Audioengine, makers of the fantastic A5 active loudspeakers, has announced the N22, a small, desktop stereo amp.

Designed to go with their P4 and P2 lines of passive speakers, or any other speakers of your choosing, the N22 packs some decent punch and a lot of features in a tiny package.

Standing 7 inches tall and less than 3 inches wide, the N22 Dual Class A/B amp has 22 watts for each of its two channels. It is capable of up to 40 watts per channel for peaks.

Audioengine claims a frequency response of 20Hz to 22kHz +/-1dB and a signal-to-noise ratio of greater than 95 dB.

On the back you'll find stereo RCA inputs and a 1/8th-inch stereo input. Outputs are a line out stereo RCA and gold-plated binding posts for your speakers. There's a USB connector for power output to a portable device. On the front is a headphone jack with its own Burr-Brown/TI OPA2134 amp.

If you're looking to build an inexpensive but high-performing desktop or other small audio system, this looks to be a great amp to start with. The Burr-Brown headphone amp will make your headphones sound better too.

Conversely, you could get an inexpensive receiver.  The cheapest Denon, one of my favorite receiver companies, is $250 (AVR-391). That gets you five channels at 75 watts each, HDMI switching, plus a bunch of other inputs. Of course then you'd have to find a place to put the 17-inch wide, 15 deep, 7 high inch box somewhere near your speakers. For a small desktop system, the N22 is way better.

Audioengine N22 Desktop Stereo Amp: $199

AudioengineUSA.com