Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[MartinT]

I doubt if it's class A all the way - 55Wpc would be 110W at less than 50% efficiency, so let's call it just under 300W. You would sure know if it was pumping that out as heat, and well before an hour was up.

[chelsea]

Thought they were about 15-20 watt class a.

[Effem]

If you look on the Alchemist fan's website you will find the specs

http://www.alchemisthifi.info/ranges..._amplifier.htm

[jandl100]

Aha - thanks Frank - so 55wpc or maybe a bit more.

They claim class A, but as Martin says, that doesn't seem right for full output!

Many tranny class A amps of my experience have a sound a bit on the soft, cumfy side - not so this little cutie!

[Ali Tait]

No way all of that will be class A, the heatsinks are not big enough!

Probably be like the big old MF A370, where the first approx 6w is class A.

[Ali Tait]

Contrast with this, which shows 55w output, probably all of which is class A.

http://www.alchemisthifi.info/ranges..._amplifier.htm

[jandl100]

Well, this speculative eBay purchase has proven to be a major shock.

Only had it a few days, but my beloved Parasound A21 is now "resting".





I haven't tried it yet on any BIG music, but small to medium scale is delivered with an uncanny in-the-room presence which is most beguiling - not to mention musically involving.

It came with 2x Mullard ecc83 fitted and stock Chinese 6SN7 and KT88 valves.

The Mullards were immediately swapped out for Amperex 7025 - a more immediate sound that is more to my liking.

The 6SN7 toobs then got replaced by 2x Ken Rad and 2 nice Russkies from my spares drawer. I'm on the look out for 2 more Ken Rads.

A quad of PSVane KT88 are now on order from Ian at Alium Audio.

I can't really believe how good this sounds with the MBLs - simply yummy.

I understand that Anthony of Tube Distinctions can further enhance these amps .... .... it's not often that this box-swapper considers having mods done, but mighty fine though it sounds already, I am confident there is more to be had!

Oh - it's a Yaqin MC100B integrated if you can't see from the pix.
I much prefer it in its high powered UltraLinear mode, compared to the Triode mode. In Triode, the bass is decidedly soggy. But there is decent grip and control in UL.

Halo Hal - my beloved big Parasound Halo A21 tranny amp is staying - I know how much I enjoy that - but I feel that much enjoyment is to be had from the Yaqin as well.

[MartinT]

Shock horror, Jerry. Respect for the Yaquin, as it must be good to rival your excellent Parasound.

[jandl100]

Yes, I was shocked and horrored as well, Martin!
I bought the Yaqin as it looked so pretty and was not that far off 'chumpo change', really.

A lot of kit passes thru Jerry Towers without making much of a sonic impact, and I fully expected the Yaqin to do the same. But well, ya gotta try things!

So imagine my befuddlement when the dang thing starts making bee-yootiful music!

[Marco]

Lol, Jerry, I'll comment more when I've woken up properly, but the amp you've just bought is what started me on the road to thermionic joy, outperfoming my (then) ECS solid-state monoblocks, eventually ending up in the purchase of my gorgeous Copper amp.....

Yes, Anthony can modify the Yaqins to a serious degree, creating spectacular sonic results, but even in standard form, they sound very good, due primarily to their dual-mono design and use of high-quality transformers.

*HOWEVER*, BEWARE, as MC-100s, despite claims to the contrary, are NOT rated properly for UK mains, even when stated by ebay sellers as being the case!! Therefore, I would advise against using the amp for long periods of time, and NEVER leaving it switched on unattended, until a suitable step-down (bucking) transformer is used.

Seriously, mate, mine caught fire and went up in flames, when I wasn't using it with a step-down transformer, so BE VERY CAREFUL!!!

Marco.