Tubinhard Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 These guys are definitely coming on strong. http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ddampstube&1077137488 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I was actually considering that one, but for the price I'd like a remote. What do you think of the Cayin A-88T. There's one on ebay. I'm not able to link to it. I'm at work sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Pretty nice looking amp! Bet it sounds pretty good also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Here you go looks pretty darn cool. These Chinese are something else ! I'm going to have a Cayin here next month to see for myself just what is what! It will probably be like the Lam preamp I'll just scratch my head and say "how the f_ck do they do it" http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3067250775&category=3280 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Part of how they do it is the wages. Factory workers in China make something like 34 cents an hour and often work 12 hour days, 7 days a week. Don't know if this applies to amp building in any way, but wouldn't be surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I really like that amp, but the seller's in China and he hasn't sold anything like this before. Does anyone know of a good escrow service? He does say, "You'll Never Get Regret to Bought it!" though, So that's pretty reassuring. I think I got that as a fortune in a cookie once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 By the time you do shipping and import duties and dealing with warrantee issues you might consider buying one of those A88-T amps in the USA. Retail is $1,995 but you might be able to dicker. http://www.thetunerguy.com/new_cayin.html Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Interesting! Cayin used to be quite 'big' in Germany some years ago. At the time their prices were attractive so you got quite a good amp for your money. They got a number of positive reviews in the local audio press, introduced more (up-market) models and....bingo: prices started to rise. As a result Cayin almost disappeared again from the market. Yes, they still have a distributor, but people are no longer after Cayin (or tubes for that matter). The latest tube brands to create some kind of 'excitement': Consonance and ASL. But back to Cayin: they used to build an integrated amp using 300Bs. This was indeed my first SET encounter and at the time I liked it quite a lot. Built quality was very good, but the better is the enemy of the good. Once I got the 'lowly' Eico, I noticed what the Cayin didn't do. It was very smooth, had a seductive midrange, but at both frequency extremes nothing much happened. Now don't say that this was the typical SET vs PP difference, because once the Wrights hit home (yes I know, a different tube), I noticed that the Cayin was a good amp, but not the ultimate tube possibility, in dynamic recreation of music. The amp using EL34 that some of you own is surely nice (it was Cayin's 'first' popular amp over here), but even for that money I'd at least consider a rebuilt vintage amp. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Should I buy that CayinA-88T Integrated tube amplifier ? It looks so darn good!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubinhard Posted December 27, 2003 Author Share Posted December 27, 2003 No, for your music you want to keep your eyes focused on SET. The price of that Cayin puts you in Welborne Labs territory. you can get a pair of the amps (monoblocks) below with the Ulitmate Upgrade Package for $1700. If you want them assembled by Welborne Labs, it's an additional $300, but I believe Craig has a standing offer to build a set for free just so he can hear what the fuss is all about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Those are the poon dogs right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Yup I sure would like to build and audition a set of those babies without shelling out the cash. Benifits everyone involved for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Where do you order those from? Free labor sure is enticing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 The Cayin that looks intreging to me is the TA 30 integrated. It can apparently be used as a push pull or a SET see http://www.cayinusa.com/ I would get it from Bizzy Bee audio as he offers a auricap upgrade as well as some other stuff. The ability to run as a 4 watt SET or a 30 watt PP should appeal to a lot of folks on the forum that way they can argue with themselves!!! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 It's not SET is it? I thought it was just SE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Josh, The SE operation of that amp can really not be all that accurate example of what SE really has to offer there has to be major compromises when using PP Iron to run SE really any PP amp can do the same thing if enough bias adjustment is avaiable to achieve double the current draw for one tube operation. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 So which of the Welborn kit is the best for my Klipschorns, the 300B, 2A3, or the 45? Are these all 1.8W? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 I guess it would entirely depend on your musical taste and volume requirements for your room size. How much of the Scott volume control do you normally use to satisfy your SLP needs with the music you love ? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 I would never argue with myself when it comes to low-watt amps. Even with the efficiency of Klipschorns, anyone going the SET route is severely limiting what kind of music he can listen to with justice done to it. Yes, if you want to listen to a recording of a solo lute player in a small room, you might be able to squeeze by with SET. But if you want to really take control of the air in the low frequencies, the idea of using SET is ludicrous. You can get the same dB level with two different set-ups but be hearing completely different presentations. All I can figure is that a lot of people like a weak and dainty rendition of music. All speakers are inefficient to some degree--watts you put in do not yield the same amount of acoustic watts. Klipsch recommends having the capability of 5 acoustic watts in an average sized living room. With a 3-speaker array of two Klipschorns and a center Belle, this would be accomplished with each speaker being driven by a 20-watt amplifier. Otherwise, it's nap time instead of feeling goosebumps. Klipsch recommends 20 watts minimum for all their Heritage series speakers. They do not recommend SET or any other low-watt amps. All loudness is not equal. To reproduce music properly instead of anemically, you have to have sufficient power. There is no getting away from the basic laws of physics by applying the so-called magic of SET. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 That's why I asked if they were all 1.8Watts. I don't think that's going to cut it. Craig, I never go past 6 on the Scott; I usually listen around 3 or 4. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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