Best $200 Amazon Amp?

[prime minister]

My headphone trials are not going well. I'm just not a headphone guy, and the ones I can see choosing are more for the comfort and convenience. They work incredibly well with all my Apple devices. Though they are silly expensive ($779 Canadian).

Anyhow, for my temporary living arrangements, I have been thinking of digging out my Minimus 7s, and maybe hooking them up to a modern type amp. I can't, nor would really want to, crank it up loud, but I think they could have a nice sound for evening listening while reading.

But, to drive them, I'd need a small amp. Amazon had lots up to the $200 ish price point, and they are usually delightfully compact.

My experiences with Bluetooth, other than with the aforementioned Air Pods, had been underwhelming, but I love the idea of it, and still hold out hope. Bass and treble controls would be nice, but unneeded if it had a warm sound.

Any thoughts?

 

[prime minister]

I guess the other idea would be Bluetooth speakers of some kind. Lots of stuff available as a singleton for $200, but I would prefer a stereo pair.

 

[JohnVF]

I was just going to say, before reading your second post, that you should get a decent Bluetooth speaker. I have this little blue radar-dish looking HK thing that I cart around for background music. Its actually not bad. It's stereo in the same way a boombox is stereo. So, kind of? I think it has two tweeters and a shared woofer. I've never liked Minimus 7s but I seem to be an outlier. My HK thingy has bass at low levels, even if its a bit exaggerated. They ...do not. It's a few years old, I'm sure there's more interesting options out there now. Klipsch has one, JBL has some....

 

[S0und Dragon]

My old Bose sound link mini II is surprisingly decent. I recommend. The Klipsch one had my eye as well at one point.

 

[prime minister]

These could be edifying:

Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers - 2.0 Stereo Active Near Field Monitors - Studio Monitor Speaker - Wooden Enclosure - 42 Watts RMS https://a.co/d/2HvW1Dh

 

[Ernie]

That Edifier doesn't show as having BT. The next model up, the 1700, does. 219CAD from amazon.ca

 

[prime minister]

I was just going to say, before reading your second post, that you should get a decent Bluetooth speaker. I have this little blue radar-dish looking HK thing that I cart around for background music. It's actually not bad. It's stereo in the same way a boombox is stereo. So, kind of? I think it has two tweeters and a shared woofer. I've never liked Minimus 7s but I seem to be an outlier. My HK thingy has bass at low levels, even if it's a bit exaggerated. They ...do not. It's a few years old, I'm sure there's more interesting options out there now. Klipsch has one, JBL has some....

To clarify, the choice of the Minimusususus was not based on enthusiasm for them. I haven't even heard a pair in years. However, they are in the garage right now, and they are compact. I doubt I'd go hunting up a pair for this project otherwise.

But, you do raise a good point. Compact speaker tech has advanced dramatically in the past few years. A Sonos Move recently blew me away with its sound quality. But, it's a bit more then I'd like to pay right now. But I'm sure there are other options available that don't also have the price boost that the Sonos brand carry's. I've been very impressed by the sound of my JBL sound bar, so I'm thinking something from them might be fun. JBL does seem to be the fun line from Harman.

 

[Olson_jr]

Last week I was away from home and used my JBL Flip 5 and Tidal from my phone for tunes.

I am still somewhat surprised at how good this little JBL speaker sounds. Especially as it is so small it fits in the water bottle carrier on my backpack. Not that I would listen to tunes while hiking. I enjoy listening to the glorious sounds or quietude of nature.

 

[rogerfederer]

this is a good class D option:

https://www.amazon.com/AIYIMA-A07-TPA3255-Amplifier-Digital/dp/B08CJZGT6H

 

[JohnVF]

For the amp/speakers option I have and have used an iFi Zen Blue bluetooth streaming device. It's a bluetooth receiver and DAC that adds bluetooth to any old receiver/amp. There's probably cheaper options but this one works really well and sounds surprisingly good. Just RCA-out to whatever amp. It's $200 usd so not giveaway and I can't say how cheaper options stack up, but you know I'm kind of an iFi fanboy.

 

[mrgoodsound]

I would recommend the Aiyima T9 or T5 wholeheartedly. Just pick depending on the features you want. T9 has a remote and more digital connections, T5 has no remote but a real potentiometer and phono in.

 

[FloriduhBoy]

I guess the other idea would be Bluetooth speakers of some kind. Lots of stuff available as a singleton for $200, but I would prefer a stereo pair.

Check out a Klipsch 'The One' BT stereo speaker. Sounds fine for the $$.

https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Assistant-Tabletop-Bluetooth-Enabled-Multi-Room/dp/B082BGJB8K/ref=asc_df_B082BGJB8K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=509189570381&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9786888530081304402&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012265&hvtargid=pla-1262820147507&psc=1