2 Channel Stereo AMP for Arcade Projects

[mwong168]

I just came across this amp which is similar to the one I bought from eBay for my arcade cabinet and ones posted here by other members.

2-CH Hi-Fi Stereo Amplifier for Car/Motorcycle with USB Port


http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.34406

I paid close to $32usd shipped for mine from eBay and this one from dealextreme is $14.51usd shipped.  I have ordered many things in the past from this site and had nothing but positive experiences so thought I would share some useful finds for other people's projects.  I know by using an amp like this along with car speakers will make the mounting and custom installation easier for cabinets as opposed to taking an existing Logitech 2.1 or 5.1 speaker set and gutting it.

[BobA]

Great price from DX extreme.    I order from them regularly and with free shipping I don't worry about the extra shipping time.   About 14 days to Canada.   Have never had to pay Canadian Duty and all items have arrived as ordered.   (At about half to a third the prices charged by store here)

[zaktallica]

dude THANK YOU this is perfect for my racing cabinet..I was gonna use logitech pc speakers but screw that now..How many watts can this put out? Ill install 2 car speakers in one of the seats but what about rigging up a sub of some sort?

[DrumAnBass]

I bought a similar amp from an eBay seller (shipped direct from Hong Kong for around the same price) and it definitely does the job! Would I use it for listening to music? No - but for nice sounding blips & beeps, I have no complaints. Plus I wired it to the computer power supply via a molex connector.

http://is.gd/abjhS

[bkenobi]

The only down side to this solution over PC speakers is that you don't get a sub.  You can pretty regularly pick up a cheap 2.1 setup.  If you remove the amp board from the satellite speakers and hook them up to car speakers, you get a comparable amp with an included sub.

Now, this won't be anything like a real amp + sub, but its something.  But, if you don't need/have space for the sub, then this is a great option!

[Nacimroc]

WARNING!!!!!    I got almost an identical one off ebay! I used it in my jukebox and it went up on fire!!!!!!

It was this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Lepai-TA2020-Class-T-Amp-Mini-Stereo-Amplifier-20WX2_W0QQitemZ130373027405QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Amplifiers?hash=item1e5ad6864d

I smelled burning and looked to see alot of smoke billowing out! A day later I opened to see a resistor has melted and set fire to the plastic rear speaker connector piece. If you are putting this inside wooden boxes (cabs) be very careful.

[bkenobi]

I've been watching T-Amps for a while now (from the sidelines).  The general consensus is that they are great for a specific purpose.  This is one of those purposes, so it should work great.  I've never heard of a problem with T-Amp based products catching fire before, but that can happen with anything really. 

I was given a pair of PC speakers WAY BACK in the day (when audio wasn't a given).  The previous owner had plugged them into the wrong power source and blew up some capacitors.  It looked like a rat got inside with all the paper strewn about!

[ark_ader]

Sure beats hacking USB speakers.

Thanks for the info!

[mwong168]

WARNING!!!!!    I got almost an identical one off ebay! I used it in my jukebox and it went up on fire!!!!!!

How did you have your amp wired up?  It comes with a plug in AC adaptor or wires you could splice into say a computer power supply.  Perhaps if you spliced into the power supply you hooked it up to the wrong voltage?  I know when I wired up my GGG 25 cent insert coin button to a molex connector I accidently put it on the 12V instead of 5V wire.  Luckily I had my control panel off and was testing out all the inputs to smell and notice a bit of smoking and unplugged it right away.

[RayB]

I went through a couple pages of feedback and there's a feedback in there about one frying with only 8 amp load.

[Nacimroc]

WARNING!!!!!    I got almost an identical one off ebay! I used it in my jukebox and it went up on fire!!!!!!

How did you have your amp wired up?  It comes with a plug in AC adaptor or wires you could splice into say a computer power supply.  Perhaps if you spliced into the power supply you hooked it up to the wrong voltage?  I know when I wired up my GGG 25 cent insert coin button to a molex connector I accidently put it on the 12V instead of 5V wire.  Luckily I had my control panel off and was testing out all the inputs to smell and notice a bit of smoking and unplugged it right away.

Connected using the power supply supplied with it! It is impossible to wire incorrectly! When I emailed him, he eventually said "it happens sometimes" and is sending a new one!

I really need to find a good alternative because with this there is a 'decent chance' this will burn my house down!! These are chinese built, with the cheapest parts available and probably no quality control! You really are risking your life for $20!   If you do install one make sure to put a smoke alarm duct taped to the top of it! 

[mwong168]

I really need to find a good alternative because with this there is a 'decent chance' this will burn my house down!! These are chinese built, with the cheapest parts available and probably no quality control! You really are risking your life for $20!   If you do install one make sure to put a smoke alarm duct taped to the top of it! 

Well I will make sure I mount a fire extinguisher hidden under my cabinet just in case  or mount a smoke detector inside    I've read many positive things and I got the exact same amp as you from ebay.  I don't keep my cabinet on 24/7 anyways so if there is any smoke I will smell it.  I will post up once I get around to setting it up and see if my experience mirrors yours.  Nowadays everything is made in china so not much you can do.

[2600]

Connected using the power supply supplied with it! It is impossible to wire incorrectly! When I emailed him, he eventually said "it happens sometimes" and is sending a new one!

I really need to find a good alternative because with this there is a 'decent chance' this will burn my house down!! These are chinese built, with the cheapest parts available and probably no quality control! You really are risking your life for $20!   If you do install one make sure to put a smoke alarm duct taped to the top of it! 

I have that 2 of same Amp and really like them, but mine haven't caught on fire yet. 

One thing to note, the power switch on the front isn't wired as a power switch.  It is connected to the mute pin of the amp chip and just mutes the chip.  I'd suggest rewiring it so that it is a power switch.

[mwong168]

Wow an even cheaper stereo amp has shown up on dealextreme

100W Hi-Fi Stereo Amplifier for Car/Motorcycle $12.10usd shipped


http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.34408

**disclaimer:  use at your own risk, the cheaper the price the higher the chances of a fire   **

[bkenobi]

The sticker says 180W.  That's like an extra 80 Watts for free!   

I wonder if anyone will catch on that they aren't really providing the watts they advertise.   

[2600]

The sticker says 180W.  That's like an extra 80 Watts for free!   

I wonder if anyone will catch on that they aren't really providing the watts they advertise.   

Yeah, it's really weird.  Only the one I have actually has the correct wattage.  The others aren't even close.

[bkenobi]

You got ripped off then.  Maybe you can do like the tuners and add the better sticker to make your amp better?  It works with tire and engine components, so it must work with other things too, right?   

[Triangel7D]

mwong168 -- Thank you for posting this! I was not looking forward to hacking some $10 PC speakers. Thanks to posts like this on the board, I have yet to open the soldering iron I bought.

[mwong168]

mwong168 -- Thank you for posting this! I was not looking forward to hacking some $10 PC speakers. Thanks to posts like this on the board, I have yet to open the soldering iron I bought.

Well I spent months lurking on this website before I even registered and just want to give back to the community and help however I can.  Now I wish I didn't buy my amp from ebay a few months ago and just waited for it to eventually be available from dealextreme.com for much cheaper.  My amp from ebay has just been collecting dust and didn't need it just yet.  Can't wait till this summer when I have a bit more free time to finish up my showcase project.

[RayB]

Nowadays everything is made in china so not much you can do.

There is still quality control and standards manufacturers and importers have to meet in order for product to be allowed to be sold here. You can bet your butt that if Walmart sold one of these and it hit the news that it caused a fire, the very next day, all that product would be off the shelves and that supplier blacklisted.

By ordering direct from China you are bypassing those checks and balances that filter out a lot of these dangerous goods from the more reliable goods. I'm not so naive to believe it's fool proof and none of it makes it into North America, but by ordering direct, based on price, you're not exactly skewing the odds in your favor. I guess you have to do your research. For me, 1 story of these frying or catching fire would be enough to keep me from ever buying one.

I know a couple who's daughter had a cheap no-name brand dvd player in her room that did the same thing. It blew in the middle of the night and started spewing sparks, setting fire to the carpet and clothes. They caught it in time that there was only damage in the one room.

This is enough for me to decide that if it plugs into a 110 volt outlet, I'm not gonna cheap out on unknown imports. It's one thing to buy little gadgets and memory cards, etc off DealExtreme, but I won't be buying anything that plugs into a wall. (as a side-note, I don't even trust this keychain camera we've been talking about in EE. It gets hot when plugged in to the PC for a while)

[ubiquityman]

A 12V amplifier makes sense if you plan to power it from the computer power supply.

Otherwise, I would recommend an AC powered amp instead.

For example:
Pyle Home PCA1
It's only 2.2W @1% THD, but that should be plenty loud for MAME.
Higher wattage models are available if you think you need more power.
Available at Amazon, Walmart (online), etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PCA1-15-Watt-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B0012KZNP4/

[SavannahLion]

What'sthe usb port for?

[BobA]

Usually just for powering (charging) usb items.  Sort of like USB on a wall charger.

[SavannahLion]

Usually just for powering (charging) usb items.  Sort of like USB on a wall charger.

That's it? How stupid. I thought it was some sort of feedback/control, like what one would find on UPS or something. Makes sense since it's so damn close to the power jack and it does say "OUT". Still pretty lame.