Adafruit Stereo 2.8W Class D Audio Amplifier - I2C Control AGC (TPA2016)

A mini class D with AGC and I2C control? Yes please! This incredibly small stereo amplifier is surprisingly powerful. It is able to deliver 2 x 2.8W channels into 4 ohm impedance speakers (@ 10% THD) and it has a i2c control interface as well as an AGC (automatic gain control) system to keep your audio from clipping or distorting. If you don't want to use I2C to control it, it does start up on with 6dB gain by default and the AGC set up for most music playing. We do suggest using it with a microcontroller to configure it, however, since its quite powerful. Settings are not stored in the chip, so you'll need to adjust any gain & AGC amplification settings every time the amp is powered up. Inside the miniature chip is a class D controller, able to run from 2.7V-5.5VDC. Since the amp is a class D, it's incredibly efficient (89% efficient when driving an 8? speaker at 1.5 Watt) - making it perfect for portable and battery-powered projects. It has built in thermal and over-current protection but we could barely tell if it got hot. This board is a welcome upgrade to basic "LM386" amps! The inputs of the amplifier go through 1.0uF capacitors, so they are fully 'differential' - if you don't have differential outputs, simply tie the R- and L- to ground. The outputs are "Bridge Tied" - that means they connect directly to the outputs, no connection to ground. The output is a ~300KHz square wave PWM that is then 'averaged out' by the speaker coil - the high frequencies are not heard. All the above means that you can't connect the output into another amplifier, it should drive the speakers directly. Comes with a fully assembled and tested breakout board with 1.0uF input capacitors. We also include 3.5mm screw-terminal blocks so you can easily attach/detach your speakers, and some header in case you want to plug it into a breadboard. Speakers are not included, use any 4 ohm or 8 ohm impedance speakers. The awesome tutorial and Arduino library will let you set the AGC configuration (you can also just turn it off), max gain, and turn on/off the left & right channels all over I2C! You will be ready to rock in 20 minutes!