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Musical Paradise MP-301 Mk3

ryanward84 said:
Hooked the Mp 301 up to some ADS L400 speakers and played some Kind of Blue, In a Silent Way, The Band, John Martyn Solid Air and it sounds fantastic. Lows were good for small speakers with a single 7" woofer.

I honestly don't feel my ears are in tune enough to make out major sonic detail but I'd say the highs are nice and clear but smooth and the mids are present but a little bit scooped.

We'll see if rolling Sylvania 6L6s or some 6550s will change the sonic details of the amp. This is fun! One thing i have noticed is that the power tubes do get really hot. Just something to pay attention to I guess.
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For a different take, and better mids, try an EL34 or a 6ca7 big bottle, which is like a blend of 6L6 and EL34. To my ears the 6L6 is a bit too lean.
 
fredgarvin said:
For a different take, and better mids, try an EL34 or a 6ca7 big bottle, which is like a blend of 6L6 and EL34. To my ears the 6L6 is a bit too lean.
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What El34 or 6ca7's do you suggest? It seems NOS el34's are pretty pricey. Any new production that you like?
 
ryanward84 said:
What El34 or 6ca7's do you suggest? It seems NOS el34's are pretty pricey. Any new production that you like?
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Electro harmonix has a nice sounding 6ca7 that is inexpensive and would give you the general flavor. The Chinese Shuaguang EL34 is what I have, though I'm not using them now. People often recommend the winged-c versions.
 
Hey guys, just bought the MK3 version of this amp. So far, I am impressed. This little amp puts some seriously sonic pressure in the room. And this with some pretty inefficient speakers (86 dB).
Anyway, one thing I noticed is that it is a little bit bright for my taste.
It came with Shuguang 6J8P and EL-34.
Any suggestions which ones should I change first? the preamp tubes or the power tubes?
And a suggestion for a warmer, darker tube?
Thanks!!
 
Andrei said:
Hey guys, just bought the MK3 version of this amp. So far, I am impressed. This little amp puts some seriously sonic pressure in the room. And this with some pretty inefficient speakers (86 dB).
Anyway, one thing I noticed is that it is a little bit bright for my taste.
It came with Shuguang 6J8P and EL-34.
Any suggestions which ones should I change first? the preamp tubes or the power tubes?
And a suggestion for a warmer, darker tube?
Thanks!!
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They have gone out of production, but if you can find some Valve Art 350Bs, I think you might be impressed. Not a great "detail" tube, but it is mellow.
Good luck
 
Andrei said:
Hey guys, just bought the MK3 version of this amp. So far, I am impressed. This little amp puts some seriously sonic pressure in the room. And this with some pretty inefficient speakers (86 dB).
Anyway, one thing I noticed is that it is a little bit bright for my taste.
It came with Shuguang 6J8P and EL-34.
Any suggestions which ones should I change first? the preamp tubes or the power tubes?
And a suggestion for a warmer, darker tube?
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
The brightness largely comes from the 6j8p. you could put some inexpensive rca 6sj7 black cans, around $25, on there for now, they will tame the sound. Other tubes people like are the red cans, 717a doornobs, and ef86, which require adapters.
 
I agree swap out the 6J8P's for a couple 6SJ7 or 5693. I tried a couple 717a but the ones I had were horribly microphonic.
 
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Thanks guys, I ordered a pair of TAD KT88 for the power stage and a pair of Sovtek 6sj7 for the preamp. KT88s are supposed to increase the power.
 
Update: Yesterday I received the TAD KT88 tubes and the output level clearly increased, like the amp had more power.
Then, today, I received a pair of 6P3P of unknown origin, I don't know how many hours they have, or if they have been used or not.
And I am surprised to see that, while the output level decreased just a little bit, the low frequencies are much better emphasized and more powerful with the 6P3P, than with the KT88! I expected quite the reverse, honestly....
 
This is my 3rd day with the amp and it sounds great so far, I'm using the tubes it came with. I have an issue tho, I was touching the bottom of the amp than my schiit dac with my other hand at the same time and felt a shock in both my hands, also I feel a light electrical tingle when touching the volume nob sometimes. I now have anxieties about this amp. The owner Garry said it was the wall ground or my power conditioner ground and that this kind of thing is "normal", so I tested my wall outlet and the thing was not grounded so I switched to a newer grounded outlet in my room, my APC h10 power conditioner has a 3 prong and the tube amp has a 3 prong so I think the grounding problem is ok. I still feel tingles in my hand when turning the nob. Do you think this is safe? I got a multimeter and don't know how to use it to test if any electricity is out on the tube amp case itself, anybody with any electrical knowledge help me on this?
 
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Smitty43 said:
I ordered mine with stock tubes and switch between EL34S and KT88S and have Rca 5693s
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Hey Smitty.

What brand KT88s did you go with? How about reliability of these tubes? I've read some reliability issues with the Gold Lions but used in a different amp though. Thanks again.
 
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