Which amplifier is good

[Kamranbites]

tpa 3116 vs STK 4231

 

Both are 100w

My usage is for aiwa bookshelf speakers

[Blue4130]

19 minutes ago, Kamranbites said:

tpa 3116 vs STK 4231

 

Both are 100w

My usage is for aiwa bookshelf speakers

They are just one part of a amplifier. Similar to a resistor or capacitor. But common amplifier board built on these two will sound nearly identical. You really will not be able to tell one from the other. Use whichever one is easier to get or is cheaper.

[Kamranbites]

Both are cheaper and easily available,

Stk i think were used in some old aiwa or Sony amplifiers

Were as TPA I don't have idea were they were used 

So this might be a plus point

What do you think 

[mariushm]

You're listing two amplifier chips - out of context nobody can tell you what's better or not. 

 

The audio quality will depend a lot on what components (capacitors and types of capacitors used, resistors, inductors where it applies). How loud the amplifier will depend on the power supply used. 

 

STK4231 seems to be class AB amplifier chip, which means it will be less efficient, it will consume more power, it will produce more heat, but in theory it can produce less distortions and therefore may sound better. It will need higher voltage power supply to work, like.. they recommend +/- 50v (split power supply, like what you get with a transformer with 2 secondary windings), but it can probably work with as little as +/- 24v . 

TPA3116 is class D amplifier, more "digital", with simpler power supply, potentially cheaper... it can  

 

For example, here's the distortions levels for the STK4231II chip, when powered with +/-50v on 8 ohm speakers : 

  

 

You can see it's clean, below 0.01% up to 100 watts.  In comparison, TPA3116's distortion levels are at > 0.1% (10 times higher or more)  but it can be  powered with a simple 18-24v laptop adapter power supply, and it's maybe 85% or more efficient compared with STK4231 that's maybe 60-70% efficient.

 

 

 

ps tpa3116d2   is only  around  2 x 35w with 4 ohm speakers and a 24-26v power supply, if you want THD below 1% (what would be reasonable for music).. it's NOT a 100w amplifier.  The STK4213II can do 100w if it's genuine and you use a good power supply (enough voltage and watts)

[Kamranbites]

Below adding pics of both amplifiers which used those chips 

I will be buying any one of them as per recommendation 

 

And tpa3116 is 100w in my amplifier as they are doing those chips mono and using two of them 

The douk audio one is TPA

And other is STK 

[Blue4130]

1 minute ago, Kamranbites said:

Below adding pics of both amplifiers which used those chips 

I will be buying any one of them as per recommendation 

 

And tpa3116 is 100w in my amplifier as they are doing those chips mono and using two of them 

The douk audio one is TPA

And other is STK 

 

 

LIke I posted earlier, with the speakers you are using, you WILL not hear a difference between the two amps.

[saintlouisbagels]

21 minutes ago, Kamranbites said:

Below adding pics of both amplifiers which used those chips 

I will be buying any one of them as per recommendation 

Pretty sure the recommendation has been shown as, but not explicitly stated as, "buy whichever one you want - you won't hear the difference"

[mariushm]

Sigh... 

 

TPA3116 is capable of 100 watts,  IF you accept a high amount of distortion (for example if you want to have voice announcements in a hall way then you don't care about quality, distortion)

 

Just look in datasheet : https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tpa3116d2.pdf

 

Right on the first page it says : 

 

Supports Multiple Output Configurations

– 2 × 50 W Into a 4-Ω BTL Load at 21 V (TPA3116D2)

– 2 × 30 W Into a 8-Ω BTL Load at 24 V (TPA3118D2)

– 2 × 15 W Into a 8-Ω BTL Load at 15 V (TPA3130D2)

 

So yeah, if you use one in BTL mode to output to one speaker, it can do 100w... BUT, look at the audio quality, go to page 9 and look at the graphs :

 

On the left, with 4 ohm speakers... you see x axis goes to 100w, so they're not lying, but the quality goes to shit once the amp goes above around 55-60w 

On the right, with 8 ohm speakers, you see you can barely get 30 watts before it goes to shit. 

 

 

 

Also note that these are drawn with 24v power supply - the eBay devices often come with 12v or 18v power adapters, if they even come with something bundled at all. 

Here's the relationship between input voltage and output power - you want to track the blue curve as that's reasonably distorted sound, the red is shit : 

You have 8 ohm speaker on left, 4 ohm speaker on right ... so with 24v power supply you'll get at most 70w in BTL mode (one amp using both channels to power one speaker). 

Note the efficiency will be around 90% so to actually get 70 watts in the speaker chip will consume around 80 watts and most cheap amp boards are not heatsinked well enough to dissipate 10 watts for long periods of time ... 

 

But realistically you won't go more than 20 watts or so on some average speakers.

 

 

 

 

 

For the STK ... the picture shows an amplifier with STK4204, not STK4213 ... STK4204 is the lower 2 x 60w version 

 

Again, for these you most likely need split power supply, like +24v and -24v, and you NEED TO screw that STK chip to a big heatsink maybe even have a fan blowing air. 

 

So if all you need is some small amp for your room , the TPA3116 is a better choice because it's easier to find a power supply for them (and cheaper) and you're unlikely to really need tens of watts in the first place.