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SMSL SA-98E Stereo Amplifier

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SMSL SA-98E Stereo Amplifier

Name: SMSL SA-98E Stereo Amplifier
Brand: SMSL
SKU: smsl-sa-98e-stereo-amplifier
Price: 60 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)

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Product Description

A compact power amplifier, the SMSL SA-98E is ideal for driving bookshelf speakers as part of a desk setup. It’s built with a TDA7498E class-D audio amplifier chip, a strong output short circuit, and thermal overload protection Read More

Customer Reviews

4.3

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gyroscopics

185

Feb 16, 2020

Verified Buyer

Small But Powerful

Bought the SA-98E to drive atmos speakers. It's 10%THD doesn't bother me for this purpose. Before hiding the SA-98E behind my AV cabinet, I tested it on my 4 ohm guest bedroom speakers (LSi7) shown in the picture. The 4 ohm load made the volume control touchy due to the amp's high gain. I couldn't go beyond 8 o'clock without getting too loud because the amp is already pushing too much power to the 4 ohm load. The sound was okay and the amp never got warm. The volume knob came misaligned even when the packaging was intact when it was delivered to my door. That says a lot about SMSL's QC. Had I ordered it from Amazon albeit the higher price, I would have gotten a replacement the following day with my Prime membership. But that's what I get for cheaping out by ordering from Drop. In fact I would have never considered buying this product had I not seen it sold on Drop at this price. BTW, mine came with 36 volt 5 amp power supply in case you have doubts.

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basil69

Feb 1, 2020

Verified Buyer

Perfect for its purpose

Bought to partner my old Quad 12L bookshelf/standmount speakers (6 ohm, 88dB, 30-200 W recommended Amp) in my 13 year old sons bedroom and placed on his 1600mm wide set of drawers. Inputs are either a Google Chromecast Audio or an Amazon Echo Show 5, using their Aux output via 3.5mm to 2 RCA Cable. I prefer the sound of the Chromecast due it's superior DAC but I think he likes the convenience of voice control using the Echo. Kids eh? Previously using an SMSL SA-50 (now driving outdoor speakers) but this amp gives a bit more power with less likelihood of clipping. He doesn't even need to move the volume knob much past 10 o'clock to get his mum running in from the other room. Also means I can escape and shut myself away with a pretty decent and convenient second system when the wife yells at me to turn down my main system in the living room! I can't fault the form factor advantage of a small discrete amp which doesn't take up much real estate and still leaves plenty of room for his lego and car models and some pretty large bookshelf speakers. The sound is clean and neutral and it runs much cooler (as does it's power brick) and takes up a hell of a lot less space and uses less power than the old AV amp I could've used and it drives the Quad's just fine. P.S. You may wonder why a pair of Quad 12L's found their way into a kid's bedroom? Well, I upgraded to a pair of Dynaudio Special 40's for my main system and hadn't got around to selling the 12L's, and couldn't bear the idea of leaving them boxed up and probably deteriorating in a garage. Yes it's overkill, and they'd sound much better on stands, but at least he's putting them to good use with this amp. Probably means he'll inherit the speakers too. By the way, my 11 year old son has an SMSL SA-50 Plus driving an even older pair of Tannoy Mercury M1's in his room and they sound pretty good with that amp too. Gotta start 'em young!

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Wilbury98

Feb 1, 2020

Verified Buyer

incredibly small

Needs one day of burnin in. Drives Focal Aria 948s with twin 8" woofers. These are efficient speakers (92 dB) so an amp with 2 x 20 W clean power should be enough. The SMSL SA98e sure delivers here, at 2 x 20 W its THD+N is about 0.05% with SINEAD around 90 dB for 8Ohm speakers. This little amp should not be hyped as 120W per channel because that is at way higher THD+N. That is doing it an injustice. I bought it as a stand-in for my main DIY amp with two Hypex UCD 180 modules. I am replacing its power supply. This temporary replacement sounds very good. I leave the volume at 12 o' clock, volume adjustment is through my preamp, a Topping DX3 Pro DAC. Amazing things come out of Shenzen, China!

Recommends this product? Yes

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SpaceCadet24

634

Jan 28, 2020

Verified Buyer

Sounds fine, feels MEH...

I own a handful of small Class D amps including a FiiO A1, FX Audio, Origain A250 and two Sonic Impact Super T-Amps. I'm not going to compare it sonically to other amps as that's subjective and I don't have the inclination to A/B a bunch of amps for minute sonic differences. It certainly plays louder than my most powerful amp, the Origain A250. However, there is a big difference in the taper of the volume controls as well as input sensitivities. I greatly prefer my Origain amp as the volume is more gradual which gives finer control. Further, due to input sensitivity differences, I can turn up the Origain to full and still not get into distortion so it will likely play even louder if I were to place an active preamp before it. The SMSL can be easily clipped with the same input signal with the volume around 1 or 2 o'clock. For me, tactile aspects are very important. If I don't enjoy the feel of turning a knob or pressing a button, it detracts from my enjoyment of the product as a whole. The volume pot and knob on this are the cheapest feeling of any of my amps. Even the FX Audio that I paid $10 for feels vastly superior. It is the only one that feels wobbly like a pot mounted to a circuit board and not the faceplate. I also prefer more friction. I'm very disappointed that the ring around the volume control lights up blue. DROP should have shown this! Had I known, I would have passed. It gives it a cheap look. Cosmetically, the amp is otherwise attractive. I wish it had a preamp OUT like the Origain for subwoofer use (can even be used for headphones) but I didn't rate it on this as I knew it did not have it. My rating is primarily based on the cheap feel of the volume pot and look of the blue LED ring. 3.5/5. I'd really like to see some Class D amps like this in stereo or mono but without a volume control. It would be nice to be able to place the amps anywhere and control them from a preamp. I've added a poorly done montage showing the Class D amps that I own to the Photos section.

(Edited)

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