tkeady Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Looking for any info on the Cayin TA 30. Had a great conversation with Paul at Bizzy Bee and wanted to hear from anyone who has owned one with or w/o his hop-up mods. I will be using it with Forte II's. I understand there is no phono jack, I want to run a CD and turntable. t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashman Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I purchased a Cayin TA30 w/upgrades (focus control, auricap, external bias) from Paul and am pleased with it. Just ordered some Svetlana EL-34s (stronger bass than the stock Cayin tubes and perhaps better highs... we'll see) from Paul and will install them when they arrive. The integrated amp is driving my original Forte speakers. The sound is astonishing to my ears, particularly jazz and women's voices; for example, most of the Diana Krall CDs are very nicely recorded and her voice just leaps out of the speakers. That never happened with my Carver 900 receiver. Also, Enya sounds great, kind of like the "Wall of Sound" spaciousness created by Phil Spector. I played some Joabim (older listeners might recall "The Girl from Ipanema") and his voice and Astrid's were fabulous. I guess the only caveats I would offer are the following: -- This is my first tube amp... I am hooked but... it's my first tube amp. -- Lousily recorded CDs sound... well, lousy. Perhaps my SS Carver was more forgiving. -- The Forte speakers have deep bass. Even though I have heard that the Cayin delivers deep bass, it still doesn't hold a candle to my Carver receiver... but I have gone from preferring deep bass to preferring smooth sound. Okay, guess I am getting older and maybe a little more mellow. That's my two cents. One day, perhaps I'll upgrade my CD player to a tube player to see whether that makes a difference. Currently, I have a Denon DCD1500 that is (gulp) almost 20 years old. But it's like a Timex... keeps on playing. Bon chance. ---------------- On 3/24/2004 6:04:18 PM tkeady wrote: Looking for any info on the Cayin TA 30. Had a great conversation with Paul at Bizzy Bee and wanted to hear from anyone who has owned one with or w/o his hop-up mods. I will be using it with Forte II's. I understand there is no phono jack, I want to run a CD and turntable. t ---------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I have one and already told you what I think. If your looking at it compared to the Jolida its a hands down winner ! Stock to Stock or Mod job to Mod job. There are tons of users on Audio Asylum with this amp so do a search over there ! flashman, What speakers are you running ? I may have a very simple tweak for you if you can use a soldering Iron or know someone that can. It would cost less then a $1 for the parts and you would love it !! This depends on what speakers your using though. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I've never heard an EL34 based amp, but would like to. Craig, or others, I'm wondering how you'd characterize the sound. I'm pretty familiar with EL84 (and it's kinfolks) and have heard KT-88 sound in a Cary rocket 88. edit: was looking at Bizzy Bee site. hadn't realized that this amp could be operated as triode mode. Anybody have an experience with this change. I tend to be a little skeptical of a change like this. My Rocket 88 had a triode to pentode switch, and I wasn't particularly impressed with the difference. May be just my poor hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Right snap dab in the middle I would say !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 El-34s sound bigger and sweeter than El-84s with the highs remaining.I can't compare them to the 88's though. One thing for sure they beat the pants off 7591s in a Scott 299c in sweetness. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I was just looking out on Ebay and see that there is a Chinese seller offering Cayin amps direct. Also the same seller has the Cayin tubed (and upsampled) CD available as well. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3805719903&category=3272 BIN $580 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086921619&category=3280 BIN $600 There is another Cayin MT-35 from the UK with a BIN GBP 550.00 Approximately US $1,003.26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stream Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I love mine. You can e-mail me if you want to ask particular questions about it. -Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Those are 220volt units. Don't forget to add about a hundred dollars for a converter to 117v. Plus you have to send them to China for warrantee service if required. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 ---------------- On 3/25/2004 10:54:44 PM stream wrote: I love mine. You can e-mail me if you want to ask particular questions about it. -Jesse ---------------- Jesse, Yep, I'm still hoping it works for you to bring the Cayin with you to the Arkansas gathering. Rick, yes. not exactly an apples to apples comparison there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stream Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Bringing it shouldn't be a problem at all I'm excited to see how it sounds on a pair of K-horns. -Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkeady Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Craig, I have ForteII's, what's the fix? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Just email me and I can guide you through doing it. Its pretty simple I'll take some pictures of the tweak in mine. It will smooth out the highs and make then more liquid for klipsch speakers. Its just switching out on very easy to get to cap with a different value. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 You wrote: El-34s sound bigger and sweeter than El-84s with the highs remaining. I can't compare them to the 88's though. One thing for sure they beat the pants off 7591s in a Scott 299c in sweetness. The circuit design, iron and overall quality of the components have more to do with sound quality then the tubes. You can run many Pentode tubes in triode mode and they will sound wonderful. You really can't generalize about tubes. I've head great and not so great amps with many different tube configurations. The EL34 can handle more power then an EL84 and I like the sound of both in well designed amps. It's all in the ear of the beholder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 ---------------- On 8/27/2004 8:45:49 PM InventiveAudio.com wrote: You wrote: El-34s sound bigger and sweeter than El-84s with the highs remaining. I can't compare them to the 88's though. One thing for sure they beat the pants off 7591s in a Scott 299c in sweetness. The circuit design, iron and overall quality of the components have more to do with sound quality then the tubes. You can run many Pentode tubes in triode mode and they will sound wonderful. You really can't generalize about tubes. I've head great and not so great amps with many different tube configurations. The EL34 can handle more power then an EL84 and I like the sound of both in well designed amps. It's all in the ear of the beholder. ---------------- Inventive, look more closely at the picture. That is a Scott 299C which I have converted from 7591 to EL-34. The EL-34s are strapped in psuedo-triode mode to prevent overloading the 299's output X-formers. I also have another 299C still using 7591's. It was an apple to apple comparison. I run a modded Jolida 302B in triode mode on my Heresys. It is running as I type with sweet sounding 6CA7 big bottle Electro Harmonix's. I also have an EL-84 amp I built using a board from DIY and dynaco SCA-35 iron. It is a wonderful sounding amp with strong bass and mids but a little "less warm" than my EL-34 based amps. I would equate the different amps to going to different clubs to hear the same band. The music is the same just a tad different due to the surroundings. The Juicy Music Blueberry/ Wright Sound 2A3 Mono 10's/Klipschorns are in a different league altogether. Rick Edit: Nice web site BTW> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Sorry the pic didn't load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 That cayin TA30 looks really nice and maybe a good way to introduce myself to tubes. My Klipsches love tubes I have heard and have read many good things about that unit. The unit looks solid and "clean" looking. My wifes cousins live near Pauls business in Chicago and he sounds like an honest person. Oh excuse me I am starting to drool....... .....Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 Speedball, I think that the Cayin would indeed be a good choice for jumping into tubes. Jesse's TA-30 that he brought to my house sounded very very good. And I don't think it was modded at all. As an alternative to vintage, to purchase a vintage amp at the going rate (and still you don't know what unexpected problems the tech may find under the hood) and then pay for competent rebuilding makes the Cayin an attractive choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I'm using the TA 30 as a amp with a Luxman preamp, NAD C542 CD player and new La Scalas and it sounds very good!! My next upgrade now that I have LS is I need a bigger house and expecially a biggggger living room. My living room is 16 X 16 and at a certain sound level the La Scalas go from sounding very good to overpowering me, unless it's Audioslave that cd sounds incredible cranked up!! If any one has Synergy series and wants to get the most out of their speakers try this tube amp. I hooked it up to my SB3 bookshelf speakers and my NAD C 542 cd player and they sounded great! If you own La Scalas, Belles, Khorns, and want a very good first integrated tube amp the TA 30 will do a good job. But add a quality preamp with the TA 30 and it can sound very good as just a amp! Xman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I have NOT heard the Zen or Jolidas integrated tube amplifiers. I did hear the Cayin TA30 on classic Klipsch corner Khorns at preacherman Daddydees May 2004 Klipsch gathering in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Cayin has a soft copper face plate, is hefty, very nice looking and great sound for the price. It is an especially good unit for use with ultra-sensitive big ole horns. If you do NOT go with a refurbished vintage integrated tube amplifier, like those from NOSvalves, the ASL and Cayin models would be at the top of my new integrated tube amplifier list. I think that many modest-size horns need actively-powered, solid-state subwoofer support to shore up the lower bass. Modest tube amplifiers do NOT have the impedance control to make the lower and mid-bass sound as solid as a solid-state amplifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.