Simple little Class-D modules (V-MODULE VMA2015)

[diyroger]

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I bought a small class-D stereo 10Wx2 audio amplifier VMA2016 from Dealextreme (the link). This little thing impressed me so much. I just can't believe this small board can be that loud. Sound is clear, noise can't be heard even put the ear near the speaker.
Below is my VMA2016 board. The tag was damaged since I want to find what's in the module. some said it's max9704, but I dare not open the plastic cover.


As an electronics DIYer I can't effort not buying another one with bigger power. The VMA2015 is a mono module which has power of 15W. There's also a VMA2015 EVA board on Dealextreme but I found another place to buy it at lower price (the link).
Today the board arrived with some other stuffs ordered from the same site. The board is very simple, has only 2 modules, one capacitor, 2 jumpers, a stereo jack and 3 connectors. The tags are white, while the image on the website is yellow, this is a little strange.


Make a compare between VMA2015 and VMA2016. The third board VMA6512 is ordered together with VMA2015, another nice FM audio transmitting board.


Can't say the board is well made. There's still some flux on it, obviously soldered by hand. Connectors are marked clearly so it's not hard to connect power and sound box to it. I connected a 15V power supply to the VCC and GND pin, then connected my 6" TANNOY to the output connectors. There's a slight "pop" when turnned on the switch. The background is very clear, I can't hear any noise even even when very close to the speaker. Then plugged in the 3.5mm jack, turn on my iAudio MP3. Wow! The sound is amazing! The sound is not only loud, but also very clear and warm. I keep increased the input signal, the sound became louder and louder. The sound kept perfect even when the signal is strong enough to distort VMA2016. I still remember how angry the neibour was when I testing VMA2016 last month. So I lower down the strenght of input signal very quickly.
The following is my testing enviroment


Overall I'm very pleased with this little thing. Loud, good sound quality, low cost, ultra compact size, high effeciency, clear sound, single 12 to 20V supply...You have many other choices but hard to find another one has all these features. It's ideal for make portable sound systems.

One thing I have to mention is the effenciency. Look at the current meter when the sound is loud enought to invite my neibour to knock at my door:


Finally I put VMA2016 and VMA2015 board on my EL34 tube amplifier. The most interesting thing is the output power of the tube amp which is weight about 15kg is only 8Wx2, while the little dawfs above it has 10wx2 and 15wx2, absolute awesome!

[verballydecapitating]

I have to agree with what you've said about the VMA2015 amplifier, paired up with a 19v laptop power supply also from dealextreme it makes a pretty good no frills amplifier for ~$20. Been using mine for a few months now without problems, the chips don't even get slightly warm after hours of use.

Another amplifier from dealextreme that I just ordered is this:
Y148 Audio Amplifier Module - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

It looks interesting, nice input range and at that price it's worth a shot.

[diyroger]

The small board aside the VMA2015 marked with VMA6512 is also an interesting product. The sound is fairly good at the first try. I will test it when my spectrum analysizer is come back.
Here is the link I order it:
VMR6512 Stereo HiFi Audio Transmitter

Also want to write a simple review but which board should I post it?

[ozBillo]

Any suggestions for kits/modules to add tone and volume control to the VMA2015 EVM?