Lepy vs Lepai

maj · 30 Dec 2018 at 15:31

I bought my Dad some Whardale 9.0's to use with his PC after he was impressed with my desktop setup here. Knowing he would need a t-amp, I did some research on a cheap but suitable one and came across the Lepai 2020A+ which came highly recommended but is no longer readily available in the uk. I then found the Lepy 2020A and 2024A+ which seem to be very similar in style and spec. Are these re-branded Lepai's? The 2020 being class D and the 2024 being a class T. Not knowing much about Tripath amps, I suggested he got the 2024 with it being a higher number and a 'T'. Was my logic correct? The amp works but I was expecting a bit more oomph from the amp as the volume dial does have to be turned up quite high to get the speakers loud. The amp only came with a 2A power supply so tempted to replace that with either a 5 or 6A one too.

Does anyone know anything about Lepy?

Marsman · 30 Dec 2018 at 22:53

Lepy/Lepai are made by the same company. Class T is a reference to the Tripath chips used; they are both class D amplifiers. Only real difference is 2020 or 2024. IIRC, the 2020 is seen as preferable to the 2024, as it offers slightly better sound quality and slightly more power.

Wharedale's are 6 Ohm and 86dB sensitivity, which is not ideal for the lower output power of the 2024. Higher sensitivity speakers would a better match.

5A PSU might help, as 2A is not really enough I wouldn't have thought. With a higher ampere PSU, the amplifier will only take what it needs, but if it's too low, it will struggle.

maj · 31 Dec 2018 at 08:47

Marsman said:
Lepy/Lepai are made by the same company. Class T is a reference to the Tripath chips used; they are both class D amplifiers. Only real difference is 2020 or 2024. IIRC, the 2020 is seen as preferable to the 2024, as it offers slightly better sound quality and slightly more power.

Wharedale's are 6 Ohm and 86dB sensitivity, which is not ideal for the lower output power of the 2024. Higher sensitivity speakers would a better match.

5A PSU might help, as 2A is not really enough I wouldn't have thought. With a higher ampere PSU, the amplifier will only take what it needs, but if it's too low, it will struggle.

Annoyingly I told him to cancel the 2020 order as I then found the 2024 which I incorrectly assumed would be the better one. Came from a third party seller so will probably cost to return it. I did also consider the SMSL series but if the Lepy worked then it would have saved a bit of money but when I consider the extra PSU, it's probably not too far off the price of the 36A which I maybe should have just got from the start.

I'm happy enough with the speakers providing I can get the right amp for them. At £40 I thought they might be worth a gamble for using them as PC speakers.

Decision to be made then. Keep the 2024 and get a better PSU, or return it and get the 2020 and still might need a better PSU. Alternatively bite the bullet and just get something altogether more powerful in the 36A.

Rroff · 31 Dec 2018 at 09:00

Marsman said:
5A PSU might help, as 2A is not really enough I wouldn't have thought. With a higher ampere PSU, the amplifier will only take what it needs, but if it's too low, it will struggle.

This might be a dangerous assumption heh - I'm not quite sure what happens if you have components in the amp's power stage i.e. regulators that are specced for say 12V/2A with limited current/temperature management and a driver stage that is capable of several dozen watt output if you stick a beefier power supply on there - unfortunately my electronics knowledge is hideously all over the place.

Marsman · 31 Dec 2018 at 11:01

I did replace a PSU on one of my Topping DAC/amps and a friend of mine who is pretty good with electronics said it's fine if I use one with a higher ampere rating, as the amplifier will only take what it needs; as long as the voltage is correct.

I'm sure I've seen it mentioned on some sites, where people have replaced the PSU on the Lepai/Lepy with 5A ones.

After a quick search, I can see Lepy did sell a 5A PSU on the jungle site.

Edit:

After a bit more searching, that was more than likely for the original and proper Tripath TA2020 amplifiers.

Best stick with the PSU that came with the Lepy, because it's likely not a genuine TA2024; you don't know exactly what you are getting.

After looking at some sites, I can see some people say that say Lepy don't even use Tripath chips now. There's a review from someone on the US jungle site, where someone compares the Lepy 2020A against a Kimber K2020 (looks identical to the Lepy) which uses an actual Tripath TA2020 chip, and the design is completely different. With the Lepy, they've stamped over the chip so you can't see what it is. There's a real difference in the look of the quality of the design.

Lepai did make a proper Tripath TA2020 based amplifier at one point, and I guess that is what the PSU I mentioned above, is for.

It's possible that Lepy named amps are just cheap knock offs and not a rebranding from the company that manufactured Lepai's; which is what I assumed they were.

The Lepy works, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't recommend them. Worth paying the extra £20 and getting a SMSL SA36; at least you know what you are getting.