Review on Dayton Audio HTA20BT Hybrid Stereo Tube Amplifier: Bluetooth 4.2, USB Aux in, Headphone & Sub Out by Erin Thomas

I bought this item on a whim. I was just looking for a small amp for some speakers in my bedroom. wanted something small with multiple inputs and Bluetooth connectivity that could crank the speakers to decent volume and sound for bedroom listening. I'll start by saying my main setup in the living room is a Mcintosh C28 preamp, a Mcintosh 2205 amp and Proac Studio 100 speakers running a Mcintosh CD player, a VPI player and a mini Mac server with Play Schiit Audio DAC. My office system is an Acurus CD changer, an Acurus preamp, an Acurus 250 amplifier and Rogers ls3/5a speakers. I love good sound. I had all sorts of high quality audio setups around my house and in the recording studios. To be honest I was amazed when I connected this Dayton audio amplifier to multiple sets of bookshelf speakers. this thing sounds fantastic. clean, powerful, great picture, nice depth, highs are smooth thanks to the tube preamp section and it has enough power to crank all my speakers at high volumes. more than i ever needed. I've hooked it up to my old favorite pair of Tannoy PBM5 studio monitors, a pair of Hafler monitors, my Rogers ls3/5a and currently to a set of my Yamaha ns10 studio monitors which are known to be harsh when connected to the wrong amp be used. with dayton ns10 they sound fantastic. Yes, really. In fact, I'm considering buying another one of these to run another pair of ns10's in my studio. it's that clean yet warm sound. tubes complete the sharp tip of the ns10 tweeters. The mono subwoofer output is great too, I'm currently feeding it from a small Yamaha sub to round out the low octaves. This little setup in my bedroom honestly sounds amazing. ns10 and a powered subwoofer, as well as listening to CDs or streaming audio from Amazon, iTunes, Spotify or even YouTube from my phone. The Dayton sounds amazing through this amp. For less than $150, it's not a problem. I'll probably buy a few more of these, one for my ns10 studio that I use as an extra mixing reference and maybe one for a set of black and white mini pods. what I have in my garage. the possibility of simply connecting this small amplifier and sending music from the iphone or ipad via the bluetooth. it's so convenient and easy. and it sounds fantastic. just get it. it is so good. Does it replace my Mcintosh installation? no but it sounds damn good, I honestly wouldn't get upset if that was my main setup. it can be quite noisy, enough to fill a decent room. and sounds very good for a digital amplifier. The two preamp tubes add some warmth to the signal, I can experiment with other tubes later, but the standard tubes sound ok. They don't distort or squeak, they just add smoothness to the highs and warmth and roundness to the lows. The only thing I can think of to improve this thing is a simple set of tone controls to make adjustments. for different speakers. if i could add a little treble when using my tannoy or a little less treble on the ns10. small but mighty. looks pretty cool. The controls seem solid. The connectors are all good quality and I haven't found anything wrong with this thing. Yes, really. it is so good. I'm sending my Mcintosh C28 in to repeat Kappas this weekend and I think I'll set up this Dayton with my main Proac speakers and listen to some higher quality vinyl and digital files to see how it performs next to an audiophile grading system. I will edit this review when I summarize it. For now all I can say is, for $140 this amp is amazing. Yes, really.