How powerful? LM386 I'm not sure of the power, but it can't be more than a few watts. The TI amp chip (I forget the part number) is 2W per channel. I have a partially built amp based on two TDA2003 chips, 10W a channel (into how many ohms I'm not sure). Also, do you want built in speakers, if not what sort of speakers will you connect to it? If you don't want to build one or get someone to build one for you, I recommend you look at iPod/MP3 speakers. You can get cheap generic ones that put out 2W of power (or so they claim) for under $20.