DAC Bluetooth Amplifier

I wanted to upgrade my audiovisual setup in my new house, and needed a small stereo amp, with just three specific features: an optical input, a subwoofer output, and a usable remote control for at least volume. After scouring the Amazon website, I settled on the Aiyima D03. While I have had mixed results when buying electronics from an unknown mainland China manufacturer, this product was the simplest one available with the right combination of features. I wanted the optical input, because my entire signal chain is digital: HDMI from the BluRay DVD/CD player, into the Samsung TV, out via the TV's optical port, through a Bluetooth transmitter (for using Apple AirPods), and then out to the amp. I also needed the subwoofer output to drive an existing powered speaker, and finally, the remote volume control was also mandatory. The product also supports Bluetooth, although I won't be using that. This product fit the bill perfectly, and I have been very pleasantly surprised by it. The D03 is truly tiny; the cord-bump power supply is actually bigger than the amp. While it has a volume knob and input selection controls, the remote provides that, along with bass and treble controls, input selection, and more. When I connected it to my Klipsch bookshelf speakers, I got excellent sound performance, and completely quiet operation, no noise or hum. The amp features a nice graphic display which unfortunately, and owing to the tiny size of the amp, cannot be read from more than a few feet away. No matter, in my application, I really don't need to see it, since I'll only be using the optical input. The product came with a Bluetooth antenna (which I won't be using) and an optical cable, but without the necessary AAA batteries (x2) needed for the remote. Despite the five star rating I'm giving this product, no product is absolutely perfect, and I do have a minor criticism or two. The binding posts for the speaker outputs are really tiny, and a challenge to use with my stubby fingers. They also won't work well with heavy gauge speaker wire, so it makes sense to use 18 ga. or smaller wire, and abandon the myth that speaker cable gauge has anything to do with sound quality, especially with nearby bookshelf speakers. The instruction guide is also rather minimal, albeit sufficient. Class D amp design, something which I did professionally until my retirement, is truly amazing, in terms of reducing the size and weight of amplifiers. While class D amps have their challenges, they have the advantage on not needing massive amounts of iron and copper for transformers, as well as big heatsinks. As for the power output, I never believe the power rating claims of manufacturers like these, because they never specify the conditions for such a test. However, suffice it to say that the amp is far more powerful than it needs to be, to drive the Klipsch bookshelf speakers. Of course, since I only just installed this amp 24 hours ago, reliability will be my chief concern, and I would reserve the right to edit my review, should things go pear-shaped. However, once past the infancy failure stage, audio electronics can run for a very long time; I once had a Technics receiver in my office which remained turned on continuously for well over 20 years, until it finally failed. We'll see if Aiyima holds up as well. UPDATE: I've had this product since last May, and bought a second one for my daughter in August. I'm knocking off one star, for a couple of small problems in both that might be annoying to users. First, the IR remote control has a particularly weak output... it requires pointing the remote directly at the amplifier, and unless there's a clear and direct view, it often fails to work. Second, the volume control, via the remote, is difficult to use; each 'step' results in a very small volume change, so it takes a lot of clicks to meaningfully raise or lower the volume. Aside from those two issues, I still consider it to be an excellent product.

Purchased this product in February to use at my work office. the office space is 10ft x 10ft. I have it connected to Totem Dream Catcher bookshelf speakers and have paired it with Polk Audio Blackstone TL1 and powered Jbl Sub. Both combinations sounded great. The Totem are 4ohm 86 db sensitive and the amp had no issues powering the speakers to levels up to 85db. During working hours the volume is between 2 and 5 on the display and produces a nice background of music without disrupting office co-workers. After hours and weekends I run between 10-15 on the display and fills the office with amazing sound. The display goes to 99, I have never listened past 50. I am using my pc with Amazon music with ultra hd music play list. CD quality (16bit 44.1khz) to HD (24bit 192khz) and music sounds great. I think this amp is perfect for rooms under 300sq ft. to produce high quality sound and normal volume (60db-80db). No issues with playback, I have used it with my PC and TV and both worked great. Highly Recommend this product for office, studios, bed rooms or any spaces under the 300sq ft. And best paired with Bookshelves and powered subs vs large floor standing speakers. Let the powered sub handle music under 80hz and this little amp will power the bookshelves with clarity and finess. Great value in this amp.

Aiyima D03: 30 day review I'm writing this review now because I wish someone had written it months ago. It contains some facts that weren't obvious to me and may not be obvious to you. It also contains some subjective impressions. They are my own. I've had no contact with the seller or any other party with a financial interest in your purchasing decision. I'll start with the bottom line so you can skip the rest if you'd like. The Aiyima D03 is an excellent amp but it's not a good fit for everyone. You're most likely to enjoy it if the following statements are true about you: * You're looking for a stereo (two channel) amplifier for a small to mid-sized room. * You are moderately picky about sound quality. * You listen mainly to digital audio sources. * You don't already have a favorite DAC that you expect to pair with your new amp. * You are prepared to be extremely patient as your new amp warms up. The Basics The Aiyima D03 is a Class D integrated amplifier. I'll explain those terms in case you're unfamiliar with them. "Class D" is a relatively new amplification strategy that relies on electronic switches to do most of the work and consequently can acheive much higher efficiency than the previously dominant "AB" class. This efficiency is why the Aiyima D03 is so much smaller than competing products like the (also excellent) Sony STRDH190 and Yamaha R-S202. The main difference between the classes lies in how much power they require and how much heat they generate. Class D amps don't necessarily sound better or worse than Class AB amps. As with many things in life, the outcome depends a great deal on the details. All amplifiers amplify sound. Integrated amplifiers also provide some kind of conversion or processing. The exact kind will vary from one model to another. In the case of the D03, you'll find a bluetooth receiver and a DAC that allows you to connect digital audio sources (coaxial, optical, USB) directly to the amp. Like simple ("power") amplifiers, the D03 also allows you to connect an analog (RCA) source. Power Here's where comparison shopping gets tricky. Manufacturers usually advertise an amplifier's power in terms of watts-per-channel. This might lead you to the obvious conclusion that a 100 WPC amp will produce twice the sound volume of a 50 WPC amp. Obvious, but not even close to correct. First, WPC will vary dramatically with the resistance (ohms) of your speakers. Some manufacturers (like Yamaha) assume 8 ohm speakers. Others (like Aiyima) assume 4 ohm speakers. This prevents a straightforward comparison. Second, the relationship between watts and decibels is not linear. Each watt you add produces only a third of the volume that the previous watt did. You can learn the gritty details by researching speaker sensitivity and amplifier power. Or you could take my word for it and accept that the D03 has more than enough power to drive most bookshelf speakers deep into hearing damage territory. Don't let the small size fool you. Alternatives to Consider The price gives you some idea about how Aiyima positioned the D03 relative to its competition. It's in line with the previously mentioned Sony SDRDH190 and Yamaha R-S202, both fine, basic, entry-level class AB integrated amplifiers. It's priced considerably higher than the Pyle PDA6BU which offers comparable features but also introduces much more harmonic distortion and noise. On the opposite boundary, you can find an array of high end integrated amplifiers from makers like Yamaha, Denon/Marantz, and Onkyo with prices that start a couple of hundred dollars more than the D03 but quickly reach well into the stratosphere. The law of diminishing returns applies. You get to decide how much you are willing to pay for that next nibble of improved fidelity. Aiyima isn't the only manufacturer of class D integrated amplifiers on Amazon. For example, Fosi Audio produces good stuff and has a few options, all priced below the D03. You can draw your own conclusions about why each seller chose to price their products as they did. If you listen only to analog sources or have your own DAC, the highly rated Aiyima A07 power (non-integrated) amplifier may be a better bet. As I'll describe under "subjective impressions," I see analog input as a weakness of the D03. Subjective Impressions At the end of all the technical terms and numbers, the only thing that really matters is how your stereo system sounds to your ears in your room. Some of the more detailed reviews include information about who is listening and what other equipment is involved. You might find this tedious to read but it ends up making a huge difference to your understanding of the product because you are different from me and I am different from the next reviewer. I classify myself as a "discerning listener" rather than an "audiophile." I developed my ear through many years of playing musical instruments and editing audio files. On the other hand, I lack the inclinaton or patience to squeeze every last drop of fidelity out of my stereo system. I've never upgraded an op-amp. My usual standard is "sounds pretty good to me." Here's how I like to think about the sound quality of a stereo system. You start with the quality of the original source. Then you subtract all of the distortion and noise from each component and each connection between them. In other words, an awful amplifier can make great speakers sound awful but the reverse isn't true. A great amplifier can't make awful speakers sound great. Your stereo system can sound no better than its worst component, and will almost certainly sound worse. I raise this point here because it's unfair to blame bad sound on your amplifier unless you have done the hard work of eliminating all of the other possible causes. Don't forget the connections and interactions between components. I set the D03 up in my home office. I attached it to a pair of Polk S15 "Signature Series" bookshelf speakers, plus an Acoustic Audio PSW-6 subwoofer under my desk. The equipment is just a notch above entry-level. It's "pretty good" but won't win any audiophile competitions. The subwoofer connected to the designated RCA port on the D03 and had its crossover dialed all the way down to 50 Hz. This is not the best way to establish a speaker/subwoofer relationship but it's simple and acheived the "pretty good" sound I was going for. It also tested the D03's subwoofer output. My primary audio source is Spotify via a Macbook. It's connected to the USB port on the D03 and configured to play at 96 kHz. I found a volume of 15-20 (out of 100) to be plenty loud for my ears. To test sound systems, I often use "Toota Lute" from Mannheim Steamroller's Fresh Aire II. It contains some back-and-forth between a guitar and a harpsichord. I can learn quite a bit from how distinct the strings sound and how well they resonate (or don't). To my astonishment, the noise coming out of the D03 setup was positively dreadful. The strings were wrapped in wax paper and stuffed down a drain pipe. Any resonance could be attributed to a plumbing accident. After fiddling with wires for a few minutes and accomplishing nothing, I remembered a D03 review which mentioned that it "came alive" after a few days. I thought the author meant that the sound went from "pretty good" to "great" so didn't pay much attention. Lacking better ideas, I kept the D03 powered on and walked away. Two hours later, I thought it sounded marginally better but couldn't tell for sure. Maybe I was fooling myself. The next day, the improvement was remarkable but I still wasn't impressed with the sound. It took an entire week of gradual progress before I started to feel good about what I was hearing. I threw challenging pieces at it from every genre I knew and had to strain my ears to detect faults. Without reservation, I can call this D03 system "pretty good." I intended to keep using the USB port but also experimented with the others, mainly so I could mention them in this review. The optical port sounded excellent. At the same smaple rate, I couldn't detect any difference from the USB. Bluetooth sounded like bluetooth. It wouldn't be my first choice or even my third, but it worked. I found the analog (RCA) inputs to be the only disappointment. Switching from a digital source to an analog one resulted in a volume significant enough to be annoying. Even at equivalent volumes, the sound was flat and lifeless to my ears. Wrap-up This review starts with my bottom line so I won't belabor the point here. I like the D03 quite a bit and intend to keep it for years. If you remember only one thing from this review, I hope it's this: before you pass judgment on this amplifier, let it warm up for several days. I realize how crazy this statement is in our post-vacuum tube world, but solid state components have temperatures too. [Update 9 Nov 23: Ejected After 16 Months] After sixteen months of near-daily use, the D03 no longer graces my office. It didn't break and it surprised me only once, but that discovery was a doozy. In my initial evaluation, I noted a significant volume difference between analog and digital sources. I played only digital sources and forgot about this quirk -- until I got annoyed with the uneven discrete volume control and attempted to hack around it by attaching an external DAC. This hack required the analog inputs and led to truly atrocious noises pouring out of my "pretty good" speakers. After a bit more experimentation, here's what I learned: 1. Volume control is uneven. I landed in a state where 10 was too loud, 1 was about the same, and 0 worked as advertised. Discrete volume control is a challenging feature to implement. A simpler, continuous design would have served the budget D03 better. 2. Sound quality from analog sources is worse than you'd expect from a simple low-budget power amp. Amazon carries dozens of them. 3. The integrated DAC (TI TAS5548) performs admirably. I expect you would have trouble finding a superior DAC for less money than you would spend on the entire D03. Bottom line: Think of the Aiyima D03 as a "good-enough" DAC with a built-in amplifier. It's a portable headphone amp for your speakers. Don't try to use it like a power amp and you'll get along fine. In case you're curious, I replaced the integrated D03 with separates. A HiFime S2 DAC feeds an Aiyima A07. The S2 is a better DAC and the A07 is a better amp, so the same old speakers produce a richer and fuller sound. Because the S2 was designed for headphones, its analog output is louder than power amps generally expect. I mitigated this tension by sticking an adjustable attenuator between the two components. Switching to separates opens all kinds of possibilities if you're willing to get some wiring dirt under your fingernails. If you're like most people and just want to play digital audio through your speakers, the D05 remains a "pretty good" option. For this reason, I'll let my original four-star rating stand. Still here? Let's talk about the Aiyima D05 for a moment. It's easy to think "5 is bigger than 3, so the D05 must be newer or better." Easy and reasonable but completely wrong. On paper at least, the D03 is the better amp because it contains better/newer TI chips. I didn't bother with a real-life side-by-side sound comparison. It would be fun to see one.

The first thing to understand about either of these is that they are dac-amps. When you are using digital inputs the signal stays digital all the way through except for the final output to the speakers. There are just a few amps that work this way but as digital inputs become the most common sources this is truly ideal because you are avoiding both dac adc conversions when using a digital amplifier - and you don't need a high end dac to get good sound. The downside is that the analog input must go through an analog digital conversion and that is not a strong point of this amp. So as you read others' comments its critical to know what inputs they used. And, of course, bluetooth is not hifi either. I will say that using the digital inputs both of these are truly excellent. I have had many amps including an Aiyama A07, Sabaj A10, Hypex digital, several tube amps, and several class AB amps. In terms of top to bottom detail both the Hypex and D03/D05 are standouts. I did not find the Aiyama A07 as good in soundstage and 'rhythm'. The high end of the Sabaj felt more digital, a bit harsher and flat. But don't forget that dac's can make a huge difference. I have some high end dac's including an RME and Marantz DAC1 so I know what a decent dac should do. The precision, imaging, and soundstage you get from D03/D05 are competitive. I highly doubt there's a significant power difference between them despite the specs since they both provided the same power supply (same as the A07 also). They had more power than I could use with the KEF Q100's I was driving. Sound of the two were very similar with the top end feeling a bit more lively with the D05. Both provide an exciting, detailed sound that felt 3d with the instruments suspended in space. I like the aesthetics and creature comforts of the D05 much more, however. It's a bit lower, longer, and narrower with a larger volume knob and more space for the speaker posts on the back. When you change settings the display changes so that you can see what's changed from a distance. There's a loudness contour that's useful at low volumes. And you can blank out the screen if you want. I haven't found any use for the eq settings. Note that a long press on the display button switches to hi gain which is about the same gain as the D03. Overall, the D05 is worth a few extra bucks.

October 31st, 2024 update. At the just shy of the 12 month mark the Bluetooth function dropped to 50% connection. Now at 16 months Bluetooth won't connect to anything. Unplugging unit, holding power button to drain remaining electricity.... Connecting every back up. No Joy. Other than that this has been a good purchase, but we primarily connect via Bluetooth. Especially for movies with portable projector. And of course it is well outside any resemblance of a warranty. ......... Purchased this to enhance our garage tunes and projector movie nights on the patio using a pair of Q Acoustics 3050 speakers. (Dual 6.5" w/separate 1" Tweeters @ 6 Ohms per tower.) We haven't hooked up the subwoofer, yet. Will update review again for that. I noticed the incapability to replicate the claimed 192kHz processing speed when using the USB-B. It peaks out at 48kHz on my particular unit just like the Bluetooth (BT) Connection. When using BT, the device will not break the 'handshake' with whichever phone was last used. Regardless if said phone is not even on the premises. Unplugging it, pressing the power button to zap any remaining juice and starting over seems to be the best work around. Sound Quality: BT - Via Cell phone, Muddy sounds every 5-6th song when random clipping sounds. Indicated volume levels 22-34. When utilizing XYZ Equalizer app I can bring forward better tone/bass. But sometimes comes across distant/hollow like you are in a large auditorium. Regardless if the EQ App is on, or not. For Movies on the patio utilizing a Roku and Optical cable.... The reproduction is quite well. No complaints. I did not verify the processing rating while watching the movie, will have to remember next time. Did not test the RCA aka AUX option yet, but is rated at 96 KHz. Anyone else confirm if that is true? The remote is simple and easy to use. As long as you remember to point it directly at the wizardry in a box amplifier. I do wish the treble/bass control options were also on the main unit. I fear losing the remote and not changing the bass/treble from whatever setting my Minions used last. Regarding heat.... This item does get very warm, yet NOT alarmingly so. I have installed (Amazon Special) peel & stick heat sinks to the top cover plate to help moderate those temps during movie/video game nights. My ratings Optical Cable Sound Rating - 5 BlueTooth - 2/3 USB - 2 RCA - N/A This is STILL a good compact amplifier than needs a little fine tuning, minus that it has been on the market for a few years. Would rate higher if sound quality of the BT was improved... Vendor mentioned confirming AVRCP is 1.5+, but most Android cell phones do not have that option for the user to select a change. C.

I bought a few of these amps, they work fine for a regular 2.0 setup in some offices I support. A couple of power supplies gave up after a couple of months. The support which is via email or Whatsapp has been horrible to say the least. They are pushing so hard to replace a faulty power supply that is hard to believe they spend more time in labor hours to deal with me, than to just send me a new one and fix the problem. In short, next time I am spending s bit more but buying from a US company that backs up their products.

Excellent sound and power in the palm of your hand! I've got all my other integrated receiver/amps on standby while I continue to enjoy this newly found gem. Bass and treble controls if you desire to use them are available on the remote as well. Paired with the Aiyima tube T3 (also recommended) for vinyl, and using the optical input for CD playback I'm very pleased. Bluetooth connects flawless with my firestick and sounds just as good. Very nice small footprint system compared to all my other much larger components. I'm enjoying the added space not taken up by 30 pound receivers. It's definitely worth a try if you're considering a smaller amp option. 5 stars from me! UPDATE 9/3/23 I still love this little amp. UNFORTUNATELY, for no apparent reason the Optical in and Bluetooth no longer work. I'm very gentle with my gear, it was not dropped or abused. I'm disappointed, but still using the Aux in input to supply sound in a spare bedroom. 1 1/2 years after purchasing, these 2 inputs suddenly quit..

I bought this after tons of research and product comparisons and not being able to wait for the Loxjie A30. For me, I knew it wouldn't match the sound of a high end amp, but it sounds plenty good. For $150, it is a ridiculous deal to drive clean sound at high volumes to a pair of Elac F5.2 floostanders for music and home theatre. I cannot imagine someone who would want it played louder. I have connected USB for lossless digital audio by using USB-C to USB-B cable that I just leave plugged in. The optimal signal out of my Tivo is good as is the Bluetooth. I have had mixed issues even having made the setting change referred to in other reviews but clipping is quite inconsistent and not frequent. My biggest complaint is a real lack of mids. Is it perfect? No. But for the size, good quality, amount of inputs most people need if replacing a receiver and amp, and cost, I cannot imagine anything better on the market. If you are used to high end vintage audio amplification, this isn't for you most likely, but then you wouldn't be looking at this in the first place, and it is fantastic for what it is. Zero complaints.