Are there any similar desktop sized speaker amps, along the lines of the Emotiva BasX A-100, for around the $250 mark? Looking to power Micca RB42s on a desktop, one input (two would be nice but not required) headphone stage not needed.
My sound preference is for slightly warm-side of neutral. What would be great is a speaker version of the THX-AAA 789!
The Onkyo A-9110 would fit the bill, very good amp for the price, but not really that small
if you wanted a smaller desktop amp, the topping pa3 is great and very clean for the price
Size is key here – nothing larger than the A100 preferably. I found the MX3 to be pretty bright, so not fully on board with the idea of the PA3, but certainly an option. I would also prefer class A/B over D… but admit to zero experience behind this preference 
It’s just that in this price range it’s going to be hard to find what you want in a desktop size
Something like the parasound zamp v3 would work but you would also have to get a volume control with it
I really like parasound gear, its got more of a balanced warm character
Apparently monoprice are selling power amplifiers too.
110$ for 50 watts/channel into 8 ohms with < 0.1% THD+N
Interesting.
Also, 200$ for the 200W version. Because I’m not sure it’s 50 watts/channel RMS.
Parasound is an interesting option, and has the advantage that I always wanted to try some Parasound. However, with the addition of a preamp the size is again an issue.
Between the PA3 and the Emotiva – anyone have any experience in the sound quality, or actual use of the two? Some quick research on the PA3 indicates some hissing potential, although with the RB42 this may not be an actual issue.
The monoprice is also interesting given the physical size of the unit. So even after adding a preamp it’s not too huge. Prefer something better known and reviewed though.
You can just get something like the jbl nanopatch + or mackie big knob passive that will work just fine. Any line level control would work
The basx100 is a great amp, nice balanced sound with plenty of power. I think the parasound is a step above, but it is more expensive
The pa3 is going to be a more clean sound, but still great. I don’t think the hiss is going to be that big of an issue
It’s a pretty nice amp, but I don’t think its at the sound quality level of the parasound or emotiva, but it is a really nice amp for the price, I would say probably a better alternative then the pa3 for the rb42
For future reference, @Cleetus was suggesting a Dayton Audio APA-150 amplifier.
The Parasound looks good, but it’s larger than I’d like – if I find one used for a good price I may still bite. Any other alternatives around the Emotiva size I should look at?
Really? The parasound zamp v3 is smaller then the emotiva
Here’s the dimensions I found:
My focus was on width, which is where I was coming from. However, the Emotiva doesn’t quite fit where I want it, so in that sense the Parasound would fails to fit equally well On reflection I agree – for my use case either amp would work in terms of size. Thanks for the suggestion.
Now for a cool looking volume knob which doesn’t add to much to size. Or a pre-amp. Maybe some sort of Schitt…
Edit: And now the Emotiva is avaiable via Prime, so that changes things a little, lol
The schiit sys works for that, and the jbl nano patch + does as well
The Fostex Pc-1e is a super tiny knob too
another option
Off to research a bit more before I decide. Thanks for the discussion, really helpful.
Edit: Oooh, that Nobosound is purdy
Looks like the Amazon dimensions for the Zamp are for the rack version of the v3. Here’s the non-rack sizing from the Parasound site:
Just curious…with all the hype of the jumpered A-100 paired with the DT880 600ohm, is the Parasound Zamp ‘jumperable’? What kind of headphone wattage would that translate to, and would it be clean enough? What would be the difference between jumpering and running off the speaker taps through an adapter?