# Cheap small amp for computer speakers



## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

I am not building anything high end. Today I bought a pair of Polk Monitor 30 bookshelf speakers at Fry's for $50 (this sale is over today). Now I need to some kind of amplifier to power them. I thought of getting Dayton DTA-100A amplifier, but saw one bad review on overclock.net. I could always get a 2.1 Sherwood receiver, those are cheap, or even cheaper used receiver from a garage sale, but this will be option of the last resort because of the large size of a traditional receiver. Is there anything else more compact what could work for me?


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## Ray21 (Oct 19, 2009)

I got a Topping TP20 for ~$70 to power a pair of Cambridge S20s for my office setup. 
http://www.amazon.com/Topping-TP20-MK2-TA2020-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B00828UTE4

I haven't hooked it up yet but will next week. I've used a Dayton DTA-100A for about 2 years now and am happy with it - zero issues. I just got the Topping to try out something different/new.

From reviews, the Dayton is more powerful but the Topping "sounds better." I'll report back once I get some listening time in.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

Fostex makes one and it's on sale at Madisound:

The Madisound Speaker Store


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## Ray21 (Oct 19, 2009)

So I got my Topping T20 and Cambridge S20 set up at work. 


The Topping is a sweet little amp for the price. The Dayton dta-100 does seem to have more power but fit/finish, feel and sound is inferior to the Topping. Not sure what it is about the sound, but the Dayton just doesn't seem quite as dynamic somehow. Also the Dayton exhibits turn on/turn off pop and the Topping does not. 

For near-field listening, the power difference between the two would be negligible - the Topping gets more than loud enough. The Cambridge S20s are sealed and not exactly efficient (85 db). The amp drives them just fine. The Polk Monitor 30s have 89 db efficiency - given this the Topping would work just fine IMO. 



Ultimateherts said:


> Fostex makes one and it's on sale at Madisound:
> 
> The Madisound Speaker Store


The Fostex package overall looks pretty interesting and it has gotten some good reviews. I may try them out if I need a smaller setup in the future.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

The amplifier looks neat. I might buy T20 or the T21 (the version with a headphone jack). According to parts-express.com, the output is 14watts at 8ohm with 10% THD. So I assume this amplifier will produce only 10watts continuously (at 1% THD). I assume that's enough for computer speaker application.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

Silly me. The speakers have just arrived. It looks like I ordered the Polk R150 instead of Monitor 30. In the end, this won't make a whole lot of difference as a computer speaker.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

I picked up a Klipsch pro media 2.1 set for dirt cheap. I only use the amp and gain control. I power some Kef pointsources and a 8" sub, does really well.


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## Ray21 (Oct 19, 2009)

ZAKOH said:


> The amplifier looks neat. I might buy T20 or the T21 (the version with a headphone jack). According to parts-express.com, the output is 14watts at 8ohm with 10% THD. So I assume this amplifier will produce only 10watts continuously (at 1% THD). I assume that's enough for computer speaker application.


I assure you that it will provide plenty of power for your application. 

I really do enjoy the setup I have. I'm running an 8" sub also and it just sounds great overall.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

I was thinking of buying Topping T20 or T21 but then I found Dayton Audio's DTA-1 amplifier on parts express. It has pretty amazing reviews on PE, amazon, and youtube. It's price is only $35. Has anyone tried this one?


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

i bought the Lepai for like $20 and it powers my computer speakers fine, and i also brought it in to work and it it powered my work speakers fine too. They are giant 1980's era technics and fille a huge signshop.


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

I have the DTA-2. It works very well and I put the device inside my computer case. Leaving the volume knob turned up it's easy to use the keyboard volume. But this does mean I have to unplug it to turn it off.

I have it on 2 satellite speakers (mostly for TV). They get pretty loud and the amp has astounded me for being noise free. With the larger speaker of the Polk I would imagine it will be plenty loud but I doubt it will shake anything off your desk while having reasonable distortion levels.


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## chad1376 (Dec 27, 2012)

ZAKOH said:


> I was thinking of buying Topping T20 or T21 but then I found Dayton Audio's DTA-1 amplifier on parts express. It has pretty amazing reviews on PE, amazon, and youtube. It's price is only $35. Has anyone tried this one?


I've been using the DT1 for many years for my work PC speakers. It's a nice little amp, but I've never had the opportunity to "push" it or really do critical listening, For all-day low level listening, it works great. 

I just ordered the DT100 for my stereo HT. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

I am not building a super-sq system for computer, so I think I might get the DTA-1, which costs only $35 against Topping's TP21 for $80. The idea of a bookshelf speaker setup for a PC sounds pretty sweet for under $100. Next time around I might look into Topping amp when I get or build better bookshelf speakers.


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

Micca MB42x and a Lepai 2020 are heading my way


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