How Do Simple DIY Amps Compare to Entry-Level Commercial Ones?

[Aria James]

Has anyone here tried building or testing small DIY amplifiers for home audio setups, and how do they actually hold up against budget commercial amps in terms of sound quality? I was going through this tutorial (https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2021/06/simplest-lm386-audio-amplifier-in-proteus.html) where they used the LM386 to make a simple audio amplifier, and it looked surprisingly straightforward.
It made me wonder if projects like this similar to some Arduino forum discussions on Bluetooth speaker builds or Raspberry Pi threads about pairing Pi boards with mini amps. Can actually perform decently in real-world listening, or if they’re mostly just good learning exercises.

 

[Kingnoob]

I’d imagine building them is pretty complicated… this is definitely less common than diy speakers, and subs.

 

[lovinthehd]

Never tried a amp kit assembly. Be more interesting to see some specs/testing of the one you linked before building one...

 

[ryanosaur]

Hypex NC400 and Nilai 500 have been tested extensively. These are relatively easy to assemble assuming you are passably competent with various tools and perhaps a soldering iron. They perform quite well and should be able to do almost any task required of an amplifier short of driving a power hungry Sub.

 

[Happy Joe]

The last time I assembled an amplifier ; it had tubes... and integrated circuits were not yet common, maybe not yet available.
The last time I talked to the owner it/they (I made 3) was/were still working after many tube replacements; since the early 1960s.

Enjoy!