<$100 (<$50) Digital Amps

neobium

Member
I'm curious about this space of cheap digital amps. I was watching a YouTuber making his own speakers, and pairing them with inexpensive amps for a bargain basement entry into "decent" audio. He was playing with Lepai and Dayton Audio. Others brought up SMSL.

I poked around on Amazon and found one from DROK, which seems to be know better for their kits, which get good reviews. Has anyone used one of these, and if so, how does it compare to the others mentioned?

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Ampl...el-DC8-25V/dp/B01MU2JH4I/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t
 
I see it doesn't come with a power supply, which helps to explain the low cost. The power supply is usually the heavies and most expensive part of any amp. It's also generally the most important part of the amp.
 
I have the SMSL SA-36A Pro running my desktop system and I'm pretty happy with it. Amazing how much power fits in that tiny chassis. Nice case and build quality too. It was under $50 with power supply
 
I have the SMSL SA-36A Pro running my desktop system and I'm pretty happy with it. Amazing how much power fits in that tiny chassis. Nice case and build quality too. It was under $50 with power supply

Another good recommendation, I had the 36A Pro and really liked it at work, sold it to a co worker when I moved on to a Bluetooth equipped 3116 board.

Apparently the newer 36A Pro do not use the 3116 chip anymore and some say they are worse off for it. Mine was an earlier one that probably had the 3116 and I think the DIY amp I built for less from the board I linked above sounds a bit better.
 
Another good recommendation, I had the 36A Pro and really liked it at work, sold it to a co worker when I moved on to a Bluetooth equipped 3116 board.

Apparently the newer 36A Pro do not use the 3116 chip anymore and some say they are worse off for it. Mine was an earlier one that probably had the 3116 and I think the DIY amp I built for less from the board I linked above sounds a bit better.

Interesting. I guess I should open my 36A pro and see which chip I have...
 
Back
Top Bottom