[juniperlater]

Anyone know anything about the Yuilong MiniRA1?

Is it just a CMOY disguised as something better?

 

[Ragonix]

I think you mean Yulong and I believe it's a battery operated Grado RA1 clone. The internal circuitry of th RA1 is pretty simple and the cost of materials I think is like $10-$15.

 

[juniperlater]

Weird. They are really cheap. I am going to get one just to try it.

 

[Barry]

If this is the amp on ebay, maybe it is not so cheap when you consider the shipping of about $23 and change on top of the price of the amp - about $29. Oh well....

 

[juniperlater]

The one I bought was $45 total. Not a lot when you consider the RA1 is $350. If it sucks, I am only out $45.

 

[Clutz]

The RA-1 itself is a Cmoy. A $45 Cmoy is kind of overpriced. A $350 is.. well..

 

[juniperlater]

RA1 is a cmoy? Lame. I should have done some better checking. $45 lesson learned.

 

[kanamin]

Actually I read somewhere that a cmoy is better than the RA-1. If not, you could probably build a cmoy with nice and matched components to make it better than the RA-1 lol

 

[juniperlater]

That really hurts that the RA1 is so lame. I am going to go listen to one this weekend. I already have a very nice CMoy that I built. WTH am I going to do with this POS?

 

[Clutz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanamin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually I read somewhere that a cmoy is better than the RA-1. If not, you could probably build a cmoy with nice and matched components to make it better than the RA-1 lol

It's silly to say that a Cmoy is better than an RA-1, because they are both using the same basic circuit - a non-inverting opamp. It's like saying a Toyota Tercel is better than a Toyota Tercel. You could build a Cmoy amp with better parts than are used in an RA-1 though.

 

[Clutz]

This should be required reading for all headphone amplifier newbs - particularly those with Grado inclinations.

ecp.cc

Some people claim that the RA-1 is a fantastic headphone amplifier with the RS-1 headphone. I think they're delusional, because I've heard my RS-1 through a Cmoy and it was crap. And I don't believe careful component selection makes a big difference here. Generally speaking, ppamps don't like driving low impedance loads - and Grado headphones are low impedance. But people will believe whatever is most convenient to believe.

 

[juniperlater]

I am a total amp newb, but do have "Grado inclinations". That is totally weak what they sell. We'll see how this minira1 sounds. It is probably WAY worse than my CMoy, but maybe I'll use it as a gift and make a 2227-based CMoy for my portable rig.

 

[Hiryu]

haha I was totally interested in that amp as well. held off to buy some vintage cans instead, guess i'll just have to go the DIY route for cost effective amp.

 

[juniperlater]

This amp should be at my house this week. I'll let you know how it stacks up against my cmoys. I have made some nice 2134PA amps and I am interested to see how my lame purchase works out.