Looking for advice on a small integrated amp

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jibs

Member
Jul 23, 2011
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I'm trying to replace my old, massive technics stereo receiver with something smaller and more streamlined. I'm looking for something simple, preferably with a headphone jack on the front and at least 1 rca and 1 optical or coax input. This will be used to play music from my computer. Here is my current setup:

HT Striker 7.1 sound card, Old technics stereo receiver, 2 polk audio book shelf speakers.

I currently run an optical cable from my sound card to the receiver, pretty straight forward. I have been reading about the following amps:

Teac a-h01
NAD D 3020
Emotiva mini x a-100
Audioengine N22
Nuforce Dia

The NAD and the Teac seem to be well reviewed and offer the closest connectivity options with digital and analog hookups, but they're a bit more money than I want to spend.

The Emotiva and Audioengine only have analog inputs, while the Nuforce only has digital inputs, and despite what the website says it seems like the front 3.5mm jack is not intended to be used for headphones.

I'm looking for some advice on any of these products, any products I might not have seen, or other suggestions on a setup for 2 small bookshelf speakers. I'm by no means an audiophile, I just want something to sound decent and not take up a tonne of space on my desk. As for my budget I would like to stay below $300 if possible.

Thanks
 
K

kornphlake

Golden Member
Dec 30, 2003
1,567
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There are several small amps with a USB input, since your digital source is a PC I believe this would be acceptable. Something like the Topping TP30.
 
Hail The Brain Slug

Hail The Brain Slug

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,883
3,313
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Out of curiosity, why does the amp have to have a headphone out? Do you want it to have decent headphone amplification or is it simply out of convenience? Do you not have a front panel headphone jack?

I ask because it seems like an unnecessary expense when you could use front panel audio instead. So does the optical audio. Do you not like the DAC that your sound card has? It's likely decent and that seems like another unnecessary expense in the amp department.

I went looking for a small amp to power some Klipsch RB-15 bookshelf speakers on my PC, and after a long while of judging price/performance between all the amp options, I picked one very simple but (so far) excellent option. I ordered one of these from eBay.

Link

It seems to have plenty of power for my needs and sounds good to me. It's obviously no replacement for a real home theater but when I sit 2 feet away from the speakers, it works great.


Edit: To clarify, I was looking from the perspective of cheapest options first when I searched. I tried one of these but despite the good reviews, I would never recommend one of them to anyone. It's a cheap chunk of plastic with unbalanced channels and a terrible, crackling volume "knob". I decided to return it and spend a little extra on that Indeed.
 
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J

jibs

Member
Jul 23, 2011
108
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Thanks for all the info everyone.

The headphone jack is something I would like because there are a few different people that use this computer, and I've found that trying to have them do things like plug into the computer just causes more problems for me. If there is a jack right in front of them that says headphones then they are less likely to screw something up...or call me to ask me which color port or which port from the left they plug into.

I don't mind the sound from my sound card, however about 6 months ago I switched from RCA cables to the optical out on my sound card and I noticed a difference in some of the music I listen to. I'm not dead set against going back to RCA, but if there is a viable option out there with a coax or optical in I would be interested.

I noticed the Indeed and the Topping amps, they seem to be solid products and get good reviews. I just recently found this unit and it has what I'm looking for is less expensive than any of the other units on my original list.

I'm going to look at the Topping and Indeed amps a bit more, they look pretty interesting. I'm also going to play around with my current setup, try going back to RCA's for a while and see how I like it.

Thanks again for all the help, it is much appreciated
 
Hail The Brain Slug

Hail The Brain Slug

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,883
3,313
146
That Topping TP31 does look like a nice unit. Keep in mind since you're coming from a class D amp (And it looks like the amps you were looking at initially are class D as well) that these tripath amps will have a different sound to them.

I haven't done much side-by-side, but my initial impressions are that my bookshelf speakers sound better on the tripath than on my receiver.
 
spacejamz

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,960
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XabanakFanatik said:
That Topping TP31 does look like a nice unit. Keep in mind since you're coming from a class D amp (And it looks like the amps you were looking at initially are class D as well) that these tripath amps will have a different sound to them.

I haven't done much side-by-side, but my initial impressions are that my bookshelf speakers sound better on the tripath than on my receiver.
Click to expand...

Do you keep your Class T amp on 24/7 or do you turn it off/on when you need to use it?
 
Hail The Brain Slug

Hail The Brain Slug

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,883
3,313
146
spacejamz said:
Do you keep your Class T amp on 24/7 or do you turn it off/on when you need to use it?
Click to expand...

A mix of both. I turn it off if I think about it, but a lot of times I forget about it and it gets left on for several days before I notice it. That usually happens when I get a skype message going "BLOOP" at 3 am.
 
J

jibs

Member
Jul 23, 2011
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sdifox said:
why are you replacing the Technics at all?
Click to expand...

I'm looking to replace it because it takes up 1/3 of my desk and there is no where else I can move it out of the way. I've also moved a few times in the last couple years and I'm getting tired of lugging it around, and it generates a lot of heat.

Thanks
 
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