Some questions about my future computer speaker setup

[Zirama]

Disclaimer: I barely know anything about home audio and have been using plug-and-play "computer speakers" made by Cyber Acoustics and Logitech. This will be my first time using decent speakers.

I plan on pairing these together:
*[strike]Lepai LP-268A amplifier $9.02[/strike] RIP Nov 2016 - Aug 2017. I replaced it with a used Pioneer VSX-D711 Receiver $30
*Klipsch Icon KB-15 total price $101.98
*Speaker wire
[strike]*12V 2A AC adapter for the Lepai. Found a 2A adapter in the house that was originally used for a massage chair cover.[/strike]
*My desktop computer

The ebay page for the Lepai amplifier states that it supports 100w + 100w, but requires 12v 2A input. If I'm getting this right the AC adapter can only put out a total of 24w.
Is the advertised 200w (100w + 100w) output of the Lepai amplifier false advertising?
Should I use an adapter with the same voltage but more current? Say 4A, 6A, 8A, etc? What's the risk of doing so?

I've already bought the Lepai amplifier, but if you have recommendations for different bookshelf speakers or the other components let me know.


Thanks

Edit: updated speaker wire
Edit: finally got it all together
Edit: the amp died and I replaced it with a Pioneer VSX-D711. The speakers sound better now.

 

[ssddx]

expect more like 25w output on that amp with peak of about 60 off and on. now, i've heard that with a better transformer some other lepai amps had more output (the lepai 2020 i'm more familiar with) but keep in mind distortion levels are also high on such a cheap unit. also, output depends on impedance of the speakers you are using as well and volume depends on both that and the sensitivity of the speakers being used.

for $120 the powered version of the mb42x is available (pb42x) and worth considering. likewise the cr3 and cr4 are in that price range and worth considering.

given that you already have the amplifier you could make it work with the miccas

risk? if you push the amp too hard it may start to get hotter than normal and you may hear clipping which would lower the sound quality by a big margin but honestly it depends on volume. at average listening volumes you should be okay even without getting any ac adapter.

 

[Zirama]

expect more like 25w output on that amp with peak of about 60 off and on. now, i've heard that with a better transformer some other lepai amps had more output (the lepai 2020 i'm more familiar with) but keep in mind distortion levels are also high on such a cheap unit. also, output depends on impedance of the speakers you are using as well and volume depends on both that and the sensitivity of the speakers being used.

for $120 the powered version of the mb42x is available (pb42x) and worth considering. likewise the cr3 and cr4 are in that price range and worth considering.

given that you already have the amplifier you could make it work with the miccas

risk? if you push the amp too hard it may start to get hotter than normal and you may hear clipping which would lower the sound quality by a big margin but honestly it depends on volume. at average listening volumes you should be okay even without getting any ac adapter.

Hey, thanks for answering.
I don't really keep the volume high, so I'll stick to a 12V 2A adapter, but by "better transformer" do you mean an AC adapter made with quality components and/or with higher current?

I did look at the pb42x after buying the mini amplifier, but then I remembered why I'm avoiding any speakers with built-in stuff. When they break I have to replace the whole setup as I have done with my previous plug-in-and-play speakers. The speakers from my last set (Cyber Acoustics) still work, it's just the sub-woofer where all plugs go in that broke down.

From my very limited experience, amplifiers eventually break, speakers on the other hand last many, many years. My brother (the audiophile) left over some of his audio equipment when he moved out. As far as I can remember we've had a pair of JBL ND310II speakers and have been using them for the last 10+ years, but I've had to move the wires from one source output to the next because they kept on dying, until our first amplifier finally stopped working for good. Our current and last left over amplifier is a Pioneer VSX-D514 and I've had to move the wires for the source input once already, but hopefully it will last as for many more years .

So my plan from now on is to only buy plain speakers and power them with amplifiers, which I expect I'll have to replace every once in a while.

 

[ssddx]

if you dont mind 3rd person information.. what i've read is that at least on the 2020a amplifier from lepai the included power supply is weak and upgrading it allows it to push a little more power out. here http/audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/lepai-tripath-lp-2020a-mini-amp-dissected.464404/ or similar threads

we skipped over the lepai units ourselves when i was looking to power some HK thirty speakers since i wasnt sure if it would handle what i had (since i lacked info on the speakers we bought used). all i knew about them (the speakers) was they were a mid-fi product put out on the market and an approximate wattage. i knew nothing about sensitivity or how hard they were to drive since information was not available. i picked the dayton dta-120 given price/performance and it worked great. for such a small amplifier it has pretty good power output without a whole lot of distortion.

its not a bad idea to do what you want and get separate amp and speakers. its not necessarily going to be cheaper in the long run but does give you piece of mind and more options such as upgrading the amp later on or upgrading speakers at another time.

 

[Zirama]

if you dont mind 3rd person information.. what i've read is that at least on the 2020a amplifier from lepai the included power supply is weak and upgrading it allows it to push a little more power out. here http/audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/lepai-tripath-lp-2020a-mini-amp-dissected.464404/ or similar threads

we skipped over the lepai units ourselves when i was looking to power some HK thirty speakers since i wasnt sure if it would handle what i had (since i lacked info on the speakers we bought used). all i knew about them (the speakers) was they were a mid-fi product put out on the market and an approximate wattage. i knew nothing about sensitivity or how hard they were to drive since information was not available. i picked the dayton dta-120 given price/performance and it worked great. for such a small amplifier it has pretty good power output without a whole lot of distortion.

its not a bad idea to do what you want and get separate amp and speakers. its not necessarily going to be cheaper in the long run but does give you piece of mind and more options such as upgrading the amp later on or upgrading speakers at another time.

Alright, I'll start scouring for a 4A+ AC adapter with plenty of fine print on eBay.

My sister has messed around with capacitors in the past (she fixed a TV by replacing a popped one), so it wouldn't be a problem to replace the capacitors mentioned in the article, but does doing so just get rid of the "pop" when you turn on the amp or are there other benefits? If there's other benefits I'll check if there's a spare one in the house.

To be honest the humming sound coming from some speakers annoys me way more than any pop or noise made by an amp that's turned on.

 

[Zirama]

Finally put it all together.

After doing a lot more research I decided that the numerous complaints of the Micca MB42X having non-existant bass and costing ($89.99 was the lowest I found, not including tax and shipping) almost as much as the better bookshelf speakers out there (according to reviews), convinced me to raise raise my budget out of fear of getting buyer's remorse down the road.

I'm happy with my purchase and I think the overall setup sounds good (can't say "great" since I don't really have any prior experience or anything to compare them to). Listening to them I get enough bass out of the speakers that I don't see myself adding a sub-woofer to it anytime in the future (at least for my computer setup).

The 2A adapter is perfectly capable of running the speakers to the volume levels I listen to and above it without generating any distortions (I think it's the term?). IMO if you have to pick between a heavy 2A adapter with a ton of fine print and a light (probably as light as the Lepai itself) 3A/4A/5A/6A adapter with scarcely any fine print, I would recommend going with the 2A, less worries about the cheap but supposedly more powerful adapter catching fire.

ssddx, thanks again.