Review on 🔊 Powerful and Sleek SMSL SA50 50Wx2 TDA7492 Class D Amplifier + Power Adapter (Black) by Ruben Weaver

Update 2019-06-19 - Still stable (and crash-free) after 18 months of daily use.=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - =- =-= -=-=-=-=- When I'm at my computer, I often listen to streaming music and MP3 files from ripped CDs - I don't listen to exotic music formats or special high-quality CDs. .Lately I've returned to a more serious perception of music after a hiatus of several years. As a result, I've recently begun to notice quality issues in the sub-$100 2.1 speaker system I used with my laptop. After spending a little time learning about the new 2.1 systems, I remembered that I had a nearly new pair of Bose 141 speakers sitting in the box unused. The 141s were very respected speakers for their time and probably of significantly better quality than most speakers I've looked at. The 141 speakers are not powered so I knew I would need a power amp to use them with my laptop. After doing a little research on power amps, I looked at the SA50. It turned out to have everything I needed at a reasonable price. The SA50 looks solid, and the power button and volume control look nice. The connections on the back are tight and solid. The device has been in production for several years, which gives the manufacturer time to fix the identified problems. There are no bass and treble controls, but I rarely use them. There is also no balance control, but the balance can be adjusted in the computer's sound control panel. So the simple layout of the SA50 works for me. People often worry about whether an amp is putting out enough power, and manufacturers certainly don't help sort this issue out. For example, the 141 speakers I use have characteristics that require a 10-80W receiver or amplifier output. So will the SA50 produce enough juice? And in general, how many watts does the SA50 put out? The manufacturer specifies 50 watts per channel for the SA50, one reviewer says 30, another says 19. In any case, I was sure that this was more than enough for my application. - to power small bookshelf speakers in the home office. I say that because I had a fairly powerful quad system (Marantz 4100) in the mid 70's that put out a whopping 25 watts per channel, albeit four channels. When I turned up the volume on the 4100, the four 50-pound speakers I connected to the 4100, each containing a 12-inch woofer, were loud enough to wake the dead. So I was confident that the SA50 would provide enough power for my little 141s. And the performance of the SA50* is more than adequate - zero volume on the SA50 is around the 7 o'clock position on the volume scale, a comfortable background listening level considering my setup is at the 8 o'clock position sounds awkward loud around 10 or 11 and the 100 mark. The % power looks like it's at the 5 o'clock position (not that I'm trying to get close to that volume). I've also added inexpensive groceries from Monoprice. subwoofer into the mix and added a USB DAC as an alternative to a simple cable from the laptop's headphone jack to the SA50. For what it's worth, *I* didn't hear a difference going through the DAC, but I did use it anyway. So how does the SA50 sound? Nothing but fantastic. No hiss or distortion I hear at volume levels I can (can) hear. Because the speakers are tilted toward my ears, when I'm sitting at my desk, I hear almost as if I'm wearing headphones, but without the pressure of the headphones on my ears and head. The SA50 and my speakers sound really great. For my application, I could have spent more on an amp for my 2.1 desktop speakers, but I doubt *I* could hear the difference.