Cheap Chinese Amps

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ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
I picked up a cheap A/V amp (30 quid delivered on ebay) but my sub is passive.
Could I use one of these 20 quid amps to power the sub until I pick up an active sub?
My lovely wife isn't impressed that I'm buying shiny things I don't really need this close to Xmas smile

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
hyphen said:
What is the power output of the £20 sub, and what is the power rating of your sub.
output allegedly 20 watts, I have no idea what the sub is rated at but probably not a lot.

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
legzr1 said:
Don't waste your money.

Personally I'd pick up a cheap active sub (lots appear on avforums starting at under £100) and use until the one you want appears/is affordable - buy wisely then move it on once the replacement is sourced.

A true 20W would probably just get a bass driver moving, those cheapie Chinese amps will be nowhere near a true 20W.
I think it's 20W into 4 ohms or 10 into 8.



ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
much cheapness

I'm not looking earth shattering mega bass, just something to give a bit of background bass

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
It's just a crappy sub off my existing blue ray surround sound combo system. It's 4 ohm max 80 watts, no other specs on the sticker.
Amazon returns if it's crap is an option smile

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
I prefer bodged instead of primitive.
I like the look of that smile
I have a couple of old laptop chargers, wire cutters and duct tape.
House insurance should cover the fire damage.

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Monday 20th November 2017
quotequote all
Order placed beer

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Wednesday 6th December 2017
quotequote all
The first amp went out of stock so I cancelled and bought the cheaper WINGONEER DC 12V-24V TPA3116 D2 100W for a bargain £9.99.
Delivered yesterday and I bodged it together last night. Had a bit of a false start with a dodgy phono cable which made for a lot of hissing and buzzing and not much else but eventually sorted it out. Haven't fiddled too much with it so far but it's providing a bit of bass, which was the aim.
the wife is out to night so will play about with it later, assuming it doesn't set my house on fire before I get home.

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Thursday 7th December 2017
quotequote all
So far so good. Only issue I've noticed is an annoying buzz when the AV amp is on standby and nothing going to the cheap amp. Easily fixed by turning it off at the wall. Might just be a bad connection.

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Friday 8th December 2017
quotequote all
It was thrown together with whatever I could find in the garage and squashed into the box of an old TV aerial amplifier to stop the dog sticking her nose into it.

ooo000ooo

Original Poster:

2,532 posts

195 months

Thursday 18th January 2018
quotequote all
Whilst looking in the drawer of crap for a screwdriver, I found a lead with a female phono socket on it and shielded cable. Chopped it up and rewired the connection to my cheap amp. The earth hum has been reduced considerably, you know it's still on but practically silent. The laptop charger I bodged to power it only has 2 cables on the mains cable, I found another one which has 3 so, assuming that might have better earthing, next step is to change it.
The bass adds the bit of depth that was missing without being crazy loud, although was watching something last week with lots of explosions and could feel the settee vibrating which is nice.