jhoak
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Post by jhoak on Aug 20, 2011 11:17:31 GMT -5
So late last week I snagged one of the cheap Chinese integrated tube amps off of Epay from a trusted US seller for a bit over $200. The intent was to use it in the bedroom fed by the PC and driving a pair of Polk Monitor-30s. Right out of the box it had a couple of issues that I was able to work through. Once I swapped out the output tubes for a quad of Electro Harmonix EL84s and a pair of JAN GE 5670W for drivers it's sounding fairly decent. It's pretty cool. It has two pairs of RCA inputs plus the ability to play from USB flash drives or SD cards. It also built in is a FM tuner which surprised me at how well it picked up somewhat local stations without the benefit of an outside antenna.   Please no comments about the dust. Housekeeping is NOT my forte'.  |
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RPA-1 man
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Phutureprimitive "Kinetic" 2011
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Post by RPA-1 man on Aug 20, 2011 11:29:59 GMT -5
Nice setup. Can you get a pic of the tuner? Why are the speakers upside down? Are they designed to be that way?
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jhoak
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by jhoak on Aug 20, 2011 12:36:38 GMT -5
Nice setup. Can you get a pic of the tuner? Why are the speakers upside down? Are they designed to be that way? Thanks!!! Look at the first picture. The tuner is one of the "functions" on that little board. I'm still figuring out how to work it. It came with no docs. I'm playing "what happens when I"... The speakers aren't upside down. That's how they're designed. It's one of the reasons I chose them as a good fit for my application. They sound very nice. I've been streaming Pandora pretty much all day today. I'm a paid subscriber so it comes in here at a better quality than the free version. |
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Post by jlafrenz on Aug 21, 2011 11:51:17 GMT -5
Nice looking unit. How many watts is it?
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jhoak
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Post by jhoak on Aug 21, 2011 11:58:34 GMT -5
It's rated at 15 w/ch but I think that's pretty optimistic.
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Aug 21, 2011 12:04:52 GMT -5
Those Meng amps come out of Hong Kong and are pretty much the same as Yaqin products. I haven't heard that one but their KT88 mono amps are quite nice sounding. They use EL84 output tubes so about 15 watts I would guess. -edit- posting synchronicity.  |
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Aug 21, 2011 13:07:09 GMT -5
That's a sweet looking little guy! Boy there's some good stuff coming out of China these days. I recently heard a Bada DC-222 hybrid, and that thing is amazing.
Anyway, congrats on the new tube, jhoak. That was a good buy.
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Post by jlafrenz on Aug 21, 2011 13:09:20 GMT -5
It's rated at 15 w/ch but I think that's pretty optimistic. That's plenty of juice for that setup. I used a 10w tube amp in a spare bedroom for my 2 channel setup. It worked very nicely. |
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Post by jlafrenz on Aug 21, 2011 13:11:02 GMT -5
Those Meng amps come out of Hong Kong and are pretty much the same as Yaqin products. I haven't heard that one but their KT88 mono amps are quite nice sounding. They use EL84 output tubes so about 15 watts I would guess. -edit- posting synchronicity. Are you referring to these? hi-end.on9mart.com/ |
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Aug 21, 2011 13:15:38 GMT -5
Judd, was the 10w amp you're talking about, the little Yaqin integrated you had for a while?
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jhoak
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Post by jhoak on Aug 21, 2011 13:16:09 GMT -5
I will say that the build quality "under the hood" is less than stellar. It may end up getting a re-do at some point if I find myself bored enough.
As for the power output and my comment about it being "optimistic" I'm basing that on output at full volume. It is entirely possible that my sound card is incapable of putting out the 2V needed to drive the amp to 100% output.
It really doesn't matter to me though. It's a bedroom system intended to play at low levels NOT my main living room system.
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Post by jlafrenz on Aug 21, 2011 13:22:40 GMT -5
Judd, was the 10w amp you're talking about, the little Yaqin integrated you had for a while? The 10w amp I had was a Jolida. I sold it to for a bit more power to get some more punch. I really miss that amp and think I want to go back to a fully tubed setup. |
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jhoak
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by jhoak on Aug 21, 2011 13:22:45 GMT -5
That's a sweet looking little guy! Boy there's some good stuff coming out of China these days. I recently heard a Bada DC-222 hybrid, and that thing is amazing. Anyway, congrats on the new tube, jhoak. That was a good buy. Thanks!!! At just a few bucks over $300 for the amp and speakers I think it sounds better than it ought to. I've certainly spent LOTS more with less than satisfying results. I'm curious to hear what it can do with a bit of a rebuild with better quality parts. HMMM... |
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Aug 21, 2011 17:18:27 GMT -5
Judd, was the 10w amp you're talking about, the little Yaqin integrated you had for a while? The 10w amp I had was a Jolida. I sold it to for a bit more power to get some more punch. I really miss that amp and think I want to go back to a fully tubed setup. Oh, that's right  Damn my memory is bad. I was really thinking about buying that thing too. |
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Post by thepcguy on Aug 21, 2011 17:35:53 GMT -5
From the PC's puny wires and generic cables to a TUBE.
And I thought TUBES are for 'purists' who despise SS and digital.
Just kidding ;D
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Post by jlafrenz on Aug 21, 2011 21:12:17 GMT -5
The 10w amp I had was a Jolida. I sold it to for a bit more power to get some more punch. I really miss that amp and think I want to go back to a fully tubed setup. Oh, that's right Damn my memory is bad. I was really thinking about buying that thing too. It's not as bad as you think... I was planning on replacing it with a Yaqin. I am guessing that is what you are thinking of. |
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Aug 21, 2011 21:45:35 GMT -5
Ahhh, could be.
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Post by tonymc on Aug 23, 2011 0:20:53 GMT -5
Judd, was the 10w amp you're talking about, the little Yaqin integrated you had for a while? The 10w amp I had was a Jolida. I sold it to for a bit more power to get some more punch. I really miss that amp and think I want to go back to a fully tubed setup. I prefer the "tube sound" too Judd. I'll never get rid of my Triode Dyna or my newly built Crack OTL. I had a Yaqin MC-10L integrated for a while. As Jhoak said the build quality was less than stellar. My Custom Dyna on the other hand is top notch. |
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Post by alienderivative on Aug 23, 2011 10:27:23 GMT -5
For small amps, it's a challenge to beat the Eico's. I have been very happy with a pair of HF-12's once the caps and resistors that were faulty, were replaced.
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Post by savjac on Aug 28, 2011 17:46:29 GMT -5
I will say that the build quality "under the hood" is less than stellar. It may end up getting a re-do at some point if I find myself bored enough. As for the power output and my comment about it being "optimistic" I'm basing that on output at full volume. It is entirely possible that my sound card is incapable of putting out the 2V needed to drive the amp to 100% output. It really doesn't matter to me though. It's a bedroom system intended to play at low levels NOT my main living room system. Hey Jeff is that You ?? This is Jack, how have you been of late. Not heard from you in awhile. |
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Damn my memory is bad. I was really thinking about buying that thing too. 
