"Andy Evans" wrote in message
oups.com...
We had an amp shootout in the London Audiocircle tonight and had a
chance to hear 5 chinese amps.

A pair of Bez T3B 300b SETs sounded the best of the lot, and by some
margin.

Two 845 amps were admired for their top to bottom "authority". I
thought they were a bit bland compared to the life in the 300b amp.

A Push Pull EL34 amp with feedback was very forgettable. On the other
hand a KT88 amp with feedback switched off was not bad at all, though
inferior to the 845s and of course the 300b.

The Bez amps did have some good 300bs fitted, plus some nice 6J5gt
variants (including the 2C22).

This all made me very curious about what others have found in Chinese
amp shootouts. Keith, for example, must have a rank order of the best
by now!!

So - what's your experience of Chinese valve amps? Andy


Hi Andy. I have repaired a few (but not a Bez, which,
by all accounts is indeed one of the best)

It seems to me the Chinese alternative is a two-edged sword.
It gives people the chance to try a valve amp, without spending
a huge amount of money. But at the same time, reliability is nothing
like as good as it should be. This is reflected in very low second
hand value. People could get the idea that *all* valve amps are
unreliable.

Cosmetically they are quite good (you either like the Chinese "style"
or youi don't:-) You could not buy a stainless steel chassis here in
the EU for the price of a complete Chinese amplifier.

The ones I have worked on have simple faults, caused by poor quality
under-specified components - like skeleton pots for bias adjust etc.

Most have potted transformers. I suspect the transformers are quite
a lot smaller than the pots, because the bandwidth of these amps at
full power is pretty poor.

Under the deck, these amplifiers bear a remarkable similarity, as
if there is one generic board for many different versions. I have the
feeling that most of the brands come from the same factory.

I have seen one with a "Elps" (sic) input potentiometer.

Last winter I was in Viet Nam. I visited an audio wholesaler, who
offered me any ten Chinese amps in the warehouse for USD 1 000.

Most of them seem to be sold direct, not through a local dealer.
So, to whom to you turn when the amp fails?

Also, the ones I have seen carry no CE mark

Having said all that, as an entry level amp, they cannot be beaten,
as long as you don't expect something for nothing.

Cheers
Iain