Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I owned this amplifier for a bit over a month. Can't say enough good things about it.
When the box arrived my wife was amazed how well it is build and finished. An eye-candy indeed, outside of what i think unnecessary scribe on the front of the amp "Spirit in the sky". perhaps it means something for Chinese engineers, but I think it look cheesy. Small nitpicking.
Tubes are already installed -so all you need to do is to plug it in. And man, does this thing sing. Sound is very fast and dynamic (way cleaner if compared with my Jolida 202 (albeit very old)) - but retains the warmth of tubes. Imaging is great, and, surprisingly, it has enough juice to drive my B&W 684 to any loudness level I can bear (however keep in mind it is my office system, room is about 150 sf). I can listen to it 8 hours a day without a hint of fatigue. I can bet I enjoy music with Dared then with any piece of gear I owned before or still own, including my trusty Krell 400xi (a gem by itself).
I replaced 12AX7 preamp tubes with better ones (albeit not expensive -reissued Mullards) and I think I can hear significant improvements - especially in midrange and in depth of soundstage. I wish they ship with better preamp tubes (power 6L6G tubes shipped with amp are re-branded Russian Svetlanas, which are quite good).
Build-in USB Dac is a huge bonus. Just plugged my computer and listen to rhapsody.. I owe Musical Fidelity DAC with USB (I use it my main system) -and when tested it sounded a bit more detailed, but not by a lot. Considering that MF DAC was $299 by itself and is thrown here virtually for free it is not bad.
Negatives are few. No preamp output will make it harder for someone to integrate a sub. No tape loop (but who does now analog recording anyway?) No remote so I have to move my arse from my chair to turn volume off when i get a phone call (not a bad thing probably). All this nitpicking considering the sound and the price, which is an absolute bargain for the product of this quality. I never owned mega-buck tube gear - but judging from what I heard in showrooms this amp can hold its own against way more pricey gear.
I rarely review anything, but I felt to compelled to write this to share the overall joy of owning and using this little gem for many hours a day.
Almost 1 year later -
Still going strong. Replaced power tubes with ElectroHarmnix, did feel any improvements, nothing like when i changed preamp tubes.
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You may just like some audiophiles or music lovers prefer the sound produced with tube amplifiers on the grounds that it is more natural and satisfying than the sound from typical transistor amplifiers. Class AB push-pull topology has been nearly universally used in tube amps for long time, among which the 6L6G and EL34 power tubes used as power output stage are the most popular. The 6L6G and EL34 sounds commonly very warm but also clean and detailed. Most importantly, the 6L6G tubes are very harmonically rich, so almost every audiophile and music lover loves those tube PP tube amp! If one never listened to an 6L6G or EL34 tube amp before, he did not hear what music shall be reproduced at all. This amp can use both types of tubes, but optimized for 6L6G, and probably is one the best made 6L6G tube amps in the market today. (Gold PCB and Gold tube sockets, pure silver signal wires,Headphone output,Dual power setting: 110 volts and 230 volts, with Analog output meter,Internal DAC (Digital-Analog-Converter) so you can connect this amp to computer (USB)). It uses simple open class-A circuit with two dual-triode tubes for two stages of Triode-Single-end (SET) for preamp amp and drive stage with little feedback. That gives open and natural sound amplification. You will enjoy more tube sonic characteristic from this amp than others on the market today. You will surely enjoy a great dynamics and high resolution from this amp. Extremely low noise level with very good musical balance due to a special computer modeling assistance design. Come with "Ruby" 6L6G power tube, BEST sound! 2-week take home free audition (no charge if return). You will not return this amp!
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