Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

I saw that tamp on ebay, looked like a nice little tamp. I was wondering what did it cost and did they send it free shipping with air mail out of hk?

Indeed TA2020 is $37 --

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290622735502

I used this 12v 5A PS - $9.69 --

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170503651705

So my all-in cost was: $46.69

Free shipping for both items. It took 1.5 weeks for the TA2020 to arrive from HK.

One other thing can you tell a difference in between the amps in sound?

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showpost.php?p=1792131&postcount=23

[donradick]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

After reading all the comments, I upgraded the power on my main Lepai - I found this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...02_i00_details
For $7.21 at Amazon with free shipping.
Plugged it in - amazing difference. Not subtle at all.
I never use over about 1/3 of the volume on the little fella, so it's definitely not maximum power output. Even at 1/4 volume, the Lepai has much better bass, much cleaner mid-bass, and clear mid range. Well worth the money.:D

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

After reading all the comments, I upgraded the power on my main Lepai - I found this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...02_i00_details
For $7.21 at Amazon with free shipping.
Plugged it in - amazing difference. Not subtle at all.
I never use over about 1/3 of the volume on the little fella, so it's definitely not maximum power output. Even at 1/4 volume, the Lepai has much better bass, much cleaner mid-bass, and clear mid range. Well worth the money.:D

As long as you spend $25 @ Amazon and get the free shipping, that is by far the cheapest I've seen a 5A PS. Great find!!

[blossom]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

Cool, I had also seen these on ebay... Thanks for delving into it some for us, i will look for a bit more on these now.

[moron#99]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

here is a nice little 12V 16A power supply for $15

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170016

- nevermind - the 5A supply for $8 linked by donradick works out to 60W total and looks like a lot better idea.

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

There's a new contender in the budget T-amp shootout.

As pointed out by JR, the MCM-offered Stellar Labs T-Amp is on sale for a measly $10.

I got a few of these puppies, and took some time to deconstruct one.







The unit has a "push on" "push off" power control in the volume knob:

The OFF position is pressed in:


ON position:

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

Bottom where you can load a bunch of AA batteries if you wish:




Time to deconstruct --

there are 5 screws on the underside. One was hidden under the quality inspection sticker.



You also have to pull the label off of the back of the unit:





These caps are on each speaker output:


TA2024b is the chip:





The Volume/Power board. The black cover on mine is bent, but not broken. Guess that missed the "quality inspection"





Well....here's the whole amp (I disconnected the battery leads). You can see the headphone output board on the right.



Powered up and running:

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

I ran my Stellar Labs TA2024b for a couple hours at about 1/2-3/4 power and I pumped up the volume to full for a few minutes at a time. The TA2024 chip did not get hot. I could easily touch the chip without burning my finger, and that's a little surprising considering that there's NO HEAT SINK. I used a 12v5a PS from EBAY. *This amp does not come with a power supply.

The sound isn't bad at all. I was using my Speedsters which are low efficiency and right around 5ohms. The amp didn't seem stressed by the load at all. The headphone output is fairly clean and plays loud enough before distorting. It's definitely usable.

Bass was a little shy and I believe the soundstage seemed a bit narrow. Not sure if I'm describing that correctly, but I kept my speakers in the same listening position when I tested the amp and there was a noticeable (yet subtle) difference in the stereo separation. This was also evident in the headphones. However, at $10 I cannot complain.

The case is garbage, the speaker outputs are very cheap and flimsy and I don't like the volume pot. It's very easy to break both the speaker tabs and the volume. I see those being a source of future problems. However, it is most definitely worth $10, and at that price it's more of a bargain than the Lepai TA2020. In terms of sound quality, it is just as good as the Lepai TA2020 but not as good as the much more costlier Indeed TA2020.

It will be fun to mod this little amp. Not sure when I will have time to do that however.

[John_Frum]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

What mods are you thinking of for this little guy?

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

Something along the lines of this: http://www.michael.mardis.com/sonic/inputmods_F.html

Note that the amp board in the link above is from the Sonic Impact TA2024, which I believe is identical to the Dayton DTA-1 / DAT-2 board.

[critofur]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

...Plus our Chicago Bears totally fell apart today so I'm really bummed...Hang in there.

Last time I watched the Bears play was w/"The Fridge" in the game with that famous lateral pass. Remember that one?

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

What is the next step-up in quality from these amps? Something like the Qinpu A3?

Well the three amps discussed in this thread are all T-amps, so I would have to cast my vote for the Topping line of Tripath Amps.

However, that tube amp is really cute. I love tubes.....just can't afford them right now.

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

Last time I watched the Bears play was w/"The Fridge" in the game with that famous lateral pass. Remember that one?

They played that poor guy in so many positions it's hard to remember a specific play....was it against Green Bay? I don't recall it being a lateral, but it was a TD. The blocking he did for Payton was unreal.

[ericJ]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

Reviving old thread for questions!

I should have the parts for Wolf's PC tomorrow. I ordered the Indeed TA2020 from eBay tonight for $37.00. I am looking at power supplies now. I found one on eBay for $7.99 and free shipping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-12V-5A-A...item2a1550d68b

Question 1. Is this power supply compatible? Like.... is the input pin thing a common size?

Question 2. Since the Indeed does not have RCA's and I am running the input from the stereo out from my PC, will I need a "headphone jack TO headphone jack cable" for signal cable?

That is all. Thanks.

[bkeane1259]

Re: Budget T-Amp Shootout - Lepai vs. Indeed TA2020

No...that is incorrect for the Indeed TA2020 and also the Lepai TA2020.

The specs for the power supply are fine (12v 5a) but the pin size is too small. You need a 2.5mm I.D. and 5mm or 5.5mm O.D. pin.

This one is just a tad bit more $$ but will work. http://tinyurl.com/bmn9cyl

On Q2 you are correct. You need a 3.5mm to 3.5mm headphone cable - male to male. Like this: http://tinyurl.com/cuwtlv8

Have fun.