Pyle PFA200

Pyle PFA200

This one isn’t part of the Lepai, Lepy, Lvpin trifecta of branding awesomeness, but since it’s in the same box and claims to be “Class-T”, I figured it was worth a look. Under the covers, this one isn’t similar to any of the others. It has two main chips, both of which are textured on top to obscure the labeling. They’re definitely not Tripath TA2020 chips and there’s no heat-sink to be found.

You will see a 5-wire jumper connecting the 1/8” line-level input on the front to the RCA inputs on the back. In the spot on the back where all the others have their 1/8” line-level input, this guy has a 1/4” microphone-level input, a nice feature if it’s something you need.

Overall power on this one is not impressive. It’s not as weak as the Lepy LP-2020A, but it’s not as strong as the Lepai LP-2020A+. Balancing two speakers with the 2020A+ at 25%, the PFA200 is at 50%. Considering the PFA200 claims to be 3x more powerful at 60W than the 2020A+ at 20W, this is pretty sad. Also keep in mind that this “60W” amp comes with a power supply that maxes out with 12.5V@2.5A or 31.25W. It’s possible that this amp could be great with a 5A brick, but then again the 2020A+ is rumored to be outstanding with a 5A brick as well – rumors being what they are.

As for sound quality, it’s again in the middle. The clarity seems very close to the 2020A+, but it’s got a little more bass and unfortunately that bass is a little muddy. If I pre-set the volumes and listened to them with a few seconds pause in between, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Listening side-by-side though, I appreciate the clarity of the 2020A+.

Build quality of this one seems pretty low compared to the rest. The tone button is so badly out of alignment that it barely goes in its hole. The board is slightly too narrow to fit in the support channels in the case, so the face and tail screws are the only things keeping the board from falling onto the aluminum case bottom and shorting everything out. The front and back faces feel flimsier than on the Lepai/Lvpin/Lepy versions. Overally, it just feels like the enclosure is lower quality / cheaper.

Amplifier Chip Not sure yet. Looks like a pair of SOIC32-packaged mono amps, but the tops of the chips have been textured to remove identifying marks and I haven’t been able to sort them out so far. The marketing copy claims this is a “Class-T” amplifier, but I’ve not seen a Tripath chip that looks like the surface-mount 32-pin packages on this board. If these were actual Tripath chips, why would they obsure the markings?
Face Text Pyle PFA200
Top Text Pyle PFA200
PyleUSA.com
Hi-Fi Audio Power Amplifier
Board Text PFA200 2015-05-10
Right Channel Bottom Red Jack
Left Channel Top White Jack
Input Power Label DC12V2.5A
Included Power Supply HANKER-1202 12.5V/2.5A

cilynx
cilynx Making and breaking. Documenting and mapping.
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