[Mojo777]

Hi all,
I have been reading up on the gilmore's, Darkvoice 332, etc. and they seem to be very good amps but I wanted to know if I would see a substansial difference in soundstage, power, detail, etc. over my newly purchased hornet? This amp would be driving my K701's through my yet to be bought Cambridge CD Player and current Mac Mini.

Thanks

 

[3x331m]

You're not comparing apple to apple. In this case, some have claimed that they found the SuperMicro sounds better than the Hornet, but those are SS portable amps in the same category.

 

[Davesrose]

I've heard the Darkvoice 336i, and it's a good intro tube IMHO. It's not overly tubey and is fairly black sounding. I wouldn't say it's better then the Hornet...just different sound. It would give more liquidity and soundstage. Since you're using the k701, it may give you some more bass too. You'd sacrifice detail that the Hornet has.

 

[edisonwu]

depends on how you define the word "better". Everybody has their own judgements of it. There is no way to compare portable amps with big size tube amps regarding to the soundstage and power. but,Does this imply it better? maybe yes, may be not.

 

[phergus_25]

IMHO if you are going to use it at home... obviously you are...
then you will get much more amp with anythign other than a hornet.

 

[CMasten]

I tried alot of amps..and nothing came close to the low noise floor and just flat out clean output of Rays Hornet, this thing is a masterpiece and while expensive, its worth every penny I paid for it..

in fact Im done looking, which is a hard thing to say on Head-fi! for my application its perfect for home and portable use.

 

[hugz]

I have used both ming da mc66ae (extensively) and cayin ha1 (not so extensively) and found them both to be really nice amps. I REALLY like the sound of the ming da. There's no way that I could tell you if its better or worse than the hornet because i've never heard one, however I can say that the ming da provided a really pleasent listening experience. I really like that amp. I only used the ha-1 as a speaker amp, so there's not too much I can say about (apples to oranges) it except that it was really quiet, and really well built.

so yeah, those are some names to look out for if you ever wanna research further into chinese tubeys. As always, I recommend auditioning before buying where possible.

edit: by the way, there's a bad photo of the ming da in my signature in the "original master" link. blurry!

 

[cantsleep]

portable is just portable

 

[Mojo777]

Kinda split down the middle. Just as I thought it would be. I guess I will try to audition a couple (where?) and go from there. I live in Chicago near RSA but that means I would need to get a Raptor....

 

[Skylab]

I prefer the sound of my $350 Yarland P100 (a very nice Chinese home tube amp) over the Tomahawk, but they sure are different beasts:

Yarland P100:

RSA Tomahawk:

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I prefer the sound of my $350 Yarland P100 (a very nice Chinese home tube amp) over the Tomahawk, but they sure are different beasts: Yarland P100:

Boy, that Yarland would like nice with the Darth Beyers!

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Boy, that Yarland would like nice with the Darth Beyers!

Ya think?