Hi All
I need an amp for a boombox I'm making. it need to push around 25-30watts RMS stereo into a pair of 4ohm 6x9 car stereo speakers I have. Sound quality is less important but it has to be well build and reliable as it will be sealed in a box and I don't want to have to go back in to fiddle with it once its built. It will be driven at full power for several hours at a time so has to be able to deal with the heat. The boombox itself will be small, enough to carry in one hand so won't be a mobile disco or anything lol.
Been looking at some TPA3116 modules on ebay which are mostly chinese made. I wouldn't mind using one of them as the price is right but I have no idea if any of them are well made. Lot of the heatsinks on them look very small for thir stated power..
Any recommendations?
p.s. I tried going through the TPA3116 amp thread and the boominator thread but they are over 900 and 600 pages long respectivly so hard to get into.
I need an amp for a boombox I'm making. it need to push around 25-30watts RMS stereo into a pair of 4ohm 6x9 car stereo speakers I have. Sound quality is less important but it has to be well build and reliable as it will be sealed in a box and I don't want to have to go back in to fiddle with it once its built. It will be driven at full power for several hours at a time so has to be able to deal with the heat. The boombox itself will be small, enough to carry in one hand so won't be a mobile disco or anything lol.
Been looking at some TPA3116 modules on ebay which are mostly chinese made. I wouldn't mind using one of them as the price is right but I have no idea if any of them are well made. Lot of the heatsinks on them look very small for thir stated power..
Any recommendations?
p.s. I tried going through the TPA3116 amp thread and the boominator thread but they are over 900 and 600 pages long respectivly so hard to get into.
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TPA3116/8 with a 18-19V laptop supply would be a good choice.
Search for boombox and look at the threads asking exactly the same question.
Also look for threads asking what the best TPA3116 module is.
There are shorted threads for each.
Slightly shorter here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/clas...8d2-boards-modding-them-everything-comes.html
🙂
Search for boombox and look at the threads asking exactly the same question.
Also look for threads asking what the best TPA3116 module is.
There are shorted threads for each.
Slightly shorter here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/clas...8d2-boards-modding-them-everything-comes.html
🙂
You can go with the TPA3116 or TDA7492. I just bought the TDA for my next boombox.
TDA7492P 50W+50W Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver Digital Amplifier Board
If I remember correctly, my first boombox also had that one, different layout though. Good sound and didn't have any issues with heat. Only downside was a strange sound interference when using bluetooth, but it was only audible on low listening levels.
Think again about the speakers, in my opinion those 6x9's aren't the most sensitive speakers, you should go for >90 dB/W for a longer battery life.
TDA7492P 50W+50W Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver Digital Amplifier Board
If I remember correctly, my first boombox also had that one, different layout though. Good sound and didn't have any issues with heat. Only downside was a strange sound interference when using bluetooth, but it was only audible on low listening levels.
Think again about the speakers, in my opinion those 6x9's aren't the most sensitive speakers, you should go for >90 dB/W for a longer battery life.
If you are okay with bluetooth only for input, and don't want weird noises or turn on pops, this one has been good to a lot of folks here:
Bluetooth 4.0 TPA3116 50W+50W 2X50W Audio Receiver Amplifier Board Component | eBay
It will run off of a 19v laptop supply, a 12v SLA battery, or a 12v li-ion rechargeable battery pack. Nothing necessarily wrong with your speakers (some are quite efficient), except that most car audio 6x9's want to live in a pretty good size enclosure to get decent low end response.
Bluetooth 4.0 TPA3116 50W+50W 2X50W Audio Receiver Amplifier Board Component | eBay
It will run off of a 19v laptop supply, a 12v SLA battery, or a 12v li-ion rechargeable battery pack. Nothing necessarily wrong with your speakers (some are quite efficient), except that most car audio 6x9's want to live in a pretty good size enclosure to get decent low end response.
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Here's an old thread discussing the pros/cons of putting car audio 6x9s in enclosures:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/car-audio/18229-6x9-speaker-boxes.html
Post #9 is about the best advice you are going to get relative to using these in a box instead of on the rear deck of a car.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/car-audio/18229-6x9-speaker-boxes.html
Post #9 is about the best advice you are going to get relative to using these in a box instead of on the rear deck of a car.
Thanks for the responses guys. I have ordered some cheapo ebay amp modules using various IC's 3116/3118/TDA7492 from china based on the recommendations here and will see how they perform when they arrive in around 2 or 3 months’ time. 
I have to say I'm quite sceptical that an amp with no heat sink (most of the low power amp module don't have heatsinks) can push that amount of electrical power into speaker drivers for an extended period of time and not overheat. Even amps as low as 25w RMS still have power requirements of around 20v and 3amps input according to specs so these things will have a lot of energy going through them and they will be sealed in a relatively small enclosed space. I have my infra-red temperature gauge at the ready and will test how hot the components get. I'm expecting to see them fry but am looking forward to being proven wrong.
Also a little worried about the reliability of Chinese made modules, lots of talk on this board about fake capacitors and whatnot. But then again the Chinese are good and banging out cheap electronics….. So again I will test and see what happens
One thing I want to ask, is there any benefit to using a separate Bluetooth module than the Bluetooth circuit built onto a lot of amps? If I space a separate Bluetooth module about 10" away from the amp module would that reduce any interference and/or increase Bluetooth reception?
I have to say I'm quite sceptical that an amp with no heat sink (most of the low power amp module don't have heatsinks) can push that amount of electrical power into speaker drivers for an extended period of time and not overheat. Even amps as low as 25w RMS still have power requirements of around 20v and 3amps input according to specs so these things will have a lot of energy going through them and they will be sealed in a relatively small enclosed space. I have my infra-red temperature gauge at the ready and will test how hot the components get. I'm expecting to see them fry but am looking forward to being proven wrong.
Also a little worried about the reliability of Chinese made modules, lots of talk on this board about fake capacitors and whatnot. But then again the Chinese are good and banging out cheap electronics….. So again I will test and see what happens
One thing I want to ask, is there any benefit to using a separate Bluetooth module than the Bluetooth circuit built onto a lot of amps? If I space a separate Bluetooth module about 10" away from the amp module would that reduce any interference and/or increase Bluetooth reception?
2-3 months? Most of my orders arrive in 3-4 weeks. Just be sure to check the estimated delivery date before you click "buy it now".
I don't think you need to worry about heat, but I can't speak for the 3118 modules as I haven't tried any. The biggest concern of any of these are the design shortcuts that some of them take and the constant substitution of lower cost and quality components. Neither the ebay sellers or the manufacturers give a darn about you getting what you expect (or even what they pictured).
Using a separate bluetooth module increases your chance for the dreaded bluetooth noise. From what I have seen it's not proximity but a ground loop issue. It can be solved but it's not always easy.
The other thing you lose by doing separates is the integrated mute control. The CSR series bluetooth modules have an output that can hold the amp(s) in mute mode for a period of time after power on, which (if properly designed) means no turn on pops. One of the more popular 7492p boards has auto mute control but with some wrong value resistors so you still get a thump unless you change the values. Most of the non-BT boards have a switch or a pin for you to take care of muting manually if you want.
For a two channel solution the one I linked to in post #4 is an easy drop in with no "fixes" or separate bluetooth required. It is relatively quiet when no signal is present and does not seem to have any quirks. My son is using one to drive a pair of Yamaha bookshelf speakers using a 19v laptop brick and it sounds fantastic. I haven't tried it with Li-ion battery power yet but don't expect any issues when I do.
I don't think you need to worry about heat, but I can't speak for the 3118 modules as I haven't tried any. The biggest concern of any of these are the design shortcuts that some of them take and the constant substitution of lower cost and quality components. Neither the ebay sellers or the manufacturers give a darn about you getting what you expect (or even what they pictured).
Using a separate bluetooth module increases your chance for the dreaded bluetooth noise. From what I have seen it's not proximity but a ground loop issue. It can be solved but it's not always easy.
The other thing you lose by doing separates is the integrated mute control. The CSR series bluetooth modules have an output that can hold the amp(s) in mute mode for a period of time after power on, which (if properly designed) means no turn on pops. One of the more popular 7492p boards has auto mute control but with some wrong value resistors so you still get a thump unless you change the values. Most of the non-BT boards have a switch or a pin for you to take care of muting manually if you want.
For a two channel solution the one I linked to in post #4 is an easy drop in with no "fixes" or separate bluetooth required. It is relatively quiet when no signal is present and does not seem to have any quirks. My son is using one to drive a pair of Yamaha bookshelf speakers using a 19v laptop brick and it sounds fantastic. I haven't tried it with Li-ion battery power yet but don't expect any issues when I do.
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Without getting into too much technical detail, modern Class-D amplifiers like TPA3116 can achieve about 90% efficiency. So if you are driving 2x30W into the speakers, the power dissipated by the amp chip is in the 6W range. If you were to use 8-ohm speakers, even higher efficiency is possible, though the maximum power you can achieve will be less. TPA3118 (sister chip of TPA3116) can deliver 2x30W without heatsink when mounted on a decent PCB.
I just noticed there is a new batch of boards with dual TPA3116 chips on eBay. I haven't seen any reviews of these yet...
I just noticed there is a new batch of boards with dual TPA3116 chips on eBay. I haven't seen any reviews of these yet...
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