Question Looking for the best Stereo Amplifier for under 100 Euro

ohpaddy

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The title says it all, looking for a budget amp for a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's. I'm building my first hi-fi system mainly to use for my pc and for playing music. I'm going to buy a bluetooth thingy to connect to the amp later on so I can also stream through my phone. Basically I am looking for the cheapest thing possible with the best sound quality possible, I really dont care about any features.
 
Under €100 is difficult. There are probably the best Brand Name Amp available -

Pioneer SX20 Receiver - Superfi

Denon PMA520AE Amplifier - Superfi

There are a variety of low powered but good sounding T-Amps around - Topping Lepai, SMSL, and others. While the power is generally low, they are exceptionally compact, and sound very good.

Amazon.co.uk: Lepai amplifier

Amazon.co.uk: Topping amplifier

Amazon.co.uk: SMSL amplifier

This SMSL Amp is £115 and has Optical and USB inputs, as well as Bluetooth built in.

SMSL AD18 80Wx2 Bluetooth 4.2 HIFI USB DSP Full Digital Decoding Power Amplifier Optical Coaxial Input: Amazon.co.uk: Hi-Fi & Speakers

The power on these tends to be exaggerated, but by a more common standard this SMSL amp has a fair amount of power for the money. (est. 35w/ch to 40w/ch) And amp like this is pretty much geared toward use with a computer that requires a compact size.

Let me know what you think about these options?

Steve/bluewizard
 
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S/h is probably the best way to go with your budget,

This is easier place anywhere and has a very good rep and respectable power output.

Monitor Audio A100 Stereo Integrated Amplifier with Apple airplay

This is an excellent price. Great amp too; it'll get the best from your 9.1s.

Cambridge Audio Topaz SR10 V2 Stereo Receiver - Ref: 106 | eBay

As is this one. Again, no shortage of drive.

Cambridge Audio A500 RC 4 Channel Stereo Amplifier Audiophile Hifi British

Under €100 is difficult. There are probably the best Brand Name Amp available -

Pioneer SX20 Receiver - Superfi

Denon PMA520AE Amplifier - Superfi

There are a variety of low powered but good sounding T-Amps around - Topping Lepai, SMSL, and others. While the power is generally low, they are exceptionally compact, and sound very good.

Amazon.co.uk: Lepai amplifier

Amazon.co.uk: Topping amplifier

Amazon.co.uk: SMSL amplifier

This SMSL Amp is £115 and has Optical and USB inputs, as well as Bluetooth built in.

SMSL AD18 80Wx2 Bluetooth 4.2 HIFI USB DSP Full Digital Decoding Power Amplifier Optical Coaxial Input: Amazon.co.uk: Hi-Fi & Speakers

The power on these tends to be exaggerated, but by a more common standard this SMSL amp has a fair amount of power for the money. (est. 35w/ch to 40w/ch) And amp like this is pretty much geared toward use with a computer that requires a compact size.

Let me know what you think about these options?

Steve/bluewizard

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've been research this for a couple hours today and also came across the Lepai and the Topping amps as the cheapest ones. I also went on ebay and there seams to be tons of sub 100 euro cambridge amps.

All considered I might actually go for the Lepai for now, since my budget is really really really tight right now. I'd swear but since i'm new on this forum I wont. I'll go for that 25 euro amp that hopefully wont burn down my house and then upgrade in the future and try to get myself a decent amp.

Edit: Or I might actually go for this SMSL Amp instead for around 50 pounds. It says it has 2x50watt channels so if its anywhere close enough to that and the audio quality is decent it sounds like it will be worth the extra 30ish euro over the Lepai.
 
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Thanks for all the suggestions mate. Hopefully I'll manage to get everything up and running by myself once I get the amp and speakers and cables in.
 
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I see one slight issue with the mini amps and your requirements and that is inputs. They generally have one inout including the one you are looking to get and you seem to require at least 2. Changing connection every time you want to listen another source i can see getting tedious and increases potential of damaging connection if rushing.



This looks to be more suited for the cause.

The usb could be used for the PC which would be better than using headphone output and or the generic optional soundcard than can be added separately. Onboard bluetooth (aptx would be best but will need to check to see if its supported ) will save you buying an external one and cables. 2 digital inputs (optical could be used for TV) and an analogue connection for whatever extra source you may have or want to add in the future.

Yes it may cost a bit more but not overly and you get a fair amount for the money.


It also looks ideal for my log cabin :D.
 
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In case you are wondering about the sound quality of these tiny Lepai T-Amps, here is a video of a Lepai TA2020A+ driving some Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 (6.5", 165mm) speakers. As long as you don't push these amps into clipping, they sound very good.





Keep in mind, on that particular amp, the true power is at best 10w/ch. But on a desktop for nearfield listening at reasonable volumes, and considering the lower price, these are pretty impressive.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Those 2 videos illustrate my point. Is that a real grand piano or a 1980's electric piano being played there? I can't tell. Impossible to say if that's down to limitations in the recording, the source, the amplifier, the speakers, the microphone or all 5 put together.

A good system with a good amplifier will put an invisible grand piano right there in your listening room.
 
The £99 Sansui 310 I mentioned in post #14 will do it when matched with good speakers.

Earlier today I put a £10 maximum bid on an amplifier on ebay. If I win it I'll be looking to bake it off against anyone with Naim NAP 500 level amplification and would be mildly disappointed if it lost.
 
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Hi...B&K EX442 power amplifier can be had for $400 - $500 used. It's 200 wpc into 8 Ohms, provides plenty of current, and it has balanced inputs and a detachable power cord.You can get a B&K Pro-10 preamplifier for about $400 used to finish off the system.
 
Seriously when you are very limited in budget, second hand,cash converters or similar is the way to go. An old style AVR recievers, from any of the premium brands which would have been 500 quid list, can be got under your budget.
The Belfast Cash Convertor has a Harmon kardon AVR 340 I think including dvd player, at 130 ,it's list would have been 800 . I have got at different times recently ...a Sony at 40 euro, a Yamaha at 70 and a set of pristine MA MR2 speakers at 50 STL, a set of elac floor mounting speakers at 30 euro, and a pair of Leak speakers for 30 euro. They are in different rooms in different houses!!.

When I started answer I had not realised thar except for the preceding posting, the rest was 18 months old!!. I am sure the person has been sorted out by now.
 
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Though in a very compact form, you won't do much better than this for that modest amount of money - SMSL AS18 -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AD18-Stereo-Amplifier-Bluetooth-Subwoofer/dp/B071JN7GXN/

Let's see if I can find that in Germany so we can see the price in EUROs -

https://www.amazon.de/SMSL-Verstärker-Bluetooth-Unterstützt-Lautsprecher/dp/B073RY78ZF/

That is more than you want to spend, but at under €100, you choices are really very slim.

SMSL makes quite a range of amps, so with significant power, but these are all tiny compact amps -

Shenzhen ShuangMuSanLin Electronic Co., Ltd.

The Power tends to be inflated, so figure the real power is about Half what they claim, but then ... how much power do you really need?

This ...as an example... is an immensely powerful amp ...for tiny compact amps. They claim 160w/ch, so you can probably count on a solid 70w/ch to 80w/ch. (€117) -

https://www.amazon.fr/SA-98E-TDA7498E-Amplificateur-puissance-numérique/dp/B06X93PWR5/

Shenzhen ShuangMuSanLin Electronic Co., Ltd.

Checking Amazon-FR and Amazon-DE, the Denon PMA520 and the Pioneer SX20 while cheap in the UK, are about double your budget in Europe.

If you insist on that low budget, I suspect that the SMSL and similar are about your only choice if you want a decent amp.

The SMSL AS18 has lots of features, and a pretty solid 40w/ch - DAC, USB, Bluetooth, AUX, Remote Control, etc.... A bit over budget, but seemingly a decent amp in a very compact size.



Shenzhen ShuangMuSanLin Electronic Co., Ltd.

This SMSL has a DAC as well as an Amp -

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06X93PZ2W/

This SMSL has a Sub-Out if that matters to you -

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B079DLJJ3C/

These are about 20w/ch to 8 ohms, but for a modest system, that's fine.

The Lepia in the video driving the Wharfedale speakers is only about 10w/ch to 8 ohms -

https://www.amazon.de/LEPY-LP-2020A-Stereo-Verstärker-schwarz/dp/B012NR4SBE/

And it only costs a very modest €27.

At under €100 you choices are going to be limited ...unless... you want to start looking at USED equipment.

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&url=search-alias=electronics&field-keywords=lepai+2020


To get prices in EURO's search AMAZON-FR or AMAZON-DE to get Euro price.

SMSL Amps -

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_s...id=1VZ4G25UIP1Q6&rh=n:562066,k:smsl+amplifier

Lepai Amps -

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_n...Lepai+amplifier&rh=n:562066,k:Lepai+amplifier

Topping Amps -

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ing+amplifier&rh=n:562066,k:Topping+amplifier

While these compact T-Amps are very nicely priced and sound good, they do have a limited number of inputs.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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