Considering a T-Amp based system. Help?

roadie

roadie

roadie

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Hey all,

So I need some speakers for the kitchen, as I am going mad singing at myself when in there preparing food as the only source of entertainment. I have been considering powered 2.0 speakers to plug my phone into or connect wirelessly like the Microlab H30BT, H50BT and the Edifier Spinnaker amongst others.

However, I remember reading years back about people getting great sound from systems based around T-Amps. That got me thinking - could I build a sweet sounding, small system on a tight budget (less than £100)?

From what I gather I would need a T-Amp and PSU, plus speakers and cable. After doing a bit of research the Lepai 2020A+ T-Amp seems like it might be worth a shout. It is also very inexpensive. Are there any others worth considering?

High sensitivity speakers seem to be recommended. However, this is where it all gets very confusing to me with the combinations of sensitivity and impedance! Might anyone be able to tell me whether I should be looking at 6 or 8 ohm speakers and what sensitivity ranges I should be looking at?

I was thinking the JBL Control One (8 ohm 89dB) might be worth a look?

Thanks in advance :)
 
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I have an essay deadline tomorrow and a report due Thursday before an exam next week so I can empathise!

OK so lower impedance with the same sensitivity = louder?
 
Cool. That seems like quite a bit more power though. Would you recommend a Muse T-Amp over the aforementioned Lepai? There is a M20 EX2 model for under £30, which I think uses the same chip.

I do have my eye on some 90s speakers on Ebay from the likes of Mission and KEF that are relatively local and appear to be lower impedance and still relatively high sensitivity. I'm thinking they might offer better value for money than new.
 
I have just ordered a Lepai amp and look forward to playing around with it. Not sure I will be soldering any capacitors inside it in the near future though!

I may buy a 5A PSU. Will see how things are with the stock 2A one first.
 
I do like the look of the older Tannoy speakers, although they may be slight overkill for the kitchen!

Saying that there are some Mission 780SE speakers near me that are more sensitive and have lower impedance (89dB 6 ohm) and may go cheap...

LOL I did envisage this being a compact system, as I already have a full sized one stored at my parent's house whilst I am at uni again! That took care of everything! Quad 12L2 speakers and a BK Gemini II sub fed by a Rotel RA-971 MkII amp.

Not sure I'll be investing in a soldering iron, but you never know...
 
Yeah I noticed those along with the Wharfedale's on offer at $50. I am trying to go even cheaper as I need to be a bit of a cheapskate owing to being a poor student again!
 
Does anyone have experience of a couple of other T-Amp models? The:

Muse M20 EX2
SMSL SA-36A

My Lepai is going to take forever to arrive and I'd be interested in trying out something else in the meantime.
 
I don't think I am ready to spend as much as the Amptastic Mini-1 cost for a kitchen system so I have ordered a Muse M20 EX2 for $23.60. The company say they have a warehouse in the UK and the price included Royal Mail First Class delivery so I am hoping to receive it soon.

However, it does not come with a PSU so I will need a 12V 5A PSU to power it. I am looking for a brand name PSU with warranty, as I don't particularly want some cheap PoS off an auction site. Any ideas?
 
I can't find any of those for retail. However, I have found a CWT 12V 5A PSU, part number CAD060121. It has the standard 5.5/2.5mm jack, which I hope is the right size for the Muse!
 
Lol, well the Lepai arrived all the way from China today along with the Mission speakers. The speakers came in the original box and are cosmetically perfect which is remarkable for a set that this over 20 years old.

The 2A PSU supplied with the Lepai does not go all the way into the plug socket. Rather than sitting flush there is an about 7mm gap between the faceplate of the socket and the base of the plug. This is not cool, but it works. I have emailed the store (radioddity) for their suggestion here. Still there was always going to be some kind of issue with an item that cost £16.84 delivered!

I hooked everything up through some horrid old bell wire style speaker cable and used my phone (a Samsung ATIV S Windows Phone) as the source. This plays MP3s that are ripped from FLAC files to the Standard, Fast LAME preset through fre:ac.

First thoughts were that the bass was absolutely non existent! The speakers don't go that deep (down to 70hz) and are small, but there was nothing coming through at all at the low end of the register. However, things might be starting to loosen up now. At the top end things are nice and crisp without being overly bright. I do want some more weight and emphasis down low though.

It will be interesting to compare the Lepai with the SMSL SA-36A that I decided over instead of the Muse. The plan is to fix up the B&O speakers and use those with my computer with one of the amps instead of the Creative T20s I currently use. Those are fine for TV and film, but aren't great for music. However, I am slightly concerned that they might be a bit difficult to drive at low 80s impedance at 6 ohms. Oh well, we will see!
 
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