WTB - Small speaker amp

Looking for a reasonably good sounding (ie vetted by SBAF members), cheap (~$50), and small (used with a mini Schiit stack) desktop speaker amp. Prefer something based on a TPAXXXX (TPA3116, 3251, 3255). It is just for some back up DIY desktop speakers, so I don't need amazing sound quality, but don't want complete bottom of barrel.

Thanks!

 

I think @yotacowboy and @famish99 had have good success with Fosi amps, which exact model I'm not sure.

 

PM me and you can try either my Fosi V3 or Aiyma A07. They're similar enough with stock opamps that it kinda doesn't matter if you're not doing HiFi nerd listening.

 

Chanced on this thread. Great! I'm in need of a cheepo amplifier. Looking at my local Amazon, I think I'll try a Fosi Audio BT20A Pro. I might even occasionally use the bluetooth. Oh wait, I've got a cheapo bluetooth to hifi adapter...

Anyway, it's just over USD100. Comes within impulse buying limits

 

There are a few "affordable" opamp swaps you can do to really spice it up depending on how well your speakers scale. I found the V3 + AD827 to outperform the Tandberg 3026A I was using for my living room setup prior.

 

I can vouch for tpa3255. I built several amps with that chip. Never let me down.

 

@shotgunshane Can you close this or change the thread title and leave it for discussion? I'm grabbing an Aiyama A07 Max off Amazon, as the diy TPA3116 I was trying to revive is dead dead.

 

Lets have it open for discussion somehow. It has already been useful to me.

 

I kinda can't wait until the Bakoon loaner shows up here, as I intend to compare it head to head with the Fosi Za3 with Sparkos opamps.

 

I got one today. I don't think that the fi is ever going to be as hi as my HD800 'phones, but hey, my speakers are quite humble too, not to mention the state of my ears.

The bluetooth connectivity is bound to come in handy sometimes.

At first I thought the sound was a bit rough --- but that was mostly the Youtube track I was listening to. Then I thought it --- not sure how to put it --- a bit thin? It is maybe a bit thin in the mids and a bit sharp in the highs.

But, after a couple of hours of listening, my ears were getting burnt in and, after a long time, it is lovely to be able to have a listening session on the speakers.

Thanks for drawing this tiny and affordable little box to my attention. It cost me about 8000 Indian Rupees. That's less than 80 UK quid, not sure about USD. An amplifier that is absolutely not a toy for under a hundred pounds! Wow.

 

Since this thread is still alive, I did end up with the Aiyama A07 Max for about $75 USD. I went with this over the Fosi since it was wider that it was deep to better match the Schiit shapes. It has a ton of power for my desktop speakers (Carmody S2000 DIY), and is nicely tiny. Sits on top of my Pietus Maximus and doesn't cover the vents. It was a little thin/bright stock, but I swapped in some LM833N opamps I had leftover from a WHAMMY build that evened them out enough. A bigger sense of space and less warm/thick than my old TPA3116 amp that, of course, I was able to revive once I ordered the Aiyama. I like the Aiyama alot and will be keeping it. I may even grab another for my workshop speakers.

 

Nice. And good thinking! My little Fosi is hanging off the back of my Motu M4

 

This thread has reminded me that I still have a couple Nuforce Icon 2 integrated amplifiers tucked away somewhere. Literally the form factor of a paperback book, about 20W per channel, analog and usb inputs, sub and headphone outs, and from that odd narrow window of time when compact amp manufacturers used RJ45 jacks because binding posts were too big. It was actually my first speaker amp that I used to power my HE-6, and I still miss those days when I could do it with something small enough to tuck behind my monitor instead of the behemoths that I have now.

 

I still have one in service for my wife's computer setup. Sounds really good still, quite refined when not pushed too hard. Love the design and form factor, too. I loved my HDP for years, too.

I miss all the Icon stuff. I feel like they could do well with some updates still if they wanted to.

 

Does anyone remember Travagans? They made a couple mini amplifiers back in the day that also used the RJ45 jacks.

A fuzzy memory says there was another amp called with the RJ45's called... "big john" ?

I also remember the TBI Millenia, Virtue Audio One, and Winsome Labs Mouse. Wow this is scratching some old fuzzy brain cells.

If I were to get something in that compact form factor today, I'd maybe look for a used NAD D3020. A used v1 can be found for <$300 these days.