I know some people on these boards like to use Hi-Fi speakers with thier PC, but don't like the space the amplifier unit can take up. The usual suggestion is the Sonic-T, which is compact but requires and external supply (or lots of batteries). So, i've been building this for a few days (it's not for sale or anything, i'm just posting as some of you may find it interesting).
This is a stereo compact amplifier designed for PC use with power supply built in. It is rated 2x18W RMS, which may not sound like so much, but it can push that continually with low distortion (0.3%, lower at lower volumes) across the full frequency range. In PC speaker ratings it would be called around 2x40W.
I have played music through it and watched a film through it and it gives a very good account of itself in both situations (connected to my B&W DM602 speakers and PC). It has no problem with deep explosion sounds and voices come across very clearly. Music sounds good, not a huge difference between this and my Rotel RA01 in terms of clarity. Enough volume for most bedroom applications (probably not parties or big room use, though I haven't tried putting it up near full).
It cost around £35 to build (though it took far too much effort tbh). Some pics below. Could be placed horizontally or vertically (though vertically you can see fixing bolt heads on one side). Comments welcome
This is a stereo compact amplifier designed for PC use with power supply built in. It is rated 2x18W RMS, which may not sound like so much, but it can push that continually with low distortion (0.3%, lower at lower volumes) across the full frequency range. In PC speaker ratings it would be called around 2x40W.
I have played music through it and watched a film through it and it gives a very good account of itself in both situations (connected to my B&W DM602 speakers and PC). It has no problem with deep explosion sounds and voices come across very clearly. Music sounds good, not a huge difference between this and my Rotel RA01 in terms of clarity. Enough volume for most bedroom applications (probably not parties or big room use, though I haven't tried putting it up near full).
It cost around £35 to build (though it took far too much effort tbh). Some pics below. Could be placed horizontally or vertically (though vertically you can see fixing bolt heads on one side). Comments welcome
. Because of the limited space to work in, the layout had to be tight and this helps ensure it is stable anyhow. The case is a hammond extruded aluminium one, I like the way they look and because they are quite thick and full aluminium construction, they take care of a lot of the heat themselves (the chips are bolted to the case and half a CPU heatsink is in there too 
)
. However, to sell these on any scale they would have to conform to the ROHS directive (it then costs £11 or so). Working by myself on it takes too long tbh, and a pillar drill is really needed (yes, those holes are drilled with a portable drill). I do intend on mabye making another, from this one i've learnt a few things:
