I completely agree, the Lepai is probably the best value for money available. It sounds great out the box, and if your willing to open it up and do some simple modding it can sound close to £200 amps. I find it has a nice warm sound similar (but obviously not quite the same) as some valve amps
You can find a list of the mods here, I have completed all of these apart from the tone control bypass.
Amplifier:Lepai T Amp - diyAudio
Have fun
I beg you STAY AWAY from the lepai garbage!!! Its the worst thing you can get for money!!!
Its such horrendous build quality and parts selection that you'd have to replace pretty much everything on the board, atleast with the one i got that was the case, its so bad u'd have to replace the entire board!!
Its such horrendous build quality and parts selection that you'd have to replace pretty much everything on the board, atleast with the one i got that was the case, its so bad u'd have to replace the entire board!!
I feel you may have just been unlucky and got a bad one. Ive had 8 of them and the worst I had was the volume pot not being grounded which was literally a 5 min fix. Sure they arent the worlds greatest build quality but then again you get what you pay for. Its cheap, cheerful and surprisingly good for the money. Also now that they have moved over to surface mount components in them the build quality is significantly better than before.
NO!! Their NOT good, mine dident even get 5 minutes worth of use until it found itself in my trash bin, thats how bad it sounded.
If a TA2020 based imp is what you absolutely must have, then FORGET all about Lepai and look at 41Hz AMP6, SMSL, Topping, Indeed and Arjen helder, the worst of these are still lightyears better than any of the lepais i ever seen.
If a TA2020 based imp is what you absolutely must have, then FORGET all about Lepai and look at 41Hz AMP6, SMSL, Topping, Indeed and Arjen helder, the worst of these are still lightyears better than any of the lepais i ever seen.
I wouldn't buy anything off ebay (I mean chinese) without modifying in mind. If you need something ready-to-go then get something like 41hz amp6 or the others that are recommended. Chinese amps are good because they came with case, pcb, chipset and the other bits like connectors etc. Rest you cannot trust (the passives I mean). If you want good sound out of the box then get something that is proven. The datasheet of ta2020 recommends Micrometals core inductors for example. I've only seen those in amp6 kit for example. There have been other tried and tested inductors that sound nice but only trust the respected companies for that matter. Also capacitors make the biggest difference in sound so you need good ps/coupling caps. There may be some unknown parts that sound very good but if you want to make sure go for verified builds. I only bought my Muse amp knowing that I will eventually replace everything inside. I was aware that the money went only on case/pcb and chipset I had no illusions. Now...any of these kits/amp may sound good depending on your experience with music listening (gear).
Bottom line for me is that the chinese stuff offers a good and cheap platform for a project with case/pcb included only if the pcb design is good enough to support quality parts, and also allows you to hear the improvements on the way of parts/design upgrade. You get to hear the differences in parts as you go along.
I had no illusions. Now...any of these kits/amp may sound good depending on your experience with music listening (gear).Bottom line for me is that the chinese stuff offers a good and cheap platform for a project with case/pcb included only if the pcb design is good enough to support quality parts, and also allows you to hear the improvements on the way of parts/design upgrade. You get to hear the differences in parts as you go along.
If you are not a DIYer, I don't see any harm in purchasing an amp from SMSL or Indeed. My particular unit had a channel imbalance issue with a faulty volume pot, and the eBay seller I bought mine from was willing to honor their terms and send a replacement amp. I requested a replacement volume pot instead and installed it myself. My amp sounds great in stock form. In previous posts in this same thread, I mentioned that I was considering changing the input film caps. After many hours (>60 hours), I do not feel a need to change anything. This amps in stock form is a great performer. A friend also bought the same SMSL SA-S1 from the same seller and has not had a single problem with his, and prefers this to his tube amp. I've compared my SMSL SA-S1 to my Arjen Helder TA2020 MkIII T-amp and my upgraded Sonic Impact 5065 Gen 2 (TA2024) T-amp, and I definitely prefer the SMSL T-amp. The relays keep the turn-on and turn-off thumps from passing through my sensitive Klipsch Forte II speakers. My other T-amps do not provide this feature.
That said, there are SMSL SA-S1 amps available from other eBay sellers that appear to be similar to my unit, but upon closer inspection have different input caps, DC power caps, and different AC/DC power supplies. Some people who participate in this forum bought these units from a particular eBay seller and have had to replace one of the small Tantalum capacitors to eliminate a hissing noise in their SMSL SA-S1 amps. I am not aware of this problem with SMSL amps bought from the seller I purchased my unit from.
As for the use of air core inductors, many well respected members on these Class D forums do not recommend air core inductors because they emit RF and are potentially noisy. My experience thus far with air core inductors is that this has not been a problem. In fact, my SMSL SA-S1 amp is the quietest and smoothest sounding T-amp I have. I do not listen to FM radio, so I cannot comment on radio reception or interference. Many times, I've used my cordless phones and mobile phone around my stereo and I have not experienced any problems with that either. There are many Trends, DIY Paradise Charlize and Autocostruire T-amp owners who have posted on these forums and they have not had sound quality problems with air core inductors in their amps. The most common problem seems to be interference with FM radio reception.
My personal choice to buy the SMSL amp came down to the nice looking brushed Aluminum enclosure (even though I am a DIYer, my least favorite part of project building is drilling and punching holes in metal), the air core inductors, and the included 13.8V/4A AC/DC power supply -- all for $55US. The board layout is compact, but there is some room to make component changes if I ever want to do this in the future. I am sure the other Chinese makes like Topping, HLLY, Indeed, and Muse are fine as well.
That said, there are SMSL SA-S1 amps available from other eBay sellers that appear to be similar to my unit, but upon closer inspection have different input caps, DC power caps, and different AC/DC power supplies. Some people who participate in this forum bought these units from a particular eBay seller and have had to replace one of the small Tantalum capacitors to eliminate a hissing noise in their SMSL SA-S1 amps. I am not aware of this problem with SMSL amps bought from the seller I purchased my unit from.
As for the use of air core inductors, many well respected members on these Class D forums do not recommend air core inductors because they emit RF and are potentially noisy. My experience thus far with air core inductors is that this has not been a problem. In fact, my SMSL SA-S1 amp is the quietest and smoothest sounding T-amp I have. I do not listen to FM radio, so I cannot comment on radio reception or interference. Many times, I've used my cordless phones and mobile phone around my stereo and I have not experienced any problems with that either. There are many Trends, DIY Paradise Charlize and Autocostruire T-amp owners who have posted on these forums and they have not had sound quality problems with air core inductors in their amps. The most common problem seems to be interference with FM radio reception.
My personal choice to buy the SMSL amp came down to the nice looking brushed Aluminum enclosure (even though I am a DIYer, my least favorite part of project building is drilling and punching holes in metal), the air core inductors, and the included 13.8V/4A AC/DC power supply -- all for $55US. The board layout is compact, but there is some room to make component changes if I ever want to do this in the future. I am sure the other Chinese makes like Topping, HLLY, Indeed, and Muse are fine as well.
Oh, so you haven't changed anything of your SMSL SA-S1? That's quite nice then... Do you perhaps know which seller you bought yours from? I also notice there is a newer version of the SA-S1 (version 05, you also see the new SMSL logo on these), do you have this one SMSL SA S1 TA2020 Big Power Class T Stereo Amplifier SMSL 1438T Power Adapter B | eBay or the old one? (the old one is sold alot cheaper and has got the old logo) SMSL Hi Quality SA S1 TA2020 Hi Fi Digital Amplifier S | eBay, are these the capacitors you're talking about? Have you tried other SMSL amps yet?
I have the "new" one or Ver. 05, from eBay seller smsl-china in silver. It's a sweet sounding amp. My unit has the white ERO MKT1813 metallized Polyester film input caps, the two yellow-black Nichicon FW electrolytic caps and the large blue Rubycon electrolytic cap. I bought mine with the 13.8V/4A SMSL power supply. No need to change anything on this as long as it works properly, although it took some time for the amp to really open up and for the treble to settle down.
yes seriously the newer amps all sound great out of the box they all have decent components now. I have the smsl ta2021b and it sounds fantastic I was also going to change the input capacitors but no need as the sound is perfect clear detailed mid/high and a punchy bass that beats my denon pma 520ae easily which cost a lot more . just get a realy good switching power supply and just enjoy your music.too many people are obsessed with sonic heaven that they spend thousands on equipment and are still not happy.whatever happened to just sticking some music on and enjoying it
. just get a realy good switching power supply and just enjoy your music.too many people are obsessed with sonic heaven that they spend thousands on equipment and are still not happy.whatever happened to just sticking some music on and enjoying it It's actually weird that the Indeed TA2020 is/was the same as the SMSL amp-03, which is out of production and barely sold anymore. I guess the newer ones are better, so I'm probably going for the SA-S1 (VER:05). Does anyone know the input sensitivity of it? I asked the seller but he hasn't answered yet... The Indeed 2021 had an input sensitivity of 600 mV, which seems too high if I'm using a low-level source such as an Ipod/mp3-player to go loud outside...
LOL, I just discovered this scammer: HLLY TP 20 Class T Amp Amplifier Tripath TA2020 Chip | eBay --> selling the old amp-03 from S.M.S.L as a Hlly TP-20 wtf... With the SMSL logo and the board sign saying 'SMSL' haha!
just had a look at that 1 lol would not touch that with a barge pole.rubbish components would need to change most of it to get good sound
I never soldered anything in my life before, but I would like to learn it. If I mess up the AMP6 assembling it's € 40 thrown away though...
Well, if you want to learn and have the satisfaction you could build it yourself. If you just want to listen to something good get it ready made. I find myself in the same category of people that don't want to fuss with metal so I like my enclosures included in the kit. I droped many projects because of this. China enclosures look real good vs other offerings, plus they are WAY cheaper. If you look on some us/eu diy vendor sites you'd see that you'd have to pay more for and empty aluminium case than the whole ta2020 amp from ebay
41hz amp6 would be a sure shot for almost the best that the ta2020 can give but you'd need a case for it. Just look around, maybe there's something out there. If not then head for the complete amps from ebay as some other members recommend - Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.