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Thread: Ker pow!!!

  1. #161
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    No problem, I always enjoy a good sesh, but of course the way to appreciate any amp the most will always be to hear it within the context in which it was designed to perform best

    Taking bits out of a 'completed jigsaw' and trying to get them to successfully fit elsewhere is always a bit of a minefield.

    Marco.
    I agree. Surrounded by its hand picked parts has got to be the best way.

  2. #162
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,779
    I'm Martin.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RothwellAudio View Post
    However, I do agree that some of the Chinese stuff is so cheap it's worth buying just for the case, valve bases, knobs etc., with the intention of ripping everything out to start again from scratch with a completely different design.
    I think that is pretty much what was being suggested. If you'd already bought an amp with quality output transformers then it was probably not cheap, or Chinese.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  3. #163
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    I agree, Andrew, but I know where Jo's coming from.

    There are valve amps available for importing from China (which essentially some well-respected commercial designs now were born from), that once made 100% safe for UK mains [and that bit is essentially important, despite what any seller claims], can be judiciously modified by any competent EE into becoming seriously good amps - and notably, all in all, for considerably less than it would cost to get the same built in the UK from scratch, simply because as you mention, some of the core parts that cost money here are ridiculously cheap!

    I did this myself at the very beginning, importing a Yaqin MC-100B [a dual-mono integrated 30W KT-88 P/P design), into the UK for £350, which I subsequently got Anthony to modify, by turning it into a power amp only, and upgrading key internal components (designed to improve safety and sonics), to which I then fitted some nice NOS valves, and all in cost me well under £2k - and afterwards, sonically, could compete with many much more expensive commercially produced valve amps from 'badged' high-end manufacturers.

    It's certainly a viable (if not straightforward) route to take, but one that in the end can produce very rewarding results, especially in terms of maximising SPPV!

    Here's a link to the amp in question I bought. This one is fitted with Psvane valves, and a bargain (based on the above provisos): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAQIN-MC-...cAAOSwymxVQe6~

    It's the amp that (even in stock form) switched me from SS to valves, as once I heard what it did, musically, it was goodbye to sorry-state, erm sorry, solid-state [only kidding]!

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  4. #164
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    had an older one of those... good amp for money
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  5. #165
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RothwellAudio View Post
    That's a serious amount of glass, iron and steel for the money. Just getting that case and those transformers made in the UK could cost the retail price of that amp, particularly if the quantity involved is low.
    Isn't it just! Especially when you consider that it's an integrated design, and also dual-mono which is actually one of the things that makes it more desirable than other similar Chinese offerings. I was initially alerted to it by a mate of mine, Duncan (tubehunter) who occasionally posts here.

    I can assure you that, even in stock form it's stupidly good for the money, and suitably modded (as outlined above) a veritable giant killer!

    *BUT*DEPITE THE CLAIMS OF ANY SELLER, IT CANNOT BE GUARANTEED TO BE 100% SAFE ON UK MAINS.

    It may be 'officially rated' at 240V, but in my experience that's dubious (as mine went pop, before partnered with a suitable step-down transformer) especially if used in areas of the UK where the mains voltage can be as high as 250V (sometimes more), the internal components simply aren't built to handle that amount of over-voltage; indeed it's questionable whether they're even any good for 240V!

    Therefore, the ONLY way I'd recommend anyone here buying this amp is for it simply to be purchased and shipped directly to someone like Anthony, without it even being switched on, whereby it can be tested and approved as safe. However, it will almost certainly need modifying before that's the case.

    After it's been made safe, but otherwise remains in stock form, it could then be forwarded to the owner for assessment, and then if liked, at a later stage be turned into something rather special for the money!

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  6. #166
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Isn't it just! Especially when you consider that it's an integrated design, and also dual-mono which is actually one of the things that makes it more desirable than other similar Chinese offerings. I was initially alerted to it by a mate of mine, Duncan (tubehunter) who occasionally posts here.

    I can assure you that, even in stock form it's stupidly good for the money, and suitably modded (as outlined above) a veritable giant killer!

    *BUT*DEPITE THE CLAIMS OF ANY SELLER, IT CANNOT BE GUARANTEED TO BE 100% SAFE ON UK MAINS.

    It may be 'officially rated' at 240V, but in my experience that's dubious (as mine went pop before partnered with a suitable step-down transformer), especially if used in areas of the UK where the mains voltage can be as high as 250V (sometimes more), the internal components simply aren't built to handle that amount of over-voltage; indeed it's questionable whether they're even any good for 240V!

    Therefore, the ONLY way I'd recommend anyone here buying this amp is for it simply to be purchased and shipped directly to someone like Anthony, without it even being switched on, whereby it can be tested and approved as safe. However, it will almost certainly need modifying before that's the case.

    After it's been made safe, but otherwise remains in stock form, it could then be forwarded to the owner for assessment, and then if liked, at a later stage be turned into something rather special for the money!

    Marco.
    had a bucking tx on mine which brought mains down 24 volts. worked very nicely after that. probably should have kept that
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  7. #167
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: South Wales

    Posts: 9,151
    I'm NotTakingLifeTooSeriouslyTheseDays.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    had a bucking tx on mine which brought mains down 24 volts. worked very nicely after that. probably should have kept that
    "Today scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality"
    Nikola Tesla



    Its now a conspiracy theory to believe that the Immune system is capable of doing the job it was designed to do.
    A fish is only as healthy as the water its swimming in ! [Dr Robert Young]


    www.tubedistinctions.co.uk

    Matthew 5:10

  8. #168
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: South Wales

    Posts: 9,151
    I'm NotTakingLifeTooSeriouslyTheseDays.

    Default

    The Yaqin 100B is indeed a lot of amp for the money, and there are 230v versions, however; many of them coming in are designated for 220v, even then after testing; it was found that they only needed around 210v on them for the secondary voltages to be correct!
    Hope this helps.
    A...
    "Today scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality"
    Nikola Tesla



    Its now a conspiracy theory to believe that the Immune system is capable of doing the job it was designed to do.
    A fish is only as healthy as the water its swimming in ! [Dr Robert Young]


    www.tubedistinctions.co.uk

    Matthew 5:10

  9. #169
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

    Default

    Remember the Yaqin, Anthony, and what later turned into a full 'Tube Distinctions for AoS' amp? It was rather good, wasn't it?

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  10. #170
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: South Wales

    Posts: 9,151
    I'm NotTakingLifeTooSeriouslyTheseDays.

    Default

    Of course, and as you say; they can be made into something very good indeed, but its not just a case of swapping components etc, the ones I modded I altered the circuitry too!
    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Remember the Yaqin, Anthony, and what later turned into a full 'Tube Distinctions for AoS' amp? It was rather good, wasn't it?

    Marco.
    "Today scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality"
    Nikola Tesla



    Its now a conspiracy theory to believe that the Immune system is capable of doing the job it was designed to do.
    A fish is only as healthy as the water its swimming in ! [Dr Robert Young]


    www.tubedistinctions.co.uk

    Matthew 5:10

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