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A couple of months back I bought a Little Bear P2 headphone amp, the first thing I noticed was the phono sockets were labeled wrong, Left was Right and vice versa, I was sent a replacement which had the same problem, so I just swapped the cables around. Last week I purchased a esinkin bluetooth receiver, also made in China, and I have just noticed it has the same problem. Is this a know problem, any one else noticed this? Make's we wonder how people have purchased these items and could have the same problem.
for xmas to myself I took a punt on a cheap Chinese DAC from amazon.
plumbed for a SMSL Sanskrit 6th reduced from 150 down to 70 quid.
arrived in 3 days from order and very chuffed with my choice. A full metal, tiny box with coax, toslink and usb input and a wallwart supply.
there is a pukka 9v regulated supply available as a upgrade too.
as the package had been in transit a while, on unpackaging the device was FREEZING...left it at room temp a couple of hours while the wife dragged me shopping!!
upon return I plugged it in and sat back to listen....sounded awful!!
BUT....I gave it a couple of hours warmup via the toslink to my tv set and later that evening had another shot.
now the sound was MUCH better....smoother and deeper than my Yamaha's on board dac
I guess with the cheap Chinese kit....particularly via amazon....I really pays to check all the reviews.
well pleased.....NIGE
Must admit, I am well pleased with the sound from the Bluetooth receiver for £20, now I swapped the cables over. Sounds great with Deezer.
I can't fault any of the Chinese gear I've had. All did exactly as it was meant to and did it well.
I am somewhat curious about the screw hanging from the bottom of my amp though.
walpurgis
08-01-2017, 22:21
I've had a few Chinese valve amps and been well pleased with them. In fact I've had no bother with any Chinese electrical product. The sellers have always been helpful and polite too.
Most audio equipment is made in China. Most European manufacturers have their own managers overseeing production. Have recently been using Quad, Audiolab and Aries - all made in China - and all superb.
Companies like Grant Fidelity in Canada distribute leading Chinese brands that are shipped globally direct from the Chinese factory. Brilliant business model.
paulf-2007
16-01-2017, 19:30
Me too, all the Chinese I've kit I've had has worked faultlessly and the first two, a valve hybrid amp and Dac I still use. I'm off to Beijing next week but have no idea where hifi kit is sold and no interest to buy anything as I'm completely satisfied with what I have.
I have no problems with the sound quality for the price, once the cables are swapped round. Just wonder if people bother to check the stereo output? I was just lucky that one of my test recordings (David Bowie - Space Oddity) has very distinctive left/right channels which I noticed right away.
walpurgis
16-01-2017, 20:10
Just wonder if people bother to check the stereo output?
Check it for what Barry?
Check it for what Barry?
Think he is referring to wiring of left and right channels which are sometimes x-ed. Its also worth checking for a case earth as they often dont bother.
Ninanina
16-01-2017, 20:55
I've just realised that I have owned two Chinese amps...
The first was a Ming Da (Mei Xing) MC-34 like this one:
http://i.imgur.com/sEZsSfO.jpg (http://imgur.com/sEZsSfO)
I can't remember what I paid for it, direct from China, but it was very cheap, maybe £150-£200 I can't remember exactly... Using EL34's. Build wise it was fantastic, soundwise well it was what I guess a lot of people think valves sound like ie. warm and cuddly but quite pleasant with it ;)
The second was a Yaqin MC-100B like this one:
http://i.imgur.com/rle1sVa.jpg (http://imgur.com/rle1sVa)
I think I paid about £300'ish for it secondhand. Using KT88's...Again fantastic build wise but soundwise I didn't get on with it at all... it might be that I don't like what KT88's do, I have no idea, but it didn't stay in the system long at all
If I had no other amp and was really strapped for cash, and wanted to stay with valves, then the Ming Da 34 would be my choice between the two... luckily for me I do so I don't have to...;)
Arkless Electronics
16-01-2017, 21:07
It probably doesn't require explaining but... If an amp is built in China using exactly the same parts as were once used when it was built in Cambridge, and with due care and attention to detail, then there is no reason for it to be in anyway inferior to a UK made one.
The problems come in when to make extra profit, the cheapest components known to man (and yes made in China) are used, sometimes they are not even "genuine" parts, and workers who may have been making socks two days ago are put on the production line without sufficient supervision or training... The Chinese are noted for their hard work and "can do" attitude but not for their precision and attention to detail... witnessed by the fact that apparently they still can't successfully manufacture ball point pens! (look it up).
Where they excel is in making stuff cheap of course.... I am sometimes flabbergasted to see made in China clones of western amps, for example, with a price tag (including delivery to UK) of maybe half of what it would cost me, trade, for JUST THE COMPONENTS!!!! This makes me doubt whether even non fake parts have been used.... I have before even priced up the cost of buying enough parts to make 50,000 of these Chinese amps and I still couldn't buy the parts for the delivered price of the finished Chinese amp!! It makes yer wonder....
montesquieu
16-01-2017, 21:23
Kind of surprised no-one here has stated the obvious (not even you Jez and you are never shy with a bucket of cold water - sometimes even in a good way ...) anyway the issue is VOLTAGE.
Mainland China voltage is 220v. EU voltage is 230v, but in reality a lot of national standards still apply and the old 240v UK standard +/- 10% - still lingers in a lot of places, that +10% means you can get 250v+ quite frequently, well out of spec for Chinese kit unless the transformer has been changed for an EU spec or better still, a UK spec one. That spells FIRE HAZARD and might well invalidate your home insurance
As people have mentioned a lot of big name or at least 'established manufacturer' kit - from Quad to Prima Luna to Puresound - is made in China these days and for this sort of stuff you can be confident it's localised. In other cases you can't, certainly not from the warehouse box shifters like Cattylink or Chinese vendors on ebay unless you ask very specifically and clearly.
I've had some great fun with Chinese kit but I've made damn sure that I avoid anything thatthat says 220v on it, and even with 230v, I try to have it checked over by someone who knows what to look for.
walpurgis
16-01-2017, 21:27
According to the nonsense on the seller website, my MingDa TVC pre-amp is rated at 110v/220v. Which of course is complete rubbish and I ignore it.
I had a bucking tx on my yaqin.
Ninanina
16-01-2017, 21:57
I had a bucking tx on my yaqin.
? ? or am I being thick again :doh: ?
walpurgis
16-01-2017, 21:58
? ? am I being thick again ?
No comment! :D
Ninanina
16-01-2017, 21:59
No comment! :D
So polite Geoff..... :rfl::rfl:
Arkless Electronics
16-01-2017, 22:13
Kind of surprised no-one here has stated the obvious (not even you Jez and you are never shy with a bucket of cold water - sometimes even in a good way ...) anyway the issue is VOLTAGE.
Mainland China voltage is 220v. EU voltage is 230v, but in reality a lot of national standards still apply and the old 240v UK standard +/- 10% - still lingers in a lot of places, that +10% means you can get 250v+ quite frequently, well out of spec for Chinese kit unless the transformer has been changed for an EU spec or better still, a UK spec one. That spells FIRE HAZARD and might well invalidate your home insurance
As people have mentioned a lot of big name or at least 'established manufacturer' kit - from Quad to Prima Luna to Puresound - is made in China these days and for this sort of stuff you can be confident it's localised. In other cases you can't, certainly not from the warehouse box shifters like Cattylink or Chinese vendors on ebay unless you ask very specifically and clearly.
I've had some great fun with Chinese kit but I've made damn sure that I avoid anything thatthat says 220v on it, and even with 230v, I try to have it checked over by someone who knows what to look for.
A good point Tom... It wouldn't bother me personally though as I could make technical amends for the issue in minutes and at little or no cost to myself as I have things like Variacs and step down transformers laying about the place...
It shouldn't be a fire risk (and I say shouldn't rather than isn't for a good reason) as whatever goes wrong that badly should cause a fuse to blow and end the problem. I would more expect highly accelerated wear.. valves had it after 3 months and capacitors after 1 year etc, rather than self immolation... BUT, knowing the errors and wrongly specified parts that can creep into the cheapest Chinese gear, fire cannot be ruled out.
? ? or am I being thick again :doh: ?
tis a transformer Bev to add or subtract voltage from the mains depending how you wire it. in this case to take say 20volts or so from uk mains to give 220volts for the amp.
Ninanina
16-01-2017, 22:22
tis a transformer Bev to add or subtract voltage from the mains depending how you wire it. in this case to take say 20volts or so from uk mains to give 220volts for the amp.
Thanks for being kind Grant... I get it now...
When you say 'bucking' does that mean you had a problem with it? Was it the same Yaqin that I had ?
Thanks for being kind Grant... I get it now...
When you say 'bucking' does that mean you had a problem with it? Was it the same Yaqin that I had ?
no bother. no, its just the name they are given. (Think its re the word meaning to resist.. ie to buck a trend) Yes it was same amp. worked very well... Ive also got a variac for use with pretty much anything as it can do most voltages. Handy box of tricks I made up a while ago
Firebottle
17-01-2017, 06:56
It's terminology used with power supply design Bev, Buck and Boost.
Buck is to generally lower the voltage and boost is, you guessed it, to generally increase the voltage.
:)
jandl100
17-01-2017, 07:55
I have no problems with the sound quality for the price, once the cables are swapped round. Just wonder if people bother to check the stereo output? I was just lucky that one of my test recordings (David Bowie - Space Oddity) has very distinctive left/right channels which I noticed right away.
I'm a happy user of Chinese hifi.
Xiang Sheng DAC and Little Bear P8 valve pre and Nobsound :D NS-G02 amp - all utterly superb sounding and the vfm is so far off the chart it's currently approaching the edge of the galaxy.
Good Lord - I hadn't actually realised till I typed that, that ALL the electronics in my fabulous sounding system are currently Chinese. :eek:
Re: reversed L/R inputs - I have noticed that Chinese gear can go against the usual convention of having the Left phono socket above the Right, instead having Right above Left.
Is that what you mean?
I can usually cope.
It's basically arbitrary anyway. :)
Hi Jerry, nothing to do with the placement of the sockets, more of a labeling problem, the red phono connector labeled right is actually outputting the sound ment for the left channel and vice versa. Easy checked by playing a speaker check track.
I've occasionally bought Chinese made gear. From official sources, they have all been localised for UK voltage and I've not had any problems (the Consonance Droplet for example). I did read on another forum a few years back where several people who jumped on the bandwagon and bought a certain well known valve headphone amp, in their case, all DID catch fire, one within the first month of ownership, and two apparently within 2 years. All were rated at 220v.
The mains transformers were running saturated, and the insulation on the windings broke down causing a short. In every case, the protection (or lack of) didn't prevent smoke and flames, so be warned.
I checked the power rating of my Chinese DAC (sourced from Germany) and it is clearly labelled 220-240v. Now it is highly likely that this is actually 230V because there is no way of switching between 220 or 240 for the input (hence it is misleading) and it would be interesting to take it apart and examine the power supply for tell tale labelling. In this case, I may get away for running it for a fair few years without trouble but I don't expect it to stay reliable if it is running saturated, and it would never be left on whilst we were out.
Back to Blighty kit, and I also had exactly the same thing happen as Adam (Beobloke) with a phonostage. I hadn't had it long and one of the rectifier diodes blew for some reason after several hours of being first plugged in, taking out some of the transformer windings which resulted in smoke and a very pungent smelling living room for a few days. It is the only piece of kit to ever fail like that on me in over 30 years.
The more worrying aspect with non-localised Chinese kit bought on Ebay and not through a recognised importer/distributor, is that you can never be sure that it in fact complies with CE requirements especially for earthing. Many do not. A friend bought a valve amp a while back and invited me over to hear it. It was an EL84 PP design. When I arrived, the enthusiasm had vanished from his tone and he showed me the amp, which by then was un-plugged and tipped up with the base plate removed. It wasn't earthed. Had it developed a fault on the HT side, it potentially could have killed him or his son. Be warned, check everything that doesn't come from an official source or Caveat Emptor most certainly applies.
Caution is definitely a good thing when buying this gear but it seems from my research before buying that YaQin at least have taken steps to sort voltage and earthing.
I found a write-up that charted the development of their EL34 based amps through various models and true enough originally they were an accident waiting to happen.
I still couldn't bring myself to risk it but then found one being sold by a dude in the same town as myself.
He had owned and used it for eighteen months after sourcing it from Canada through a supplier who gets them in and checks them out for safety and function.
Probably the best buy I've made.
I'm a happy user of Chinese hifi.
Xiang Sheng DAC and Little Bear P8 valve pre and Nobsound :D NS-G02 amp - all utterly superb sounding and the vfm is so far off the chart it's currently approaching the edge of the galaxy.
Good Lord - I hadn't actually realised till I typed that, that ALL the electronics in my fabulous sounding system are currently Chinese. :eek:
Re: reversed L/R inputs - I have noticed that Chinese gear can go against the usual convention of having the Left phono socket above the Right, instead having Right above Left.
Is that what you mean?
I can usually cope.
It's basically arbitrary anyway. :)
how you getting on with the new nob Jerry?;) is that got a vc on it or does it need a pre
jandl100
18-01-2017, 19:29
how you getting on with the new nob Jerry?;) is that got a vc on it or does it need a pre
I love my Nob. I play with it all the time. :D
yes, it;s got a volume control, but I suspect it may be a passive as it sounds better with an active pre in front.
Some say you need to be a Nobhead to buy one...
Only joking Jerry.;)
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