Adafruit Stereo 20W Class D Audio Amplifier - MAX9744

Pump up the volume with this 20W stereo amplifier! This slim little board features a class D amplifier capable of driving 2 channels of 4-8 ohm impedance speakers at 20W each.

Power it with 5-12VDC using the onboard DC power jack and plug in stereo line level via the 3.5mm stereo headphone jack to effortlessly jam out. Operating efficiently up to 93%, this cool-running amplifier requires no heat sinks, making it perfect for portable or battery-powered setups.

At its core lies the versatile MAX9744 amplifier, offering both analog and digital volume control. Adjust volume with the included 1KΩ pot for an old school feel or connect to a microcontroller to set 64 steps of volume amplification using I2C commands.

Noteworthy statistics of the MAX9744 include:

• Power supply: 4.5V-14V DC voltage
• 93% efficiency (88-93% typical)
• 20mA quiescent current (or 1uA in shutdown mode)
• Maximum gain of 29.5dB
• Compatible with DC or AC coupled line-level inputs, up to 3Vpp
• Spread-Spectrum Modulation lowers radiated RF emissions
• 20W stereo output with a low 0.04% THD+N
• Integrated click-and-pop suppression, short-circuit, and thermal-overload protection

The MAX9744 chip is mounted on a breakout board featuring polarity protection, jacks, terminal blocks, I2C level shifting, and a spot for soldering a volume pot. Each order includes one pre-assembled MAX9744 breakout board, pre-soldered terminal blocks, a 470uF power filter capacitor, and a 1KΩ trim pot.

A simple soldering step is required to attach the trim pot, taking less than 15 minutes with the help of a detailed assembly tutorial.