Cheapest class D amp?

You can buy a 15 w/channel class D amp from Best Buy for $40.00. Its gotten good reviews.

I doubt that will correct the 'bland boring sound' issue though. Best first to find out what causes it then to throw things at it.

No kidding? Now, that is cheap. I'll look it up. His amp is some old sluggo solid state. Class D amps are always lively.

Tvad, have you ever heard the Rowland 201, or Nuforce? These two amps are way out of range for my friend, but they are what I am getting at. The Rowland is essentially an ICE module in a pretty box. There must be ordinary boxed ICE amps for a lot less out there. The amp he is using is underpowered, and thus lifeless.

How about used Nuforce 8's. Or the Red Wine amp?

Drubin, good one. There is nothing now, but I will keep looking.

Tvad writes:
"If you're talking about frequency extension and clarity, then the Class D amps are lively. Other than that, the Class D amps I have heard were anything but lively."

Grant, that's interesting because one of the biggest strengths of the NuForce amps is their unbridled sense of dynamics. My Ref 9SE's have nearly bone-crunching dynamic schmaaack in my system and they lack the homogenation and congestion typical of most analog designs. If the NuForce amps you tried didn't sound "lively" to you then there was probably something in your system that was limiting dynamics, perhaps unknown to you at the time. Many high-end speakers lack authoritative dynamic capability...

Muralman1, maybe a used pair of the Flying Mole amps would work for your friend. If not, I have a very good sounding vintage solid-state amp that I'd let go for a reasonable price...

Plato, do you suppose Flying Moles (why does that name remind me of SNL Smuckers routine) would work with 4 ohm speakers of dismally low impedance?

Hi Muralman1,

The Flying Moles are optimized for 4 to 8-ohm operation, so as long as your friend's 4-ohm speaker doesn't have a broad dip down to 2 or so ohms, then they should work fine. Apparently they can be biased at the factory to work more efficiently into very low impedance loads. And you have to consider the speaker's efficiency, the room size, and how loudly they're going to be played, as well...

Tvad, if only you lived nearby. Wait a minute, you live in Hollywood. Why don't you catch a private Lear to your State's capitol. Someone did that two days ago, just to hear my Scintillas.

Thank you Plato.

These guys have some budget amps in stock.

http://www.spearitsound.com/specials.htm

http://www.saturdayaudio.com/

Hi, though I never thought I'd recommend these, I'd say the Flying Mole might do it.
I've been told that the New force is a little warmer than my Audio Magic's. I had the Flying Mole's here and thought they had the tonality of a spectral 50.
However, you aren't going to see deep into the performance. they are forward but not resolving in back ground. They sounded like a cartoon of the music compared to S.S. spectral or Pass. But, depending on what you want, they are more musical than some D's they re cheap.

Tvad, I should have put a smiley on my last post to you. I hoped you didn't take offense. I like the city. I served my childhood in the basin. Why I am concentrating on class D, is that I believe there is more bang for the buck. MY friend is low on funds.

I have just received the latest sonic T amp for $140.
It is quite impressive sounding for the money. Can play very loud, has a great bass slam and so far puts out nothing but clean detailed sound. My speakers are 100dB efficient but is supposed to be able to drive more difficult loads. Another fairly cheap digital amp is the panasonic SA-xr55. Its a digital A/V Receiver with 7 x 100 watts per channel. Very clean and detailed sound plus you can use it for home theater.