I've been using a cheap amplifier from Jaycar ( http://www.jaycar.com.au/Sight-%26-Sound---Home/Home-Amplifiers-%26-Accessories/Modular-Amplifiers/Low-Cost-Mains-Powered-Stereo-Amplifier/p/AA0472 ) on my work PC for about 10 years now, and while it worked it's never sounded that great and has a fair bit of background hum.
Looking online for a replacement, I spotted the D802C on AliExpress: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FEIXIANG-FX-AUDIO-pure-digital-amplifier-D802C-remote-USB-optical-coaxial-Bluetooth-AUX-input-80W-2/32428321269.html
Not just an amplifier, it's also a USB DAC and a Bluetooth receiver, so it should be able to talk to anything I get in the foreseeable future.
I took the plunge and ordered one. A couple of weeks later the postman brought this plain-looking box to the door:
I couldn't find much English-language info about this device online, so I thought I'd do a quick write-up on setting it up.
Inside, you get a USB A-to-B cable:
a tiny remote control (with no battery so I haven't tried using it yet):
and this fairly large power brick:
5 amps at 32 volts should make 160 watts, so the claimed 80 watts per channel may not be as unlikely as I suspected.
The included power cord has a European 2-pin plug, but you should have a figure-8 cord sitting in a drawer somewhere anyway:
An absolute bevy of ports on the back:
After hooking up the speakers and power cable, I plugged in the USB and it was picked up and installed automatically by Windows 10:
I set the new device to default output:
The "Advanced" tab lets you select the output sample rate, up to 192kHz in 16-bit or 96kHz in 24-bit:
The display on the front confirms the new sample rate:
I don't know if it's actually putting out 160 watts, but it definitely gets loud! My little bookshelf speakers were making more noise than I thought they were capable of, without any distortion.
The default bass setting (+14) is too high, but otherwise it works perfectly out of the box. Bluetooth paired with my phone with no issues. I'd definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to get better sound from their PC than the usual powered speaker sets.
