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Lepy LP-2020A Stereo Audio Amplifier Reivew

ronniebear

Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2022
Messages
56
Likes
53
Well, I needed DYI parts from Parts Express and decided to also get the Lepai LP2020AD amp, with its Taiwan-sourced ESMT AD5206 chip. It expect delivery late next week.

FYI, I also acquired a used RCA (aka Realistic/Optimus/Radio Shack) SA-155 mini-amp in near-mint condition for cheap. Headphone output is okay but some headphones won't play loud enough.

The 1.8 watts/channel SA-155 only has RCA plug speaker inputs (!), so I'm ordering an RCA-to-screw terminal adaptor and adjustable wire stripper. I know the SA-155 has a non-defeatable loudness contour, so I'm not pretending it has a flat frequency response.

One good thing I can report about my SA-155: using a set of higher-sensitivity Sennheiser headphones, the phono stage and aux inputs are audibly QUIET, could not discern annoying hiss or hum. This should be nice for connecting a turntable and CD player for another bedroom, and comparing with the LP-2020AD amp.

Sometimes the fun aspect of this hobby for is experimenting with very low-end electronics. If I don't like them, there's no big financial loss.
 

notsodeadlizard

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
Messages
403
Likes
362
What is especially interesting in this forum, no one even tries to understand what this hypertrophied "trash level" price means.

Some Taiwanese small manufacturer makes funny "class D" amp chips for the ultra-mass cheap market.
Whether you like it or not, such an IC requires a minimal "body kit", the manufacturer never makes a secret out of it, because its sales are based on ready-made solutions, no one will invest even $10 in R&D in the segment of ultra-mass ultra-cheap products. And in this case, there are no secrets, here is this "minimal body kit" (http://www.micro-bridge.com/news/news.asp?id=1989):

AD52068_Demo.jpg


It is obvious that many components (especially connectors, jumpers and switches) will not be in the finished mass product, this is not particularly important.
All the same, there will be ferrite beds, main capacitors in the power circuits, some resistors, a PCB and an assembly.
Add to that the case, external connectors, knobs, assembly and packaging.

Now, the trash price level means that all the people who do all this are not even surviving. It is completely incomprehensible how they live at all, those unfortunate peasants who have fled from the "success" of the agro-complex to big cities and work on a stupid exhausting assembly for a pittance.

Well...
Whoever likes all this will live like this for the foreseeable future.
 

GrayA

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2023
Messages
35
Likes
11
A reviewer from 5/14/23 said:
Lepai LP-2020AD inferior to LP-2020A+
This is the Lepai LP-2020AD. I needed a 2nd Lepai amplifier as a compliment to my existing old LP-2020A+. This unit has no relays in the output circuit and is about 2dB quieter on output when driving from the same source into the same speaker. Otherwise works as intended.

Response from Staff
"We are sorry the LP-2020AD did not perform as expected. There have been a number of variations over the years of the LP-2020 and as a result they all have slightly different performances depending on what chip is in the unit and available for production at the time. By using another power supply this model can offer better overall output. The included power supply is capable of driving this amp at 2 x 15 watts per channel. To realize the full potential of this amp (>20 watts per channel), we recommend a 24V 3A power supply. Make sure both speaker output channels are hooked up to a speaker when in operation. And make sure the new power supply is a 2.1mm x 5.5mm connection that is center positive. Should you have any questions feel free to reach out to us using the information on our "Contact Us" page. We are happy to help."
 

knightkat

New Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2023
Messages
4
Likes
0
I actually had an old Lepai-2020 that I gave away, and eventually got a Lepy-2020A maybe 9 years ago. I tried 3 amps:
- Lepy 2020A
- Denon AVR-587
- Yaqin MS-20L

On 3 sets of speakers:
- PSB Alpha
- Klipsh R-26F
- Frugal Horn Mk3 (diy)

Honestly, the Lepy did better than the Denon. It was less warm than the Yaqin. I got similar feel to the sound across all 3 sets of speakers. I tried this using a MacBook Pro output 3.5mm to RCA, and was using 320kb mp3 files (a variety of jazz, classical, rock, movie scores, etc). Also tried an old CEC record player. Only when I cranked the volume to neighbour annoying levels did I hear the Lepy have distortion. To be honest though, my gear isn't really high end so YMMV.
 
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