PS Audio M700 VS Tonewinner AD-1PA, Who Won? Tonewinner AD-1PA 2 Channel Amplifier Review! 

Thanks brother! Can't wait to see the videos you have coming on some new earthquake makers ;).

That's a good idea, I will try and include that if I do another comparison. I would like to get a McIntosh amp to compare it too, but that is wishful thinking lol.

Thanks for all the kind words John, you are a stand up guy yourself. It was great to have you down to talk and focus on audio for several hours, I don't get the opportunity often. I was skeptical about that guys review comparing the AD-1PA to his previous McIntosh and other high end amps, but I am also starting to think he is just calling it like it is.

Hey, John. Did you receive your Tonewinner amp? How do you like it so far? Please let me know. Thank you.

@@etherealvintage6665 Hi, yes I got it a few weeks ago. I love it! It made a big difference in my system. ( I have good gear) For the better. Instrument layering, separation, imaging, and the best soundstage I have ever heard. Highs and mids are, for me, extremely natural sounding. Bass is rock solid and accurate. It is BIG and HEAVY! runs warm in Class A. Bottom line is... if you are into high end...(10k and up) amps...weather it be McIntosh, ,Passlabs, Krell, Parasound ect, the AD-1PA will be right there with them all. No BS. Can't recommend it enough. Call Aamir!!

@@Johnnytrades101 Cool, man. Great to hear! It looks like an absolute beast. I've been auditioning hi-end amps for a few months now and this looks as well built as the Pass Labs, Bryston and Mcintosh stuff I've been looking at. May I ask what the rest of your current setup is with this amp? Thanks for replying.

@@etherealvintage6665 Hi, I have a NAD M17v2 pre pro, 2 Tonewinner AD5180 5 ch amps, the AD-1PA, 2 PSA S1512 subs, Sonus Faber floor standing speakers. If you are close to Calgary, stop by and check it out!

Thank you for the kind words my friend. I can't say that all of my videos are without theatrics, I do like to throw in some humor from time to time haha. But it means a lot to me that you enjoyed the video...cheers.

That's awesome, I am glad the video helped! Where did you order it from?

@@SpecOfTech luckily in my country (Italy) Tonewinner Is regularly imported by a very well known hifi store in Genoa, just like Summit does for North America, so I didn't have to go through the tropes of ordering from China, with shipping delays, custom fees etc etc

@@danielenot2093 It's great to hear that there are other countries bringing in Tonewinner. Out of curiosity if you don't mind me asking, was the price similar to the $2875 USD I referenced in this video? I am curious if other country prices are similar.

@@SpecOfTech yes the price was pretty much the same, in Euros of course. Since I ordered, though, it's been considerably raised...still a very good deal compared to insane High End prices, but not as great as the deal I had gotten. Maybe the Tonewinner people are aware of the mounting hype and being the Chinese shrewd businessmen they raised the prices.... Or maybe it's just an effect of the exchange rate Eur vs Usd, which lately has gone badly (for us)

Brian, trust me, you can't go wrong! I have been trying to find a word that describes the sound signature of the AD 1PA Delicious?

I have had several Tonewinner products in the past, and I have several friends that have had Tonewinner products long term and still love them. So far this amplifier has provided stellar performance over the past few months, and I have no reason to doubt it. It truly is a great value at it's price point. That being said, like everything else these days, I have would expect it's price to creep up in the coming years.

Thanks for watching brother. I think Tonewinner is going to keep improving and keep growing in North America. They seem deadly serious about the North American market, and do offer some fantastic products here already, the AT300 and this amplifier being 2 of them. I do work out of town in the Canadian Oil patch, so it isn't anywhere cool like Germany haha. What are you doing in Dresden?

@@SpecOfTech I work on semiconductor manufacturing equipment... the machines that make all the microchips inside your smart phone, PC etc. Before Covid it was mostly Asia, lots of time in Taiwan but also Korea and others. Since Covid it's been mostly domestic and here in Dresden where I'm installing a rebuilt optical system in a lithography tool... the one that prints the images of the circuits onto the silicon wafers. The world travel can be fun but it really slows down progress on my theater since I rarely get more than a few days at home between trips. Also, I've been doing this travel gig since 1985 so it's starting to get old. One of these days I have to retire and enjoy my theater! It would be interesting to see measurements on the Tonewinner products. One thing I've learned over the years is that more expensive audio equipment isn't necessarily better. Some of these, "high-end" brands are not only no better than some mass market products but I think frequently maybe not as good. Just because Tonewinner is relatively inexpensive doesn't mean it would perform poorly when objectively compared to far more expensive products in measurement test. It might even perform better. Price is really never much of an indicator of quality in audio equipment... well other than you can usually assume that the ultra expensive, especially loudspeakers, are probably not very good.

@@SpecOfTech barrett i didnt realise you in the oil game! On the drilling scene? Do you work a roster? Im oil and gas offshore 😁

Thanks for sharing!

I have not heard the Emotiva DR3, so I can't really say anything on that. I know that Tonewinner makes Emotiva, so they may sound somewhat similar. That being said, this Tonewinner is probably the best amplifier you can get in this price range. I would even bet it compares to amplifiers twice it's cost, but that is an assumption at this point.

The DR series with the "H" topology is rather dry and sterile when compared to my first gen Emotiva XPA2. I still own the XPA2, it is powering a pair of Magnepans. The DR2 lasted around a week in my system, I boxed it up and returned it. It lacked the soundstage and dynamics of the old XPA2, and like I stated, it was rather dry and sterile, more Class D than Class A/B. I would give the Tonewinner lineup a serious look, I know I am.

I believe they would make a fantastic pair. The 100 watts of class A power is plenty to power the Focus SE, and should give it just a little warmth. When you want to turn things to 11, just switch the amp to class A/B mode and turn things up until your hearts content. This is a very versatile amp that just happens to sound fantastic as well. I still love mine and have no intentions of getting rid of them at this point.

@@SpecOfTech Good to know!

I haven't sent the Axioms back yet. I didn't have time to play with them more the last time I was home from work. I just had so much other stuff going on and Sonus Faber speakers to unbox etc lol. I want to spend more time with them the next time I am home.

@@SpecOfTech yea totally get it man, life can get pretty crazy at times. Hopefully you'll get some play time soon enough 🙂

@@sethpettman5491 I do want to make sure to give them a fair shake. I do hope/wish to get some PSB speakers one day as well.

@@SpecOfTech oh man that would be awesome. At the end of the day a lot boils down to personal taste. One thing I did notice when switching speakers in the past thougg was that my ears did take a minute to "adjust" if you will, anytime I got new speakers and played them back to back with the old ones. Only After I settled into the sound signature of the newer speakers did I feel I was able to go back and listen to the older ones and give a fair comparison because when I first switched the new ones sounded "off". Really "off" was just different if ya catch my drift. All that to be said I'm glad you're giving them a fair shot, there's not many reviews out there on them and I trust that you'll be honest which myself and the others appreciate 💯 👊

I will try, thanks for the suggestion.

I just purchased the matching ToneWinner AD-1PRE+ DAC/Preamp, my buddy bought one too. I pulled my PS Audio Stellar Gaincell DAC/Preamp out of the system. We did a shootout and the ToneWinner won hands down. I have another PS Audio DAC coming today, their DirectStream MK1, that was a $6000 DAC/Preamp when new, PS Audio is blowing out their remaining units at a ridiculous price to make room for their MKII units. I would highly recommend the ToneWinner AD-PRE1+, it is simply outstanding. The instrument separation is incredible, along with the soundstage. It is just right in regards to tonality and texture, it is very neutral and adds nothing to the sound, nor subtracts, the clarity is really really good. And there is no issue with brightness or any sterility to the sound. I am using a pair of Zu DW6 Supreme speakers and a pair of Magnepan LRS+ paired with the ToneWinner AD-2PRO+ integrated amp. I now wish I would have went with the AD-1PA+... Oh well, at least the internal amp topology is using the same boards, so I cannot image that much of a SQ difference. Still very happy!

Actually I am only using 1 to power the front left and right speakers, I use the second one to power my center speaker. 1 of these amps does a fantastic job powering my left and right speakers, there is no need to buy 2 for just the left and right speakers.

@@SpecOfTech Thanks so much for replying again! Greatly appreciated. I believe the amplifier has plenty of power. I have Magnepan speakers which like to suck up a lot of power and current, so I thought this amp might be a good match. May I ask how much you paid for this amp? I have seen it for different prices on Ebay and Alibaba and the summit hifi site, etc. Anyway, Your channel is a pleasure to watch. You're doing an excellent job. Always pleasant. No negativity. Lots of info and cool gear. This is what hifi and home theater is about - having fun!

@@etherealvintage6665 Well I ordered mine from Summit Hifi, he has amazing customer service and I trust him. I will always choose to deal with a reputable company like Summit Hifi in case I ever run into problems. Samir’s profit margin on these is pretty low so there isn’t much room for discounts unfortunately. Let me know if you order one, I have not doubt if you do, you will not be disappointed.

​@@SpecOfTech No problem. Do you know the power going into 4ohms? Does this affect where it changes over to class a/b? Can it be set to just stay in class a? I think it would be worth doing another video to go into some of these details. I could not find this info on the summit hifi site. I will let you know if I order it. I'm guessing these are coming straight from China after the order is placed?

@@etherealvintage6665 It is 500 watts into 4ohms 1 channel driven, this information is on the Summithifi website ;). With both channels driven you are probably looking at 450+ watts per channel into 4ohms. I did answer the questions about the class A and auto modes in the video :). You can set it to auto, which switches between a and a/B automatically or you can switch to class A or class a/b manually and it will stay in the class you set it too…cheers.

Have you come to a decision on them?

@@SpecOfTech have time till Christmas :)

I had the Denafrips Thallo for a bit, I did not care for it after getting her broke in. I sold it off, along with their Athena preamp and Venus II 12th DAC... Now, PS Audio Stellar Gaincell DAC/Pre and the old first gen Emotiva XPA2 and a little 10w el84 Cayin tube amp. Night and day over the Denafrips gear. The secret sauce is the PS Audio Gaincell.

There is very little difference between the 2, but I did prefer class A.

thanks, will compare my music that I enjoy listening to!@@SpecOfTech

Honestly, it wouldn't be fair for me to make any comments between the 2. I haven't heard the M1200 monoblocks. What I can say, is that the Tonewinner AD-1PA can hang with the big boys for less money.

@@SpecOfTech thak you for the reply.

@@SpecOfTech have you had chance to check out the emotiva xpa gen3 DR1? I am debating on this or the two DR1s, but I have never had an amp with SMPS which the DRs have.

@avtarsingh5834 Sorry I haven't had the opportunity to check out the Emotiva's yet.

@@SpecOfTech no problem, thank you for the response brother 🙏.

Thanks brother! I did sneak some B roll in there with a PB3000. It will be compared to the Paradigm X15's soon.

Are you kidding me? Even the smallest of Krells use three times the output devices and more then double the PSU.

No, this one isn't.

Thank you

Yes sir! The intention is to keep them for the foreseeable future. They are perfect for comparing speakers too!

@@SpecOfTech so class a /ab for front and class d for surround and atmos?

@@junior-OG Yeah that's right.

Yeah but also to be fair, the PS Audio amps do cost more per channel as well.

@@SpecOfTech I get that but compare it to something like a pass labs stereo amp like a 250.8 or 350.8. Or bryston 4b3 or monos. Then if your tone amp wins that will be extremely impressive and say a lot about that amp. When you compare it to junk it doesn't really accomplish anything other than to warn people not to buy it. Big well made chinese amps will often out perform crappy brand name stuff.

@@Smood47 Well, I suppose PS Audio being "junk" is your opinion, and you're entitled to it. There are lots of enthusiasts who love PS Audio equipment and would say it out performs more expensive amps 🤷‍♂️. I would actually like to get a McIntosh amp to compare to the AD-1PA.

@@SpecOfTech I didn't say PS audio is junk. I said the m700 was junk. McIntosh? Arghh. Bro... Pass, luxman, gryphon, Coda. Contact destination hifi, ask for in home demo of coda no 16 or no 8. I think itll be free or a nominal shipping fee. Its more pricey but itll give you a good experience of a new tier of performance (although at that point you may need to upgrade speakers).

@@Smood47 You lost me there. You say comparing an amplifier to 2 monoblocks that are slightly more expensive, isn't a good comparison... then why would I compare a $2875 amp to a $16,000 Coda amplifier? How would that comparison be even remotely fair? Honestly, I have no desire at the moment to own or even review a $16,000 amp, or anything remotely that expensive. Maybe one day in the future, since I make a habit to never say never, but that type of equipment is not relatable for most humans. I am happy for you if you have equipment in that price bracket and I hope you enjoy it...cheers.

How much are those amplifiers you are referring to retail? FYI, it's not JUST about the wattage of a transformer either, it's about the physical size of the transformer. The larger transformers help reduce voltage drop, which helps better reflect the source. The transformer in this amplifier is physically quite massive, which is what I was showing. It's also NOT only about how much output it has. Pretty cool that you can make assumptions about a products without any details as to what you are referring too 👍. Yes, Bryston and Krell are great products, but that isn't really apples to apples here is it? This is a budget hifi amp, that offers a lot of value for it's price. I'm glad you really like your amps, but why try and turn a review into a pissing contest...?

Well then the old Emo amps must have sounded FANTASTIC. Just a pro tip, Tonewinner is the manufacturer for Emotiva ;).

Stop buying and promoting Chinese

@@SpecOfTech That is good to know, and the reason my old Emotiva first gen XPA2 stays in my system rotation. It has beat out the Parasound A23+, the Denafrips Thallo, the XTZ Edge A2-400, and a few lesser amps. The soundstage is huge, instrument separation with my PS Audio Stellar Gaincell DAC/Preamp is incredibly good along with the dynamics. I drive a pair of Maggies with the old girl. The Zu's are driven with a nice little 10w el84 tube amp. Both utilize the Gaincell.

FYI- 1.2.1 Core Materials and Construction Magnetic circuits are quite similar to electric circuits. As shown in Figure 11, magnetic flux always takes a closed path from one magnetic pole to the other and, like an electric current, always favors the paths of highest conductivity or least resistance. The equivalent of applied voltage in magnetic circuits is magnetizing force, symbolized H. It is directly proportional to “ampere-turns” (coil current I times its number of turns N) and inversely proportional to the flux path length R in the magnetic circuit. The equivalent of electric current flow is flux density, symbolized B. It is measured as the number of magnetic flux lines per square unit of area. A graphic plot of the relationship between field intensity and flux density is shown in Figure 9 and is referred to a the “B-H loop” or “hysteresis loop” for a given material. In the United States, the most commonly used units for magnetizing force and flux density are the Oersted and Gauss, respectively, which are CGS (centimeter, gram, second) units. In Europe, the SI (Système International) units amperes per meter and Tesla, respectively, are more common. The slope of the B-H loop indicates how an incremental increase in applied magnetizing force changes the resulting flux density. This slope is effectively a measure of conductivity in the magnetic circuit and is called permeability, symbolized ì. Any material inside a coil, which can also serve as a form to support it, is called a core. By definition, the permeability of air is 1.00 and common “non-magnetic” materials such as aluminum, brass, copper, paper, glass, and plastic also have a permeability of 1 for practical purposes. The permeability of some common “ferro-magnetic” materials is about 300 for ordinary steel, about 5,000 for 4% silicon transformer steel, and up to about 100,000 for some nickel-iron-molybdenum alloys. Because such materials concentrate magnetic flux, they greatly increase the inductance of a coil. Audio transformers must utilize both high-permeability cores and the largest practical number of coil turns to create high primary inductance. Coil inductance increases as the square of the number of turns and in direct proportion to the permeability of the core and can be approximated using the formula: L = 3.2 N ì A / 10 R where L = inductance in Henries, N = 2 8 number of coil turns, ì = permeability of core, A = cross-section area of core in square inches, and R = mean flux path length in inches.

I have no idea what you mean, that I sent my reply directly? I replied to your original comment. If you go to your original comment you will see my reply below it. There was no need to create a new comment thread, but I have to reply here because you made a new comment lol. I wasn't asking about used prices, that wouldn't make any sense to compare used prices to new MSRP. You are comparing old used amp prices to this brand new amp MSRP? That is the definition of comparing apples to oranges my friend. I also want to say, I have no interest in arguing about small transformers versus large transformers. That is a debate that will go on for centuries, but there are PLENTY of audio enthusiasts that believe a larger transformer sounds superior. Hence why so many uber expensive amps use them, that's just FACTS (as you would like to say). I don't mean to be rude, but I think you need to look up the definition of "facts". It is a scientific fact that larger gauge wire has LESS loss of signal. It IS small wire that has more loss of signal. Why do you think you have to use larger gauge wire for longer speaker cable runs? Because it has less loss. Larger wire has less resistance, feel free to look it up. Pretty ironic for you to try and demean my knowledge while spewing false information. I am not going to argue with you which amp is better, that is pure silliness because audio is subjective. For you to make a comment about how your amp would smoke another amp, all while comparing used prices to new prices, and giving false information about smaller wire having less loss is just plain silly my friend. Nobody is saying you need to buy this amp. If you love Krell and Bryston, by all means...go buy them and enjoy your system. I don't know why some audio enthusiasts feel the need to be so toxic with their comments because they have a different opinion...sheesh, we can do better. P.S. The assumption I was referring to in my original comment, is you assuming 1 amp is better than the other based on 1 of the internal parts and based on output alone. That would be like me saying, the binding posts are better on the Tonewinner AD-1PA, therefore it smokes your amp. I am all for discussion, as long as the discussion is based in reality.

??

Hey Robert, I always get to comments when I have a chance, we all have busy lives lol. I can personally vouch for the fact that there is an audible difference between amplifiers, because I have experienced it first hand. Whether or not the audible difference is observable between every amplifier is a different story, and whether or not the observable difference is worth it to the individual buyer is a whole new story. So yes, there is a difference between amplifiers, but that difference varies between amplifiers and the amplifier’s topology. Your personal preferences and budget comes into play as well.

LOL your friend is a not helpful to you or others. External amplifiers are incredible. You think those Sonus Farber speakers are going to sing with a crummy denon 3800 connected?

@@SpecOfTech Thanks! Makes sense! Sensitivity is a big part of it too.

You must've been reading on the ASR site, LOL. They're not really "reputable", LOL......