any hear dared or ming da amps?

S23chang may be over stating his dislike of the Ming-da a little bit. However he is correct most Chinese tube amps are on the warm, smooth and fat side. The Chinese tend to like things on the romantic side. Which is probably why the majority of tube CDP's come from China.

I had a Jolida 202A which is voiced for extra warmth and bloom. I came to perty much the same conclusions about the Jolida, that S23chang came to about the Mingda: smooth, warm, romantic but ultimatly a little boring and flat.

However many like the sound so I wouldn't discount it, we all hear differently and all have different needs.

Just make sure you are no a tube amp novice. Unlike the Jolida with external biasing the Ming-da requires internal biasing-burning then rebiasing. If not a competent tech will do this for around $100.

BW Maxx

Hi David, Even though I've never heard any Dared. I don't doubt what you heard at all. My amp (Jungson) and CDP (Eastound) are both Chinese. I've been into audio since 1973 and these are the two best pieces of equipment I have ever owned.

From my experience and the feedback from other owners of top tier Chinese products its very normal for them to compete with products at 3-4X the price and more.

I also wouldn't doubt if many owners of Ming-da feel the same way. Its all what you value in sonics and how it matches your other equipment.

Glad to hear it David! I know some of the early Xindak's had problems reading certain discs. But they went to work on it and have corrected the problem. Not unusual, the earlier model Eastsound CD-5 had a few bugs they had to work out.

Yes, although the Eastsound isn't tubed like the Xindak, a importer borrowed mine for a few days to see what all the hype was about. He had a Jolida and Shengya tube player and was really suprised when he learned the Eastsound employed no tubes.

I had the same experience. Many posts seem to indicate a good CDP upgrade won't give near the sonic improvements as a amp upgrade. I wasn't sure what to expect when I upgraded from a Cambridge Audio CDP. Well worth the effort and I can say it also exceeded my highest expectations.

BW Maxx