I picked this up on ebay for $28 shipped. The description said it'd take up to a month to deliver, but i got it in 13 days. It looks exactly like the one pictured here, but says "Breeze Audio" on it. It's got a surprising amount of weight for it's size, which is about the size of a box of small cigars. Combined with some sticky rubber feet, it stays in place well considering it's small size. The binding post screw downs felt a bit flimy, but I used stackable banana plugs, so it doesn't affect me. The volume knob has no markings to show where it is, unless you count the set screw holding it in. The red led is always on, it's just dimmer when it's switched off. It's not too distracting since it's literally the size of a pin hole. The edges in the rear are a little sharp, but corner are all nicely rounded. It does spark a bit when you plug in the PSU. The bushed finish is nicely done, and even. The only cosmetic imperfection i could find was the left rear corner wasn't fitted flush.
I'm using it to power two energy take5.2 speakers (8omhs), and an energy 8" powered sub. I'm powering it with a creative wall wart I had laying around, it's rated at 12v 1.5a. It get's just louder than I can stand for nearfield listening. It's being fed a signal from a schiit modi. I was using a phillips AIO dvd/amp to powered the same speakers before. Right away I noticed an improvement in clarity, and tighter bass. No unwanted hiss or hums at any volume level so far. This thing shatters all expectations for an amp under $30. If this thing lasts, I see no reason to pay any more for any other no frills stereo amp. After using it as is for awhile, if all is still good, I may upgrade the PSU to see how it fares.
*Update - I've put maybe 10 hours on this amp so far. I've noticed on songs with a lot of quiet passages, there's a low hiss. It's not that distracting, but definitely noticeable. Real curious to see if a better PSU will help now. I'm looking at may an astron rs-12a. It's strange, but the hiss is most noticeable connecting my DAC directly to the amp. It can be reduced by using an preamp in between, and turning the amp volume up but keeping the preamp volume low.
Update 2: Tried a HP 18.5v, 2.5a laptop power supply. Music got a lot more oomph, especially bass. But at the cost of the some detail. Sticking with the 12v, 1.5a for now.
I'm using it to power two energy take5.2 speakers (8omhs), and an energy 8" powered sub. I'm powering it with a creative wall wart I had laying around, it's rated at 12v 1.5a. It get's just louder than I can stand for nearfield listening. It's being fed a signal from a schiit modi. I was using a phillips AIO dvd/amp to powered the same speakers before. Right away I noticed an improvement in clarity, and tighter bass. No unwanted hiss or hums at any volume level so far. This thing shatters all expectations for an amp under $30. If this thing lasts, I see no reason to pay any more for any other no frills stereo amp. After using it as is for awhile, if all is still good, I may upgrade the PSU to see how it fares.
*Update - I've put maybe 10 hours on this amp so far. I've noticed on songs with a lot of quiet passages, there's a low hiss. It's not that distracting, but definitely noticeable. Real curious to see if a better PSU will help now. I'm looking at may an astron rs-12a. It's strange, but the hiss is most noticeable connecting my DAC directly to the amp. It can be reduced by using an preamp in between, and turning the amp volume up but keeping the preamp volume low.
Update 2: Tried a HP 18.5v, 2.5a laptop power supply. Music got a lot more oomph, especially bass. But at the cost of the some detail. Sticking with the 12v, 1.5a for now.
