Clone DarTZeel amps?

63K vs 2k.  

I have an NHB-108 clone (D5 Pro) powering a pair of Joseph Audio Perspective 2's and Fischer & Fischer 370's. Simply put I love it, especially considering the price.

I talk about the performance briefly here. There's another Youtuber, Hifi Zone, who opens it up and talks about the components inside.

@bigtwin I'm well aware of the price differential but that was not the question. While it might be interesting to hear from someone who paid the price for the real thing and then compared it to the clone I think that anyone who had bought the real amp would be disinterested in comparing the two - just in case.

If you look at the pictures of the inside of the clone VS the real deal, you will see why one sells for 2K and the real one sells for many many thousands more.  I personally had terrible luck with a Yaquin hybrid integrated amp.   It caught fire the first day just after a few hours of run in and very lucky my house didn’t burn down.  Lesson learned, cheap Chinese junk can’t be trusted. 

The Chinese are capable of making outstanding quality knockoffs.

You can buy Birkin bags even a LVMH investigator isn’t sure it’s a fake. But they cost several hundred dollars, not $40.

The fake Dartzeel you’re looking at is the audio equivalent of a $40 Birkin bag. It’s going to look and sound like a generic $800 AliExpress amp, albeit one that looks like a Dartzeel when seen through the window in Google Maps.

A bit-perfect Dartzeel clone, if such a thing existed, would cost $15,000, not $2,000.

Agree with the above. I had a friend who swore up and down that the clone amps and preamps he owned were "just as good as the original". He had actually convinced himself they likely came from the same factory, a claim which doesn't stand up to the slightest scrutiny.

These components eventually failed and fried a very nice set of speakers in the process. He now regrets the whole thing.

You get what you pay for. Anything else is wishful thinking. 

@arafiq 100%!!! in all aspects. 

You get what you pay for. Anything else is wishful thinking.

I think the whole cosmetic clone thing reflects the values of the buyer...in almost every way.

Even if a clone manufacturer were to produce a genuine clone, they haven't paid for the R&D and the IP that is embodied in the original, or the marketing and other overheads required to establish and support a brand. But even accounting for that a "bit perfect" clone would probably not have a sufficient discount to persuade people to buy it versus the real thing.

My experience ( >50 years active in audio and music and fortunately a darTZell owner) has me agreeing with arafiq

Note "clones" - even at quick glance - reveal significant variations to one another and in particular do not replicate authentic darTZell. 

The person who purchase a clone really knows what time it is…on their Roxel.

If you are into cycling you know the long tired deal about "Chinarellos", Chinese clones of very expensive Pinarello carbon fiber frames. Real Pinarello's are handcrafted in Italy with premium carbon fiber lay-ups. The Chinese knock-offs are made with minimal labor and from inferior materials. If you are a cyclist, you can feel the difference immediately-the real deal is lively and spirited, the clone feels dead and damped-down. 

After all these years of Alibaba, AliExpress et al, it is utterly amazing that nothing has changed in terms of China's marketing strategy with cheap knock-offs of others' designs. It would be nice if it disappeared, but as PT Barnum so famously said...

I should have known better than to ask a simple question on this forum. I requested comment from people who had bought or heard the copy DarTZeel amp. I got 2 responses from those who had bought the copy amp in question and they were both positive. One responded privately probably because he didn't want the abuse which generally follows when someone reports positively about a Chinese copy product.. The bulk of the responses were from those whose experience and opinion was as uninformed as my own ie no actual first hand experience but they did convey the usual prejudices. Incidentally I only asked the question because I was curious - I have no intention of buying one as I am more than happy with my VTL ST150 and don't have $$$s to satisfy my curiosity. It seems that many contributors on this forum are unaware that Apple and Dell products are made in China as are many speakers from the likes of B&W, Sonus Faber etc and almost all brand name golf clubs. Possibly clone was the wrong word to use in my question as most of the Aliexpress copy sellers indicate that their copies are based on DarTZeel circuits and do not claim to use identical parts. Perhaps we should think back to the time when Japanese products, which copied well known brands, were viewed with scorn and derision - not any more. I believe that China is at that stage. It has excellent manufacturing facilities capable of producing highly complex electronic products and with respect to audio, quality control is the main issue but as with Japan this will change. A final plea to those who feel they have to contribute worthless uninformed comment on this forum - please pull your head in

NO....

I own a NHB 108 copy.One that looks like the real deal.The one with the big blue Sprague caps  and two pairs of output transistors.

It matches really well with my Supratek preamp.Best sound I have ever had from that and there has been plenty.

Superb sounding amp.A bit speaker fussy though.It much prefers real 8 ohm speakers not 4 ohm.All the good stuff of a really good SET but none of the bad .Very high resolution but also very refined and organic and sweet sounding.Very good with vintage Tannoys and horns.

Had the same question. So I bought one a few years ago. They sound good, but do not sound like a real DartZeel. 

I bought the very clone amp you asked about a few months ago and I hasten to say that it is beyond a doubt the most superb amp I have had in my system in 50 years. I paid pre-tariffs $750 for it delivered to my doorstep.  It out performs my Don Sachs KT88 amp and my Wells Audio Innamorata amp.  Check out the myriad reviews on the amp... it is truly the real deal.  

Is it a perfectly representative of the original DarTzell amp, now off patent protection, that I can't say.  But the fit and finish of the amp belies its modest cost and more importantly, it is by leaps and bounds the finest amp I have ever had in my system.  

At my ripe old age, I never thought I'd have such a phenomenal amp in my system.