Stainz

I meant that the Cayin - from Cayin - is 4.3X the cost of the Yaqin MC-13S from Amazon Prime. My little amp is near Nashville this AM...

Wow - that is hard to believe! Were adult beverages consumed during the testing? Of course, I have seen the rationale for 'special' speaker wires and connectors, as well as line level unbalanced audio cables... I suppose anything is possible. By chance, is the three terminal IEC power connector wired to standard, or are the Hot & Neutral reversed? That could make a ground loop (hum) - or, with a failed RF capacitor, put AC on the chassis should the ground also fail. Don't laugh - HP equipment is wired normally, while Eberline is reversed - I found a new reversed Belden AC cord on evil-bay ($8!) for my E. MS-3 Geiger Counter/Scaler - possible disaster averted. John

That's a neat amp - not usable in the US as it's input power choices support only 220/230/240 Vac. That power transformer is a toroid, too. The 3k U$D price is a bit higher than the Yaqin via Amazon Prime, too... like 4.3X ! My dinky little amp was in Louisville, KY by 11 AM this morning - I may just get it in a few days.

After weekending in NY, my amp cleared customs yesterday and is finally on it's way here (Pinson is NE of Birmingham.), although it is now, Tuesday, only in Jamaica, LI, NY. I should see it by the weekend... I hope! The power cord delivered with the amp is sub-standard? Good grief! Where else did he cut corners?

The site was back up Saturday - I got an apology from Garry Huang, the M.P. owner in Canada. It didn't seem to speed things up at all. After weekending in NY, my amp cleared customs yesterday - it was in Jamaica, LI, NY (I lived near there in Bayside, LI, NY as a child ~ 1960. I'm originally from Brooklyn.) this AM - probably still 2-3 days from near Birmingham. It will likely be over twice M.P.'s total estimate, time-wise, before I get it, leaving M.P. with an uphill battle to impress me.enough just to break even. I know my order was small potatoes, but $60 shipping should have paid for a bit speedier handling. This summer found me ordering a 20.5mm OD 365 nm pass UV filter from China via Air Mail - for $1.91 shipped - took seven days! That same dichroic filter was $12-$15 + s/h elsewhere. The filter is fine, too. The GemTune version of the Yaqin MC-13S (6CA7's & plexi shields) is available from Amazon Prime now for $670 now, too. Sigh! John

I dallied a bit too long and Amazon Prime was out of the Yaqin version of the MC-13S (with plexi covers), although they now have the GemTune version - likely identical. I ordered a Musical Paradise MP-301 mk3 Deluxe with a spare pair of EL34 (... and the stock 6L6G's!) direct from M.P. - it's on it's way to NY as I type this. They are not available from Amazon Prime, either. I'm guessing I'll have it here Tuesday - maybe.

They got $429 from my P-P acct immediately, of course... no incentive to hurry now! At least I still have my Emotiva A-100 BasX amp... works perfectly with my Heresys.

It is axiomatic now - the M.P. domain has a "Bad Gateway" error code and Amazon Prime no longer has the Yaqin MC-13S with the plexi tube shields and the 6CA7T's, either! Maybe M.P. is down for maintenance...? Nothing from Garry... like I said, his domain is down. I know... patience...

Well, I am not sure about that 'on the way' part. M-P advertises "1-2 days to ship, then 3-5 days delivery time". I realize that it ships from China, but $60 for a 20lb amp should cover the air shipment. I waited two days from their accepting my PP payment before e-mailing them for a shipping date - this is what I received August 8th; " Hi John, Thanks for your order. It will shipped in 1-2days. You will receive it in 3-5days. Thanks, Garry" It's been two days and still no indication it has shipped. I wonder if another inquiry will get me the same response? I know it's not a big order... except to me. Of course, the fact that I could have had the Yaqin amp for $687 - with free two day shipping (Amazon Prime) - lingers over me like a lead weight. Patience isn't one of my virtues.

I had some $ squirreled away for my birthday 'hobby interest' and decided that I wanted to 'try' a tube amp. I first decided on a Yaqin MC-13S, a p-p 28-45 Wpc amp with 6CA7's. Silicon rectifiers just seem a bit harsh for a tube amp, so I looked at smaller single ended Class A amps, my small CD music-only system with a pair of '77-vintage Heresys as speakers as the output load. Monitoring a VOM and a DMM across the speakers showed peaks of 5 Vrms - or ~3 W into 8 Ohms from my Emotiva A-100 BasX 50 Wpc. Oddly, the sound level in my office was loud enough, reading 90 - 91 dBm on my SPL meter at my desk in my 11' x 12' x 9' converted BR. I reasoned that the 6.5 W output of a Musical Paradise MP-301 MK3 amp ($429 shipped - with both 6L6G's and EL34's.). I want to re-intro myself to the 'hollow state' world, having started there in 1965 with my first hifi - a kit I built of p-p 6V6GT's in an UL/Williamson style 10 W amp. This would be my second tube amp - it's been a while. My question is simple... is that 'enough',of an amplifier to test the vacuum tube 'sound' or did I just order an expensive headphone amp? Thanks!

I bought my Emo A-100 MiniX for the massive amount of $149 12/15/15 to drive my RB-81ii's - and to test the TN company's PRC-made goodies. Wow - was I impressed! After acquiring my vintage Heresys 9/16, I looked for another one, but they were gone. I had to 'settle' for the FLEX model's replacement - the a-100 BasX. The same basic amp, except for the S/N (was 95 dB; now 110 dB!) and the added headphone jack. It was on a Seasonal Sale, too - and <$200 shipped... a deal. I had wanted two 2.0 stereo CD only systems, now I have them! Then along comes this new Schiit amp. I want a Vidar so badly now... USA made would be nice. I had nearly ordered a PRC-made Yaqin MC-13 tube amp (6CA7) for the same $700 (Amazon)... decided I didn't need it... then along comes this thread! Oh sure, more power and less distortion - great. Someone please buy one and evaluate it... I don't need much of an excuse... just don't want to be 'first'! I was 69 last Saturday - and my CEO has okayed the purchase of one of the amps, Yaqin or Schiit. In fact, she nearly ordered the tube amp for me last week (I think I had worn her down!). Having worked on hifi gear since the 60's, including tube-gear, I prefer SS anyhow. Help?!

I just noticed that Amazon has a 'package deal' for the Heresy iii's where their regular price of $1,998/pr now can include an SW-311, a $599 sub-woofer.

I have the Emo's predecessor, the a-100 mini-X, also fed by the same model CDP (Onkyo C-7030's), in my upstairs 'bonus' room where it drives my RB-81ii's with plenty of headroom from it's 50 W. My office is a 12' x 11.5' x 9' carpeted bedroom with plantation shutters over the window. My '77 vintage Heresys are along the longer wall and canted inward ~40 degrees while the front flat risers rest on 1.5" carving blocks - they are centerline to centerline 7' apart with my ears normally 3.5' - 4' from said centerlines. I'll be 69 Sunday - but my hearing seems older, with decreased mid and rolled off hi frequency response is often compounded by tinnitus. Still... I enjoy listening to my music. I repaired tube & ss eqmt after school & weekends from '64 until graduating HS in '66 then Saturdays while I was attending Auburn. I got my 1st Class Radiotelephone License in '68 then joined the USN as an Electronics Tech until late '72, then back to Auburn to finish my degree in physics. While back there I chiefed at an FM station, repaired radiac gear, and worked on hifi gear. I taught electronics and telecommunications full time '75-'95 and took care of a couple of FM and one AM station. All of this is to show that I've paid my dues working on hollow and solid state gear... and I prefer the latter. In 1964 I bought a 10-15 Watt mono ultra-linear/Williamson pp 6V6 amp kit from the local Lafayette Radio associates store and built it to drive my homebrew crude copy of a Heresy speaker, fed by a Garrard changer with a Shure cartridge. The amp ate 6V6's - and I recall TungSols being gassy and generally 'cheap', probably explaining why so many tv repair tube caddy's back then were full of them. No love here for tubes, I was hoping someone would sing the virtues of one amp over another, although I suppose they did in the MP-301. Thanks! I think the 6.5W would be sufficient for my listening (jazz, r&r, classical, & folk).

New RB-61ii's are still available new from Amazon for $349/pr shipped. Their 6.5" LF driver is front-ported - easier placement. Later versions with a warranty beat used C.L. for $275 in my book. You may not need a subwoofer, either. I don't have one on my RB-81ii's installation and despite it's 8" LF driver, it's only rated -3 dB @ 44 Hz vs the RB-61ii's -3 dB @ 45 Hz. The rear-ported RP-160M are $440/pr there.

I suggest a pair of Heresy's... add maybe a decent sub, if you must. Try them out from your wall a bit and canted in before adding the sub. My vintage pair, with essentially the same mid and high frequency horns as the same vintage K-horns, ceased my 'hunt'. I drive them with a 50 Wpc Emotiva A-100 BasX fed only by an Onkyo C-7030 CDP in a music-only 2.0 setup. They are inboard along the 12 ft wall and canted in ~40 degrees an centered 7 ft apart, in my carpeted 12 ft wide by 11.5 ft deep by 9 feet tall BR-turned-home office. Whether listening to vintage Marianne Faithful or Norah Jones; Bonnie Raitt or Adele; Dave Brubeck Q. "Time Out" or Getz/Byrd "Jazz Samba"; or even any Clapton or Paul Simon's 'Graceland', wow! I would have no problem blowing your $2k on a brand new pair of Heresy iii's - in your choice of veneers.

That evil-bay listing stated it was for 'ONE' RB-5ii. Be careful! I've had my RB-81ii's for >21 months, replacing them ~10 months back in my 10' x 11' x 9' BR - turned home office with a pair of exc condition '77 vintage Heresy's. I moved the RB-81ii's to my upstairs hobby/bonus room where they finally got to sit atop a pair of SB24 HD (They are huge... and weigh >27lb/ea!) stands in the room corners WOW! They have slightly better bass than the Heresys - but the Heresys have both a mid and a high frequency horn - hard to beat! Still, Amazon has new RB-81ii's for ~$560/pr... front-ported, they could fit on a shelf (A big and strong one!) - and Amazon is pretty good re returns.

I started with tubes but quickly went to SS when they proved more reliable. To 'try' tubes now, would I be okay with an 8-10 Wpc amp, like a Gemtune X1, or should I jump in with both feet and buy a Yaqin MC-13S (40+ Wpc)? My only source will be a CDP and the Heresys are in my home office. They are currently fed by a 50 Wpc Emotiva A-100 BasX - and it has plenty of power! Thanks!

I compared my #14 Cu zipcord and white vinyl sheathed #12 Cu CL-2 (Mediabridge) runs and got much better 'sound' from she-who-must-be-kept-happy with the latter cable! I ran the zipcord temporarily along our long wall at the baseboard for our rear speakers in our LR & DR-turned-library home theater and heard daily what an eyesore it was. I quickly ordered 250 ft of the CL-2 cable and ran it along the same white baseboard & off-white carpet junction, leaving enough extra length to fish down inside the walls and across the ceiling in the attic. It has been like that for 3.5 yr, despite my having been stood up by three different contractors (It blends in well!) for the in-wall installation. I also bought a 100 ft roll of #16 Cu CL-2 to make short cables with as it is much more flexible (My 8 ft banana plug to spade lug cables for my Emotiva A-100 BasX to my Heresys is an example.). In all seriousness, pure Cu zipcord (Not CCA!) is fine, just use the largest practical gauge... and consider CL-2, especially if it will be seen. It's not just for in-wall installations.

My receiver needs are limited since I live in a mountainous region yielding multipath FM reception probable. Most AM tuners are design afterthoughts, making them not desirable as well. My 1968 purchase of an AR Amplifier and Turntable and various homebrew, Advent Large, and even a pair of RS tower speakers were used over the years. I made the switch to CD's in '86 and eventually added a Philips FA-50 50 WPC amp and CD-960, a 22+lb single CDP... but no tuner. Several years ago found me 'trying'. two Onkyo's - a TX-8020 50 WPC 2.1 stereo entry-level - and clean (.08% THD @ 50 WPC/.03% THD @ 25 WPC) and a C-7030 CDP. It fully quiets on local FM stereo stations with the same 3 ft run of wire/antenna I used in a comparison between it and various other receivers, including Sony, Yamaha, and older Onkyo stereo and 5.1/7.1 HT AVR's. The TX-8020 FM section bested them all while the AM section was no worse than the others. The CDP is a winner! The receiver is available new for the meager sum of $150-$170 shipped from Amazon. My favorite amp, however, is my last fall's purchase of an Emotiva A-100 BasX 50 WPC (80 WPC 4 Ohms). Same low THD specs as it's predecessor, a-100 mini-X, but 110dB S/N and a headphone jack. These amps are discrete component class AB with a large power transformer (toroid) and 10,000 uF caps. List for $229, too! My older Emo amp - and it's C-7030 CDP - drives my RB-81ii's on stands in my upstairs hobby/bonus room, My office stereo has the newer Emo amp and a C-7030 CDP. It drives my '77-vintage Heresys. Believe me - 50 Watts allows plenty of headroom in both applications. For AM listening, I have my UK-made Lowe HF-225 Communications Receiver with it's available 10 kHz BW, low distortion AM-synchronous detection circuit, and low distortion one Watt of available audio power (... @ 8 Ohms!), which normally drives a KB-15. It is even louder with the Heresy! 'Classic' r&r on AM never sounded this good before! Below the HF-225 is atop the Heresy and next to a KB-15. It was tuned to Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz which I had first listened to in 1962-3. Australia quit broadcasting on shortwave the end of January this year - sad!

I left the worlds of vinyl and mag tape in 1986 and 'went towards the light' of the CD... and still enjoy it better than I ever did vinyl or tape. Most of my selections are 'older', as I am about to turn 69, and I try to stay with non-remastered, my favorite example of why being my original 1986 CD of Paul Simon's 'Graceland' album, a classic, vs the highly compressed later re-masters, namely, the 25th anniversary version which sounds louder, of course, but sounds like a totally different mix, too. I like having the 'compact' physical copy, too - and I know that Murphy was an optimist - and that all hard drives will eventually fail - and there goes your media. When my 'hardware' fails, I get another CDP!

I cringe thinking about taking my meager-but-cherished Heresys 'outside' - especially with the rapid onset of summer rains. Have you considered buying a pair of dedicated molded enclosure passive PA speakers, like Behringer B212XL/B215XL with their 12"/15" LF driver and Ti 1.75" horn-loaded driver? They reportedly sound pretty decent, the 15" version has an SPL of 96 dB, weigh less than 40lb, and are reasonable cost - $160/$220 shipped/ea (Amazon). I still wouldn't get them wet - the molded handles make them easier to move - quickly. There is a 135 pg thread on AVSforum on their HT use. They look like they'd almost enjoy being scuffed up a bit.

Color me as "easily amused", I suppose... My vintage (~'77) Heresys sound great - crystal clear yet musical - with defined bass - driven by my new-last-fall Emotiva A-100 BasX 50 Wpc amp fed by an Onkyo C-7030 CDP. My previous variant of that amp, an a-100 mini-X, drives my RB-81ii's in my upstairs hobby/bonus room and is fed by another Onkyo C-7030 CDP. The newer amp has a headphone jack and provisions for lowering it's headphone impedance from 300 Ohms by included jumpers and a SNR of >110 dB. It - like the earlier mini-X version - puts out 50 Wpc (8 Ohms & both channels driven.) @ < 0.05% THD. Not bad spec's for the entry level Emotiva product. I've been a hifi enthusiast since HS days in the early sixties and my first 'system', which included a Garrard changer, kit built Williamson-style pp 6V6 mono amp, & Heresy-inspired homebrew speaker. I went 'ss' 12/68 with my AR amp and turntable - both replaced years ago by a Philips CD-960 CDP & FA-50 ss amp. I still have the AR turntable, although I started replacing my old LP's with CD's in 1986. I tired of tubes in the sixties - too much maintenance... and I was a TV/radio/hifi repairman after school and in college... then as an ET in the USN. No tubes here! That Emotiva amp was an improvement over the the Onkyo TX-8020 Stereo (2.1) Receiver that preceded it. That receiver, a Sony BRD, JVC 22" LED monitor, a JBL SUB 550P sub, and a pair of K. R-15m's were repurposed as a mini-HT at my electronics workbench in my bonus/hobby room (I don't get much work done...).

Sorry!

Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vida". What do you expect... it's been ~5.5 yr since this thread was active!

I replaced my vintage Heresys' amp, an Emotiva a-100 mini-X 50 Wpc power amp with a single input and a volume control, with the current version of the power amplifier, the A-100 BasX (Still 50 Wpc with a headphone jack and now 110dB S/N.). The earlier Emotiva amp is currently in my upstairs bonus/hobby room where it drives my RB-81ii's quite well. Each system is music only and has it's own Onkyo C-7030 CDP. The newest Emo amp and Heresys are plenty loud - and clean - in my 11' x 12' x 9' home office. These are well made and nicely packaged, despite the fact that they are 'entry level' offerings. Actually, those Heresys also were well driven by my recent Onkyo 50 Wpc receiver (TX-8020 stereo 2.1 receiver ~$150!), but it was returned to it's mini 2.1 HT use driving a pair of R-15M's and a JBL SUB 550P sub-woofer at my workbench on the other side of the bonus/hobby room. I would think that 50 Wpc would drive your vintage K'horns quite well.