Features:
Rather than making several different versions of the Kama Bay Amp, like internal and external version, Scythe has chosen to make a single version and include all the accessories you may need to run the amplifier either inside or outside of your computer case. Both silver and black faceplates are included and are easily interchangeable to make the amplifier match any components that may be around it. If you aren't mounting it inside your case, then go ahead and mount the fancy side panels that are included to help smooth the edges of the design a bit - see, I told you they fully accommodated both uses! Three included rubber feet also screw into a set of holes in the base of the unit - unfortunately their triangular layout doesn't do very much to evenly balance it. In terms of power, you can run the amplifier using either the external power brick that's included or you can power it internally using a molex cable that plugs into an adapter cable included to connect into the back of the amplifier unit.

 
(Click to enlarge)

In addition to that power plug on the back of the Kama Bay Amp, there's an additional six connections you'll see around it. The speaker connections are a screw-on style with the standard + and - connector for each side. The last two plugs are a L/R RCA input for connecting your source to the amplifier. All of these connections are gold plated, a sign of quality I would not have usually expected from a small unit of this price range!

The most dominating of the four objects on the front panel is the large volume knob in the middle. I was surprised when I gave it a spin that it wasn't the traditional smooth turning volume knob that I was used to, Scythe has chosen to use a dial that clicks with each turn; essentially adjusting the volume in small steps instead of a smooth dial with more precision. The only other components on the front panel are the power button that's at the far left (it also illuminates a soft white when turned on), a headphones jack and a mute button. You may question why they've put a mute button when you could just turn the volume all the way down, but the truth is that some speakers may still leak a bit of noise even with the amp's volume all the way down. If that's the case, just give the mute button a press and it will completely disconnect the output stage of the amplifier chip. As I mentioned earlier, if the stock black faceplate isn't for you, Scythe has shipped a silver plate in the package as well for you to easily swap out.

Along with the rest of the components that I've mentioned are included, there are a few extras that I haven't talked about yet. In order to connect your source to the amp, Scythe was kind enough to include two different cable styles.. A standard L/R RCA male-male cable is included which is something you'd probably use to directly connect most home theatre components. For use with computers and MP3 players (to name a few) an 1/8" to dual RCA cable is also included. A rare item to see with any standalone amplifier is speaker cable, so you can imagine I was very surprised to pull out two 7ft speaker cables from the box! Although they may not be long enough to put the speakers far apart in larger rooms, for more of a desk sized setting it was nice to see Scythe do something a bit different than most companies and include some cable to get you started.

The driving force behind the Kama Bay Amp is the Yamaha YDA138(D-3) stereo 10W digital power amplifier chip. This chip is capable of being powered from a single 12V power source which is why it will work perfectly with a computer's power supply. The mute button on the front of the Kama Bay Amp actually enables an amplifier-level mute function in the chip that will completely disconnect the output stage of the circuit for a complete mute of the system. The headphone output is a built-in function of this amplifier chip as well, it features two 50mW headphone amplifiers which are both taken up by the left and right signals. For the safety of your investment, this chip also has an over-current protection and thermal protection built in. If either exceeds a pre-set threshold, the output stage and headphone amp stage will be powered down to allow the chip to recover. Alas, the pop noise reduction function will work in part with the capacitor on the input signal to help reduce/eliminate the loud "POP" you often get in your speakers when turning amps on and off. All in all, this is a great chip for Scythe to use in the Kama Bay Amp. A lot of cheaper priced amplifiers will just toss in a generic chinese-made amplifier circuit that will be noisy and poor sounding, but Yamaha is known for quality amplifiers and seeing one of their chips as the brain behind the Kama Bay Amp was a delight.