ggrey
Sonically Insane
Dittos! I have made 3 purchases from China and not only have the items been of high quality, they shipped quickly and securely, and communicated succinctly.
Jumping into tubes
- Thread starter gunpoet
- Start date
Dittos! I have made 3 purchases from China and not only have the items been of high quality, they shipped quickly and securely, and communicated succinctly.
heath2832
Active Member
A DAC is not necessary for a stand alone CD player. I don't know about the Ipod.
Thank you! I have a nice cd player but I'm sure in time I will be drawn into a tube cd player...
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
I had a MHZS tubed player but replaced it with a Marantz SA8004 SACD player which I prefer. The Marantz has an accessible DAC which allows direct PC connection.
I'm glad I found this thread!! I have spent the last two days researching these Chinese amps. And I have also narrowed it down to the above. I think I want the "YC-808MK"... but I'm not sure. The only speakers I have right now are Vandersteen 2c's and they are not that efficient. This will also be my first tube purchase
I am considering using this site: www.hi-end.on9mart.com based on lots of positive feedback I've seen online. No affiliation
I am considering using this site: www.hi-end.on9mart.com based on lots of positive feedback I've seen online. No affiliation
Thanks for the link! I can't wait to buy mine but I'm taking a few days to see what opinions pop up here. Everyone at AK has helped me learn a lot. As far as speakers go, I have a few sets to try. I plan on spendind a few days with each pair to narrow it down. I'd love to see what you end up with and what your thoughts are!
heath2832
Active Member
Well, I have narrowed it down to 3 units and have the funds as well lined up! Any opinions on the ones I picked? Music Angel YAYI XDSE YC-808MK KT88, The Music Angel XDSE KT88 , or the YAQIN MS-20L EL34B. I'm so stoked!!!!
I highly recommend the Yaqin MS-20L from the ebay seller tabnaac. For about 615 bucks including delivery in about 4 days. Ships from Canada and he QC's the amps before shipping them out. He also carries parts and does warranty work. Excellent communication. I've bought 2 MS-20L's from him and a friend of mine bought one as well. You won't be disappointed.
I wish he had an Angel XDSE XD-800, I am really liking it but because of his rep I may end up with the Yaqin...
heath2832
Active Member
Is the Music Angel an auto bias amp? That would be a deal breaker if it wasn't. The Ebay ad does not mention it but I would venture to guess that the bias points are on the inside. This is a pretty big negative IMO because you'll have to take the cover off, flip the amp upside down and then do the readings while the amp is on, all the while trying to keep yourself from getting killed as you're holding the test leads and adjusting the bias. If I'm wrong someone will surely come along and correct me. I'll never buy an amp where the test points aren't on the outside. Just my .02 YMMV
Muddy Waters
Looking in, the Yaquin has non standard 6AK5 tubes that limit tube rolling, but..... The Music Angle has a 6N1 (6DJ8/6922) that I never like the sonics.
The TS66 mentioned is quite industry standard 12AX7-12AU7-EL34, many NOS tubes for rolling. I just bought one to play with. Kind of like a no glammar, but great functioning VW Beetle of the 70s- so mainstream & I can see the transformers.
Yaquin MC-100B has 12AX7-6SN7-KT88. Now that tube line up for tube rolling is sweet. Sylvania 6SN7 'Y' plate sound excellent.
Yaquin 13S has 12AX7-12AU7-EL34. again nice tube line up.
Money not a limit? I find the MC-100B interesting. Rolling KT-88s is expensive, but I always start with preamp tubes first.
I do not care for 12AU7s, but a 12BH7 may sub well- better tube. Filament wiring change will allow a 6CG7 (6SN7 in 9 pin package) in place of a 12AU7 & this is what I will perform on the TS66.
Looking in, the Yaquin has non standard 6AK5 tubes that limit tube rolling, but..... The Music Angle has a 6N1 (6DJ8/6922) that I never like the sonics.
The TS66 mentioned is quite industry standard 12AX7-12AU7-EL34, many NOS tubes for rolling. I just bought one to play with. Kind of like a no glammar, but great functioning VW Beetle of the 70s- so mainstream & I can see the transformers.
Yaquin MC-100B has 12AX7-6SN7-KT88. Now that tube line up for tube rolling is sweet. Sylvania 6SN7 'Y' plate sound excellent.
Yaquin 13S has 12AX7-12AU7-EL34. again nice tube line up.
Money not a limit? I find the MC-100B interesting. Rolling KT-88s is expensive, but I always start with preamp tubes first.
I do not care for 12AU7s, but a 12BH7 may sub well- better tube. Filament wiring change will allow a 6CG7 (6SN7 in 9 pin package) in place of a 12AU7 & this is what I will perform on the TS66.
Another issue is that I know nothing about bias adjustments or when or how to do the adjustments and what purpose it would serve..
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Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
I also don't care for the sonics of the Chinese 6N1 but I do like it's Russian 6N1p-Ev equivalent.
The nice thing about most SET amps is there is no bias adjustment.
The nice thing about most SET amps is there is no bias adjustment.
Dumb question.... Is the Music Angel an SET amp? Forgive my ignorance on the subject.
heath2832
Active Member
Biasing a Yaqin amp is very easy. Using a voltmeter, place one lead in the + and one lead in the - and adjust with the screwdriver that comes with the amp. Although it will be biased before it leaves the factory (and again by Tabnaac if you buy from him) but you'll still want to check it after the amps been on for a couple hours to make sure it's at .4V Yaqin's bias readings are very stable. Just to be certain I recheck every few months or so and it's been spot on every time.
Thinking I might get better sound out of an already great sounding amp, I rolled Mullard EF95's in it and it increased the gain which was not to my liking. I also tried GE 5654W's and they were microphonic so I went back to the stock tubes and it simply sounds fantastic. In the case of this amp, some things are better left the way they were intended. YMMV of course.
Thinking I might get better sound out of an already great sounding amp, I rolled Mullard EF95's in it and it increased the gain which was not to my liking. I also tried GE 5654W's and they were microphonic so I went back to the stock tubes and it simply sounds fantastic. In the case of this amp, some things are better left the way they were intended. YMMV of course.
None of the forementioned amps are SET (single-ended triode). SET or single-ended tetrode or pentode are all single-ended using different types of power tubes. These can sound amazingly good, but lack power. The range is normally 3-10 watts per channel. The Music Angel with 845 is 20 watts per channel. I do not know if I trust the Music Angel with the high voltage 845 as failures were noted on the first units.
A simple way to find SE (single-ended) amps is to look for two power tubes, not four on stereo amps.
BTW- you have no concern of rolling preamp tubes for best sonics?
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
The fact that an amp can operate in triode mode does not make it a single ended triode amp. The Music Angel and the other powerful amps recommended here are push pull amps. A push pull amp uses negative feedback while a SET amp does not. The downside of SET amps is lack of power which is not an issue for those who have efficient speakers.
That may become a concern as I learn more. That is a big reason why I am leaning more to the Yaqin now. That and the correspondence from Tabnaac has been great today. I hear a lot about Russian tubes as well but don't know about those either.
I will be using My Klipsch KM6s most likely. Still on the fence there as well. I have several sets to try and play with.