Thanks for the review. I just bought my first tube amp, the appj miniwatt 2013 (the one with a the tube guy playing a horn). I was looking to replacd the appj with the mp301 but wasn't sure if this would be a worthwhile upgrade. I like that you've ownded both and from I read the mp301 is better.
Musical Paradise mp 301 mk 3 amp
OK guys and girl, I am not nearly the audiophile many of you are but here's my 2 cents on this 6.5 wpc set integrated amp. I have owned a few tube amps in my day, Jolida 502 b, APJJ Miniwatt, chinese knockoffs, Diy EL 84, but I am quite impressed with the value of this puppy. For $400 delivered it is a real bargain for those of us who have high eff. speakers. The stock tubes remain in their boxes replaced by rca js7's, how they use a black metal can is beyond my pay grade, and 2 E.Harmonix 6L6 for outputs. The amp is dead silent even with my open baffle 12" audio nirvana drivers, not an easy task when you consider the noise comes from the front and back. Right out of the box it was superb altho the tubes were pre burned in for those of you that think this is something that makes a difference. The shipping time was about a week and they did in fact ship from honk kong. The sound is just luscious and so many reviews on the net go into great detail but I am not one who thinks my subjective listening details carry a lot of weight so I wont blow smoke up your amp. Needless to say the bass is quite substantial and it presents a typical tubey, love that phrase, sound. This is no cheap asian knock off, and yes it has a circuit board but man, this is some great sound. It is a tube rollers dream and the genalex KT77 seems to be the tube that would be an upgrade but I see no reason for it...yet. It is a heavier than it looks little amp and to my eye very attractive. The headphone jack is a plus, not for me, but i assume many still go that route. It has 2 inputs which is not common in this price range. The toggle switches are small but crisp and the volume knob is very smooth. I have not gotten it past 11:00 o'clock yet and doubt I ever will. It really makes volume fast.The speaker binding posts are also first rate. So there you have it, this member thinks this is a helluva bargain and given all the tube options Kt 66,77,88, 6550 etc. it could be made to sound like a different amp in a matter of minutes. FWIW, I keep it simple, an older oppo sacd, a cambridge dac and the aforementioned diy full rangers in open baffles. The price of great sound is truly within reach for us these days!
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