davestef Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Hi, So my new cornwalls sound great, but they really make the imperfections in my amp and turntable stand out more than my last speakers did. Im looking to upgrade everything anyway. I use my dad's pioneer integrated tube amp from the 60's. the tubes are over 40 years old, so its understandable that my amp hums, hisses, and crackles pretty loudly. I found it a lot easier to do research on speakers, especially klipsch and the heritage line, than it is to find info about tube amps. I guess i have a few options: 1. buy new tubes for the pioneer amp, i'd have to find out what kind and if theyre still available. 2. buy a new one. I had a couple questions. 1. Does anyone use any "ebay" / chinese tube amps? and could you tell me how your experience has been? they look pretty nice, and ive read some good reviews. the price is a lot nicer than some of the macintosh amps ive seen on ebay. This one company "Yaqin" seems pretty legit. http://hi-end.on9mart.com/ or 2. could anyone recommend a relatively affordable tube amp/brand? either new, or one that i could find used. I was hoping to not spend more than like $500-600. 3. whats the difference between mono blocks and regular tube amps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Some of the Yaqin amps have gotten favorable reviews, and for the money they sure are pretty! For the same money, it may be possible to have the Pioneer amp restored after which it should be quite nice. The fact that you are hearing crackling and hum suggests that there are problems other than tubes. Continuing to use the amp without knowing what is going on could set you up for failure of parts which could be very costly to replace. What model is it? The advantage of mono amps over most stereo amps is that they allow the greatest channel separation, limited only by the source. This generally allows a wider and deeper sound stage, if that is important to you. In addition, many modern stereo tube amps do not have a balance control. Since room acoustics, recording imbalances, and differences between our ears often necessitate a somewhat different volume level for each speaker, not having the ability to adjust that can also affect soundstaging and imaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Contract Craig at Nosvalves and ask him if it's worth restoring. He'll give you an honest opinion and he does excellent work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Some are a good basic design; and I would suspect with good quality tubes (as in not what they come with...), perform quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 you can google the models to get reviews. there are a lot of reviews out there. some of the major players like Jolida, shanling, etc, have nice write ups by major audio magazines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotusmark Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Just a shameless plug but, I have a Mingda mc34a on the flea right now that Craig checked out last month. Got a brand new set of El34's in it. $400 pm me if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Contract Craig at Nosvalves and ask him if it's worth restoring. He'll give you an honest opinion and he does excellent work. [Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][8] Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 There are a number of good new and relatively inexpensive tube amps on the market. Be very careful however going the Ebay route, the direct from China crowd have some mixed reviews, and I think you are screwed if you have problems. I know of at least one Ebay seller in Canada that imports Yaqin amps and claims to test each amp, has good feedback, and provides a warranty. My 300B SET amp is Yaqin built and re-branded by Grant Fidelity, again a company out of Canada. It is a fantastic sounding amp and the price somewhat reasonable as such amps go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 3. whats the difference between mono blocks and regular tube amps? mono block is one channel. typically, the same size chasis of a stereo amp. advantages are you can use larger parts dedicated to one channel resulting in high power output, or cleaner power output. no cross talk since power upplies are seperate. you need two mono block amps for stereo. stereo amps have two channels. sometimes they have seperate power supplies or rectifier sections, but typlically they share a common power supply. less max power potential due top space limitations. some cross talk as a result of the shared power supply. if you need more that 100 watts per channel of tube power, best to go mono block. If you can get by with 100 watts or less of tube power per channel, go stereo amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.H.E. Droid Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 In your price range you might be disappointed. I bought a fully restored (by Craig) integrated amp to drive my Cornwalls and I was very disappointed. The mids/highs are fine but the 35w/channel amp simply runs out of steam when it comes to producing clean bass. Being a tube amp, it is also very noisy/hissy compared to good solid state equipment. All I can say is to be careful and before spending your money and make sure if you are getting something new, it can be returned if you don't like it. Also, having an amp rebuilt is expensive and you won't be able to get a refund if you don't like the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyto Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I have been using a Yaqin MS-20L since June. I love it. I got mine from the guy in Canada, he covers the warranty. Changing the tubes to Russian ones make a big difference in the sound for not a lot of money. I have never owned a Jolida or one of the other names but I have heard them. For the price this amp cannot be beat, my humble opinion of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmvette Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 In your price range you might be disappointed. I bought a fully restored (by Craig) integrated amp to drive my Cornwalls and I was very disappointed. The mids/highs are fine but the 35w/channel amp simply runs out of steam when it comes to producing clean bass. Being a tube amp, it is also very noisy/hissy compared to good solid state equipment. All I can say is to be careful and before spending your money and make sure if you are getting something new, it can be returned if you don't like it. Also, having an amp rebuilt is expensive and you won't be able to get a refund if you don't like the results. Wow, there can be a lot of different between amps. Generally, I favor older equipment. For example I have a Stromber Carlson ASR-433 integrated amp from the 60's that was recently refurbished. It is very quiet, sounds great, is bass-heavy, and not expensive. It is even quiet on Khorns, and due to the heavy bass, it sounds great with Heresey speakers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 In your price range you might be disappointed. I bought a fully restored (by Craig) integrated amp to drive my Cornwalls and I was very disappointed. The mids/highs are fine but the 35w/channel amp simply runs out of steam when it comes to producing clean bass. Being a tube amp, it is also very noisy/hissy compared to good solid state equipment. All I can say is to be careful and before spending your money and make sure if you are getting something new, it can be returned if you don't like it. Also, having an amp rebuilt is expensive and you won't be able to get a refund if you don't like the results. You never stated if you had me restore the amp or if you purchased it second hand. Your experience is way off from what others report. If you were having issues you should of contacted me whether you had me rebuild it or bought it second hand. From the description I'd say something was not working properly. All tube amps require periodic maintenance to perform properly. Most amps that I rebuild are pretty much dead silent when they leave my shop. While 20 to 30 watt integrated tubes amps are not going to produce heart pounding definded low end bass like a mega watt SS amp they should produce reasonably good bass response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 You never stated if you had me restore the amp or if you purchased it second hand. Your experience is way off from what others report. If you were having issues you should of contacted me whether you had me rebuild it or bought it second hand. From the description I'd say something was not working properly. All tube amps require periodic maintenance to perform properly. Most amps that I rebuild are pretty much dead silent when they leave my shop. While 20 to 30 watt integrated tubes amps are not going to produce heart pounding definded low end bass like a mega watt SS amp they should produce reasonably good bass response. [Y] I get no hiss at all on my tube amps through my LaScalas. I DID have trouble for a while with the 6922 tube in my Merlin preamp, but it's hard to find quiet ones. Now it's very quiet. I would find it very hard to believe that Craig shipped out a noisy amp. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juniper8 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 There a few of these type of amps in the garage sale section that were owned by forum members. I would rather buy one that has been in use by a forum member and tested than one that is new. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The mids/highs are fine but the 35w/channel amp simply runs out of steam when it comes to producing clean bass. Fascinating. My Dynaco ST-70, rebuilt by Van Alstine and checked out by Craig will rearrange china down in the kitchen without any strain at all. You sure that's a REAL 35w? Only time I've heard subdued bass from K'horns is with 3w or so SET. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.H.E. Droid Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Craig, this was an LK48 that someone on the forums had you restore and I purchased it from them. I am NOT disappointed with your work, and I have set up the bias according to the instructions you produced for the amp. I think even though you didn't intend to, you simply confirmed what I was saying when I recommended the original poster proceed with caution and not commit money he can't recover if he (like me) doesn't feel that an amp in that price range doesn't perform as well as SS equipment in the same price range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplatel5000 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 im also curious about the quality of chinese tube amps available. this one in particular interested me http://www.musicalparadise.ca/mp/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=75 anyone here have any experience with this amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 im also curious about the quality of chinese tube amps available. this one in particular interested me http://www.musicalparadise.ca/mp/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=75 anyone here have any experience with this amp? These forum members may be able to help you: http://community.klipsch.com/forums/p/154485/1628040.aspx#1628040 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Craig, this was an LK48 that someone on the forums had you restore and I purchased it from them. I am NOT disappointed with your work, and I have set up the bias according to the instructions you produced for the amp. I think even though you didn't intend to, you simply confirmed what I was saying when I recommended the original poster proceed with caution and not commit money he can't recover if he (like me) doesn't feel that an amp in that price range doesn't perform as well as SS equipment in the same price range. I don't see how I confirmed what you stated in your original post......If the amp hums, hisses and is lacking bass by the degree you mentioned then something is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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