I just received a bunch of RC5501 Stereo Amplifier Chips.? These are much superior to the LM386, but have the disadvantage of requiring a 12V supply (Really they seem to run fine between 11 and 13 volts) Here is a link to the datasheet. rc5501n.pdf
Here is the basic hookup diagram from the datasheet.
Here is a picture of the completed build with one channel hooked up.
