[holdendebeans]

Talk to the distributors directly (outside of Ebay) and you can get the shipping down substantially. A lot of sellers on Ebay mark up the shipping and realize a higher profit margin. Good Luck! It's a great amp

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by waivted /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok thanks. It was just that I saw on ebay the shipping prices were $170 and that seemed a bit high to me.

Just go to the USPS, UPS, FedEx sites and check it out. That's what I did for the DV332 - the cost is $80 for it. So, I'd guess the cost for the DV337, which must weigh 2-3 times as much, or more - would be $150+.

Just check it out... then you can make an intelligent offer. But... I wouldn't expect it to be a lot less.

 

[Mazuki]

Quote:

Ok thanks. It was just that I saw on ebay the shipping prices were $170 and that seemed a bit high to me.

Actually, when I shipped the amp from China myself, the cost came out to be about 1300RMB. That's about $180 today. It came in a week though, to Los Angeles.

You can opt for surface shipping, that would take a month and cost maybe around half that.

Triple box and check-in is the way to go. Just pack the tubes separately.

 

[dan_can]

Got quote for Darkvoice 337se. It's about $1077 USD including shipping which is about $200 USD.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan_can /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got quote for Darkvoice 337se. It's about $1077 USD including shipping which is about $200 USD.

Entering "Extreme Territory" - no way, I'm going to pay that much for an amp that must be shipped from "the other side of the World" - when we've got the SP Extreme right here at about the same price. Especially... with... Skylab now reporting... the Extreme is much better than the DV337 (read between the lines).

 

[shellylh]

I totally agree. I had a DV332 and really loved it but wanted something just a little more. I was always tempted to go for the 337 but did not want to pay that much for something shipped from so far away. Luckily, I was just able to grab a Singlepower Extreme on the FS forum! It should be here on Monday. I guess I won't be trying out a DV337 unless I hear one at a meet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gradofan2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Entering "Extreme Territory" - no way, I'm going to pay that much for an amp that must be shipped from "the other side of the World" - when we've got the SP Extreme right here at about the same price. Especially... with... Skylab now reporting... the Extreme is much better than the DV337 (read between the lines).

 

[Skylab]

The SP Extreme is better than the 337, but I wouldn't call it "much better".

 

[djork]

After months of enjoying the 337 with stock/ JAN 6080 tubes, the JAN 6AS7Gs finally arrived! they're sounding good

 

[Von Soundcard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SP Extreme is better than the 337, but I wouldn't call it "much better".

Is that using tubes of the same value or using 'the best available tubes' for each. If the second is true, what is the difference in value and how do they sound using 'same value tubes' ?

 

[Skylab]

Tube value is a little tough to determine, since tube pricing is (of course) supply and demand determined, and due to obvious supply limitations for NOS tubes, some tubes that are essentially of the same quality can cost more. Perfect example is the 6SJ7's used in the 337 versus the 6SN7 used in the Extreme. 6SJ7's have seen relatively little use in high-end audio, in spite of their excellent sound. As such they are cheaper than 6SN7 variants. But I would say the overall quality level of tubes in my 337 and SP are close, perhaps favoring the SP slightly.

 

[kostalex]

Please, help. I'd like to have both tube and SS amps for different music and moods. So I appreciate tube amp to be more "tubey", softer, juicy. Now I'm stuck between DV 336 and DV 332. Cantate will be a SS companion.

So, which do you recommend in this case - DV 336 or DV 332?

 

[Von Soundcard]

The point was that if you need to invest 100-200 $ or more in some very good tubes to make the SP sound better than the 337 than that amount goes in the balance along the rest of the price difference. Put in some potential heavy tube rolling (to find those right tubes) and you could get to a rather embarrassing price difference

BTW, how much did you pay for your SP (with 'default' tubes) ?

@kostalex: the 336 is definitely the 'tubey' option, the 332 and 337 have been characterized as being halfway between classic tube sound and SS (having some of both). But the 336 is relatively far from 332 in general terms of sound quality (it's also quite a lot cheaper) so you may want to consider other amps, like the Doge, the Woo3 or 6... and others I'm sure will be recommended to you in another thread

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Von Soundcard /img/forum/go_quote.gif The point was that if you need to invest 100-200 $ or more in some very good tubes to make the SP sound better than the 337 than that amount goes in the balance along the rest of the price difference. Put in some potential heavy tube rolling (to find those right tubes) and you could get to a rather embarrassing price difference BTW, how much did you pay for your SP (with 'default' tubes) ?

I bought my SP Extreme used, and it came with a whole bunch of VERY nice tubes, including the Tung-Sol 5998's that I am still using with it. I honestly don't know what the stock SP tubes are. But I do know that the cost of the NOS tubes I have been using, RCA VT-231 and the 5998's is $100. The cost of the tubes I am using in the DV 337, 2 NOS 6SJ7WGT's and 2 JAN 6AS7G, is about $60. Not a huge difference, and of course, were I using 5998's in the 337 also, which I could, it would be identical.

 

[Von Soundcard]

Well then consider the same situation in which you would buy a 337 used with a whole bunch of nice (and cheaper) tubes - already researched and tracked by the owner - all with the great value of getting an already cheap amp SH and with selected tubes. That would make a huge difference

BTW, I think I heard someone say something about a 200 $ tube, are you not using that or did you mean to say it sounds good regardless ?

 

[Skylab]

I did "splurge" on a $200 NOS Mullard ECC32, but that was just because I felt like it. I used the $50 RCA VT-231 for months, and it sounds awesome. The ECC32 is only for the tube-obsessed. There is no need to go to that length to get awesome sound from the SP Extreme.

Again, except for the few overpriced 6SN7 variants, the tubes for the 337 are not cheaper than the SP Extreme. They use the same power tubes, and since the 337 requires 2 driver tubes versus the single in the SP Extreme, it's really a wash.

The only price difference is in the amp itself, which with shipping, comes out to about $250-300. I think that makes the 337 the better value than the SP Extreme, but I do think the Extreme is a little better sounding.

Also, with adapters, there are a ton of tube rolling options with the SP Extreme. The 337 does allow plenty of tube rolling possibilities, but not the same amount that the Extreme does.

FWIW, I still own both and am keeping both. The Extreme lives in my office, and the 337 lives in my family room.