rudedogg
AK Member
Hello all, i picked up this chi-fi amp yesterday afternoon off a local CL. I grabbed this amp specifically to see how it stacks up against my vintage collection, having owned many older SS and valve amps. I decided to put this little thread here, to help anyone thinking of jumping into the chinese tube game, from vintage valve and/or SS get an idea of what to expect. Of course this is only one man's opinion, YMMV.
The amp is very pretty to look at. It is also pretty heavy, a good sign in my opinion. The original power tubes are in place, NOS driver tubes were previously installed. The amp biased up very easily, and holds rock steady. I am using a cheap cdp as source, and a set of Rectilinear XII speakers currently.
I listened to Dave Matthews "Crash", Diana Kralls "The Girl in the Other Room" and some James Taylor to evaluate sound. I chose these because i have used the same music extensively with my Dynaco ST-70.
The amps sounds very good, it is dead silent with the music paused at full volume. Easily the quitest amp i have owned. It is a very easy amp to use and listen to. Compared to my ST-70, this amp is cleaner, does not seem to get grainy when pushed hard. Compared to my SS Crown amp, it has softer edges, if that makes sense...less damping maybe? Also one must remember this is an integrated, so it is pushing "itself", not being driven by a seperate pre as is the Dyna which introduces another component and cables to the chain. Vocals are spectacular as with most tube amps. It has a very nice midrange also, not quite as rich as the Dyna, nor is it as dynamic as the '70. The transients are not as explosive in the Yaqin as they are in the old Dyna. The Dyna exhibits this behavior regardless of which preamp i use as well. The bass (as in bass guitar and lower octave keys) is very good, however a bit bloated and boomy at high volume. This behavior it shares with the Dyna and other tube amps i have experienced. The Dyna i believe does have just slightly more control over the low registers i feel. Solid state amps do seem to control low frequency better in my opinion as well. Kick drum, snare, toms, all sound very good! Crisp and tight, and cymbals have nice decay. Percussion ( bongos/ wood) is awesome as well on the Yaqin.
Overall i feel this is a very "polite" amp. It sounds good at low, middle, and high volumes without losing much composure other than the boomy bass. I highly recommend it as a cheap and easy to use moderately powered tube amp. The comparison with the Dynaco is slightly skewed in favor of the Dyna, as it is outfitted with vintage Mullard outputs, Mullard rectifier, and Genelex small tubes. Maybe i will swap the Yaqin and Mullard valves between amps and post the results later.
Have a great day!
John
The amp is very pretty to look at. It is also pretty heavy, a good sign in my opinion. The original power tubes are in place, NOS driver tubes were previously installed. The amp biased up very easily, and holds rock steady. I am using a cheap cdp as source, and a set of Rectilinear XII speakers currently.
I listened to Dave Matthews "Crash", Diana Kralls "The Girl in the Other Room" and some James Taylor to evaluate sound. I chose these because i have used the same music extensively with my Dynaco ST-70.
The amps sounds very good, it is dead silent with the music paused at full volume. Easily the quitest amp i have owned. It is a very easy amp to use and listen to. Compared to my ST-70, this amp is cleaner, does not seem to get grainy when pushed hard. Compared to my SS Crown amp, it has softer edges, if that makes sense...less damping maybe? Also one must remember this is an integrated, so it is pushing "itself", not being driven by a seperate pre as is the Dyna which introduces another component and cables to the chain. Vocals are spectacular as with most tube amps. It has a very nice midrange also, not quite as rich as the Dyna, nor is it as dynamic as the '70. The transients are not as explosive in the Yaqin as they are in the old Dyna. The Dyna exhibits this behavior regardless of which preamp i use as well. The bass (as in bass guitar and lower octave keys) is very good, however a bit bloated and boomy at high volume. This behavior it shares with the Dyna and other tube amps i have experienced. The Dyna i believe does have just slightly more control over the low registers i feel. Solid state amps do seem to control low frequency better in my opinion as well. Kick drum, snare, toms, all sound very good! Crisp and tight, and cymbals have nice decay. Percussion ( bongos/ wood) is awesome as well on the Yaqin.
Overall i feel this is a very "polite" amp. It sounds good at low, middle, and high volumes without losing much composure other than the boomy bass. I highly recommend it as a cheap and easy to use moderately powered tube amp. The comparison with the Dynaco is slightly skewed in favor of the Dyna, as it is outfitted with vintage Mullard outputs, Mullard rectifier, and Genelex small tubes. Maybe i will swap the Yaqin and Mullard valves between amps and post the results later.
Have a great day!
John
