hifi rack with pretty decent kit and I don't feel cheated at all 🙂

[RobertCookcx]

I have two of these running an active 2-way setup in my garage. They are phenomenal. I use the stock power supply and I never drive tham hard enough that they get hot. I use a Dayton DSP408 to do the DSP duties and just leave the volume knobs around 75%. Dead quiet. Thanks for the great review. Hard to believe how cost effective these Class D amps have become. Honestly, why even get more expensive stuff?

[adaboyz]

It's nice to see a face and voice to match your forum post. You gave a good review on the Yamaha R-N803 which I purchased before finding your results. I made a good choice.

[anarchohelenism]

I just bought this amp based on your review. It rocks! I paired it with the Elac Debut Reference you also recommended and it sounds phenomenal. :)

[corystansbury]

I have the big brother to this (A08) and it blows my mind. Replaced a Kinter Tripath 2020+ and it was night and day.

I replaced the Kinter for more output on my Emotiva B1s and had no expectation of improved SQ, nor was I listening for it. About 5 minutes in, my jaw was on the floor. It was the proverbial "my wife called me from Cabo with her boyfriend to ask me what I changed" moment.

[paullangley]

The Aiyma AO7 is excellent for the price. It is a pleasure to listen to regardless of cost. The TPA3255 based amps compete very well with Icepower amp modues imo and I prefer the TI TPA 3255 based amps over the icepower asx125 module. It is good to know my subjective pleasure with this Aiyma amp is borne out by the specs.

[billsmith]

I'm happy to see you review the TPA3255, but I really wish that you would have paired it with a simple 48v 10 amp DROK (or equivalent) AC to DC power supply. You can pick one up for $35ish, and it takes very little effort to wire it up, though I'd use larger gauge wire than simply snipping the wart out of what's supplied. The power supply has a digital readout just in case one doesn't accidentally run 480 watts in to the TPA3255 amp with the volume knob pegged. I think you'll be amazed at the test results. As it is, I think that you've been fair, but you may have inadvertently undervalued it based on the supplied power supply, and there is so much more to be had from the chip, even as utilized here by Ayima. TI is deserving of some real recognition, and no I'm not tied to them in any way. Regardless, thanks for the review, and keep up the good work!

[lorenzoalleva]

Great Amir, your youtube channel will rock soon. Can we definitely say that DAC and Amps are cracked today and we have to focus on Speakers dispersion and room interaction if we are looking for transparent sound reproduction? Do make sense to increase the attention on how speakers interact with listening room (the main offenders for educated listeners...) and provide some shed on how dsp and room treatments might help your ASRs to achieve more enjoyment in their Journey towards HIFI... my Best L.

[ImhalfamazingU]

I have watched hundreds of reviews of the last few years and none of them give me what yours does. There was great and very practical for novices or experts.

[cheekymonkey]

I got two of these. each bi-wired into a monitor audio bronze 100, receiving a signal from a hidizs s8 dac (also an Amir recommendation). well happy.
edit: power supply for each amp . . . 48v 5a

[mjoet]

Why didn't I find this channel years ago!! Fantastic reviews! I'm going to buy this AIYIMA amp and get rid of the so-so one I bought a couple years ago.

[ousi]

Actually, a lot of car stereo systems are based on the TPA series amp chip due to its efficiency and performance.

[BFmasterooo]

I just took the top off of mine and put a little 2 inch fan blowing over the heatsink and boom. No more worries about overheating. I'm driving 2ohm loads all day with no problems.

[sammyrocker]

Im really glad to see a youtube channel. Thank you for making these videos. I would ask you try to make chapters for the youtube video if you can in the future. Thanks again!

[richardbixler]

Aiyima makes really great tube preamps also. I bought the A3 a few years ago, it has tone controls also. It’s hands down the best bang for buck i’ve ever spent on audio. I never really believed in tubes until I set it up just as an experiment, you lose some detail in the bass but the sound stage is holographic there’s no way I could ever go back.