Key specs: symmetrical +/-6-18V or single 12-36V supply, 10W in 8 Ohm, 0.1% THD, 40mA quiescent current.

TDA2030 is a single, monolithic class AB amplifier supplied in a Pentawatt housing. The outline is a TO-220 housing with five leads.

We still recall an amplifier build many years ago with two TDA2020 ICs (16W in 8 Ohm; 0.1% THD). It had a less practical 14 pin DIL package with a small cooling pad on the top of the housing. This amplifier worked for many years with the chip that was a product of SGS before the merger with Thomson.
The TDA2030 can be seen as a more practical update of the TDA2020. Today, also the TDA2040 and in particular the TDA2050 exist which are improved versions of the TDA2030. Therefore, it is hardly worth using the TDA2030 in new designs because the TDA2050 is better in any respect and sold at a comparable price.

The TDA2030 is neither very powerful nor has it a particularly low THD. However, it provides a performance most people are satisfied with. 16 Watt output power is sufficient for ordinary daily use and a THD of 0.1% is about what most low-cost commercial products offer nowadays. This was why the TDA2030 became a success in former days with little competition.
TDA2030 was designed for use with a symmetrical supply. Today bridge-coupled amplifiers, using only a single supply voltage, become increasingly popular. Such bridge-coupled amplifiers are often designed in a single housing containing 2 or even 4 amplifier units. The mono power amplifier ICs are likely to become rare.

Anyway, we got our hands on an inexpensive TDA2030 amplifier board in mono outline. We will provide a short report on our experience with it. The test will follow when a suitable, symmetrical power supply has been constructed.

Comparative tests will not be performed with the TDA2030 for the reason that TDA2050 makes the TDA2030 obsolete.