You can get a Lepai TA2020 amp off Ebay very cheaply. They sound good straight out of the box but to get the full potential a little hot rodding goes along way 🙂
Marked on the PCB are all the component values. When I started to look at the components they didn’t match up, i began measuring with my multimeter… Then I started replacing things……… (click pic).
hey col, been a long time since the last minirig post!
was the sound much improved? you replaced the pots as well – what with?
looks like a funky litle amp – i might have o get one to replace the poor sad NAD amp that i accidentally blew up (was my bedroom stereo amp)
i think i’d completely bypass the tone control network too.
the pots are very poor quality. I replaced them with Taiwan Alpha, much better and still cheap. The tone controls are fine once they are correctly implemented. The sound is quite remarkable for such a cheap amp.
col.
Good job, been checking these out on ebay. I’d like to put 3 in an enclosure with the a pc power supply (just use the 12volt supply) and make a surround sound amp for my sound card so I can use it with my projector for my home theater. I’d like to put the bass(sub) and the center channel on the same amp, the front speakers on one amp, and the rear speakers on one amp.
Can one of these drive a small subwoofer? I don’t want a lot of bass, just enough so I can hear it that it is there.
Lepai doesn’t have the uumph for powering a sub in a multi amped system as usually the sub is the least effcient of the drivers and requires more power. Why not use the Sure Electronics 2*100W.
col.
this is a potent and inexpensive compact amp. It does have some minor flaws in design though. First off… the included power supply is inadequate. It is also 100% sealed and non vented. The manufacturer obsiously cut the fat there. After frying one amp and power supply, I got another and upgraded the power supply. I also made a crucial mod to the amp. I don’t why the manufacturer didn’t make good use of the aluminum chassis. The small heat sink struggles to dissipate heat, as the amps inclosure is also sealed. I extended the heat sink to make contact with the top of the case, removed the back plate,and… this thing can run all day while remaining relatively cool. I use this as my desk top amp, pushing high-end 8ohm sattelites. Sure, I could have purchased a better high performance compact amp, but like you was impressed by it’s value and just wanted to improve on it’s performance. I must say… out the box,…for the price… It remains unbeatable.
While I would never recommend this amp for strictly subwoofers because of its apparent limitations, I can vouch I have modded three of them and I have been able to drive two 10 inch midbass woofers with not so efficient 8 ohm speakers of efficiency rating at 85. I have been able to pump up serious base using the help of bass tone control. I find this worked better for me than bypassing the tone controls and inserting an electronic sound processing between the signal and the amp. After changing the capacitor and a few other tweeks, and stepping up voltage to 13.5 volts 5amps with a regulated power supply, this thing really will surprise anyone. I have not had problems with overheating… But during inspection, found one of the heat sinks to be without the transfer cream for the heat sinks and ran a tad bit warmer at higher volumes. Also, you will get much cleaner output using 8 ohm speakers after these mods. BTW, it behooves you to change the volume pot.
Hi, aim new at this site, I to purchased one of these amp. Problem that aim having that it clicks on me when there is a surge sound. Where can I find instructions in how to modify the unt. Thk you