The two photos above give you an idea of the parts layout for the audio amplifier stage that is comprised of a NE5534 Low Noise Op Amp driving a very healthy LM380. You could see up to two watts from this amp. It does very well with this project. In another section I discussed the concept of systems gain across the whole rig and having plenty of "poop" on the output side makes up for having modest gain at the front end. Remember too much gain on the front end also amplifies the noise!

I am not the original designer of this stage and think it was lifted from Ron Taylor, G4GXO and his Belthorn (pronounced Bell Thorne) Special.