The Yellow River.......
 

See this eBay auction 5725646743

If I read it right it's not much over a hundred quid atm with only 10 hours
to go! OK, postage'll be about £40+ but, feck me, how can you knock these
prices??

OK, they could be ****e and this one's positively boasting about its
(claimed) 5% THD at 28W figure but all I'll say is that since Tuesday
night's sesh, one poster here has bid and won a chinky amp like mine and me
mate Shiny Nigel's work colleague (audio shop, no less) was on the phone
earlier today quizzing me about them and says he's going to get one. (Like
SN didn't go rushing back to slag it off!!)

And this one: 5725720783 (although I've been advised that these are a teensy
bit *lethal*.. !!! :-)

This one's not cheap at about £2K but there's a link to a review of one of
them at USD12,500...!!

(If nothing else, they shore do look *purrty* don't they?? :-)

There's a *river* of cheap Chinese valve stuff on eBay atm - at this rate,
soon the only people *not* on valves will *all* be in this group, banging on
about how *bad* they are, while the rest of the world guzzles them up before
the prices go up!!! :-)

The Yellow River.......
 

"Keith G" wrote in message
...
See this eBay auction 5725646743

If I read it right it's not much over a hundred quid atm with only 10
hours to go! OK, postage'll be about £40+ but, feck me, how can you knock
these prices??

OK, they could be ****e and this one's positively boasting about its
(claimed) 5% THD at 28W figure but all I'll say is that since Tuesday
night's sesh, one poster here has bid and won a chinky amp like mine and
me mate Shiny Nigel's work colleague (audio shop, no less) was on the
phone earlier today quizzing me about them and says he's going to get one.
(Like SN didn't go rushing back to slag it off!!)

And this one: 5725720783 (although I've been advised that these are a
teensy bit *lethal*.. !!! :-)

This one's not cheap at about £2K but there's a link to a review of one of
them at USD12,500...!!

(If nothing else, they shore do look *purrty* don't they?? :-)

There's a *river* of cheap Chinese valve stuff on eBay atm - at this rate,
soon the only people *not* on valves will *all* be in this group, banging
on about how *bad* they are, while the rest of the world guzzles them up
before the prices go up!!! :-)




Sophia Electric got some purdy glowin' stuff :-)

The Yellow River.......
 

"Mike Gilmour" wrote

There's a *river* of cheap Chinese valve stuff on eBay atm - at this
rate, soon the only people *not* on valves will *all* be in this group,
banging on about how *bad* they are, while the rest of the world guzzles
them up before the prices go up!!! :-)




Sophia Electric got some purdy glowin' stuff :-)


Yebbut, not at the 'giveaway' prices of these amps - I tell ya, once these
wily Orientals have re-established and re-opened the 'Electronic/Audio Silk
Road' they'll dominate the audio scene over here and the prices will go up!

I read/heard somewhere (I really have got to take more notice if I'm going
to keep on making these references) that a Chinese factory (or factories)
are installing robots on assembly lines, due to the rapidly rising labour
costs...???

The Yellow River.......
 

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 17:25:54 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:

See this eBay auction 5725646743

If I read it right it's not much over a hundred quid atm with only 10 hours
to go! OK, postage'll be about £40+ but, feck me, how can you knock these
prices??

OK, they could be ****e and this one's positively boasting about its
(claimed) 5% THD at 28W figure but all I'll say is that since Tuesday
night's sesh, one poster here has bid and won a chinky amp like mine and me
mate Shiny Nigel's work colleague (audio shop, no less) was on the phone
earlier today quizzing me about them and says he's going to get one. (Like
SN didn't go rushing back to slag it off!!)

And this one: 5725720783 (although I've been advised that these are a teensy
bit *lethal*.. !!! :-)

Yes, but at 400 squids, even I am having a think! I doubt I could even
build that pretty a chassis for that money.................

This one's not cheap at about £2K but there's a link to a review of one of
them at USD12,500...!!

(If nothing else, they shore do look *purrty* don't they?? :-)

There's a *river* of cheap Chinese valve stuff on eBay atm - at this rate,
soon the only people *not* on valves will *all* be in this group, banging on
about how *bad* they are, while the rest of the world guzzles them up before
the prices go up!!! :-)

You sound like a classic Bitch Wife From Hell! "I know it's rubbish,
darling, but look how *cheap* it is!"
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

The Yellow River.......
 

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote


And this one: 5725720783 (although I've been advised that these are a
teensy
bit *lethal*.. !!! :-)

Yes, but at 400 squids, even I am having a think! I doubt I could even
build that pretty a chassis for that money.................


*Exactly* and if the trannies are at least OK, the rest's all 'bonus'......


(If nothing else, they shore do look *purrty* don't they?? :-)

There's a *river* of cheap Chinese valve stuff on eBay atm - at this rate,
soon the only people *not* on valves will *all* be in this group, banging
on
about how *bad* they are, while the rest of the world guzzles them up
before
the prices go up!!! :-)

You sound like a classic Bitch Wife From Hell! "I know it's rubbish,
darling, but look how *cheap* it is!"


Possibly, but you appear to have grasped my point instantly - for what these
cost, the chassis alone makes them an attractive propostion. If the trannies
are at least 'adequate' (and there's no reason they shouldn't be, the blurb
looks quite promising) any 'substandard' componentry could be easily swapped
out by anyone with the necessary skill. Any other issues like hum - Nick G
has had experience of one of these and mentioned some hum presence (which,
of course may have been specific to the one example) could be resolved by
just about *any* 'audio design engineer' without breaking into a
sweat.....??? :-)

My point, as I said when Fleetie waded in, is at the price these things
represent loopy VFM even if they *do* have to be fettled. I see them also as
an attractive proposition for anyone who simply wants to 'deconstruct' and
're-engineer' one to his own standards - bearing in mind an amp like this
one made up by a 'name' would cost the price of a decent, secondhand car!!!

NB: Anyone getting tempted by one of these Chinese amps *direct* from China
*must* take note of the shipping costs - this little bugger weighs 28 kg and
would cost "US $285. via Fedex Express, takes about 7 days".....

(I ain't on commission for these things and I don't give a rat's about who
uses valves and who doesn't - I mention this here only in case there are
people who would be interested to know.....)

The Yellow River.......
 

On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 11:34:31 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote


And this one: 5725720783 (although I've been advised that these are a
teensy
bit *lethal*.. !!! :-)

Yes, but at 400 squids, even I am having a think! I doubt I could even
build that pretty a chassis for that money.................


*Exactly* and if the trannies are at least OK, the rest's all 'bonus'......


(If nothing else, they shore do look *purrty* don't they?? :-)

There's a *river* of cheap Chinese valve stuff on eBay atm - at this rate,
soon the only people *not* on valves will *all* be in this group, banging
on
about how *bad* they are, while the rest of the world guzzles them up
before
the prices go up!!! :-)

You sound like a classic Bitch Wife From Hell! "I know it's rubbish,
darling, but look how *cheap* it is!"


Possibly, but you appear to have grasped my point instantly - for what these
cost, the chassis alone makes them an attractive propostion. If the trannies
are at least 'adequate' (and there's no reason they shouldn't be, the blurb
looks quite promising) any 'substandard' componentry could be easily swapped
out by anyone with the necessary skill. Any other issues like hum - Nick G
has had experience of one of these and mentioned some hum presence (which,
of course may have been specific to the one example) could be resolved by
just about *any* 'audio design engineer' without breaking into a
sweat.....??? :-)

My point, as I said when Fleetie waded in, is at the price these things
represent loopy VFM even if they *do* have to be fettled. I see them also as
an attractive proposition for anyone who simply wants to 'deconstruct' and
're-engineer' one to his own standards - bearing in mind an amp like this
one made up by a 'name' would cost the price of a decent, secondhand car!!!

NB: Anyone getting tempted by one of these Chinese amps *direct* from China
*must* take note of the shipping costs - this little bugger weighs 28 kg and
would cost "US $285. via Fedex Express, takes about 7 days".....

(I ain't on commission for these things and I don't give a rat's about who
uses valves and who doesn't - I mention this here only in case there are
people who would be interested to know.....)




Do bear in mind as well that if HM Customs decide to have a peek
inside and find they carry no CE mark, that is as far as they will
get.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

The Yellow River.......
 

"Don Pearce" wrote


NB: Anyone getting tempted by one of these Chinese amps *direct* from
China
*must* take note of the shipping costs - this little bugger weighs 28 kg
and
would cost "US $285. via Fedex Express, takes about 7 days".....

(I ain't on commission for these things and I don't give a rat's about who
uses valves and who doesn't - I mention this here only in case there are
people who would be interested to know.....)




Do bear in mind as well that if HM Customs decide to have a peek
inside and find they carry no CE mark, that is as far as they will
get.


Damn good point and an essential 'Ask the seller a question'....!!??

My amp *does* have a CE mark and I suspect the Orientals are a bit too wily
to miss a little thing like that - also, I have to say I have never yet had
a package from abroad that has been 'checked' (touch wood)....???

(Snaps of the NK/HFW article shortly....)

The Yellow River.......
 

On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 12:32:45 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Don Pearce" wrote


NB: Anyone getting tempted by one of these Chinese amps *direct* from
China
*must* take note of the shipping costs - this little bugger weighs 28 kg
and
would cost "US $285. via Fedex Express, takes about 7 days".....

(I ain't on commission for these things and I don't give a rat's about who
uses valves and who doesn't - I mention this here only in case there are
people who would be interested to know.....)




Do bear in mind as well that if HM Customs decide to have a peek
inside and find they carry no CE mark, that is as far as they will
get.


Damn good point and an essential 'Ask the seller a question'....!!??

My amp *does* have a CE mark and I suspect the Orientals are a bit too wily
to miss a little thing like that - also, I have to say I have never yet had
a package from abroad that has been 'checked' (touch wood)....???

(Snaps of the NK/HFW article shortly....)



The reason I posted is that someone HAS asked, and CE certification is
expected in 4-6 weeks! (see the auction page)

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

The Yellow River.......
 

Keith G wrote:
"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote



And this one: 5725720783 (although I've been advised that these are a
teensy
bit *lethal*.. !!! :-)

Yes, but at 400 squids, even I am having a think! I doubt I could even
build that pretty a chassis for that money.................



*Exactly* and if the trannies are at least OK, the rest's all 'bonus'......

From what I have been told (I haven't heard one myself yet) the
transformers are more than acceptable, Ok, I doubt they are up to the
standard of (say) Brian Sowter, but then I don't think many commercial
valve amps amps are, even if they cost ten times as much as this one.

The only problems I have had reported are they are prone to hum, this is
fixable it seems by adding a bipass cap to the first mu stage. I am not
entrily sure why it suffers from hum, or why the bipass would sort it,
but I suspect a proper investigation armed with a scope would get to the
bottom of the problem.

This is the circuit if anyone is interested.

http://www.yogoo.com/xd845t.htm

If I wasn't so commited to the GM70 amp at the moment (and have a pair
of 211's sitting on the shelf for the next one), I would be tempted as
well, Worth it for the transformers alone I would suspect, not to
mention the valves and sockets.

If anyone is looking to try a SET with balls I guess this is a great way
to start.

I have said before to Keith (and added it up) that it would cost
somewhere in the order of £1800 to make a 845/211 amp getting parts from
western suppliers, thats even before making a profit from selling them.

Having said all that, at the moment I prefer the gm70 to the 845, in
comparisons (and yes they were level matched, and yes I was blindfolded)
I prefered the Russion valve to the 845 (esp the copper plate gm70),
though I know the 845 looks better on paper, at least more linear. The
low mu of the 845 does make it a bit of a pain to drive, the mu of 8 for
the GM70 makes it much more flexable. the only problem with the gm70
IMHO, is the 20v 3a heater, makes it hard to use AC without hum
problems, and its quite a challange to get good DC. I would guess
(though I haven't tried yet) that a current regulator would be better
than a voltage one. Doesn't worry me, the 40khz AC heating I mentioned
works a treat. The amps produces as little audible hum as my PP 6550,
which with my speakers is inaudible more than 5cm away from them.

And the fact that gm70's are about £15 each is another plus point :-)

--
Nick

The Yellow River.......
 

On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 12:32:45 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Don Pearce" wrote


NB: Anyone getting tempted by one of these Chinese amps *direct* from
China
*must* take note of the shipping costs - this little bugger weighs 28 kg
and
would cost "US $285. via Fedex Express, takes about 7 days".....

(I ain't on commission for these things and I don't give a rat's about who
uses valves and who doesn't - I mention this here only in case there are
people who would be interested to know.....)




Do bear in mind as well that if HM Customs decide to have a peek
inside and find they carry no CE mark, that is as far as they will
get.


Damn good point and an essential 'Ask the seller a question'....!!??

Actually not true, C&E don't give a rat's arse about anything except
duty. If you want to elctrocute yourself or burn yourself to death,
they don't care. Of course, if you are in business and want to *sell*
the booger to somebody else - different story.

--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering