Affordable high performance IOTAVX SA40 & PA40 amplifier review

Will these 2 amps bring Zero Fidelity out of hiding? We shall see... Seems IOTAVX just took what made the original stack great and improved on it in every regard. Great stuff.

At last a hi-fi amp that is at an AFFORDABLE price! Agree he needs a pop filter on the mic. Had to put pop filters on mic in broadcast studios. The pops can cause some AM transmitter modulator overloads.

I am sorry but I am a newbie in modern hi-fi. I don’t understand the need to pair an integrated amp with a power amp like these 2 units. I would thing the integrated amp is enough. Can someone kindly explain this to me ?

Dude, fix your voice amp will ya!

Dang. All I want to know is how the PA40 compares to the TA75. But, of course, i understand.

If you heard great differences from changing sources. Thats a very good quality! I remember the original also had this character. It would adapt or scale or provide transparency from the source. To me this flexibility is value. It does not restrain me, and allows for me to adjust the flavor to my taste. Thanks for the video man!

Did IOTAVX use the same capacitors on these new amps as they did for the SA3 and PA3? Because I've heard from multiple owners of the SA3 that the caps don't last very long and need to be replaced around the 3 year mark. I only had the SA3 for a short period before moving onto a better amp so I didn't experience any problem. But the product page for the SA40 specifically states they use "long life capacitors" so I hope that means they addressed this issue on the SA3/PA3.

Well?????. IMO, if this new SA40 is approximately 20/ 25% better than the SA3, it'll be a bargain/ great performance-to-cost ratio.

Report back on its ability to drive Magnepans, please!

Thomas! You’re the best. Keep on keeping on. We love you! Thanks for all you do for the Hi-Fi community… you’re awesome bro

They should have gone to pre + power amp combo. Bridging is generally a compromise. You have to design a product with a fixed function in mind to get the best results. I don't like stereo amps working in mono. I'd rather buy two monoblocks instead.

Great video and a nice honest declaration that you’re not going to compare your Galleon gear to review gear .
Any chance you’re going to the Toronto Audiofest this October?

Thomas.When are you gonna review the Advance Paris Line? The A12 is the Beauty & The Beast.

Galion tsa75 all day long thomas I'm extremely happy with this amp ❤

Interesting, if one believes in the benefits of separates, then using with the power amp means the two channels must sound different. If they don’t, is all the talk of separates being better just BS?

Outstanding as always Thomas. I currently own & love the SA3/PA3 stack and if/when I need to replace them, I know what to do now. Kudos to IOTAVX for continuing to improve upon their products. Thank you and keep up the great work.

An amp that’s just sweet and makes you want to dance… musical fidelity A1

Thomas practices chi gong?

So if you have a freya does that mean you don't give on iota of schitt.

Le micro de Thomas distorsionne au point de rendre la narration désagréable.

They’re gonna get me with this one.

I envy you for having not one but two working AIWA CD players!!

A shame you didn't listen to the PA40 with some appropriate, and better, sources. Do they run hot? I like the efficiency of class D but this possibly last gasp of AB high power on the cheap is appealing.

They put the input selector switch on the REAR of the PA40 amp. Input selection should always be on the front of an amp.

Im currently in conversation with someone who is saying all non load dependent amps sound the same, what do you think about this and is there any literature about it?

I asked the person who is claiming this to tell me what the cheapest non load dependent amp was and never got an answer, i also asked them if its the case that they all sound tge same why wouldn't everyone just own the cheapest one?
The response was "because people have preconceived bias and buy stuff because of looks or price etc"

Thoughts?

Hello Thomas. I have the combo of sa3 and pa3 and am very satisfied so far. I now want to upgrade to the SA40, is it worth switching? you can hear the sound improvement. Thanks.

They will have a hill to climb - they went out of business - what happened to the warranties etc. of previous equipment - did they honour it? Not mine! Also, there seemed to be problems with the quality of components failing etc. Not sure - They would need to address the elephant in the room first for me to be interested again.

Where’s the United States and Canada website? You are driving demand that can’t be fulfilled.

I love my NAD c298 amp (little brother to NAD M23) which replaces my already great Parasound 2125v2.

todays amps need input trigger, gain knob/switch, extra set RCA output for subwoofers. under 40 lbs, preferably under 30 lbs

iota pa40 seems to have most jacks except a gain knob (i don’t want to hear any speaker hiss).
specs don’t mention: crosstalk, max current, damping factor.

Apple Music lossless

My home theater is a 7.4.4, (mixed use music 2.2) powered by 10 amps! So today’s amps need to run cool,efficient to not trip 15A breaker box fuse.
I upgraded to the NAD c298 amp (similar to NAD M23).

Apple Music lossless

I thought the SA3 was thoroughly overrated and overpriced piece of poorly tuned, poorly equipped pocket drop. Woolly bass and skinny mid range and vocals, awful...each to their own master they stand or fall I suppose.

iota pa40 seems to have most jacks except a gain knob (i don’t want to hear any speaker hiss).
specs don’t mention: crosstalk, max current, damping factor.

It’s insane how decent even low end audio has become! Class D, just the switching supply is genius as a whole, but how much more it has become. Still, magnetics are king imo for now, but damn! Great work as always!

Thanks for reviewing this piece Thomas, I had no idea it was out but it looks good and I ordered one. If it's good I'll get the PA40 as well as it seems that the combo really shines.

Testing

i think the audio industry has lost touch on the word affordable lol...oh im a hypacryte im making $7000 and up speakers lol

The big concern with IOTAVX is their quality control and abysmal customer service. I had a NP3 die after a month of light use - I went through HELL getting it replaced. BTW, if you live on the east coast you'll have to call around 4AM to get anyone on the phone and it honestly seems like a bit of a clown show. About a month later, one of my PA3's started running WAY hotter than its twin. I didn't even want to be bothered dealing with them and just ate the cost of the unit.

Owner review: Just got mine in yesterday and can confirm the SA40 is a banger! Coming from an Audiolab 6000a and Rotel A11 Tribute, speakers are Polk R200, DAC is SMSL Su-10. This SA40 monsters those two other amps! I actually didn't like the SA40 at the very first listen. The upper mid's felt like they were very elevated in the mix. But then I played with the SA40's tone controls -I love them! In my system I have found that a 2-3db increase in the bass works very well. The SA40 has a very, very powerful sound it muscles the R200's around in a way that the 6000a never could. It also has a very exciting, precise kind of sound. It works great with well recorded music and electronica. It can be merciless with poorly recorded material (think iphone video of a concert). This amp does not do warm and cozy like a Sugden. This amp has some attack to the upper mids which makes it sound cool but also limits you on volume sometimes. It is very in your face and wants to put on a show -a big show!

Features and power are unequaled for the money, the remote is nice to use, balanced in the hand and very easy to adjust the tone controls (you will use them). You can completely dim the lights/screen -very useful. Build quality is average at best. The volume pot is kind of loose and the case is just a folded piece of metal that isn't even fully secured at the bottom. You can feel it squeeze in as you move the unit. It's not the sexiest looking amp but looks ok enough. Maybe too large for some set ups though. I have not tested the PA40/SA40 combo yet but I'm curious.

What Iota did was focus relentlessly on only the stuff that really matters -sound quality and features. This amp is extremely well designed for the audiophile who wants the most excitement for their money. It beats the talented Audiolab 6000a in nearly everyway (The 6000a tolerates crappy recordings better). It likely betters amps in the 2-3k range although they may score a win in certain categories.


Who is it not for?
If you have a system that is already to bright/sharp this amp will not alleviate that one IOTA! Haha.
If you are willing to pay 2-3x for looks alone.
If the size doesn't work for you.

IOTA scored a massive win here. A 10/10 performance at it's price (and above). If there is a better amp for 1,000 ish dollars, I do not know of it. Thank you IOTA and thank you Thomas for the sweet recommendation!

Would the Iotavx sa40 be a step up to my Cambridge cx81?

are you using the iotavx 5.0 Bluetooth adapter as your mic?

good points hifi audio sound vs vintage

I use the IOTAVX AVX17 Pre Amp for my Homecinema with Neumann KH 150 & 80 (and soon a Double Bass Array). For that price its realy awesome. Sound Decoding & Quality is great, youve 4 Sub Outs. The Menu is windows 98 style but has a lot of Freedom in the setup

I been listening to my sa40 and pa40 for couple of weeks. The bass is weak, treble is off to my liking, i have to decreased 2 db, i tried different speakers from kef r3, q acoustic 5020, q acoustic 3030i, elac ubr62 and wharfedale d225, the best one is the wharfadale. It tame the treble. I tried it with holo cyan2 which smooth the sound but less bass attack. Center image is lacking if i move a bit to left and right. Vocals is a bit forward in my system. So put it but in the box. For me iotavx is thin and cold, i will Let it sleep there till i think of a better speaker that would resurrect this iotavx of mine.

Is the DAC from the SA40 good?

Bad sound on audio quality channel- must be a joke :)

Not going to make it - hire a sound Mike guy..

The whole natural vs hi-fi comments
What on earth
This seems to fly in face of logic and is a reason why it's hard to trust any reviewers.
A system should reproduce the material exactly and any variation is a negative.
Natural voice vrs hi-fi? The most fidelity would be producing (reproducing) the voice exactly the same as it was uttered.
If you have a conversation, record it and play it back on a sound system if it is exactly the same with zero deviation that is a perfect fidelity system.

I know it has sub out, but does it have bass management with crossover control?

Terrible music…to the max ! So called audiophile music is the worst! Most reviews are completely useless, the so called music is weak and non musical…I don’t know but I’m going to say that it’s race based ? How many audiophiles listen to Earth Wind & Fire ? Or Marvin Gaye , Bob Marley ? The things that maybe white people listen to and can form an opinion is totally irrelevant to a different group of people and culture! The only time white people mention any form of black music is when they want to be hip? And can tell you what Miles Davis was wearing during the session? I go from Bach to Zappa , Frank Sinatra, Chicago, Weather Report ,Chick Corea, George Clinton , James Brown…and I have not heard anything from any reviews that even remotely resemble knowledge of music! Or taste? Ok you have a audience,but it’s totally biased and not a representation of …music and people!
I’m a musician and…yes a audiophile? To the extent that I also try to extract the most from my system to enjoy the artist ! No matter what color they are? Not fairy music ! I like your friend from Jamaica I can relate to his opinion more than yours.
Just based on what I hear I could never purchase any of these products! And I’m sure that a lot of others feel the same way?
You are an intelligent young man and I wish you well in your endeavor…maybe I should start a site that caters to a different audience and review equipment in a different light…

Why don’t you just clip the microphone onto your t-shirt or just get a proper hand held microphone 🎤?