1st full tube amp Oldchen EL34

I own a OldChen 845-A 300B I bought in Amazon for $1600 and it is fantastic, quiet and no issues so far. I also own a Reisong A12 (a version of the A10), and the same. And also my favorite, the Reisong (Bouyarange or whatever) A50, a 300b tube amp, and more of the same. I tried once a cheaper one, like around $200, with phono and bluetooth, and it was a lot of fun but stopped working in a year or so. I also own a Jadis Black Orchestra and it blew a tube right out of the box, $1000 bucks later sounds very good. I also have an Accuphase E-280, the jewel of the crown. I owned once one of those fantastic Decware that I had to sell because of the hum, probably a problem of my house DC, I don’t know, and I also had to sell a Pass Lab A25, the integrated, because it runs hot, I mean hot, like 50 C. My point is that there is a lot of snobism and even ignorance around Chinese amps. They can be good or bad, like any other amps, but they all have something in common: they are very inexpensive, and if you find one that works well in your system, does not make noise (oh, I forgot had to return the EL34 based Resisong because of the hum too), etc. it could be the bargain of the year simply because they are not wildly overpriced, like most of the hifi gear these days, we all know. And, yes, you can kill yourself if you play with one of these things , Chinese or not, if you have no clue what your are doing.

For years I sold new Jolida and Black Ice Audio gear. And I have sold a lot of vintage SS gear. I have auditioned a lot of gear over the years. I bought an Old Chen EL34 amp. Very good build quality. Best sounding amp I ever heard. Self Biasing. Many people wonder if a Chinese made amp is safe- what? Why not? I have a set of kitchen knives made in China- 20 years old and still razor sharp. Also, silver wiring makes for very clear sound, but amplifies the upper frequencies and is not so good with bass. I prefer good quality solid copper. The Old Chen EL34 is not junk. The transformers do not get hot, only a bit warm- that is a sign of good transformers. And one does not need to spend $3000 to get a good SS amp. Any piece of gear can only be so good. Beyond that you are throwing your money away. 

For years I sold new Jolida and Black Ice Audio gear. And I have sold a lot of vintage SS gear. I have auditioned a lot of gear over the years. I bought an Old Chen EL34 amp. Very good build quality. Best sounding amp I ever heard. Self Biasing. Many people wonder if a Chinese made amp is safe- what? Why not? I have a set of kitchen knives made in China- 20 years old and still razor sharp. Also, silver wiring makes for very clear sound, but amplifies the upper frequencies and is not so good with bass. I prefer good quality solid copper. The Old Chen EL34 is not junk. The transformers do not get hot, only a bit warm- that is a sign of good transformers. And one does not need to spend $3000 to get a good SS amp. Any piece of gear can only be so good. Beyond that you are throwing your money away. 

Good call on the internal mods :)

After seeing how the amp survived my friends rather “careless” treatment of the amp, I wouldn’t worry too much :)

Oh, and he kept it in a confined space in an entertainment unit. Got really toasty in there!

Live with it for a bit, see how you like the sonic signature. 
 

And tubes, the “maintenance” of tubes and the care one needs to observe, isn’t for everyone. Nor is the sound they produce. That’s in your hands to decide :)

Thanks for all the responses. After a few hours of listening I am generally pleased with the $150 spent. I may pass on upgrading as I saw the silicone inside and have zero interest in prying stuff loose. It will remain as is and be enjoyed. Tubes may or may not be my thing. Stressing over heat, bias, and high voltage may get in the way of just listening. The engineer in me may just be too curious to actually enjoy them. 

I have a slightly bigger chinese tube amp (Willsenton) running Klipsch Cornwall IVs and without having any tube amp to compare it with I find the combination very sweet. Just yesterday I played some music I hadn’t listened to in ages and again it was sonic revelation. If I had any knowledge whatsoever about wiring, soldering, etc. I’d probably also have a look under the hood. So far I’m happy finding out how far rolling tubes can bring me. 
Enjoy this adventure!

And as others have stated above.

Tube amps are high voltage devices, and can "hurt" (yes, speaking from experience...)

Only ever put one hand in the chassis at a time, unless you have discharged the caps and it is unplugged. I got a rather unpleasant shock when putting one of my DIY projects on the shelf after working on something. Fingers went under the wooden base of the amp and touched some wires. This while my thumbs were on the metal top of the chassis. 

Hey.

First off, ignore @jasonbourne52

I have some first hand experience with the same amp! A friend purchased one a few years back - he wanted an inexpensive tube amp - liked the look of glowing tubes. We did some research and he ended up getting the Oldchen.

He did not manage the amp very well... Was left on 24/7 with dodgy speaker wires being disconnected intermittently.

Here’s the thing, not s single problem with it! Tubes didn’t blow, transformers survived, capacitors didnt spontaneously combust, he wanst electrocuted and the house didnt burn down...

I’m amazed the thing kept running! He recently gifted it to me (I’m an avid DIY guy...) The tubes it came with were crappy to begin with, and he never upgraded them. I put a Winged-C Black plate rectifier tube in in, some Psvane Phillips EL34 replica tubes and a pair of vintage RCA 6SN7’s in the amp. Quite nice sounding!

I have since stripped it down to its base components and will be repurposing it and turning it into a 5 or so watt power amp. When you open it, be prepared to see silicone covering every solder joint! Its not easy to remove. In fact, I would say its impossible. Thats why I decided to strip it down completely and use the parts for a completely new build. Too much headache trying to work around the silicone and solder in new parts. So, I pulled the transformers, the choke, connectors, tube sockets and the rest is headed for the trash heap. I have all the parts (capacitors/resistors/wire etc) and will be building a new chassis and amp from scratch.

All that to say, if the solder joints are covered in silicone (mine was pt to pt wired), the just put some nice tubes in it and enjoy it. It will certainly let you know if you like the sonic signature of a single ended tube amp without breaking the back. If you do, then you can go hunting for a 211 or 845 based amp :)

Enjoy!

I'm on my second Chinese amp. The first, Music Angle 6n1p, class A, sounded good. It was even better after a capacitor & pre-amp tube replacement (7199 for whatever came with it). An unqualified American tech killed it. The second is a Sophia EL 34 A/B https://tubeintegratedamplifier.com/sophia_electric_el34_tube_integrated_amplifier_120v_s_e_t_music.php.

For six hundred dollars, it's unbeatable, esp. with a set of JJ EL 34s.

Neither are built like an American tube amp. Nor or they as expensive.

Welcome to the world of Tubes. 

Pay no attention to @jasonbourne52 nothing wrong with starting off with a lower cost tube amp. 

The Psvane 5U4G receives good reviews for reliability/sonics from what I just Googled.

The cheap 5Z3P’s and 5AR4's are the one’s I’ve read bad things about.

How does it sound?

I ran a friend’s Chorus II’s with my little 2A3 kit amps years ago and liked them (hated them with her SS amp).

DeKay

+1 dekay.

Capacitors on tube amps can knock you on your butt a week after last use.

And as long as you know what you’re not getting, you’ll be fine.

Have fun and stay safe!

JD

Rectifier is currently PSVANE

Thanks DeKay. I have worked with capacitors in ss amps so I understand the need to discharge for safety. I will order the rectifier and see what happens. I believe this is the same amp. May have also been labeled Laochen on other units. 

The first thing I would do is replace the rectifier tube (assuming it's tube rectified and that the tube is of Chinese manufacture).

A quick Google showed an inexpensive Oldchen single ended EL34 based amp with a 5Z3P/rectifier (2) 6N9P small signal tubes and (2) EL34's (one per channel).

Is this the amp?

A failing rectifier tube can wipe out the EL34's plus other passive parts of the amp which is why I would start by swapping in a known to be reliable tube.

Reasonably priced one's (for 5Z3P) would be a Russian 5C3S (all I've seen were manufactured by Svetlana) or a GE 5U4G (both run around $30, while other brands start @ $100+).

That done I would just listen to it for 3+ months before changing anything else.

The 6N9P signal tubes are equivalent to 6SL7 (not familiar with current prices and/or what people like for this tube).

I'm not Anti-Chinese tube on a whole as I've heard some of their EL34's, 2A3's, 300B's and 12ax7's that sound quite good, but their rectifier tubes seem to have a bad rep for reliability.

Before you start tinkering inside learn how to safely discharge the power supply capacitors.

DeKay

I have run my Quartets with a 4 watt Decware Mini Torii and a 6 watt Grommes PHI-26  both sound great the quartets and tubes makes if sound like a liver performance

Understood and again this was an opportunity but not a nirvana situation. I have the top of the Line LSA HYBRID that drives my Thiel CS5s and totally pleased. I have a bardominium playground for my grandkids and this is where I like to tinker. Heresy’s, Chorus 1s, and Quartets are the available speakers at this location. I change between Bryston, Mitsubishi, Lexicon, NAD, and other assorted amps. Most I have brought back from dead. And most sound better today than when new due to better parts. Never opened a tube amp and I have a significant amount of respect for the damage they can do if mishandled. Variac on-site and have still smoked some things in the past. 😉

Oldchen brand-does that indicate it's run by old guys from the CCP, instead of young, rebellious anti Xi Jinping millennials?

Seriously, if you have access to a legit tech that knows tube amps to point out potential safety concerns, that's maybe to best move. They need a schematic to really know what's going on. I'd see if the company can provide one.

The transformers and quality of the parts, obviously are going to limit just how   much it can be tweaked to sound "better."

That could add up quick.$$

I have 2 hybrid amps (ss amp with tube pre) and really like them. This was my first attempt at a pure tube amp and didn’t want to spend a bunch. This presented itself for sub $200. Jasonbourne I understand that you generally get what you pay for and could possibly have far more experience with china manufacturing than 90% of  Americans, but this was perfect for my value proposition to tinker without toasting a $1000 plus amp. I also have my own concerns about safety which is why I plan to do some upgrades. I had a chance 2 years ago to buy quicksilver monos but hesitated and missed them. Really just looking for feedback on known weaknesses, possible safety issues, and simple mods to improve beyond its current state- not equal to a multi thousand dollar amp - just improve this limited amp. 

Great have fun with it

I agree with the Quicksilver amp recommendation! The Horn Mono amps are great.

Mike

What scares me about Chi Fi tube amps is how safe are they ?     Want a great amp that goes great with Klipsch that won't break the bank? Quicksilver  Horn Mono or Mid Mono.  Either pair can be had for less than $1200 if you are patient.   Super reliable.   

10 watts, single ended Class A=if it was designed as intended, and the tubes are quiet, it should sound great? At $250 shipped- BEST amp deal out there!

Could a great base for a DIY project, IF you know what you're doing?

Changing the internal wire to silver will do nada for the sound. 

Made in China junk! You should have bought a Dynaco ST70 instead. They are the hot rods of tube amps! Easy to work on, easy to mod. I have two, one with a new input board, one with a full-on mod (custom chassis, new input stage and external power supply with beefed-up power trans).