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Topic: Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted (Read 9728 times) previous topic - next topic
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Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Hello,

My Kenwood amplifier is dying after almost 25 years of service (including a lot of ABX-ing). I’ve connected it to my main PC through aux-in. I would like the new amplifier to connect through S/PDIF, optical or coaxial, as my PC motherboard Asus P5B has this option.

Can you recommend me a 2-channel amplifier of a size smaller than the typical 42-44 cm width? I connect it to Wharfedale bookshelf speakers and use it also for listening through Sennheiser headphones. No need for a lot of power and price should be something between 100 and 300 euros or dollars.

I’m open for suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #1 –
I'm guessing what you want is an "integrated amp" [it has at the very least a volume knob in addition to an on/off switch]. The restriction that it be under 42 cm in width is profound; it's rare in this day and age. You also will probably be best to consider receivers, even if you have no interest in the radio function and will never select that. Doing so will increase your options greatly.

If you are insistent that it be smaller than 42cm in width, in order to fit a particular space, please tell us what the maximum permissible width is.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #2 –
Yes, an integrated amplifier, or receiver. I was thinking about something in the 30 to 33 cm range or even smaller (compact is about 21 cm).

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #3 –
Receivers of that size are not uncommon - here's a Yamaha on Amazon for US$250 - but ones with S/PDIF in certainly seem to be.

After clicking through several such models from Yamaha, Teac, Denon, and Onkyo, none had S/PDIF in, not even a $600 model from Teac - lots of iPod/Phone docks and USB flash drive connections, though.

There are some boutique/"audiophile" units that would meet your size and input criteria, but not your price - for instance, here's one from Peachtree Audio that has four S/PDIF inputs for the bargain price of $1,200...but hey, it has a *tube* in it - and they even put a little window on the front of the unit to prove it!!
"Not sure what the question is, but the answer is probably no."

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #4 –
Quote from: mixminus1 on
Receivers of that size are not uncommon - here's a Yamaha on Amazon for US$250 - but ones with S/PDIF in certainly seem to be.

Considering that the Yamaha CRX-332BL (discontinued) has a CD player in it, I personally wouldn't characterize it as a "receiver"; to me it is more of a one input mini system, sold without (or with) speakers, or perhaps a "CD/Receiver" or "CDeiver" [better than a "deceiver", at least, ha-ha  ]. Its 20 watt maximum (10w RMS?) per channel output, 6 Ohm, rated not full bandwidth but at 1 kHz only, with 10% THD wouldn't inspire me to use it with just any old speakers in any old room, either, but it may be suitable for the OP if a D/A converter was added to its soul input and the speakers used were efficient and/or were used at close range.

Mixminus1, how much power did the now failing Kenwood have, and was it enough for your needs?

[I doubt the Yamaha has bass management, even if an outboard sub were to be added to its sub out, but if it did, that would at least ease the load on the internal amp as well.]

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #5 –
Will something like this work?
Nuforce Dia

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #6 –
That Nuforce Dia looks interesting, but I'd fear it's a class D amplifier (switching). Their frequency response is variable based on the nature of the speaker load. A user selectable filter is often included to compensate for that, but I don't see any mention of it in that breif description, so it's "20-20kHz +/- 1 dB " spec may be true only under specific conditions.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #7 –
From: http://totallywired.co.nz/nuforce_dia.html

Quote
A common misconception is that NuForce products are Switching Digital Amplifiers (commonly known as Class-D). Right from the start, Class-D had enormous potential but some significant shortcomings. For example, they have limited usable bandwidth, and they use a fixed saw tooth waveform to modulate an audio signal. This is a source of audio pollution, because the waveform causes inevitable jittering that can mask or corrupt low-level music signals.


Instead of a saw tooth digital signal, NuForce has developed and patented a naturally occurring analog modulating signal that flows with the music and adds no noise or jitter into the system. Rather than using imperfect off-the-shelf solutions, NuForce has developed and patented a series of breakthrough advances that have unlocked the huge potential of switching amplifiers, without the problems that pure digital switching amplifiers have been unable to solve; in other words, the best of both worlds.

NuForce amplifiers switch at 500,000Hz – more than twice the highest CD sampling rate. At these higher frequencies, transformers and capacitors work far more efficiently and can be much smaller. In conjunction with a switch mode power supply, the entire NuForce package is shockingly small and hugely capable.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #8 –
My read of that is that they are switching amplifiers but with their own spin which makes them "advanced" and "natural".

"Rather than using imperfect off-the-shelf solutions, NuForce has developed and patented a series of breakthrough advances that have unlocked the huge potential of switching amplifiers, without the problems that pure digital switching amplifiers have been unable to solve; in other words, the best of both worlds."


I would personally need to see frequency sweeps into different loads, done by an established third party reviewer, showing that the frequency response remains pretty much flat, regardless of load, something they never claim in that propaganda blurb, I might add.

Also, as best as I can tell it has no analog ins of any kind, not even one. [The port on the front is an output.] That lack of flexibility would be a problem for my needs, but I can't speak for the OP.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #9 –
Here's a review in Stereophile from 2009 of the Nuforce Icon (now the Icon2), which, judging by the specs, has the same amplifier section as the Dia.

Its frequency response into 8, 4, and 2 ohms is actually quite well-behaved, although it has a pretty dramatic ultrasonic peak in the 90-100 kHz region.

Its main shortcomings, aside from very limited output power (8.5 watts @ 1% THD into 8 ohms), appear to be its somewhat elevated noise floor, less-than-stellar IMD performance, and increased harmonic distortion at low frequencies.
"Not sure what the question is, but the answer is probably no."

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #10 –
NAD C 715 seems also nice but is not available anymore and seems out of my price range. Maybe it's better to change my mind and get a 'normal sized' amplifier.

Thank you all for your comments.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #11 –
Also besides price, availability, (and unneeded CD player), that NAD has no digital input, which you requested. That optical port on the back is an output for the CD player.
---

Would I be correct in assuming that the Kenwood you have now, which is failing, is either a standard sized width, not a "30 to 33 cm range or even smaller" unit, or if it is of this desired smaller size, it was sold only as part of a complete mini system, with speakers, CD, and I guess based on its age, maybe a cassette deck?

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #12 –
Quote from: mzil on
...That optical port on the back is an output for the CD player...


Oh, that possibility didn't come to my mind.

The dying amplifier is aprox. 44 cm width and standalone. I had a complete stereo set, but the CD Player died years ago and I haven't powered on the tuner since at least 10 years, the cassette deck even longer ago. I mostly need an amplifier with decent sound quality for my Sennheiser HD 598.

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #13 –
The company Fiio has a lot of internet buzz these days regarding bang for buck, not that I've ever tried one.

Maybe for you an optical-in D/A converter like their D3 plus one of their portable or desktop headphone amps? Just a thought.
 

Small size amplifier with S/PDIF wanted

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Alexxander on
I mostly need an amplifier with decent sound quality for my Sennheiser HD 598.

Sounds like a case for a headphone amp with a DAC (headphone output impedance should be <10 ohms for these cans). Not the most unpopular class of devices at the moment. Since FiiO was already mentioned, their stuff usually has one advantage over some competition like the Yulong U100 (not a bad unit either): With a CE marking, it can be sold freely in the EU and does not need to be directly imported from China.

NwAvGuy has reviewed several FiiO devices on his blog, including the USB-only E10, so you can see how they generally stack up. He's not too fond of NuForce after the µDAC-2 debacle.

For a pure headphone amp (no DAC), the Lake People G103-S would make a good choice. In case the AD1988A onboard audio should be subpar (from datasheet and RMAA results it appears that passband ripple is OK but analog distortion is not exciting), it's not like a decent internal soundcard would cost the world or anything - a Xonar DS or D1 is perfectly fine.

BTW, I'll bet that all the "dying" amp needs is a new protection relay and some switch cleaning action. Those tend to be some of the most common trouble spots, at least.