(Click to view on Amazon)
In my last post about the Realistic Minimus 26s, I mentioned how the Lepy 2020A would make an excellent companion. I know you’re thinking “Who would want an 20 watt per channel amplifier?”. The 1981 JCPenny Stereo Receiver that I use for my desktop HiFi system is only rated at 25 watts per channel RMS. Although 20 watts per channel might not seam like a lot, That’s loud with sensitive speakers like my Realistics or my Electrohomes. In fact, most factory car stereos are only rocking with 15 watts per channel. Not only this, most aftermarket stereos pump out around 20 watts per channel. This small class D Lepy packs a punch.
Uses for a mini amplifier.
Anyone who collects as much gear as I do knows that I have speakers that aren’t hooked up. Sometimes, I just want to listen to my speaker collection without having to get one of the big dogs out. Neither do I want to climb behind my entertainment center to unhook my main speakers. It’s nice to be able to just hook an amplifier to the laptop and be able to run a set of speakers without making a mess. Just wait though, it gets betters.
The Lepy can run off a battery!
You read that right! The Lepy 2020A can actually run off a 12v lithium ion battery pack. This opens the door to many different uses and projects. This includes homemade Bluetooth speakers, testing speakers at your local thrift store, and running your speakers outlet free. For speakers like my Realistic Minimus 26s, this is great. With enough speaker wire, I can spread them out far in an open room and listen to a performance right in front of me. For the audiophile on-the-go, this is just perfect.
I ordered my Lepy with a Talentcell 3000mAh lithium ion battery pack. The battery life with this combo is amazing. You could easily get a couple days out of a charge at moderate listing levels. The Talentcell battery pack also comes in handy as a power bank for charging your phone.
How does the Lepy sound?
Well let’s put it this way. With how small the Lepy 2020A is, there is a downside. That’d be the sound of a class D amplifier. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds decent. Just don’t expect it to sound as good as your class A/B amplifiers. From what I could tell, the Lepy 2020A is very detailed for what it is. It even has a surprising bit of warmth to it. The soundstage can be a little lacking. But for what the Lepy can do, that is OK. With good speakers and a good DAC, the Lepy 2020A can make for a decent sounding set up.
Bluetooth Speaker Build
Yes, you read that right. I did actually build a Bluetooth speaker out of the Lepy 2020A. While at Goodwill, I acquired a bunch of vintage surround sound speakers. One of these was a center channel speaker with blown drivers. I also had at the time a vintage console TV that had really good 4′ full range speakers. I decided to take the full range drivers out of the TV and replace the blown woofers with these full range drivers. I also took the old tweeter out and replaced that with another speaker terminal plate to allow both drivers to be run in stereo. I had lying around a Bluetooth receiver that supported aptX. After wrapping the entire speaker box in painter’s tape, I had used electrical tape to hold everything on. The result was a rather interesting good sounding Bluetooth speaker. It screamed homemade with all the wiring and tape.
Future Use
After buying the Aiwa Exos 9, this build was no longer useful. I ended up taping the Talentcell battery pack and Lepy LP-2020A together. I saw just how useful it’s be to send 20 watts RMS per channel to any given speaker off a battery. This amplifier will be seen in future articles when testing speakers. However, for critical listening, I will break out the big Ol’ Pioneer SA-1270. For now though, I hope that this article was helpful in your decision of a small amplifier. They come in handy and don’t sound that bad.
