Warning: China-Hifi-Audio.com

@ivandaterrible - not sure who you are replying to but all these mainland China dealers are liars. It's just how they have learned to do business.

China-Hifi often shows items in stock that he does not actually have and then often ignores your emails hoping you will just wait until the item is in stock.

If you guys want to deal with that then go for it.

But China-Hifi is wayyy better than Hifi-Exquis that is for sure. I would agree with that. Maybe because they are also called Tubeamplifier Store on Amazon so they have had to learn the rules Amazon forces on them.

And I do not even know what heaphone.com is so I guess maybe you were trying to reply to someone else.....who cares - f*ck China.

I read in headphone.com forum were you said you got your money back. Is this true or not. If it’s not true why did you claim you received your money back then. If you have a bad experience with a vender, that’s understandable, however if you’ve been made whole and are still trashing this seller that’s wrong. Get your story straight. You have less credibility then a guy trying to make a living in a different country with different customs, language and different time zones your mad because it took you a week to get a refund.  Just about every store in America takes 3 to 7 days to refund money, because they don’t want to pay it twice in the event the card company cancels payment which happen a lot. As far paying a deposit on an item not in stock seller was wrong. But I’m sure you haven’t stop to think that meant he’s got an item which is supposed to be in stock and in limbo which could have been a simple inventory error.  I’m just saying your coming across vindictive now.

I read in headphone.com forum were you said you got your money back. Is this true or not. If it’s not true why did you claim you received your money back then. If you have a bad experience with a vender, that’s understandable, however if you’ve been made whole and are still trashing this seller that’s wrong. Get your story straight. You have less credibility then a guy trying to make a living in a different country with different customs, language and different time zones your mad because it took you a week to get a refund.  Just about every store in America takes 3 to 7 days to refund money, because they don’t want to pay it twice in the event the card company cancels payment which happen a lot. As far paying a deposit on an item not in stock seller was wrong. But I’m sure you haven’t stop to think that meant he’s got an item which is supposed to be in stock and in limbo which could have been a simple inventory error.  I’m just saying your coming across vindictive now.

I'll chime in as well, I ordered and received my R8 from China HiFi.  It arrived double boxed and in immaculate condition, still smelling like fresh paint.  I ordered on Feb 15th, received a text from DHL on 3/31 that my amp was shipped, and it arrived on my doorstep on 4/5.  They have a note on the website that explains the delays.  These are hand made units and they have a backlog.  Every unit has been sold so ignore anything the website may say about having units "in stock". 

If you are not comfortable paying in advance and waiting several weeks, then keep an eye on Amazon, if you are lucky enough to find one in stock, it will arrive in a few days since it's already with AWS.  I imagine once they work through their current backlog they'll be back on Amazon regularly, but that may take months. Its also usually a bit more money on Amazon then going direct.  

I feel for the consumers that may have been inconvenienced or mislead but many of these complaints seem like the result of impatience.  There are plenty of scams involving Chinese goods all over the internet so your skepticism is warranted, but I think China-HiFi is trying to operate a legitimate business. I haven't heard of anyone not getting their money back, or not receiving an amp they paid for, but then I haven't read through all these responses nor will I. Life's too short. I'd rather be listening. IMO the R8 is well worth the wait. 

Just received a Willsenton R8 and 3 Jungson Diety 3 power cables from Yong Lee (China Hifi).  All look good.  This guy is legitimate.Jonathan in Wi, USA.  

Well China experiment #2 a total failure....so I tried another dealer. Hifi-Equis. Ordered the Muzishare R100  845 amp. They sent it DHL in the original box - no double box. DHL literally dropped it on my front porch on the side. Hole in the side of the box. Big crease where it was dropped somewhere before. Open the box up and the faceplate is completely broken away from the chassis. Did you know Muzishare just glues these aluminum faceplates to the chassis? For a 100 lb amp no brakets or screws holding it on.....I am the dumbest person on the planet but will not be fooled a third time. I am official done with Chifi.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ao2ZoPAEeZxdsLR2E80or_FGNcz1-Q?e=ucm4uK

Sorry to hear about your problem. Unlucky I guess. I've bought thru their website multiple times in the last 4-5 years. Never once had a problem. Hope it works out for you

Smaarch, I agree about PP being crappy.
I lost over $1500 for a purchase that I returned and am out my money and product! The seller in China somehow “refused” the return package AND swapped the product with a piece of some kind of funky pipe fitting-PayPal sided with him!!
they could be worse the could be selling “magnetic contact cleaner for $600 for 3 ml” 
did anyone else get that email from agon?
hahahaha!!!

@cocona that’s excellent to hear. It’s always worthwhile checking, if only for peace of mind. i hope it fulfils your expectations.

I wonder if the person returning it lived just down the road from you. Could have saved some postage! 

Hmmm. But what about all of your cell phones and computers, and washing machines and refrigerators, all built in China? Are you simply looking the other way and holding your nose while using your cell phone? Seems a bit hypocritical to bash Chinese built gear and classify it as poor. Some is excellent. I’ve a Grant Fidelity sponsored Shuguang tube kt88 integrated whose sound I’d put up as an extremely solid 8 of 10 sound and build wise. Critics!

300B and 845 filaments are 5 and 10 volts respectively. B+ for 300B and 845s is 260 and 945 volts respectively. 12AX7 and 6SN7 heater voltages are 12.6 and 6.3 volts. I fully expected the voltages to be "close enough", but they were essentially perfect. I forgot to mention that I unscrewed one of the output transformers thinking the enclosure was hollow and a small output transformer was hiding inside. Nope. Large potted output transformers. This is all in reference to the Willsenton r800i 300B 845. I have paid a lot more for a lot less. I feel like I stole the damn thing at the price it's being sold for. Mine was a return so it was $400 bucks cheaper and had a couple of small scratches on it. The tube complement alone could easily cost half the price of this amp. The other Willsenton amps that have been reviewed by the online and YouTube community have gotten similar great reviews. 

Not yet. I opened it originally to check bias because the instructions didn't provide a meter reading-to-bias current description, at least not in English. I opened it a second time to add a couple of bypass capacitors because I've come to the conclusion that electrolytic capacitors and diode switching is responsible for much of what we call electronic/solid state sound. I was afraid to use my meter to check voltages because it's not rated for the 1000 volts 845 tubes usually run at. (Of course I could have checked filament voltage, but I forgot.) I've since removed my head from my butt and remembered that I could measure voltage drops across various components to deduce the rail voltages, but I haven't opened it again yet, too busy listening to music and shaking my head that I own something this cool. The only problem with this amp is the rectifier tube arcs on startup with some of the different 12AX7 tubes I've tried. It looks like the input stage and possibly the 300B drivers are tube rectified, while the 845s are rectified via solid state diode strings. I think the first capacitor following the rectifier is too large, but the power supply components are on a circuit board and it requires a bit of effort to get to the solder side to see "what's doin". I'll check soon.

Have you measured the voltages in your amp? I have seen some pretty high B+ and (especially) filament voltages in some Chinese amps which lead me to question their long term reliability. A few resistors may save you heartache.

I bought a r800i 300B 845 amp from China hi fi and paid the $595 shipping. I figured some of that might be profit, but it was still a good deal if the amp was a good quality piece. I knew it was a bit of a gamble, but I've bought crap products and had horrible customer service in America too. That said, a 100 pound amp from China was on my doorstep in five days. I'm still amazed by that! The amp was great. Non fatiguing with that single ended triode sound, just a little flat and grainy, but it still needed to break in. I replaced the 12AX7 and 6SN7 input tubes with some I had on hand and it got really good. I bypassed the bias supply and cathode electrolytics with some cheap .1uF film caps I had on hand and now it sounds fantastic! One thing is for sure, I would never have had a 300B/845 amp if I had to buy it from anywhere else, it would have remained a dream. I would love to buy this from a U.S. manufacturer, but it would have cost more than I am willing to pay. My guess is the U.S. price would be many multiples of the $2K I paid. I was going to build a GM70 amplifier and the cost of transformers and chokes (cheap iron, not the good stuff) was well over $1K. I think it would be wise to remember that the people of a country and the government of a country are not necessarily the same. I definitely don't think the current US government represents me very well. I'm not encouraging anyone to buy chinese, but I discourage lumping all people of any country together. Anyway, my amp kicks arse!

Hello everyone i have not read every comment on this thread but couple of pages for sure i did read. As an one of The American entrepreneurs i built and failed a couple of businesses my own. I am also an engineer building large datacenters for large carriers. So i see bought sides of the table.  i see a great value Chinese companies and products can offer they do good engineering when they can. I would suggest the US buyers should be more patient before they publicly complain little too soon. From china hifi  I bought items. I will do it again and again. I also had to claim a return from another Chinese vendor because i did not wanted to wait for 60 days they were out of stock. I got my return in a couple of days. So stuff happens. As a buyer  if i am able to get something as good and paying half price or one third i would really try hard to do the business. I believe Chinese good hifi products give me chance to owe and also listen good music otherwise good amps are not in reach with my budget from western countries. As we all know the reasons.  I bought muzishare x7 from china hifi and buying x9 now. I am always in touch with Yong Lee by emails. Himself is a hifi enthusiast as well. He personally stoped one of my orders because he did not recommend the product. So nothing is perfect I believe and understand we just need to be more factual. Just my 2 cents. 

"Usually the China government pays the charges."

Where is that information available to check? What terms they have and what are the exclusions to that?

   This was funny also ,,,  from China.Paypal is usually on the buyer's side.

$595 shipping charge?   .
Usually the China government pays the charges.  That's why china crap is so cheap 

the warning was right there in the domain name

And, tube dstasheets don’t even appear to act as guidelines for some Chinese ‘designers’ - unless their transformer winders are on crack.

"They spy on us in every way possible especially hacking our..."

What was the name of the guy who said it publicly long before this thread? Edward something.

Shipping costs are a problem, but many people had good experiences with this retailer. And those R8 amps are pretty damn good.

I can live without a lot of the Sinophobia being expressed here. It's really uncalled for. A lot of Asian folk are being attacked senselessly in the US right now, which just goes to show that irrationality has no specific home.

A lot of that xenophobia seems to make it's way here. It's an ongoing thing as it's de rigueur around here with some people. 

All the best,
Nonoise

I live in Argentina and I've bought several ítems from China HiFi Audio, including my Line Magnetic LM-508 amp, with out ANY issue. In fact, the owner of the website, Mr Yong is a gentleman and he has always been very professional and fast in the comunication with me.

Regarding chinese audio gear, all of my system, but the speakers and some tweaks, are from China or the far east (Line Magnetic, Audio-GD and SOtM). To be honest, Ive heard systems costing more than 5 times mine not sounding as good. Many chinese audio gear have great quality to price ratio.

Ordered many items over many years from mainland China and Hong Kong, mostly through ebay sellers with much feedback over the long term. Never had a single problem. I don't purchase the higher price items, four, five hundred dollars max. I've also had good experiences with both with Apos and Shenzhen audio.

As for Chinese audio in general, I bet the vast majority of systems contain Chinese components and/or finished products. There can be no doubt our financial well being will take a serious hit if Chinese/USA relations deteriorate into a more serious trade war.

I have purchased Shuguang vacuum tubes from China-hifi-audio.com. One was a quad of WE KT-88 Plus tubes. One of the tubes went bad after they no longer were available and towards the end of the one-year warranty period. I figured i was SOL, but Yong managed to find a replacement. It took a while, and he was a little slow on email which he apologized for, but he stood behind the product he sold.

I don’t doubt Calieng’s experience. Just another data point.

50 kilo amps are not cheap to ship to the US from China. Trust me on that. I live in Korea. It costs a hell of a lot to ship something from the US to me. 

As for the Chinese made amps, I'd recommend getting them through Singapore. I got my Line Magnetic 805 from Robert Lai at SG Live Acoustics. Robert ran it in for a couple of weeks, made some upgrades, checked it over, and it's been running quite well. He takes good care of his customers and his prices are remarkable. My local dealer was only selling the 508, so I went with Robert. For Muzishare (made by the same company), Quartz Acoustics in Singapore is a good option. They also have excellent prices and carefully run in their equipment. 

The Line Magnetic is state of the art. Some of the garbage being said about Chinese equipment is just that. And I'm glad I got the advice I did from Audiogon folks about this amp, people like Facten for example. 

I can live without a lot of the Sinophobia being expressed here. It's really uncalled for. A lot of Asian folk are being attacked senselessly in the US right now, which just goes to show that irrationality has no specific home.

Having ordered from China before (Not Audio), I am astounded that the $595 shipping charge did not seem excessive or bogus.

I can fix any power or pre-amp from China or anywhere else and I do it as a hobby so very little cost if you live in the US. I am an Aussie but live in Denver. I have a reputation for enhancing these, tube or solid state. Be safe, John.

Mexing Ming Da, who I have successfully purchased amplifiers from twice in the past, declined my order for a pre amp and said that at the moment the cost of shipping is too high to my area (New Zealand) and that I should wait until normal flow is restored.

I would not bank on PayPal covering anything. A $700 guitar purchased from china comes to mind. Twisted neck.  A Dewalt table saw I purchased on the web from a company supposedly based in Washington state and I received two paper covid masks instead, from China, I sent pictures and of the masks and tracking to PP and PP sided with the Chinese.   

I see an article in Dec 2020 pricing that at $1295. Wow, inflation on China products seems to go up fast. Lots of markups. I’d avoid that amp it’s approaching better quality brand prices.  Already on eBay at $3k+   Look at the Vincent SV-237MK for a nice sounding integrated. Designed in Germany, made in China or go for the PrimaLuna gear used. 
That amp is no longer a steal, it’s expensive now. 

Exactly why I stated at the beginning of this thread...always use your CC Company and NOT Paypal to file claims. Paypal is not your friend.  On 3 separate occasions over the past few years when filing a claim with my CC company not only did I immediately get a Full Credit of my purchase BUT because the Sellers didnt respond to the Inquiries my CC Company sent to them I got to keep all 3 Items Free of Charge. PAYPAL will NEVER do that for you. They will ALWAYS make you send the product back at your own expense and then make you PROVE that the item was returned before issuing a refund.   Try sending something back to almost ANY Foreign Country and get ABSOLUTE PROOF that the person got it.  The 3 Items I was credited for and were able to keep were a pair of Harbeth SHL5+ $3500, Wilsenton R8 Amp and a Vintage Sansui Amp valued at around $1400.  In the future think very hard about who's really got your back!!

You can"t avoid it but I minimize buying anything from China.  I don't care if by unanimous vote of every audiophile if they made the best amp in the world and sold it for $100. 
Its a question that the government is corrupt, it is presently committing genocide, slavery, repression of their own citizens and worse repression over those they control (think Tibet).  They spy on us in every way possible especially hacking our defense, manufacturing, etc, you name it, they do it.  Like Joseph Stalin said 1 death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic.To support their industries is to support that. for a few bucks, c'mon .  Think about what your $s do before you spend them.

I don"t know what my price is to sell my morals, my values, my humanity but it's certainly not a few hundred or a few thousand "American" dollars.
Peace and Love to you all,Mark

I had the same problem with the same seller regarding a purchase of the same amp. PayPal made excuses and dragged thier feet. I got CC company involved.  The seller even stooped so low as to offer me 0.01 if I agree to take the black model instead of the chrome model. That infuriated me.  The guy from Thomas and Stereo got involved (I think they are connected) but the CC company prevailed in the end. I will not buy from them again. Yes, the shipping price is ridiculous.

I have also given up on China purchases When the retailer sent me a completely different item my only recourse with  paypal was to ship it back at my expense I provided pictures of the item i ordered and the one that was shipped I now avoid using paypal 

I knowingly try not to order anything directly from China anymore. Even when an item has free shipping to you, in case you need to return it you have to pay $$ and fill too many forms to ship it back. If it's made in China and I really want it, I try to find a seller that already imported it and will ship inside the US.

I bought a couple of Leica camera lens from dealers in Hong Kong this year. Their customer service surpassed anything I have experienced. Items were better than described and ultra fast shipping. In one case I received the lens the next day Fedex overnight service. And in all cases received within a couple days max. That is why it was so shocking to see the absolutely poor customer service from these Chinese amp dealers. But then they are in mainland China with maybe a different ethic about customers than Hong Kong. You would think for $595 shipping they would actually get it to you in the 3 - 7 days they advertise.

But for those bashing the product I say again they are really good for the money. Too bad the dealers mostly suck.

That's why I use American Express. They LOVE to go after bad guys and will protect you no questions asked. That's why I have been a loyal customer for 30 yrs. They have ALWAYS helped me out.

Another big +1 for apos.audio. A warning that ordering from them can be habit-forming...

I've done business with them 3 times.  Never had a problem.  Pretty quick with shipping too and I always got answers to my emails.  Late last year I had a quad of tubes ordered and they were taking a bit longer than usual.  I emailed them and it was explained they were a bit backed up with shipping.  They apologized and then refunded me 10% off the order.  I received the tubes about 8 days later. 

Hmm last year right before the lockdown, I ordered a pair of Psvane ACME 300b tubes from them. And yes, it was a gamble to save some money by buying from them vs Grant Fidelity, but lucky for me, I got my tubes in a reasonable amount of time and the tubes have been rock solid. In fact, in my Cayin HA-300 tube amp (bought from New York-based Musicteck), 10/10 times I prefer the headphone output from it vs my Chord HUGO TT2's own headphone amp because of the more beautiful tonality, much larger soundstage, air, and transient.

So yeah, going back to the point, I was happy with them for my purchase.

   If I have a choice, I buy from a country that is somewhat of an ally.These days I look at each piece of clothing or whatever and buy from somewhere other than China if I can. 
    No country has a perfect human rights record. But what the Chinese government is doing to the people within its borders is a justifiable cause for great concern.And we may only know a small amount, as was the case with the so-called "Great Leap Forward" in China in the late 50s and early 60s. 
     
      
     

bayou 300b anp smoked after  1 month its under warrenty bot shipping back plus paypal fees are around 600 dollars only paid 850 for amp with free shipping .Well lesson learned  its expemsive paper weight now

Thank you for the warning!  I was going to purchase a 4 tier audio stand! I am always leery
of buying product directly from China.......  I purchased something from Russia on eBay and took 6 months to receive a refund. Stick to home when buying..........