Dayton Audio APA150 150W Power Amplifier

I have only had this week or so, and it did take a little break in time to come out of it's shell, but this seems to be a well made, sturdy amp that has good sound. This is powering a pair of ~88db, 8 ohm, outdoor speakers and it does the job just fine for moderate volume levels.For the price I would recommend this, it has decent power, it sounds good, but it has a few missing things that would otherwise make it nearly perfect.It does not have Bass and Treble controls which would be useful. It has a very flat sound which is good as it does not unnaturally color the music, but for outdoor speakers or really any other 2 channel application it would be nice to turn the volume down some and push up the bass a little. An additional equalizer will likely be purchased.The Volume control knob should be the type that clicks into place, it would make it easier for small volume adjustments.The LED is super bright. Not a big deal as a little tape can tone it down.To the positives, I like that it is bridgeable, I may get another, as for the price the amplification quality it provides may be nearly unbeatable. The size is good, I could fit two, maybe three, of these next to each other in the same space one regular sized amp would take up.The self on/off works fine even with only a small signal sent.The sound, I like flat and natural by default which this has, yet still would like it more if I could tweak the bass/treble right from the amp itself.Overall I am happy with this product for the price.

Over the past several years I've been on a class D purchasing binge, constantly trying the latest and greatest Chi-Fi class D releases from the likes of Fosi, Douk/Nobsound, and Aiyima. They feature some excellent-sounding amps, especially those where one can change out the op-amps (which can make a huge difference in sound quality).Through the years I would give this Dayton Audio APA150 amp a cursory glance when I came upon it on various sites - either here or on Amazon - only to proceed on to the next item. But just the other day, while coming across this APA150, I thought "why not give it a try," ordering one off of Amazon US. It arrived the very same day (which was a pleasant surprise), and I immediately connected it.Now, let me get this out of the way up front, and that is this amp is much larger (and heavier) than all the budget Chi-Fi class D amps that you can find on the likes of Amazon. Weight-wise, this Dayton Audio APA150 weighs approximately 6-7 times more than the likes of the Fosi ZA3 class D amplifier, and is much larger - mainly in depth and height. So if you can deal with those dimensions and weight, then we're off to the races (sound).Normally, I keep my gear "on" all the time because I've long since discovered that as gear warms up/breaks-in, the sound changes for the better (read warmer here). With the APA150, I started listening right away and was genuinely surprised at how good it sounded right out of the box.The first thing I noticed is its warmer, more airy, class AB sound, which was welcomed. As an aside, with some of the latest Chi-Fi class D releases - especially those with op-amps you can change out - they have been approaching class AB status with regard to tonal differences, warmth, and sound-staging. But to find a Class AB amp at this low price of $199 (as of this writing), I initially thought that it couldn't be that good - but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it's a superb-sounding instrument!I keep the APA150 on all the time and not set to standby (which you control on the rear). I also didn't use the stock AC cable - rather, I connected a much upgraded Audioquest AC power cable that I believe made a difference. Now add to this a set of 8 Gauge speaker cables terminated wth banana plugs by World's Best Cables (WBC), and run them to a set of KEF Q1 Meta's and a KEF subwoofer under the desk (I am listening on a desktop, near-field system), and I'm experiencing a bit of audio nirvana, if you will. I'll say it again, that I didn't expect this amp to sound so good.In some reviews (just some), the reviewers stated that the APA150 didn't have much bass response, but I beg to differ. I find the bass to be very tight, extended and dynamic, with a slightly warmish tonality.Mids - especially the brass instruments - have the requisite bite without being harsh or grating. Highs - especially with instruments such as cymbals - are not muted or grating. They have a realistic sizzle that rises above the body of the music (with many amps, cymbals can be lost in the music, and muffled or altered somewhat). Stringed instruments have that silky sheen (on good recordings, of course). In the end, this APA150 can't make chicken salad out of chicken-sh_t, meaning poor recordings cannot be made to sound better. The only other viewpoint that I can add is that the APA150 can (not always) sound a little bright on the high end of things, especially with stringed instruments such as violins.So here I am - an audiophile since 1966, and am super impressed with this inexpensive $200 class AB amp. Even though it's been on the market for 10 +/- years, with no changes having been made to its design, this APA150 can still turn heads and make people go "ahhhhh..."Sound staging and depth, by the way, come off as being superb (superior, that is). The uncanny thing - well, on my system, that is - is the sense of air and instrumental separation I'm hearing. I listen mostly to classical and jazz (both small and big bands), and the musical performances seem to be lifted out of the speakers in a broad sound stage across the front of my speakers - it's uncanny really.In some reviews, it was remarked that the ultra-bright blue light below the volume knob is too distracting. I most certainly agree with that! This blue light is so bright that if listening at night time hours, and you turn off the lighting in the room, that amplifier light will light up the whole room. If you have the APA150 set up where it's in front of you (like most people do), that blue light can (and will) seriously detract from your listening experiences. I don't have that problem because I placed the APA150 up higher on a shelf, so I'm not forced to look at it - so it's not in my line of site. Additionally, I have not experienced the amp heating up at all - it stays cool - but then I'm listening on a desktop, near-field setup. But yes, that blue light can be a bit overwhelming, and if you're listening in the dark, can almost blind you.Overall, color me highly impressed. I do wish Dayton Wright would have made it smaller - not to mention taming that blue light - but those are minor points in the overall scheme of things. If you connect this Dayton Audio APA150 amp with quality components and quality interconnects, you will be rewarded with superior sound capabilities.Highly recommended!!!!!

After much research I've found really only two quality Amps for Bookshelf speakers based on price, features, RMS Output and reviews. The Emotiva Mini-x a-100 and the item I'm reviewing now (Dayton Audio APA150). I went with Dayton simply because it's small depth fits on the bottom shelf of my small desk, looks a little nicer and about 40 dollars less than the Emotiva.For reference I'll tell you that I bought this Amp to go along with NHT Mini-Monitor speakers and NHT Super 8 Subwoofer. This is used for a small office because I wanted really good sounding music on my PC. The speakers are rated at 75 Watts/Channel and are 8 Ohms. I was worried about the Dayton Amp not being loud enough to take full advantage of the speakers potential being you can supposedly only acheive 50 Watts/Channel with 8 Ohms. Well I can't tell you how many watts I was able to muster from the Dayton Amp but all I know is it gets REALLY Loud in my office with no noticeable distortion untill about 85-90% volume on my PC sound card. However at that volume it felt like my speakers might have been the ones distorting but it's hard to know for sure. I can say with complete confidence that there is way more than enough volume for near-feild listening and possibly even enough volume to fill a large room, even with 8 Ohm speakers. I generally sit about 2 feet from the speakers and honestly going to much above 60% volume is entering ear damage territory if you listen for extended periods of time. For general listening I set it around 30% volume. So needless to say I am very impressed.The sound is crystal clear as well and the device itself has no problems whatsoever with heat as long as you are in a well ventilated area. Right when the vents start to feel a little hot, you can feel the fan kick in for short little 5 second bursts which instantly cool it off. The fan is also virtually noiseless, especially sitting next to my noisy PC fans. I also find the construction of the Amp to be Fantastic. I was shocked that nearly the whole unit is made of solid metal including the front panel and volume knob. It comes with all the connections I need to hook up speakers, sound card, and Subwoofer to the Amp. It would have been nice to see some headphone jacks and another RCA jack for inputing other devices. Overall there isn't much to criticize with this Amp. If the internal parts are as quality as the exterior, this should last quite some time!