sugarman

I have a Yaqin MC10L amp. It is really nice: http://yaqin.slickpepper.org.uk/amplifiers/mc-10l It has outputs for 4 and 8 ohms. I am not sure which ones to use. Furthermore, a friend suggested that I use some CAT5 cable for speaker wire. I have braided three lengths of it together for each speaker cable.I dont know if that has an impact on which of the settings I should use. As a guide I very rarely have the amps volume dial beyond 11 o'clock. Thanks in advance, John

Hello all, I went ahead and bought a tube amp. The one I went for is called a Yaqin MC-100B. I bought it from a chap in Canada who imports them, and apparently does some quality assurance on them as well.I was somewhat concerned about buying a brand-name I had never heard of before, but his support and warranty swayed me.It was not too expensive at around $400. Perhaps I could have got a better priced amp elsewhere. I dont know. I am new to this and did the best research I could. Well I am in North Carolina now, and I have hooked the amp up to the KG4s, and in a word.... Wow! I appreciate that my setup is very humble compared to others on here, but I am extermely impressed with how well it sounds. It is clear to me now that this is my first proper hifi setup, and it will not be my last.The KG4s are lovely, and I now a Klipsch convert. Thanks all for their advice in suggesting this setup. I LOVE IT. I have some further questions, that are slightly off topic to this. I dont mean to spam the board with several new threads though. I am going to post them here, and if a moderator would like to me raise seperate threads then I am happy to do so. 1. At present my setup has inputs from a PS3, and a dell PC. The sound card in the PC is nothing special - a realtek onboard chip - but the configuration applet for it suggests that it can play a pretty high sample rate. I will invest in a proper sound card in time, and a good quality turntable. Until that time will I be able to discern any difference between 320 mp3s and FLAC file? Just how restrictive to this setup is an input like this? 2. I would like to really test this amp and speakers. I have a friend who swears by a CD for his listening tests - it is 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Soundtrack'. I dont have this CD. Can anyone suggest a set of freely available soundfiles that can be downloaded for listening test purposes? I have been going throgh my music collection and it sounds great, but if anyone knows of say a classical piece that highlights how good seperation should sound, then that would be perfect. Or perhaps things to look out for in well known songs. My digital music collection is all stored at 320 or flac, and I am amazed at all the extra incidental sounds I am now hearing in my music. 3. Cat 5 speaker cable. I have time on my hands at the moment. Is this worth doing? http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html That is it.Thanks once again to all in advance. Regards, John

Thank you for the lovely welcome, and helpful advice. I had a look for the Eico amp, but it looks like it has now been sold. I have been searching through ebay for the brands recommended... and there is a Scott 299 listed! So I am jjust keeping an eye out and reading up more on the subject and the model ranges. I have noticed quite a few amps for sale from Hong Kong. From the photos it looks like the build quality varies. Some look stunning, some poor. Music Angel, and Yaqin appear to dominate. I wonder if anyone has an opinion on these HK amps, and perhaps a list of recommended sellers, ... or perhaps those to be avoided!

Hi there, I am emmigrating to NC from the UK next, so money is tight at the moment but I cant live without music- so before I have even arrived I managed to score a pair of kg4s on ebay for a decent price. Now I need an amp. The absolute top end of my budget would be the st70 build from triode electronics. (I dont even have a job sorted in NC yet so cant be spending too much!). I am searching ebay for a bargain, but not really sure what I am looking for. The type of music I listen to is old funk and soul [played from a headphone out from a laptop] and from a turnable. I also tend to run my general tv and movie viewing through my speakers. If I need to get a mixing board to combine the two inputs then I am happy to do so. Something that would be fine with the above is what I am after ) This is a list of other amps I am looking at on fleabay, of courseif they go beyond my price range then they'll be off the list. honestly, i dont know the expected final price for most of these but I'm thinking they may be worth keeping an eye on. Allied/knight 333 ST35 (dynaco) Sony TA 5650 Sansui 9090DB marantz 4100 marantz 4140 McIntosh MX-110 I read a thread on here that suggested a Nakamishi amp would be my best bet - if I could find one within my price range. I am not averse to a solid state item, but from all i have read about the kg4s most folk suggest that tubes would be best. I'll go either way for this purchase. Many thanks in advance, John