Quick Overview
Dayton Audio's DTA-1 has the heart of a serious performer in a truly portable package. A Class-T chip lets the DTA-1 produce imaging, dynamics, and sound quality that rivals tube amps. Up to 15 watts per channel is on tap to push bookshelf speakers.
Product Highlights
• Palm-size Class-T 30 watt amplifier
• Battery or AC poweredpower supply includedfor perfect portability
• 88% Amp efficiency for longer battery life
• Superior sound quality
• Soft turn-on eliminates annoying speaker pop
• CE and RoHS rated design
Product Description
Don't let the compact size fool you—Dayton Audio's DTA-1 mini amplifier is a serious piece of audio gear. A proprietary Class-T amplifier chip enables the DTA-1 to be 88% efficient while still producing pristine, high-resolution output. This makes the DTA-1 T-Amp an obvious choice for powering high efficiency single driver speakers. Up to 15 watts of power per channel is on tap to drive desktop and bookshelf speakers, for the ultimate portable hi-fi setup at home or in your office.
The Dayton Audio DTA-1 T-Amp can run off of 8 AA batteries for total portability, or the included switching power supply (with quick-release US and European style plugs) for stationary use. A rear mounted 3.5 mm stereo (1/8") audio input is provided. The amplifier also includes a 6" long, coiled male-to-male 3.5 mm cable for making connections to iPods, MP3 players, PCs, and portable CD or DVD players. Spring-loaded push terminals are incorporated for quick speaker wire termination. Intelligent short-circuit and over-temperature protection ensure amplifier longevity. The Dayton Audio DTA-1 is the perfect replacement for the now unavailable Sonic Impact 5066 NIB class T amplifier. Dayton Audio has taken the technology developed for the Sonic Impact 5066 and perfected it in this hand-held digital amplifier.
Check out this DTA-1 review: Target PC Tech Magazine - November 27, 2012
PRODUCT DETAIL
- Model Number: DTA-1
- Color: Black
- Product Height: 2"
- Product Width: 6-1/8"
- Product Depth: 3-3/4"
- Product Shipping Weight(lbs.): 1.1000
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
- Amplifier Type: Mini Amplifiers
- Power Output: 2 x 15 watts RMS
- Output Channels: 2
- Output Connectors: Spring Loaded Terminals
- Output Types: 4 ohms, 8 ohms
- Inputs: 1
- Input Connectors: 3.5mm
- THD @ Rated Power: 15 watts RMS (into 4 ohms @ 10% THD), 2 x 10 watts RMS (into 4 ohms @ 0.1% THD)
- Dynamic Range: 102 dB
- Efficiency: > 88%
- Special Features: Soft turn-on
- CE and RoHS rated design
- Battery or AC powered
- Intelligent: short-circuit and over-temperature protection
Product review#1
Ok- We have finally done it. It has received rave reviews all over the world for being one of the highest values in audio. It had gone out of production in favor of a higher quality package which, of course, meant a higher price. Now, Dayton Audio has taken over the molds and reintroduced the product that changed the game and we, your humble servants at Unplggd.gov, have purchased our first T-Amp; the Dayton DTA-1.
Normally we try things out for a long time before we post anything online- helps to get over the honeymoon stage, but we just couldn’t wait to tell everyone about how hot our new “companion” is in the bedroom. Find out after the jump…
One of the issues with the original Sonic Impact T-amp was that it did not come with a transformer. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your budget and level of expertise in the audio world, but it definitely was a bit of a downer if you bought the amp and weren’t aware that there was no power cord coming with it. It did and does take 8 AA batteries, but no cord meant you had to buy one separately. Since the amp was $40 and the transformer/power cord could cost $15, suddenly we were talking about a $55 amp… which was still good, but it kept us from buying.
Most people are used to amps having all kinds of inputs and outputs, a radio tuner, and a very big box associated with them. Really, an amp is just an amplification circuit board with a power source (it may not even have a “board” if it is wired “point to point”). This is common knowledge to audiophiles but to the rest of the world, it may feel like something has been left out if they don’t get lots of weight and size and apparent functionality.
However, with the advent of digital music and iPods and so forth, people have turned towards a more spare aesthetic. People want less now. Ok, they want more but they want it to look like less. We talked a bit about this in our Sonos interview last week; people want electronics to fit into their lives.
The Dayton DTA-1 is small and ONLY what it needs to be. This is an amp that can be used and abused in any small office, kitchen, small living room and yes, bedroom. Bottom view:
Specifications:
• Power output: 2 x 15 watts RMS (into 4 ohms @ 10% THD), 2 x 10 watts RMS (into 4 ohms @ 0.1% THD)
• Efficiency: Greater than 88%
• Dynamic range: 102 dB
• Dimensions: 2" H x 6-1/8" W x 3-3/4" D.
Dayton Audio is a company that is owned by Parts-Express out of Dayton, Ohio. You see, Parts-Express, being a retailer of all types of audio equipment, hears all the customer feedback from the products they sell. They sold literally buhzillions of the original Sonic Impact T-amp and heard what the customers had to say when the amp was eventually upgraded. Some customers didn’t want the upgrades because they cost more and didn’t offer anything substantive in return. Sure, you get a power cord now, but the new box is not very attractive and the new terminals are not so much better that owners won’t still want to upgrade them. Still the same circuitry so nothing has been lost in terms of sound, but almost doubling the price for a few minor changes may not be worth it to some. So they responded.
We are assuming that Dayton is licensing the technology from Sonic Impact, maybe they bought the tooling, but they are definitely the only ones producing the older box now. Since Dayton (Parts Express) is also the retailer, this means there is no middleman markup. They have larger margins and can offer things like powercords and still maintain the $39 price point. So all they did was change the plastic to a matte finish black, which looks hugely nicer than the original, and sell the original package.
Let’s get on to how it sounds, shall we?
There are plenty of reviews on the net about the original version of this amp and they all say how amazingly awesomely awesome it is; worth more than ten times its price, crisp, clear, natural, sweeter than tubes, faster than that swimmer guy in the Olympics; a lot of positive feedback.
We have been listening to it nearfield since it fits so nicely on our slim and sexeh desk. Nearfield is a term used to describe when your speakers are “up close” to you, as they might be on a desk upon which you are working. It just means that you are hearing the speakers directly, without the colorations that arise from sound interacting with room conditions.
We have tried a few different speakers with it. Running it through a ‘90’s pair of 8 Ohm Paradigm Atoms has produced a sweetness that we haven’t heard before from them. Music sounds so clear and benevolent, even Nick Cave sounds like a take-home-to-mom guy. Resolution is so sharp and pointed that you can’t stop from leaning in to catch more detail.
We then tried our full-range Fostex speakers we built a while back and they were less impressive. Certainly fuller and faster than with our tube amp, but not as rich and magical. This has a lot to do with the fact that the drivers have magnets the size of Rhode Island and require a real transformer to get them going.
The final test was to go with some 4 Ohm speakers to test out how that intensity is handled by this little munchkin. 4 Ohm speakers are typically found in cars- they are more difficult to drive in the home environment partially due to their being more resistant to the electrical current. Most home amps are stable enough to run them these days, including the DTA-1, but the sound quality is usually not as good. Dayton rates this amp at .1% distortion for 8 Ohm speakers and a much larger 10% distortion for 4 Ohms. We found this to be quite an accurate rating with there being A LOT of distortion at 4 Ohms. Some of this will have to do with the full range, 4” drivers we were using, but these speakers sound very sweet with amps that are more forthcoming at 4 Ohms.
We’ll just stop right there with the negative aspects and go back to the 8 Ohm experience because these little amps are truly amazing at 8 Ohms and few people even own 4 Ohm speakers. For $40, you CANNOT do any better than this. So simple to use- no built in iPod dock or anything, but you can’t use your equalizer settings on the iPod if you use a dock anyway. If you are a purist and need your “line out”, use a dock to get the clean signal to the amp and you are all set.
Oh, and if you want to go portable, there is room for 8 batteries to enable you to do so. In fact, the size of this amp is almost entirely due to the space allotted for batteries. This amp could be ¼ the size if it didn’t accommodate them. THAT, is even more amazinger (yes it is).
In this economy, you need something this cheap to make you happy. Yes, cheap equals happy, Sri Unplggd reader, as long as it’s also good. A few well placed dollars can really make your musical experience deep and this is definitely a “to buy”.
By Apartment Therapy
Product review#2
No, really, a stereo amp for $60
The Dayton Audio DTA-1 has the footprint of a roll of paper towels, but is rated at 15 watts per channel RMS into 4 ohms @ 10% THD. At lower levels of distortion, it's got a claimed 10 watts at 0.1% THD. Not bad, even if that is only 5 watts per channel into 8 ohms (maybe). In reality, most audio listening is done at 1-3 watts, so 5 should be plenty for a small system, right? I don't know, but it's so cute I'm looking forward to finding out.
You can't tell from the pictures, but the rubberized texture of the DTA-1 belies its price. The overall fit and finish is surprisingly good for such an inexpensive product. It doesn't even look bad sitting on a table between two speakers. On the back you get spring clips for the speaker wire (and these are rather small, so you won't be hooking up your 8 gauge speaker cable to this one). There's only one input, a stereo 1/8th-inch jack. An 1/8th to 1/8th cable is included so you can hook up your iPod or laptop or whatever right away. Nice thinking.
POWER!!!!!
The Dayton Audio DTA-1 may look tiny, but its actually a stereo amp... that's tiny.
The DTA-1 is a Class T amplifier. Class T is a modified version of a standard Class D amp that varies its switching frequencies depending on output power. Class T amps, like their Class D brothers, are highly efficient and light weight, giving rise to amps like the DTA-1.
Using some vaguely un-scientific methods (namely, my iPod and a Radio Shack SPL meter), I measured 96dB with a 1kHz tone at a distance of 1 meter. This is pretty good as the speaker I was using has a measured sensitivity of 84.5 dB at the same distance for the same frequency. There was a slight drop running both channels, but not a huge amount. With actual music it's going to be a lot lower. I measured in the mid 80s with white noise, which is more like the volume they played during my listening tests.
My first selection was "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" by Flogging Molly from their Drunken Lullabies album. This song starts fairly light with guitar, mandolin, some singing. As it goes on, it gets bigger and bigger, with the whole band joining in. The DTA-1 was able to drive the speakers to produce some decent bass, while at the same time never having the bite sometimes associated with inexpensive amplification. Towards the end of the song, when everything's going, there was some slight distortion at max volume. Turning it down very slightly alleviated this without impacting overall SPL significantly. It was also a little compressed, but given the price and nature of the amp, this was totally forgivable.
For female voices and overall atmosphere, I like Radka Toneff's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" from her Fairytales album. Like the Flogging Molly track, the treble was clean with no hint of grit.
There wasn't a lot of pop, or ability to accurately reproduce quick transients. "La Barrosa" from Paco De Lucia's Live in America album is a great test for this. The quick bursts from De Lucia's guitar (strings and otherwise) were fairly flat on the DTA-1. Again, not a big deal and not surprising given the price.
Max volume, as you'd expect, is the DTA-1's Achilles' heel. Even with really efficient speakers, there is only so much a few watts can do. That said, you'll have no problem filling a room with sound at a decent listening level. And if you really only care about nearfield listening from a computer, then this lack of power is unlikely to be a major factor.
Using batteries was another story. Even though output tests like those above remained very similar, it was clear listening to music that the amp couldn't handle quite the same volume levels as when plugged in. More distortion was evident at max volume. As far as battery operated amps go, though, you're still getting a lot more, and better, sound than you'd expect. So if you want to create a portible system with some speakers you already have, the DTA-1 can fulfill that role very well, though it's even better plugged in.
Turn-Ons:
- Fantastic Price
- Surprisingly clean sound
- Great feel
- Annoy your friends with the awesomeness of your $60 amp
Turn-Offs:
- Not terribly loud, but come on, it's $60!
- Blue LED power light is really bright
- Speaker spring-clips almost comically small
- Final Thoughts
I have to say, I love the DTA-1. It's inexpensive, yet still does a great job at what it was made to do. It's obviously not for everyone, but it fills its niche perfectly. Who knew you could get decent sound from a $60 amp?
Manufacturer's Specifications
- 2 x 15 watts RMS (into 4 ohms @ 10% THD)
- 2 x 10 watts RMS (into 4 ohms @ 0.1% THD)
- Efficiency: Greater than 88%
- Dynamic range: 102 dB
- Dimensions: 2" H x 6-1/8" W x 3-3
Review by Geoff Morrison, Big Picture Big Sound 2011-03-21
Where to buy:
Dayton Audio DTA-1 Class T Digital AC/DC Amplifier 15 WPC
Dayton Audio DTA-1 Class T Digital AC/DC Amplifier 15 WPC
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