[Yetiman72]

As all of mine sit between 8-9'oclock volume.. And all sound exceptional.........

 

[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

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[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

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[Dogmatrix]

Yesterday I asked Eric what the output impedance and S/N from the headphone jack of his 6S4P Buffer was. He replied that he didn't have any figures, implying that this was because it was a DIY amp. He also noted that it would be OK for general use for most headphones, excluding those that were power hungry.

While this amp is only $670, it's too much for me to buy just out of curiosity. I need to know that it has no audible hum as I'm quite sensitive to this. I don't want my music to sound worse rather than better. It would be interesting to know the ripple voltage on the filtered B+.

If I were buying this just for its preamp functionality, and without knowing more about it, I'd be tempted to just buy a BottleHead Moreplay (at about $570 AUD plus shipping) and build it myself. If there were any audible transformer hum I'd at least be able to try to modify it to ameliorate the problem.

Eric is a hobby builder so his designs are based on experience rather than lab testing and he is understandably sensitive about revealing the secrets he has spent many years discovering
In my dealings it was clear Eric takes great pride in his work and he would not leave you with something you were not happy with
My amp has nine transformer/chokes and there was some noise but it turned out to be noisy driver tubes which I suspect were knocked around in transport
In my case I was looking for an amp with character and that is what I got
There are many professionals producing excellent products with excellent measurements but that was not what I was looking for

 

[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

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[Dogmatrix]

Thanks for that.

I'm not questioning Eric's experience, skill or integrity. He's also been very friendly in his dealings with me. I just want to know whether the amp will be noisy or not and which headphones would match the best. Most people here have spent much larger sums of money, in which case you could expect a quiet amp with good quality transformers and more attention paid to the B+ filtering. It's not unreasonable to think that your experience with a $2K amp, for instance, would be different to mine with a $670 buffer/amp.

It's comforting to know, though, that he wouldn't leave me with something I wasn't happy with.

Reviews/impressions of this particular build haven't been easy to find so far.

No worries
I think he uses the same transformers unless you specify an upgrade
With his many years of experience in tube amp builds I suspect he probably has the B+ thing figured out
I agree it is not unreasonable but I really think Eric sees every build/client of equal importance regardless of spend
It is unfortunate there is not a larger cohort of customers to refer to but I have not seen any negative feedback
Ultimately buying from a boutique builder is always going to require a leap of faith to some extent but in return you get a tailor made unique product
Even the $670 buffer has options and I know that if you have particular concerns Eric will work with you

 

[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

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[DMax99]

Wow.. It's good to see this thread again after 7 years. Time flies!

Since my first created the thread here I've had 3 McChanson amps, 1x pair of 300b integrated amp for speakers and 1x mini 3in1 amp and 1x full size 300b 3in1 amp. I must say I am very impressed with the professionalism and quality of service and commitment from Eric Chan. The sound these amps produce is also outstanding.

I can definitely recommend Eric and McChanson amps to anyone!

 

[ashwinvyas1981]

No worries
I think he uses the same transformers unless you specify an upgrade
With his many years of experience in tube amp builds I suspect he probably has the B+ thing figured out
I agree it is not unreasonable but I really think Eric sees every build/client of equal importance regardless of spend
It is unfortunate there is not a larger cohort of customers to refer to but I have not seen any negative feedback
Ultimately buying from a boutique builder is always going to require a leap of faith to some extent but in return you get a tailor made unique product
Even the $670 buffer has options and I know that if you have particular concerns Eric will work with you

I am also in queue for Destiny amp, regarding the choice of transformers, Eric was rigid on using his own specs trafos & not any upgrade. Has anyone here got any upgrade in terms of trafos other then the once Eric uses. Please let me know.

 

[Dogmatrix]

I am also in queue for Destiny amp, regarding the choice of transformers, Eric was rigid on using his own specs trafos & not any upgrade. Has anyone here got any upgrade in terms of trafos other then the once Eric uses. Please let me know.

Eric has used Silk transformers before but the price increase is large he recently sold a pair of Silk output trans for $580 on Ebay
With his new found popularity he may have decided the cost and trouble is not worth the benefit
My amp uses all Eric's standard trans which he has made to his specs and I find no symptoms of misbehaving trans like heat or noise

 

[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

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[UntilThen]

Eric has used Silk transformers before but the price increase is large he recently sold a pair of Silk output trans for $580 on Ebay
With his new found popularity he may have decided the cost and trouble is not worth the benefit
My amp uses all Eric's standard trans which he has made to his specs and I find no symptoms of misbehaving trans like heat or noise

I see no reason to upgrade transformers. Destiny has been my daily amp since it arrived. Watching movies or listening to music with my LCD4, I still love it. Just an amazing tone with the Genalex 300b tubes.

 

[UntilThen]

Destiny came home on April 30th. Today it's June 30th. It's only 2 months but it seems like an eternity. Still sound absolutely gorgeous with LCD4.