Help with a amplifier

Ryan Mckeown · 21st November 2009, 03:27 PM

Hey.

I was wondering what the best amplifier (by best I mean decent sound quality for a really good price) was that would accept a 3.5 mm (1/8") plug for input and output the standard + and - termianls for left and right speakers.

My speaker system is a SHARP CP-XL40H with (and I'm quoting from the manual here because I no very little about this sort of thing):
Rated Input Power: 5W
Maximum input power: 10W
Impedance: 4 ohms

Can you point me in the right direction?
Thanks

ricortes · 21st November 2009, 05:37 PM

I don't know if you want to do some soldering but if you don't the Sure Tripath 2024 based board is getting a lot of positive buzz. I have one and w/o any modifications everyone that has heard it loves it. Of course lots of people have done modifications to improve the performance. Just go to the digital amp section of this board to read some of info available. Cost is less then $20 with shipping from eBay. What you get is the board w/o a box or power supply but with all the hook ups. Power supply can be as simple as a wall wart or 12V laptop PS. Performance is very good and will give you 2-3 times your current power output. The volume at this power level is as loud as I would feel comfortable using if I lived in an apartment or condo.

There's also a variation of the Tripath chip, TA2020, that comes in a box by Lepai. I just bought one with power supply for ~$29 off eBay. It hasn't arrived yet but is just a bit more versatile then the Sure. It has an preamp so you can use it with a wider range of devices. Batteries in MP3 players don't last long at full volume so I needed the option for those times I don't have an PS adapter for my MP3 player.

There are several other 'motorcycle amplifiers' and 'car amplifiers' that have higher output that AFAIK haven't been independently tested. Note that just about all of them are over rated on power output. They do things like list the total power consumption instead of the actual music power output. They also run up the distortion to levels a normal human being can't stand. Anything above 3% is just too annoying for me to listen to and I would bet there are a lot of people that have an even lower 'painful to listen to' threshold then me.

Rick

Ryan Mckeown · 21st November 2009, 07:38 PM

I don't mind a bit of soldering...

21st November 2009, 03:27 PM	#1
Ryan Mckeown diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2009	Help with a amplifier Hey. I was wondering what the best amplifier (by best I mean decent sound quality for a really good price) was that would accept a 3.5 mm (1/8") plug for input and output the standard + and - termianls for left and right speakers. My speaker system is a SHARP CP-XL40H with (and I'm quoting from the manual here because I no very little about this sort of thing): Rated Input Power: 5W Maximum input power: 10W Impedance: 4 ohms Can you point me in the right direction? Thanks

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21st November 2009, 05:37 PM	#2
ricortes diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2009	I don't know if you want to do some soldering but if you don't the Sure Tripath 2024 based board is getting a lot of positive buzz. I have one and w/o any modifications everyone that has heard it loves it. Of course lots of people have done modifications to improve the performance. Just go to the digital amp section of this board to read some of info available. Cost is less then $20 with shipping from eBay. What you get is the board w/o a box or power supply but with all the hook ups. Power supply can be as simple as a wall wart or 12V laptop PS. Performance is very good and will give you 2-3 times your current power output. The volume at this power level is as loud as I would feel comfortable using if I lived in an apartment or condo. There's also a variation of the Tripath chip, TA2020, that comes in a box by Lepai. I just bought one with power supply for ~$29 off eBay. It hasn't arrived yet but is just a bit more versatile then the Sure. It has an preamp so you can use it with a wider range of devices. Batteries in MP3 players don't last long at full volume so I needed the option for those times I don't have an PS adapter for my MP3 player. There are several other 'motorcycle amplifiers' and 'car amplifiers' that have higher output that AFAIK haven't been independently tested. Note that just about all of them are over rated on power output. They do things like list the total power consumption instead of the actual music power output. They also run up the distortion to levels a normal human being can't stand. Anything above 3% is just too annoying for me to listen to and I would bet there are a lot of people that have an even lower 'painful to listen to' threshold then me. Rick

21st November 2009, 07:38 PM	#3
Ryan Mckeown diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2009	I don't mind a bit of soldering...

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