Small audio amp?

May 8, 2005 12:07 PM

I have a small Soundworks subwoofer with satellite speakers I want to use with my Mac. I need a small, no frills amp just to, well, amplify. Is there such a beast at a reasonable price?
posted by cccorlew to Shopping (4 answers total)

What sort of connections does your subwoofer have? (I presume it's a powered subwoofer with line-level inputs and outputs for the satellites?) In that case, you should get a sonic impact t-amp, and a cheap AC adapter for it.

BTW: Are you sure you need an amp at all? Most PC speaker systems have all the necessary channels of amplification built right into the subwoofer.
posted by kickingtheground at 12:44 PM on May 8, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for the help. My speakers are just speakers. No power, no powered sub. They need amp power. Crossover in the sub, leads to satellite speakers.
posted by cccorlew at 8:13 PM on May 8, 2005

I wonder if the famous chu moy headphone amps would work for this?

Chu Moy Amp Google search
posted by mecran01 at 9:10 PM on May 8, 2005

A headphone amp probably wouldn't power a home-stereo subwoofer. Headphones are very efficient, high-end ones even more so. (The amplification in a sound card is typically around the same level, which is why computer speakers tend to be amplified.)

If I were in that scenario I would just pick up a serviceable secondhand receiver off of eBay or Craigslist.
posted by mendel at 6:31 AM on May 9, 2005