Any suggestions on an inexpensive low powered (10W) speaker amp? I'm looking to use it with the Audio Nirvana speakers I built a while ago. I was thinking maybe a T-Amp.

Can't go wrong with the T-amps. This one looks rather nice....

Yep, T-Amp for cheap, decent sound.

If you decide to go moar later, then a PASS design might be nice.

However, A nice used NAD off ebay isn't a bad choice either. They made a nice 25 watt amp in the day, and they're reasonable used.

Edited February 6, 201214 yr by swt61

I was going to build a F1 with group buy boards on DIY but the guy that was running it either ran off with the money or died.

So many choices on Ebay, makes it tough. The Toppings look like a good option for the T-Class.

I'm curious how some of the Chinese tube amps are. The Yaqin amps have piqued my interest a bit, seems you can get just about any tube flavor you want.

Naaman, some T-amp stuff here too...http://diyparadise.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14

or http://diyaudioprojects.com/Chip/AMP6-DIY-T-Amp-Kit/

an then there is moar http://shop.41hz.com/shop/

I was going to build a F1 with group buy boards on DIY but the guy that was running it either ran off with the money or died.

So many choices on Ebay, makes it tough. The Toppings look like a good option for the T-Class.

I'm curious how some of the Chinese tube amps are. The Yaqin amps have piqued my interest a bit, seems you can get just about any tube flavor you want.

I have an 8-watt Qinpu A-3 tube hybrid that sounds pretty nice. Fang was selling them for $169 off Head-Direct.com

These have banana jacks plus a 1/8" pre-out in case you want to drive a powered sub. Plus it has both a 1/8" input and an RCA input (front panel switchable). The pre-out can drive some headphones, but the output impedance is fairly high and several low-impedance phones often sound bloated in the bass, while HD600 sound pretty good with it. It drives a Stax transformer fairly well, and paired nicely with my O2 Mk1.

I'm about to test the small DIY waters by building a Gainclone. I need it for 8k HZ up in a biamp arrangement, and it is possible that T-amps do not do well with high frequencies. http://www.stereophi...er-measurements

Peter Daniel was kind enough to advise me on how to massage it for the role.

Still, for about $21 US at Parts Express the Lepai Tripath even has a volume control.

Edited February 7, 201214 yr by Clarkmc2

Ordered a pair of Tripaths to try out from P-E. The Lepai and the DTA-100a

I still wonder if any of the Chinese tube amps in the $500 range are any good. Might have to take a gamble on one of them soon.

Do you **NEED** 10w? There are lots of DIY SET & PP amps that should work really well with single driver speakers, although mostly at lower power.

If you don't need all 10w, Check out Pete Millett's page for the Mighty midget for an example. Only ~3w, but it looks like it should be nice & easy to build.

I almost like the ~$500 Chinese speaker amps. They can sound pretty nice. My biggest complaint is that its difficult to know whether you are getting the version with all the nice parts, or one with a crappy power supply, or exactly what really. I'm also not really a fan of how absurdly tight the chassis are packed and consequently how hot they get.

If it's of no great secret, could you tell me/us which Audio Nirvana model did you use? Someday I might get the Super 12 or 8 for a DIY project. A fullrange driver would save me from all the crossover tinkering.

I'd be glad to hear how the T-amp decision works out as well.

Thanks! Btw, did you crank up those 10'000 Days?

Wait until you see his latest build! Pics to follow tomorrow.

Wait until you see his latest build! Pics to follow tomorrow.

You're evil!

Hey Naaman, This one is tempting!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAQIN-EL84-6P14-Class-Valve-Tube-Integrated-Amplifier-/250985641696?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6fe8f6e0#ht_2364wt_1139

If you're up for building something you might have a look at whether or not the Simple SE boards are still available (or just PTP it).

This maybe?

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2768277

Call me paranoid, but I have little faith in those Chinese valve amps, there is always the part lottery and most likely circuit designs are from the mid thirties. Sure, they will sound "toobey" as hell, but with all the tube (actually the whole circuit is to blame) associated negatives.

What about using a balanced Dynahi for such an application? From what I've seen it should have enough power, I'm just unsure if it will cope with such low impedance loads.

Wait until you see his latest build! Pics to follow tomorrow.

I'd be glad to hear how the T-amp decision works out as well.

Me too. I need something cheep to power some Realistic Minimus 11s, which seem to sound okay as nearfields in the little while I've spent with them.

Seems like I have a chance to inherit a couple of RRR S-90 speakers from my granpa-

31-20k, 8Ohm and 87dB sensitivity, therefore low power is out of the question for now. For powering them I will most likely get HifimeDIY T1 + SMPS300R. Won't be the best there is but it'll sure beat the heck out of my Creative 5.1 PC speakers.

Edited February 18, 201214 yr by RudeWolf

So, I need an amp as well and sorta want to decide on something fast, as I'm trying to decide between a couple other options and need to consider the entire budget.

I need a cheap balanced speaker amp. Actually, I need two and would treat them as monoblocks. It seems some of these chip amps will be fine with a differential input, so some could be modified I'd assume. Ideas?

Twin Darkstars FTMFW!

Twin Darkstars FTMFW!

Need moar blackgates.

I'm actually blown away by how good these cheap Tripath amps sound. Matched with a efficient speaker it's amazing what you can get for $20. I now understand why people like their RWA amps and also what a ripoff they are.

Too bad that it'll be an enormous hassle to get those Audio Nirvanas to Europe. And the next best thing seems Fostex FE166en and FE206en.