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be wary of cheap imports,
you can drive your speakers with 15 watts of tube power
look at a good used Primaluna PL1 or 2. around your budget. i had one for 6 years. great amp
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Not mid-fi (much better), but check out the Unision Unico https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis8gbgh-unison-research-unico-nuovo-amplifier-hybrid-tube-integra...Earlier models were 6 Moons integrated amp of the year, Stereophile Class B. I love mine. Mine is 15 yrs old. I am second owner and have had it now for 8 yrs. Was thinking of replacing it last year just because of age, but it is such a wonderful integrated amp that instead I had it modded by Underwood Hi-Fi. Hopefully it will serve me well for the next 15 yrs or more. A really under appreciated amp! |
ihor, I think you missed my recommendation of that same amp two responses prior. Regardless, that's two 'go aheads' for the Unico. |
NO pass on that amp & read audiothesis last paragraph...Stereophile says your speakers drop well below 4 ohms and have 2 large phase changes...I also don't care for KT88 sound..Look for EL34 like the Yaqins that have a Triode Mode..25 wpc.of EL34 Strapped Triode is a SWEET sound for sure...On the budget end Yaqin,Jolida & a few others build a decent amp..A little higher up Cayin is beautiful in build quality and sound... |
Many thanks for your recommendations. I wasn't even aware of Unison and two of you recommended it! There don't seem to be many Yaquin's available on the used market and Jolida is fairly plentiful. I'm wondering if that reflects owner satisfaction or how many were sold new.
So a triode mode EL34 would be a good match for my speakers. My Denon AVC-3000 (don't laugh, It's served me well for 35 years) puts out 80W at 8ohms.
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Jolida favors more of a solid state sound to me. I agree with the el34 recommendation given the speakers. Yaqin might be your best bet, but if you want something with a little more QC here in the US, check out Silk Audio. It's basically a rebadged Yaqin with support this side of the Pacific. |
A couple other hybrids to consider would be Rogue Audio Sphinx and Croft Phono Integrated - pre-owned, well within your budget. |
I just ordered a Yaqin MC-13s Push-Pull arriving this week. Searched this forum and others for feedback on it. Most of it was positive although admittedly there wasn't a ton. Not much in the way of professional reviews either. I haven't seen much action used in the last month or so since I've started researching them. Hoping that's a good sign. |
Congrats buckley! Yaqin does not have a distributor in the US (officially) so you won't find any professional reviews. On the flip side, that is one of many reasons why they are as cheap as they are. |
I've listened to the Q900 driven by a 30W EL34 push-pull amp. Sounded very nice; neutral/warm, wide and deep soundstaging, and great extension without any brightness. |
Do the 13S and 30L both have triode modes too?
Silk appears to be taking a break and has nothing for sale right now. That would appear to leave China-hifi, Newegg and the big A as places to buy a Yaquin. It looks like I'm probably headed down the full tube path.
How much better is the quality of the Cayin? They don't appear to be much more expensive than the Yaquin.
10t, 13s and 30l. Do they all have a similar sound?
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From what can tell the 13s is Ultralinear only, no Triode mode. Ordered mine from Amazon. Will know for sure tomorrow when it arrives.
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Yaqin MS-30L from Canadian Dealer on Ebay..$700.00 delivered..EL34 with Triode Mode & a FANTASTIC remote,low powered headphone circuit isn't too bad......He tests every unit before shipping... |
Yaqin arrived yesterday. Unpacked, biased, and connected in short order. Listening impressions later but I’ll say this unit is solidly built and nice looking. Mine came with tubes installed but biased high across the board. No complaints cosmetically, everything in good order.
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Freediver, I've been looking at that one. It's one of two Yaqin models I've been considering, it's priced $120 less than from "A" delivered to my door and it's the same, or a little less than from China. The seller is the very reputable Canadian "dealer" that provides warranty and support.
I saw your message this morning and got worried that someone would read it and buy it for the great deal that it is........so I bought it. Thanks for pushing me over the edge and into the world of tube sound. |
I recently tried the Yaqin MC-13S too, really great amp! Loved it so much I'm upping to a 300B tube version. However, your Q900 is hard to drive as someone else pointed, hope it'll work out. |
Line Magnetic tube amps r absolutely fantastic. U might find a used unit of model 211ia close to ur budget limit. Good luck.
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I also think Rogue may be the best value and sound for your budget. Its good stuff.... |
I have a Vincent SV-500 that I'd do a good deal for you if you have any interest. I just upgraded to a larger Vincent. I would put the SV-500 against any integrated costing two to three times its cost. There are tubes in the preamp section and I have two extra sets for tube rolling. A GREAT amp. |
Thanks guys, but I'm waiting for delivery of my yaqin 30l. |
Although I've had serious audiophile amps in the past, my system was running off a Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1020 home theater receiver the last 10 years. It's actually pretty good for home theater purposes, but I instantly concluded the moment the first song was played through the Yaqin that I'm hearing these familiar songs for the first time in a decade. What I heard before was a shadow or reflection of what the artist intended. The Yaqin was so much more musical, even right out of the box with zero break-in. The presence, the soundstage, the richness of tone are miles apart. Air and instrumental separation I haven't heard in years. Back in the day I had an excellent YBA Integre' and a pair of Epos ES-14's that really clicked on vocals. The Yaqin and my recently acquired KEF Q100's brought me back to the qualities I so fondly remembered from that system. If you are moving from an AV amp to a Yaqin like I did, you're going to be floored. |
jimfoto congrats!!!
Don’t be in a big hurry to roll tubes..Give that amp about 20-30 hours before critical listening and I would check the bias often after it gets playing.....Give it plenty of breathing room,especially over the top...The volume knob gets pretty warm but mine never gave me a bit of trouble...
I look forward to a detailed update..I always love hearing about new converts first experiences like sbuckley above.. |
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Hey did your new amp come in? |
Yes it did! My apologies, I thought I had posted via mobile but I guess I never sent it and I was out of town for 10 days with no internet connection at all.
It arrived well packed and fairly quickly from Canada (from Tabnac on Ebay). I plugged it in and started playing records. My initial impression was that the mids were much more open and full, especially at lower volume levels than my 30 year old SS A/V amp. It has no trouble whatsoever driving my q900's to high volume levels. All those numbers and calculations seem pretty insignificant at this point. I've not yet set the bias, I've got faith that Tabnac at least checked it but it is on my list of things to do. I've got about 4-5 hours on it so far.
Soooo, quick shipping, well packed, high quality and sound that blew me away, especially with the clarity of the mids at lower volume levels. I couldn't be happier.
I do have a couple questions. I took the aluminum cage off and haven't put it back on. Does this help dissipate heat? What about the Lucite plates around the smaller tubes, do they dissipate or hold in heat? I don't care about looks, I'm only interested in heat dissipation to help preserve the equipment. The two front power tubes are leaning in slightly but appear to be well seated, is this normal? When the amp is "idling" with no music playing is it still burning in, or only when music is playing?
Thanks again for all your advice and helping give me the confidence to jump into an inexpensive Chinese amp.
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Cage is just to keep little fingers from hot tubes...Don't know about the locite plates...Standby mode does keep a certain part of the small signal tubes hot,should still last 3500+hours... |
After a month of listening, I finally got around to checking the bias. It's .25-26 across all 4 tubes, considerably lower than the .37-38 I've seen recommended and the .43 printed on the amp. I'm wondering if Tabnac dialed it down for break in. I've got about 50 hours on the amp and think I need to just bring the voltage up to spec.
Any thoughts on the benefits of lower voltage during break in? |
Saves a tiny bit of tube life but IMO gives up tone as the tubes aren't operating in their sweet spot...
Probably like that from the factory,I don't think either of them run them in & bias them..
By the way I was cleaning out storage & found the Matched Octet of Mullard made for RTK small signal tubes I used on mine.When your ready to roll them give me a shout,I'll give you a good deal... |
