Carny_Priest Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Well, you can spend four or five times as much for something like the plate amp which may work great out of the box. Or go cheap and spend a little more on parts and do a little labor to correct the unit's known defects. I had my cabinet built for me and the Lepai came with it. It was already a sunk cost, so it made much more sense for me to buy a couple of parts. If you want higher quality, no hassle, small footprint, 2.1 amp, I'd try that plate amp. Of course, that will have a Made in China tag as well. Everything is Made in China unless you are willing to shell out a truly large amount of money for audiophile or pro level equipment. People harp on these Lepai amps, and they have their defects. But the performance is still pretty phenomenal for the size and price and for what it is needed to do. I was impressed by it in any case. If it was truly a hunk of shit I would have tossed it. I would not use it to drive my home stereo, but it is good for a game and I'd say it is as good as the sound system in any real life table. A lot of builders wind up using it because it does the job well not that is the absolutely highest quality solution that could be imagined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrhp Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Again, this puts me off, it sounds like a pile of junk (not surprised for around £11 - £15) but again, I can't find anything else that would do. Yeah, it's the usual trade-off in price vs quality. There are numerous posts about problems and numerous others about how they work flawlessly. I suspect the difference might be that lots of people get defective units, like I did on my first try - maybe they just have a really high defect rate. Note that there are several cheap 2-channel car audio amps that get decent reviews and are in the same price range as the Lepai. Check out Boss car amps on Amazon for some comparison points. The trick is that you'll need two 2-channel amps to drive a pair of main speakers plus a subwoofer, so that approach effectively doubles the cost vs the Lepai, and of course takes up more space in your cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdhanded2 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I had a set of PC speakers that came with a powered sub and I used just the sub with a Lepai amp and 2 6×9 speakers. Sounds just fine for what I use it for. I have used 3 of the Lepai amps in builds so far and not had any issues. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 Thanks for all the advice guys it's very much appreciated. Opted for the Lepai http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00H425URK?cache=3802fbe380d7d79b5e6227daa5b2b1b3π=AC_SX110_SY165&qid=1402121352&sr=8-7#ref=mp_s_a_1_7 fingers crossed I get a good one To be honest I probably won't notice if it's defective lol. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckydogg420 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 That little amp should be fine. You would connect from the headphone jack on your motherboard to the green aux input of the amp. For 4" speakers any should do, car speakers are 4ohm, that will work. Might as well get 40watt ones to match the output of the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 I have these reserved but only just realised they are 30w. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=1041623&categoryId=265869&langId=-1 Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrhp Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Regarding my earlier post about the Lepai amp: Some people report that they get bad results with the power brick but better results if they power it from the 12V rail of a PC power supply or some other external 12VDC power source that can supply adequate wattage. I'm powering mine from a PC PSU and it seems to work pretty well. So, I take that back. That setup worked fine in isolation when I was testing, but now that I'm further along and have everything connected, it turns out to be a bad idea. That seems to be creating a ground loop (or something similar) that's injecting an awful lot of hum and static. Using the separate power brick seems to be a much better idea after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 Okay, so I have the lepai 2.1 with 30w speakers. What sub would you guys recommend? What about this one http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=351061948793&alt=web or is it worth buying a sub with a higher watt value even though the speakers are only 30w and the amp is only rated at 40w. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carny_Priest Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 I don't have any specific recommendations. I have a Lanzar MAX8 600W subwoofer. It came with the machine. It's just another off-brand car speaker comparable in price to what you linked to. It does deliver volume at the low-end. I was impressed with the effect on TAF Showtime multiball. At the right volume you may question the need to install contactors/solenoids for force feedback. On the other hand, there is distortion on the bass line for some soundtracks like BBB and Scared Stiff Boogie Man Boogie Mode. It's irritating. I'm in a pier-and-beam house with hardwood floors so there is some nasty resonances that I still need to tame. It may be enough to add that low pass filter in-line from the amp. Or I may have to do adjust the equalization in Windows. Or something else. Some might recommend that car speakers stay in the car. Get a subwoofer for a home theater. A subwoofer in its own enclosure may not fit into the cabinet. But if it fits your aesthetic sensibilities you can run a line from your cabinet and place your subwoofer just about anywhere. Or in the optimum location for bass response for the player. It's a high quality solution so more money. The one recommendation is to shop from a seller with a liberal return policy. You are only going to be able to hear that the solution works for you by trying it out in your cabinet in the room where you will be using it. Can't really tell that by looking at a picture and technical specs online. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Is it worth buying a sub with a higher watt value even though the speakers are only 30w and the amp is only rated at 40w. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carny_Priest Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 A higher power rating than what you linked to earlier? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure the rating advertised for the amp is peak output. The average output may be more like half the peak. At least it seems doubtful that you will overdrive and break that subwoofer. And in practice, how loud are you really going to crank it even though it is not hugely powerful amp? The player will be standing right next to the speakers! As another point of comparison, the main channel speakers on my machine are Lanzar MX42 4" speakers. They are rated 120W peak and 60W on average. The amp can drive these quite well. I don't think the amp is not powerful enough. There's plenty of volume. I don't think the amp is too powerful. I have heard no distortion or clipping, but then I haven't felt the need to put it to the test. I'm standing three feet away from the speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Thank you Carny_Priest, you've been extremely helpful, pointing me in the right direction regarding a subject I know nothing about. Much appreciated Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 So my power pack for my Lepai died today, looking for recommendations for a new supply please guys. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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