[qwerty009]

Ive never had a chance to listen music from tubeamp but im eager to try it as soon as possible. So i was thinking getting something cheap for start max 500usd. I saw many tubeamps on ebay all from hong kong. link
Are any of those good or what? I'm total rookie when it comes to tubes

 

[Surgical]

I'd like to know too. Looks like they are selling for about $100-150 or so after the inflated shipping charge...and he has all positive feedback...on some of the amps he has sold.

 

[LoweArt]

Buyer beware !

Don't be in a rush !

I'm sure there may not be any issues with this or another seller as this can easily be confirmed through the feedback rating. But to the newbie and oldie for that matter, BAD sounding valve amps are in bundance and even more so
these days with so many factories in China jumping on the band wagon or
copying proven designs.

Yes, the opportunity is certainly there to pick up something that sounds nice at a bargain price, but you have to do your homework to avoid being stuck with a dud. Reading the feedback comments from buyers of these valve amps is not an accurate indicator of the sonic quality/performance of these amps. Think about it, one line to write your impressions about the sale !

Then there's the fact that so many of these chinese amps use tubes that are difficult to find replacements for or can't be substituted for N.O.S. or new russian made ones. So stick with ones that use proven push-pull or SET designs that utilize tube type of the likes of EL84, EL34, 6550 etc. Better yet, source out the better deals for known valve amps ( heavily reviewed ) like Little Dot, Caiyin, Consonance, Jolida, Darkvoice, Ming Da, Antique Sound Lab or respective OEM's.

That aside, if you are thinking of buying the integrated amps to drive speakers, check what impedance your speakers are and or if they present a difficult load ( eg. most Dynaudios ). Some of these so called valve amps from china claim they can drive 4 and 8 ohms and some don't even say that.
Valve amps that truly meet both impedances will have separate sets of speaker terminals, one set for 4 ohm and the other for 8 ohms as they come off different taps of the transformer.

I have taken the punt on some of these amps just to see how they are put together and did come across a dud where upon opening the case, I found the separate 4 & 8 ohms taps were wired together from the same tap off the transformer. I have also found things like stereo headphone sockets wired in a mono configuration and heater & earth wires not properly wound or shielded to avoid hum and transformers poorly wound etc........

I can't stress strongly enough for you to do your research before committing yourself as once it's bought and it turns out to be a dud, you'll have trouble off loading it ( unless it's into the bin ) !

 

[qwerty009]

Did some quick reading and found aout that Darkvoice 336i should be bretty good for its price? Of cource i know nothing about replacement tubes etc jet (since im a newbie). Can anyone help me out and say what is good and the bad about this amp and is it worth the price?
Also found little dot II++ FS in here. Any comments on that?

 

[AXP]

The Darkvoice and Little Dot are pretty popular in China, but it's seems there are few English reviews, and of course, difficult to find a replacement outside China, that's disadvantage, I used to have a little dot2, good for my DT880, but bad for my HD650, however, it's price $29.99 only, I think it worth it's price

 

[LoweArt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwerty009 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did some quick reading and found aout that Darkvoice 336i should be bretty good for its price? Of cource i know nothing about replacement tubes etc jet (since im a newbie). Can anyone help me out and say what is good and the bad about this amp and is it worth the price?

Ok, in my honest opinion I believe for $310US delivered to your door, the
Darkvoice represents tremendous value both dollar wise and for it's sonic virtues and build quality. You can spend more dollars and not necessarily get a great leap forward or any leap forward for that matter. Its design is based around valves for power and driver stages that can easily be sourced either new, by different manufacturers or N.O.S. ( new old stock from the 1940s - 70s ). This allows the owner a great deal of flexibility in not only improving the Darkvoice's sound quality over the original supplied Chinese valves, but to also one "tune" their amp to get that synergy between their headphones and amp.

My dot points on the Darkvoice in a nutshell -

Positives -
Robust design and construction with good point to point wiring
Tube type lends easily to tube rolling ( swapping tubes )
Easy to listen to for extended periods, not fatiguing
Bass response is not overtly warm or wooly, articulate. But this can
be dependent on the tube combination you select.
Can be ordered in your choice operational voltage to suit country

Negatives -
Use of linear volume potentiometer doesn't allow for enough variation
in volume control. But this can be corrected by substituting a logarithmic volume pot, see my thread -
http://www4.head-fi.com/forums/showt...rkvoice+volume

Here's some other informative threads that I have used to make my decision on purchasing the Darkvoice, no regrets at all !


Tube rolling thread -
http://www4.head-fi.com/forums/showt...rkvoice+volume

Darkvoice impressions and mods thread -
http://www4.head-fi.com/forums/showt...182503&page=41

 

[pataburd]

For less than $500 you can get the excellent Darkvoice 336i, the excellent G&W T2.6F (tube/MosFET hybrid) or the Bada PH-12 (another hybrid design). I've had excellent success with the 336i and the T2.6F--and the PH-12 is on the way as we speak. : )

 

[Dan Ing]

Interested in the purchase of a Antique Sound Lab Headphone amp, Where is the amp manufactured..What country?

 

[MaZa]

Darkvoice and Little Dot are amps that have good reputation here and replacement tubes are not that hard to find. Xiansheng is also noted for being good bang for the buck and good modding target if you are into that stuff, but I heard replacement tubes are not widely available.

 

[Dan Ing]

Are Antique Sound Lab amps made in China??

 

[mow_the_hawk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXP /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Darkvoice and Little Dot are pretty popular in China, but it's seems there are few English reviews, and of course, difficult to find a replacement outside China, that's disadvantage, I used to have a little dot2, good for my DT880, but bad for my HD650, however, it's price $29.99 only, I think it worth it's price

Did you buy that on ebay? I have been interested in this amp and i thought it was much more expensive.

 

[nick20]

It is more than $30 new.. around $180 shipped.

 

[Gautama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is more than $30 new.. around $180 shipped.

Note that that is the LDII, not LDII++.

 

[nick20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gautama /img/forum/go_quote.gif Note that that is the LDII, not LDII++.

Ah! Good eyes, I now see it's the 2, not 2++. So the LD2's go for $30 now? I've heard of the "problems" associated with the LD2, but for $30.. it's worth a shot.

 

[jamess71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah! Good eyes, I now see it's the 2, not 2++. So the LD2's go for $30 now? I've heard of the "problems" associated with the LD2, but for $30.. it's worth a shot.

I wish it was going for $30