Chinese knock-off headphone amps


Has anyone had experience with Chinese made copies/knock offs of headphone amplifiers, specifically the A2's and Krell KSA5's seen on eBay? They seem well made with quality parts. Would I be throwing my money away by purchasing one?
llanger
Would I be throwing my money away by purchasing one?
Probably.  Why would you want to support fraudulent businesses when there are great legit amps available from the likes of Singxer, Gustard, and others?  C’mon man.
I have no clue what knockoff amps OP is referring to, since I didn’t even know that Krell made HPA’s. The truth of the matter though, since we’re discussing headphone amps, is that the best, most accurate ones on the market ARE made in China. Most of the best ones use THX Achromatic chipsets as their base, for example the SMSL SH-9 that I use, but there are plenty of great modes that don’t (Topping A90)

Simple rule to adhere to. If it is on ebay or amazon figure 90% is counterfeit knockoff china garbage. Even toilet paper from amazon is fake. Age old rule of thumb you get what you pay for and if it seems to good to be true it is. This is not only my opinion I know many people who work in customs that have confirmed this. I no longer by anything from amazon I go direct don’t care if it cost me shipping.
Graham slee makes some very good headphone amps, you should check them out. I have a Graham slee novo and I’m very happy with it. It has a daisy chained output so that you do not lose an rca output on your preamp. This is great if you run a tape deck or mini disc recorder etc...I have run many a headphone through the novo and it performs great.
https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/amplifiers/
I'll sell you an early Schitt Lyr that's been used for a total of about 2 hours and is in perfect condition if you want a head amp. I loved it but it drove my wife crazy. I'll thrown in the AKG 702's ( I think that's the model) and a headphone holder that mounts on a shelf. I keep forgetting I own it. It sounds very nice but not worth my marriage.

These rampant illegal Chinese POS units are not “knock-offs”. They are illegal, crummy / crap-build, lame counterfeit fakes that are NOT made with the same quality parts as OEMs.

The colloquial term “knock-off” is often used erroneously interchangeably with “counterfeit”, but their legal meanings and practical experiences are very different,

“Knock-off” products are those that copy the build and imitate the physical appearance of OEM licenced brand products, but which do not copy the brand name or logo of the trademark.

These Chinese counterfeit fakes are illegal fakes with grossly inferior/ crap quality build, that can only lamely tries to duplicate its legit subject OEM unit in EXTERNAL appearance. Inside, you get exactly what you paid for - only pure shite performance….  cheap garbage in = only more garbage out …full stop.