The BEST audio amplifier boards and kits tested so far
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- After testing several low cost amplifier kits and boards, I make my picks for the ones I think are the best. Amplifiers can be found from the usual sources (ebay, Banggood, Aliexpress, ect.). I posted the links to the winning video reviews at the bottom of this description (don't read before watching or you'll spoil the video).
A few people have asked me how they can support my channel. I have set up a Patreon page for those who wish to help. www.patreon.com/user?u=12254451
Electronics/gifts can be sent to: JohnAudioTech, PO box 362, Vandalia, OH 45377
Email: johnaudiotech@gmail.com (response to messages may take a while) Thank You!
Video review links to the winning amplifiers:
TPA3116 D2 mono • TPA3116 D2 mono audio ...
Breeze Audio • Breeze Audio TPA3116 m...
LM1875 • LM1875 IC audio amplif...
TDA7293 • TDA7293 100 watt audio... 
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Great videos John. I appreciate the time you take and the wisdom you share in doing these reviews. Your honest and casual take on the in-depth explanations you provide make it fun and easy to learn and understand, even for a novice. You are the inspiration for my new hobby and I can't thank you enough. Please keep the videos coming!
You must keep it up!!! We are supporting you! I love your videos.I'm 16 years old and I am learning new things with every video you upload!
Your channel is amazing, I always come here first before buying an amplifier from eBay
(And I also love the LM1875, I just don't have enough speakers to use so many of them haha)
I really appreciate this video, John. After buying a real ho-hum board online, I was scared off buying pre-builts. Your insights and thorough testing have changed that. Thank you.
Congrats for the video! I'm from Brazil and I learned so much about amps here! Keep this stuff dude, do what you like to do...
I'd be interested in an amp troubleshooting series, perhaps how to use a scope to troubleshoot ground loops, reduce noise, determining if distortion is audible. How to determine what component to mod/upgrade for better amp performance. Maybe even go into power supply design, linear vs PWM. Keep up the great work!
Super intrested on your amp build,.... Can't wait...
Thanks John,
I appreciate all your info from your reviews.
When you spoke of the -7293 I was intrigued by TDA'S data sheets which on g. #11.
In the BTL Paragraph it states that both the -7293 & -7294 I.C.S work better into 16 & 32 ohm loads than 4 ohms.
Super for me as I own 2pair of Bose 301-2' & 2 pair of Yamaha 8" 3 ways.
When using the '93 mono locks, as you stated it approached 95 watts power @1 pct. the
Bravo for your review
I use my 2 -7294 stereo amps with line level converters with my Sansui QRX 6501. I use the line converters to A): unload the Sansuis aged amps & not over load the 7294 front end & I added a Polk PW-10 powered sub.
And both amps now drive 16 ohm loads with ease.
Thanks for the info . .an LM 1875 is next on the buy sheet
Happy memorial day festivities to you & all here.
Brian
Great video, thank you very much! Was waiting for this one.
Hi John. I really appreciate all your videos. Don't get discouraged about your ad revenue, these things happen and they have their fluctuations. Hope to see more awesome content from your channel.
great video as always John. I went from knowing nothing about chip amps to knowing enough to build my own from you. enjoying the discrete amp build as well.
Thanks so much for your insight full comparison. Would love to see a comparison of stereo only boards in the future if you can.
Thanks for your work - I believe you will break another level and get even more viewers with your great content.
I appreciate your service @John thanks for what you are doing for us.
Nice round-up of amp modules John, thanks for your effort again.
Thanks for the review of the TDA 7293.
I, TOO, foud it to be a ount sized powerhouse
I did, however, find one VERY serious design fault in both it & the TDA 7294 IC'S
IT is a design issue i believe where in the entire wattage of EITHER or both rails were load dumped into the loudspeakers
Initially i thought it was a thermal shutdown flaw.
Fortunately, with both ic's, it happened whilst driving 200 watt, 8 ohn, non-inductive resistors during an extended 40% load curve for 6 hrs.
Assisted cooling was provided along with a prototype device specific hear removal system.
It was tested that way to simulate vehicular applications.
I used2 fuses, both rails, plus BOTH A remote breaker & a 3.5 a skoblo @the speaker.
Later on, a dc offset sensor relay circuit was added
30a, 250v dpst onron.
NO BLOWN drivers or fuses.
A few breaker pops, though.
Thanks ahmgain.
BRIAN.
My aoologies for the TYPOS.
I bought a couple three amps after watching your reviews actually four two kinter's one had the fm stereo with remote love it and the small board with the single volume knob works good not perfect but ok anyway I think your channel is a great service.
Such an informational video glad to have luckily stumbled onto this video. Great information for a newbie like me. thank you
Recently made an art-project with seven diy speakers. So glad I found your channel. Went with the TPA3116 D2 mono because of the single supply. Subscribed! :D
Found your channel while looking for small individual amps to replace an OEM factory amp. The big problem is the need for over 12v to get adequate performance. You might consider expanding into videos about solving usage problems like that: testing cheap DC-DC converters with amps, testing line level crossovers for driving bi and tri ampped separates, etc.
Once someone has chosen the small amp they need, there isn't a big need to watch more other than morbid curiosity 😄
Just started watching your vids great info don't change your format.
im glad that my board make it to the final 5 haha. ive waited till the end
Keep it up please John. Your stuff is really appreciated.
John really appreciate your channel... would you be able to do a bluetooth amp showdown?
Hey cool. I live about an hour from you. That’s awesome. Next time I’m at WrightPat I’ll try to reach out and drop you off some items instead of mailing them.
Thanks for your great, honest reviews and help.
God Bless
Lots of people are running ad blockers now. I've seen the same thing happen to me.
Keep up the good videos, I appreciate them.
Cheers!
I use unblock origin but I disable it for youtube in order to support content creators.
Thanks for the video. This clears up a lot of questions about these amps. I have a couple of the TDA7293's and also a few of the LM1875's. I thought they would be good for homebrew desktop monitors.. From your process of elimination it looks like I picked good ones. I guess I'll go ahead and finish the projects now that I know they should sound pretty good and not start a fire. LOL Thanks again.
The first amp you chucked I did build but I did change the inductors and a couple of capacitors. For what it is was OK for what I wanted at the time
Worthwhile review John. I have a couple of these little buggers. Lots of fun for little outlay...
Hey John, awesome channel! I have the PAM8403 and the LM1875 and I agree with you. They are really nice sounding amps for their designed purpose. Keep up the great work!
How do you power the amp? I was looking around for a AC/AC power brick but the amperage was only 100 - 300mA.
@Tenus123 First and foremost, be sure to use DC power. For the PAM8403 amp, I use a 5V LM7805 voltage regulator chip with a 9V battery. For the LM1875, I used bench power supply. For the LM1875, I suppose you could use a old power brick from something like a laptop. They usually output around 18V DC and 3A.
I once built a stereo amp using the LM1875's and I supplied it with split rail +/- 30VDC at around 3 amps. I'm pretty sure the LM1875 needs split rail supply.
Hello friend IAM using the PAM Amplifier since last 6 months and I had no problems and no noise at all they are so nice after all , IAM getting very good clarity..
Great review as always. I've used a bunch of boards myself for many projects but this saved me a lot of time having to play the lottery with all these boards that are available. I've used the TPA3116 myself and it's for sure a great little board. I'll have to check out that tiny one to make a small super portable speaker! Thanks again!
Hello John, that bloke from across the pond again. Yours is the only channel regarding amps I watch. I trust your knowledge and I prefer your presentation. I do wish you would dispell the myth that ALL D Class are noisy, there are good and bad in all amps. Many of the amps I bought as kits or ready built because you felt they were pretty good, no doubt some are fake. I'm glad you picked the TPA3116 as my little £3.70 ($4.70) one off EBAY although the cheapest is rather nice once the gain is fixed - 5 minutes. (On another RUclips vid). At that price I would recommend it to get started with. My most expensive amp was £14.43 ($18.43), it's the TDA7498E 2 x 160W (?). Not tried that yet. I have a 2 x 100W twin TPA3116 bridged amps that is OK. Incidently John there is a TDA7498 - 2 x 100W (?) at $7.84 on EBAY if you fancy testing a 'biggy'. I try to choose those with gain adjustment. I still miss my EL34's. Regards
Thank you so much took the guesswork of out of a lot of things
Nice evaluation and conclusion. Thanks. One request can suggest one good Bluetooth stereo amp board ranging from 30w to 50 watts RMS. Pl
keep up the good work , we need honest reviews ... thanks for sharing!
great video John, but would you consider selling the TDA8946 mixer board. I looked around and couldn't find one, that would fit perfectly for what I want to do. thanks mike
I built the little TDA7297 15w x2 stereo amp kit and i was kind of impressed for the price, under $5 USD. .And even though its only 8 ohm, most smaller speakers are only 8 ohm.
Hey John, Great review!
I needed some advice from you though: i Had a single TDA7498 AMp that worked well on it's own (3+years)
Then i decided to add one more with a common power supply and added 2 pre amps one for each.
But issue is both amps burnt off when my rca cables moved and made some noise.
I never had this problem when running a single amp.
I suppose it's some grounding issue?
All connections done were the same as the single amp setup except now both amps sit on the same PSU
TIA
I bought a stereo board from Taobao where it says the board was from a acassette player. Said to be 80wpc, dual 18 to 22vac source, most significantly, 4 pcs of Hitachi 2SD1185 transistors. My best buy so far incl tda 7498, lm3886, Stk4050 V etc. I use it to driver my quad jbl 4320 16 ohm rig. Really impressive, leaving my high end amps behind, e. g. NAKamichi p7, and tube amps McIntosh mc 240 and my trusted Ampex 6973 monoblocs. John's channel is superb and most credible one in terms of his analyses and comments. But even he says he's a bit weird huh?
One amplifier I think that deserves serious attention, and I dont know whether you have tested one, or are familiar with, is one I purchased recently, the Wuzhi Audio ZK-1002L. I was exceptionally impressed with it's sound and performance. It boasts 100W RMS x 2, and utilizes dual 3116 chips. I don't know whether it's advertised power is exaggerated and sensationalized, as I believe most of these amplifiers coming out of China are, but I would very be curious to see actual dyno results for it's actual power results, because it does perform quite well considering it's modest price of about $8.00 USD.
I mounted it with hot glue on a .5 cubic foot box I built out of 3/4" MDF, with a pair of older Jensen coaxial 6.5" 4 ohm car speakers I had laying around in the garage, and powering it with a 4.74A 19V DC power supply adapter, which I also hot glued onto the top of the enclosure. (It is designed to be used with a power supply between 12V and 24V.)
I built this portable bluetooth speaker in all of about two hours for my wife, who complained about the poor sound quality, and low volume levels that could be achieved with the several bluetooth speakers we had purchased, that were not working well for her. Of course, she has been spoiled by listening to music on my expertly restored, vintage Marantz 2253b receiver, and Advent heritage speakers with a JBL powered subwoofer. And she is very satisfied with the exceptional sound quality of this home built project, and takes it everywhere she goes with her. Many people have remarked about the rich sound, and I could not possibly fill the many orders from friends asking me to build them one similar. I just simply provide the link for the amplifier on Aliexpress, outline a basic construction plan, and refer them to buy any decent 6-1/2" car speakers. Otherwise this would be my full time occupation, filling orders for bluetooth speakers. LOL!
I built this for my wife, who wanted something portable that she could carry around with her, and plug into an AC 110V receptacle anywhere, (which I mounted a leather carrying strap made from an old belt) that would provide decent bass, and good quality, true stereo sound, and would conveniently connect to her cellphone for playing music.
If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend this versatile bluetooth amplifier board, that comes presoldered, with only one pot for a simple volume control, a plug for the adapter, simple screw down speaker wire connectors, and a top lid that you assemble with screws provided. I think you would be quite impressed with it's quality and value.
Any chance to see DIY mic pre-amps with 12v DC videos?
Thanks for this! do you have a 2020 version of this video or new favorites?
-Thakns!
I saw those two direct-coupled class-AB boards there from the start and guessed you would be keeping those ones. Most of the industrys' leading PAs are direct-coupled.
Thank you John for all your efforts on these modules. There's such a mass of stuff coming out of China and you just don't know if the description is all its cracked up to be. Recently my bookshelf sized computer speakers (active Microlab) speakers stopped working due to the silly remote control input selection. in the end it was easier to disconnect the stupid amp inside the one with it and added some external terminal posts wired direct to the x-over. The original amp remains inside for now... All i needed was a simple external amp and i came here to your channel for a suggestion. Because i have a few parts and pieces to hand i cobbled up a TDA7377 and its doing well enough. Will be following your own amp build...for sure.
peteb2 I have some PC speakers that ALSO have ‘lost’ their internal amp. I have considered doing exactly as you have - making an external amp and simply putting terminals on the back of each speaker.
Awesome work brother
Many Thanks, I'm just in the process of buying one of these prebuilt boards or kits & looking around for pointers to the very best of the many out there now, i see a massive range on eBay from China. I'll be checking up your other vids as i'm new here p.s. i.m.o. even for 8 ohm or 16 ohm speakers ....amps that can't easily handle 4 ohm speakers are to be avoided, if all else is right, it seems to be that the power supply isn't stiff enough as in ultra-budget stuff, i've always gone to the power supply first to upgrade an amplifiers sound quality. Gr8 vid & very informative
I would really like to see you do something on a platform like Patreon, where a private community forum could be established. Great video, as always.
Man....you have all circuit...
Thanks for you video...
Great video. Thanks.
Good job 👌 thanks for video. I have a tda 7293 audio amplifier on ac input direct from torus transformer, 2x30v. I make for a mouth this amplifier
well....I like the sorting and all that...great job.
For replacement of the TDA2822 amplifier board, you can try out TEA2025 ic, it has 16 pins, it is a stereo class AB chip, gives clean 2.5w+2.5w power and 5w in bridge mode (it can be bridged very easily)....and the quality is very good compared to TDA2822....I had made the board(TEA2025) previously and satisfied by the results.
Thanks John i really enjoy your reviews and tutorials, became a patreon to help you keep up the good work you do👍
I have the TA2024 at 7:20 for some years now and is connected to a TV Tuner (Winfast TV PRO II) and large speakers.
When the power drops it make that "squeak" very loud.
I've thought maybe mine is faulty somehow but now i heard you about that squeak and yes, it's the board fault :)
(worked at least 5 years plugged nonstop - no heatsink added, just the plain board)
Great video John! Very helpful! Have you measured the PAM8406 board before? If so, how did it measure and sound? Also, the Drok TDA 7377 pro2. Any concerns with either of these for a small desktop pair of speakers. I'm using USB 5V to power the Pam8406 and will use a 18V power supply with the TDA 7377 pro2.
Great video, John! I follow your channel and I've learned a lot from your videos, keep up this good work.
16:16 "and here you go, the 5 winners"
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏
the power (3 wire) caused me more trouble then the effort... I'm a total novice so found a board that suited 9v - 24v jack input more suited to my pull apart and re-build stuff.... anyway, cheers. love ya work
TPA8610, i just pput that inside a desktop pc speaker along with battery, a boost converter and a bluetooth module. WOrks like A CHARM, not a shred of noise even at full load. It is driving a 4ohm speaker at 12v but I hope to replace it with an 8 ohm soon. It is VERY loud, especially for its size.
Another test , would be to increase the voltage, past the specifications to see if you can get more power before destruction
I would agree. The 3116 are very quiet with clean power supply. I would like to see more. Headphone and maybe some preamps.
perfect video...... Thanks for sharing your knowledge, please review TDA8954 board...
Hi what would you recommend for clean lowest distortion amp at lower/higher volumes for best audio between your winners or any other DIY amp module available?
Hey John - How about a review on some of the numerous LM3886 amp boards. These can run the gamut from a very small footprint to larger implementations. Seems this is a very popular chip and the newbies might want to know what's out there in 2019. Thx. First time viewer and just subscribed. Nice review of these amps, as I have a collection too. Most still in the box. :)
I've never liked class D amp got to love the older amplifier. Great video
yes class ab FTw
Great review - Thank you.
The only chip I see missing was the LM3886. I would have liked to have seen that in the list.
Yes, that is one of my favorite audio ICs but hadn't tested a board with one at the time.
@@JohnAudioTech No problem - Thanks for your reponse. Best wishes from the UK
I guess that why impedance matching transformers are use. also it help effecnicy of the amplifier when it diving low impedance loads that it is not design for.
Thank you so much for this and all your videos! I would like to ask a question to you or really anyone on here about a recommendation for a good sounding and powerful enough amp for a boombox that I could build for my daughter that starts college in the fall. I don't think I have the skills to build a board kit itself but I could build the box do the wiring etc. Also, if anyone has recommendations on speakers and crossovers that would be great as well. Lol, it sounds like I want someone to build it for me but that's not it I just don't want the thing to catch fire etc. :)
Have you tried or tested the JLM L20 V9.2 board?. I think you will find they are the most natural, low distortion, "straight wire with gain" amps around. They are based on Douglas Self's amplifier design. Thanks for all your videos and testing.
thanks for this
Good Job!! Subscribed!
Nice selection. Can you tell me if a 155VA transformer could power two 7293 boards in 8ohms speakers?
A video on where to source suitable power supplies (ready made or kits). I have no problem obtaining the amps but power supplies seem to be more difficult to source.
If you have the space you could use computer power supply’s. I use two to get 24 volts not the most elegant solution but it works perfect
Which one will you recommend to make Bluetooth surrounding rear speakers? And what transmitter can pair up together
For the price it is what it is, I've had a few that worked fine but most just fail on me and I use the proper voltage.
Great video. Try out mono TPA3116 board for less than 2 dollars on aliexpress. They are great but they like to oscillate when messy wiring. Speakers are not touched but coil gets very hot.
That sounds like one to avoid!
what is the best tda chip for 4ohm - 2 ohm load?
Is there any significant difference between these amps and a PA amp (aside from wattage)? Like the type that musicians use for performances -- they mic their smaller guitar/bass amps and send that through a larger power PA.
Which class d stereo board (2.0) would you currently recommend?
Subscribed. But I have a request: Can you try the TDA7293 on parallel mode? I wonder how much power they can actually put out. STMicroelectronics says you can put out very high power on very low impedances!
If the results are feasible I'm going to try a very high power class AB amp. Just for fun.
Thank you. I'm looking for a good low powered amp. Cheers from Aotearoa NZ.
You are Top G guy thanks very helpful
Hi John, Do you have Tone control board review videos ? Thanks
what amp would you recommend for single subwoofer,speaker wattage,300 watts and below?
I can confirm that the cased "Breeze Audio" amplifier is a very good product. At least the later versions with 35V rated capacitors inside. The earlier versions with 25V rated caps, could cause some problems with a 24V power supply. Run them at 19V, and they will go on for a long time. I use the Breeze amp for my TV-set, and it has been turned on for more than 3 years now. And no problems so far. The only drawback (at least for me) is the typo-error in the back. How is it possible to write "SPERKERS" when it should be "SPEAKERS", on a such nice piece of aluminium chassis?
Can you advise a pre-amp & amp boards to drive two 8ohm speakers in a 1960 record player. There is 18v AC but O could fit a small DC PSU if required
@JohnAudioTech - simply question. Which amplifier (class D) have smaller noise? (now I have pam8610 and its have a lot of noise sound :( )
Fantastic video, I'm going to go for the lm1875 based off your reccomendation.
I've found the kits online, however I was wondering what power supply you recommend? I don't mind if that's a diy kit as well, but then I'll have to buy a separate torroidal transformer I assume?
Is there something off the shelf you recommend?
Since it requires a split supply with a positive and negative voltage, you will likely have to roll your own supply. A torroidal transformer is a good start.
Pertaining to the Kinter MA-170: Hogwash. I routinely push 4 ohm loads with my 170s (I have four around the house) and have done so, sometimes for hours on end, for getting on five years now. I wouldn't have thought to try it, either, if the spec sheet hadn't specifically said it could.
I opened my MA-170 and found it uses the TDA7266 amplifier IC. Looking at the datasheet for that IC, it has a limited current rating and is not specified to handle 4 ohm loads. In older versions of this amplifier, they used a better IC that could handle 4 ohm speakers with no problem.
@@JohnAudioTech Fair enough... I've opened one of mine, and apart from the case doubling as the heat sink, had no complaints. Any idea when they switched over? Been thinking of buying a couple more of them, possibly going back to the red case version, if it's old stock.
@@LarryTheTubaBoy I reviewed one a few years ago. Someone else reviewed one before I did and it had a different IC. It could have changed yet again if it is still in production.
And suggestion which one of these would be a great replacement for the onboard amps in these chinese suitcase turntables (like that Crosley Cruiser) because the onboard amps seem to generally cut off low frequencies (not just for the speakers, which makes sense but EVEN through the RCA and headphone output. Which is insane. So i'd love to mod one of these little suitcase turntables to get at least a BIT of better sound out of them. Especially with a swapped pickup & cartridge.
Hi, can you tell me if if you need an insulater on the back of the TDA 7294 and the heatsink to ground regards John.
Have you ever the considered testing the Jean Hiraga 30W class A power amplifier
Great...Gr8...Job! All contenders in one place! And the winner is 1.LM1875, 2.TDA7293 3.PAM8403 (for low vol. 5v)! Can you tell me where to buy from best online service? I want to see your next videos on, "How to assemble Amp. (mentioned above) to the Bluetooth MP3 player/Receiver!
What do you recommend for a decent, low cost ANALOG amplifier for my truck?
I would love to buy TPA3116D2 mono board. Excellent quality, pcb with ground plane, high current capable shielded chokes, Large heatsink, higher quality caps and of course those chunky connectors for better and noise proof connections - package comes in cheap like $6 here in Bangladesh. Class D is more efficient than class A so this might be the board for home and party applications and sound systems.
can you recommend a stereo amplifier board I can use for 2x15w 6Ω speakers ? From Aliexpress, banggood, ... max $15. It will be my first DIY audio project. Thank you.
Nice .. is there a decent 4.1 amp that is bluetooth with bass and treble controllers.. I want it for my car ..
2.1 Bluetooth Boards is what everyone is looking for - that could help with your views.
Also consider doing a shootout. So always test two boards at a time and then declare the winner. You could also reuse the winner and make shootout with the next challenger.
You could also start a pointing system awarding points for low noise, linearity, power, features, heat dissipation, handling lower impedance loads, efficiency and so on.
Just a few thoughts - maybe it helps.
Bluetooth boards can be bodged in if needed, which I think is a viable solution if youre into the DIY market anyways.
Confusedsoul24 you are provided good advise! John' videos are providing a valuable service for tech builders.
I'm actually looking for an amp with a built in phono stage.
@@bobert4522
I need an advice: can I take an audio amplifier board and sold a female 3.5 jack connector to left and right output contacts (to play the audio through headphones instead of speakers)?
Thanks in advance.
I'm not sure if the bluetooth is good in the frequency response compared to wired connections... I could be wrong though
That 100w class D and 5 others didn't pass my tests but a different version of that 150w class D did and it did not require any mods for bass...it also has 2 instead of 1 power input diodes...it looks almost identical and has HW-446 instead of V4 printed on it. Still only 60 watts into 4 ohms @ 24 vdc though...
Hey John, I have a 2.1 10,000 sayona home theater system.
I want to improve its base performance.
What is the best board to use?
10000w?
Hey John, I have a couple questions.
1. have you tried the Hifiberry Amp4? I've been using this and I like it a lot. I power it with a 15V audio grade power supply, and use it on 8 ohm speakers. It does not seem to get hot.
2. why do you prefer 4 ohm speakers?