I want to set it and forget it
How can I get some good potatoes in this hotel that bite you Get a crispy sound?
I purchased this to drive some old JBL speakers in my bedroom. I use Airplay to send audio to an Airport Express, from which I use line-out to connect to a stereo. Previously I had a compact shelf stereo system, but the sound was very muddy and lacked articulation. Weak amp, high distortion.The Lepai Amplifier is a huge improvement over what I had before. I want to set it and forget it -- set the volume and shove it under a dresser -- and this unit is perfect for that. Low idle current is important, and this unit seems to stay very cool. (I'll measure the idle wattage later.)When I first plugged it in, there seemed to be a lot of strange digital-sounding distortion, especially on higher pitches. I took the amplifier apart to see what their circuit layout and component choices were, and then reassembled and reinstalled it. Now it sounds fine. I'm not sure if I jiggled something, or it just needed to break in, or if there was a grounding issue or what.Some downsides to the product are the cheap enclosure (but at least it's metal, not plastic.) Mine came with small threads of glue all over the underside. The knobs are smooth, but plastic feeling. Mine came with a power supply, but it says "Vonage" on it. They probably got a good deal on someone else's old stock. The datasheet for the Tripath amplifier chip in this unit suggests a supply voltage of 13.5V, but the included power supply is 12V 2A. Sometime later I'll hook up a DC bench power supply and see if I can hear a difference.The biggest downside is the insanely bright blue LED that illuminates when the unit is powered on. I have the thing shoved under a dresser, and it lights up the whole floor. I'm going to replace it with a dim red one (soldering required.)For the price, however, this can't be beat. I'd recommend it to a friend or buy another if I needed another sound system. 