Review on Nobsound Dual TPA3116 Digital Power Amplifier - High-Fidelity Stereo Amp With NE5532P Pre-Amp, Audiophile-Grade 2.0 Channel And 100W×2 Output (Black) by Braden Douville

This looks to be a very well-built mini-amp. The tiny rubber/plastic feet keep it from slipping around on my entertainment center, and the speaker connections will accommodate bare wire or banana plugs, but since they're small and closely spaced, banana plugs are much easier for me to use. I also need to use a DAC to connect to my TV which has a coaxial audio output only.The reason I bought this amp was because I had read somewhere that amps with the TPA3116 chips have better sound quality than the Lepai 2020A+ Class-T amps. Having had a Lepai 2020A+ for several years now, and only just recently discovering how much better it sounded than my 20 Year old brand-name 5.1 A/V receiver, I suddenly became overwhelmed with dubiousness and just had to find out for myself what this dual chip version TPA3116 amp with its built in pre-amp was like. Although not exactly a quantum leap over the Lepai 2020A+, there was definitely some improvement, albeit subtle at times, in clarity and overall sound quality. Then again, for testing I only used iTunes 10 with 320 kpbs mp3 files in my Win 7 HTPC connected to an LED TV via HDMI, so it might possibly shine even brighter with better quality audio files.This amp doesn't come with a power supply, so I ended up using a 12V 2A unit I excavated from my decades old "box O' power converters" collection, and it works just fine. I also tried several other 12V units, from 500 mA, up to 3A, and they all seemed to work well too. As did a 24V 750mA, and a 19V 4.75A unit. Whichever converter I used, regardless of the ampere rating, I could only perceive moderate increases/decreases in the power output of the amp itself. It had plenty of power to drive all the speaker sets I tested it on. Like my Klipsch 6", MTM set, JBL, 6" 2-way set, and even my fairly inefficient (about 86 db) 8" 3-way DIY project set. Actually, I usually set the volume knob near the 10 o'clock position and then have to adjust it down quite a bit in Windoz. So far it's been a great little amp for the cost. Now I hear tell that the TDA7498 chip sounds even better than TPA3116! Yeah well, I'm dubious.There are only two things I dislike about this diminutive powerhouse; like most of my modern home-electronic devices it has a bright, annoying led power light; the volume knob doesn't have any markings on it. My simple workarounds were a small piece of electrical tape over the light and a small piece of white tape on the knob—see pic.