B200

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, COS Engineering D1, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik MusikBoxx + Dynaudio S18 sub; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win11/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/headamp: iFi iDSD Pro Signature; Speakers: DMAX P61 Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: €510/ea. from Audiophonics.fr

Tapping out to Topping? To AudioScienceReview.com, these B200 monos are perfect amplifiers which measure as good as it gets¹. If your idea of a perfect review are measurements without a single sonic comment, Amir's YouTube report might be your tell all. My own interest was piqued because Grzegorz Rulka of Virtual Hifi uses a pair. He calls them sonically stronger than his SMLS PA200 but mentioned that his extreme SPL could clip them on his 83dB Viper monitors in a 40m² studio. He also runs a pair of Laiv's GaNM which, having reviewed them myself, made his private comments on their differences very useful. With Audiophonics just then offering 15% off, I bought a silver pair of B200 for my desktop. My tape measure claimed they'd fit beneath my non-adjustable curved computer screen. With my iFi iDSD Signature Pro DAC, I might drive these discrete class AB munchkins even in low 11.6dB gain. If not, there was lowish high gain at 22dB. Topping are rather tight-lipped on details though clearly these aren't multi-stage GainClones but bridged circuits with two output transistors per half wave.

Their chassis contain no power supplies. 60V/4A so 240-watt switch-mode bricks are external. Three XLR/¼" combo ports make the B200 3-input monos which are rated at 200 watts into 8/4Ω. Would negligible distortion and noise have Grzegorz's Viper seduce my pink bits in the office? Or would I tap out to a rear-naked choke of utter snooze and yawn?
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¹ On Amir's list of best-measuring amps in this video, we see brands like Topping, Hypex, Benchmark, Audiophonics, boXem, Trinnov, Soncoz, Nord Purifi, Vera, NAD, 3E Audio and Apollon. That's from his 'excellent' group with a point ranking of 95-120. In the 'good to very good' group from 75-95 we first spot high-end brands like Accuphase and Devialet. In his 'fair' group from 60-75 we see Jeff Rowland, Lyngdorf and Rogue, below 60 models from Luxman, PrimaLuna and Pass. It's easy to see why ASR followers shopping purely or primarily on noise and distortion specs could consider anything beyond a pair of 120-point B200 money spent on just bragging rights. We appreciate why such a perspective might consider audio's high-end stupid or a sham. From where I sit, a chemical report is perfect for a health and safety inspector tasked with checking out eateries from greasy spoons to bistros to ritzy white-linen digs. To learn where I might like to eat, I want an actual foodie review from someone who ate there and reports on the complete experience. Likewise for hifi. A hifi review should use the gear as the potential buyer will: by listening to it. From that perspective, I would call Amir's YouTube piece a test score or lab report card. It has its very own utility particularly for fellow lab experts. As someone who can't tell sound from measurements, it simply gave this ignoramus zero clues on what to expect for sonics. Yet I did find Amir's actual power measurements into different types of loads very useful whilst weighing my purchase decision. There's usefulness in divergent approaches. We pick what applies to our needs and discard, overlook or bypass what doesn't. It sidesteps the intense polarization of dualistic right/wrong thinking.

I thought that stacking the deck rather in my favour were 10-year old Ncore 500-based Nord Acoustics monos which just then powered the desktop Viper. On my usual speakers these high-feedback class D amps sound far too dry, damped, monochrome and mechanical. Hence they spent far more hours collecting dust in my hifi cemetery aka audio storage than on active duty. However, the 3D-printed Viper with their miniature Epique subwoofer from Dayton running full-range to 5kHz augmented at system resonance by dual 7" passive radiators and in the treble by a dipole small Mundorf AMT adore the Nord combo. A normally rather juicier richer class AB amp from Simon Lee had less control over their bass to also get sloppier in the middle, delay the curtain lift on the volume throttle and generally act fuzzier and warmer than I fancy. In short, Greg's speakers with their virtual 'class A emulator' built in arrive at my ideal tone-texture balance with inherently dry damped gain circuits preceding them. Might not the B200 with their claimed 23-bit resolution from an exceptional noise floor be the perfect topping on my snake cake? Only one way to find out. Here you see the scenery which the Topping parachuted into. My little 'for fox sake' fridge magnet was stuck to their landing shelf in case I had to invoke return privileges. But having sworn off 300B many moons ago, perhaps I now was ready for B200? With Grzegorz's Qualio IQ as my favourite speaker playing just one room over, I felt rather secure thinking that if he enjoyed the Topping, so would I. Since I don't indulge his concert levels in the first place and in the second deal with a nearfield, I wasn't worried about insufficient voltage gain or clipping. I was very keen on first-rate resolution to get the very most from SPL low enough to hear myself think. After all, that's what I do in the office: think about how to describe sound in ways that are descriptive and colourful, informative and relevant.

Having in 23 years on this beat never yet done the Topping tango was another reason for this dance. Topping are one of the Chinese budget brands which design to frankly unbelievable specs. That makes them ASR darlings. I was curious what type sonic experience these amps might manifest given that they'd replace amplifiers which were equally groomed for very low distortion and noise though being a decade older, might have fallen behind. Again, in the nearfield I wasn't worried about running out of power just because Topping's bridged circuity and switching power bricks limit heavily into 2Ω. Nor was I too salty about the offboard PSU. They'd hide on a lower ledge of my writing desk out of sight. Neither did I care about lack of RCA inputs. My Nord monos don't do them either. At €510 each on a discount I could easily forgive the oddity of there being three inputs on a mono amp sans volume control. They're apparently carried over lazily from the LA90 integrated in the same chassis. Having read all the small print before I hit 'buy' and already being in receipt of an email receipt, it was up to UPS to land the loot. Would I love it or list it?