[Thenewguy007]

For clarity, so that dear readers understand the whole false essence of Chinese audio, the official data on monoblocks, where one of the parameters :: - 3dB : 5Hz ... 47.000 Hz Ofic. website. http://www.opera-consonance.com/products/amplifier/Cyber845S.htm

In terms of power, even with an increased input supply voltage, the power output was only 22 watts (where else is 6 watts ?) and only 6.7 W (after which kg is more than 10%) - at 30 Hz.

And the real measurement : (- 3dB ) : 24Hz-26.000 Hz on cheap hardware without a name or gender . A ragged meander with a ledge at the transition point ""0" " - zero, a scanty inductance of 24 GN for 845 tube .

Remind me to never to buy from Opera Consonance. What's worse is that their prices are not cheap. Seems they price their amps to what high-end American or European amps would be priced.

Any chance the monoblocks sound that bad because of the tubes used?

 

[]eep]

excuse me? I haven't read any comment on bad sound (yet). Just a rant about measurements not being within claimed or expected specifications.

Tubes do play a part in the sound of the amplifier, and they can make a difference. But not more than the coupling caps being used. Those can make a huge difference. If the amp is not designed right it won't correct any errors.

If the amplifier is designed or tuned to put out every last watt of a tube it is likely to eat up tubes like there's no tomorrow. I've seen that with Yaqin KT88 and EL34 amps. You wouldn't want to buy a new set of SET's every half year. So not getting that hot can be a good thing. That said, in my experience Yaqin is notorious for rubbish layouts, but a good start if you can mod them. Opera Consonance does not fall it that category as far as I have heard, read or experienced.

 

[Dave 868]

I don't think you are very I formative, constructive or fair. I have more than my fair share of Chinese (tube) audio for 15 years and I've seen, bought and heard plenty of samples from all tiers of brands. I have Cayin, Yaqin, Opera, Jolida, Yarland, Relyon and Classic. Some of them good, some with glaring errors, some very good. I have modded all of them with very pleasing results. One exception being my current Classic 16.2 300B Amp which is simply stunning as is. I am not a trained electronics engineer but I can read, think and solder, and listen. Measuring is not the same as listening. Tubes are notorious at measuring bad but sounding wonderful. The proof of the pudding is always in the eating and you haven't said a word about any of that.

I've heard it so many times, people going off at Chinese manufacturers. Just like the daily demonization of anything Russian now, Japanese in the '50-ies, Korean in the 80-ies etc. Always unfair, always temporal and always generalisations based on a personal bad experience of just 1 (one) sample or sometimes even plain xenophobia. You of all people should know that, ranting in Cyrillic written Ruskii.

I understand you're disappointed. But since this forum is about sharing information on modifications, why don't you write down something constructive. Like how you bought a beautifully made Chinese monoblock 845 Amp with some flaws and made some changes made it into a beautiful sounding Amp for 10% the price of Japanese or American offerings.

Yes, I know Opera Consonance is not cheap. That's why I only have a tonearm from them. And I understand if you believe changing transformers need to be changed that is not a cheap fix. But you seem educated and enough to make some smart and creative fixes to make it sound awesome. Good luck.

OPERA AUDIO is one of the flagship audio companies in China, which has an experience of 25 years, limited (alas) by its Chinese egregor, giving obviously unreliable information about its devices and that does not depend on me in any way - it DOES not HAVE a SOUND , with regard to the precedent with these monoblocks . For me, it was a shock in the end !

In the context of appearance and circuit design, I have a special притензии not all within the middle of insanity audiopaste ..., somewhere even original . There are parts that do not need to be replaced -the same Rubicon power capacitors are quite a decent level - such as Audionote 3 level.

Further, it might not have been necessary to break anything, but not for me . I'm interested in the high end in the sound and its implementation . Therefore, after weighing and evaluating all ( even all the videos show ) , decided to leave the circuitry in the base ( changing modes only partly), all of the resistors in the important areas -non-magnetic tantalum , in the transition - Kondo Litz wire, lead cable Telefunken 39 , input - Furutech , in the power supply filtering required. and driver cascades-black gate WKZ, in the cathodes of the driver lamp 5687 ( will be replaced by E182CC Mullord) - black gate standard, in the transitions-paper-wax Jupiters. General shunting +950v-paper-oil capacitor (8 UF x1000v).

For the reason (not our fault) of a bad output transformer (so as not to spoil the new, cool mix )- the output is put on the sikor HI-B transformer with a flat power band and the declared band: 7.5 Hz .... 36.000 Hz. (-3dB) - of course not fantastic advertising from Opera : 5 Hz..... 47.000 Hz, but not scattered at 3 watts : 12 Hz ..... 26.000 Hz (-3dB ) - on what was put on the OPERA ..

 

[Dave 868]

The tubes have nothing to do with this, and the resulting cyber-amplifiers are installed of normal quality - for example, the 5687 nos Sylvania pipe (USA), the 845 Psavne pipe, and the 5ar4 SOVTEK pipe (Russia).

It's all about the heart of a very low-quality tube amplifier-transformer. For example, I also have an upgraded and perfectly sounding Chinese Yarland Ariand 845 Pro amplifier that has an output transformer inductance of 55 GN (versus 24 GN for Opera), my friend also has a Line Magnetic 219i, and its measured transformer inductance is -48 GN.

 

[Thenewguy007]

The tubes have nothing to do with this, and the resulting cyber-amplifiers are installed of normal quality - for example, the 5687 nos Sylvania pipe (USA), the 845 Psavne pipe, and the 5ar4 SOVTEK pipe (Russia).

It's all about the heart of a very low-quality tube amplifier-transformer. For example, I also have an upgraded and perfectly sounding Chinese Yarland Ariand 845 Pro amplifier that has an output transformer inductance of 55 GN (versus 24 GN for Opera), my friend also has a Line Magnetic 219i, and its measured transformer inductance is -48 GN.

Yeah, I hear that the transformer quality is everything with 845 tube amplifiers.
So the more expensive Opera uses inferior transformers than the other cheaper Chinese brands like Yarland & Line Magnetic?

Line Magnetic has a pretty good presence in the States. Stereophile & Stevehoffman did extensive write ups on them & had high praise. Looks like the Opera brand is one to stay away from then.

 

[Dave 868]

The Chinese from the Opera Audio are not Orthodox in audio, the circuitry is such that high-quality sound is simply not real. Externally, the quality of the coating of metal powder paint, precision manufacturing, just perfect.
Audio orthodoxes are always puzzled by using as much of the dominant influence of NATURAL, natural materials as possible, minimizing all synthetic and silicon . But this does not apply to Chinese audio - the dominant synthetic components in the structure - polypropylene in capacitors , in thin cheap wires , not high-quality transformers . The sound doesn't like it ...

 

[Dave 868]

Yeah, I hear that the transformer quality is everything with 845 tube amplifiers.
So the more expensive Opera uses inferior transformers than the other cheaper Chinese brands like Yarland & Line Magnetic?

Line Magnetic has a pretty good presence in the States. Stereophile & Stevehoffman did extensive write ups on them & had high praise. Looks like the Opera brand is one to stay away from then.

Yes, that's right - cheaper amps from Yarland and Line Magnetic have better quality components and therefore sound better and send amps from Opera to smoke bamboo ...

 

[Thenewguy007]

Did you try to return the amplifiers from where you bought it from?
If you paid with credit or paypal, they have to offer a return policy, especially for the broken unit.

 

[Dave 868]

The manufacturer does not respond to emails at all - like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand . The store agrees to pay only the cost of new transformers .
I wrote the following message to the store and the manufacturer :
"I ask you to put yourself in my place in this situation . I'm a small man.I bought a tube amplifier.That with its help to have a rest ( that to me provided all lamp amplifiers in the childhood.Without exception) when listening to music .And the new expensive tube amplifier refuses me this ? Hence the question.If it doesn't sound.But handsome in appearance.Why then put transformers and other components inside this dummy amplifier? I bought. Put it on the dresser and admire the beautiful appearance of the amplifier ? "

I got a message from the store :
"Factory don't think it is a lie, and don't wish to do anything, no money back to me.
I don't win money from the orders, but Factory did nothing for you and for me."

 

[xenoVa]

Many Chinese audio brands are similar. They publish fake spesifications, they can shamelessly state 10 hours of battery life while the actual life is 4 hours.
Becuase they can get away with it. In an European company does this and someone complains, the company will instantly be shutdowned.
And their English is terrible (and I am also non-native). They sell $3000 products internationally but they literally can't compose a proper English sentence.

 

[]eep]

OK, now I have a better understanding of what happened. And it doesn't sound good. Unfortunately Chinese mentality and business hygiene isn't up to western standards. I still blame communism for that I recently found a new job making furniture from solid bamboo plywood, very high quality material, but the communication with our Chinese supplyer also has the same inconsistency. If you ask them something that is to difficult or outside their comfort zone, or they can't make it, they just keep you hanging. They don't answer and play mute. Hoping that the problem will go away. I know there's a certain wisdom to it but it can be very frustrating if your stuck with a problem and left in the dark.

My first encounter with chifi tubes was a Yarland FV34-A se EL34. It sounded nice, caused a lot of trouble with customs back then and it started getting me back to my audio hobby and full on modding, learning and soldering. The Yarland cost me less than repairing the power transformer of my Audio Note Oto SE and ended up replacing it because it simply sounded better after replacing the bad (Solen?) coupling caps. I worked with the Dutch importer of Yarland later but after he disappeared from the face of the earth (burnout?) Yarland has fallen totally silent. In Europe I don't see it in any publication. Shame because I really liked them.

I am duly warned about Opera. I liked the looks but not the price. I haven't heard anything bad about the cooperation between Opera and Well Tempered turntables though.

Good to see you know your stuff and thanks for sharing. It gives your warning more substance and sense of reliability. It's not just a scream for attention like some immature snowflake. Russians can be rough but I respect them for their honesty and knowledge, and sense of humor (I watch RT almost every day).

 

[Dave 868]

OK, now I have a better understanding of what happened. And it doesn't sound good. Unfortunately Chinese mentality and business hygiene isn't up to western standards. I still blame communism for that I recently found a new job making furniture from solid bamboo plywood, very high quality material, but the communication with our Chinese supplyer also has the same inconsistency. If you ask them something that is to difficult or outside their comfort zone, or they can't make it, they just keep you hanging. They don't answer and play mute. Hoping that the problem will go away. I know there's a certain wisdom to it but it can be very frustrating if your stuck with a problem and left in the dark.

My first encounter with chifi tubes was a Yarland FV34-A se EL34. It sounded nice, caused a lot of trouble with customs back then and it started getting me back to my audio hobby and full on modding, learning and soldering. The Yarland cost me less than repairing the power transformer of my Audio Note Oto SE and ended up replacing it because it simply sounded better after replacing the bad (Solen?) coupling caps. I worked with the Dutch importer of Yarland later but after he disappeared from the face of the earth (burnout?) Yarland has fallen totally silent. In Europe I don't see it in any publication. Shame because I really liked them.

I am duly warned about Opera. I liked the looks but not the price. I haven't heard anything bad about the cooperation between Opera and Well Tempered turntables though.

Good to see you know your stuff and thanks for sharing. It gives your warning more substance and sense of reliability. It's not just a scream for attention like some immature snowflake. Russians can be rough but I respect them for their honesty and knowledge, and sense of humor (I watch RT almost every day).

There was almost no case that the Chinese audio was struck by something , except, perhaps, one real case, with regard to the Chinese company Yarland, which makes its tube amplifiers with a huge tuning potential . For example, the flagship Yarland - beauty on 845 tube (Ariand PRO -845 PRO) has a de facto double mono, a separate PSU on the rectifier for the driver and the preliminary part, and after upgrade begins (in a comparative test) to compete hard with even such an authority as Ongaku . Exceed this Ongaku in terms of musicality and analogous timbres. Ongaku excels in detail and large scale ( due to the use of a cathode repeater in the driver stage) and all this on a system where all the components of the highest level of hi-end are at least $ 50,000. per component-preamp, speaker . To say that the owner of Ongaku was shocked is to say nothing at all...
But there are a lot of modifications of this model of the amplifier, my recommendation is to look for a modification with a rectifier if the power supply of the driver and pre-stages does not have a rectification and this really tilts the sound towards the transistor (or silicon) color . That is, it is not possible to achieve a natural timbral resolution without a rectifier in the power supply-they are really rougher . https://www.exclusive-audio.jp/shop/products/detail.php?product_id=121

 

[Dave 868]

Many Chinese audio brands are similar. They publish fake spesifications, they can shamelessly state 10 hours of battery life while the actual life is 4 hours.
Becuase they can get away with it. In an European company does this and someone complains, the company will instantly be shutdowned.
And their English is terrible (and I am also non-native). They sell $3000 products internationally but they literally can't compose a proper English sentence.

Claims to the transformer from Mr. Liu'S Opera monoblocks are not even that they are 12 .... 26000 instead of the presented 5-47.000, but in the fact that the transformer frankly knocks down the power band already from 200 Hz, the maximum power falls at times due to the inability of the iron to keep the induction . This is a golimy marriage or budget level, WHICH is not ACCEPTED to put in the top, representative level, monoblocks of the company. And this is not a fake- numbers, boxes -all of them , factory, Chinese.

 

[xenoVa]

Claims to the transformer from Mr. Liu'S Opera monoblocks are not even that they are 12 .... 26000 instead of the presented 5-47.000, but in the fact that the transformer frankly knocks down the power band already from 200 Hz, the maximum power falls at times due to the inability of the iron to keep the induction . This is a golimy marriage or budget level, WHICH is not ACCEPTED to put in the top, representative level, monoblocks of the company. And this is not a fake- numbers, boxes -all of them , factory, Chinese.

I don't know that spesific product but I agree about Chinese Audio brands being fradulent. Their culture is to rip-off customers

 

[]eep]

I don't know that spesific product but I agree about Chinese Audio brands being fradulent. Their culture is to rip-off customers

that is an unfair généralisation. They have been exploited ruthlessly by western companies and I don't blame them for wanting some appreciation and production for themselves. They started by copying and continuing tube production. Their products have been sold at 10x (ten times!) under western brands (ref to Dussun and Aurum Cantus sold by Mr Levinson under Red Rose rebrand!).
They don't have a culture of ripping off customers, they have a conditioning to achieve their quota no matter what. That is the heritage of communism, definitely not Taoism, confucianism or Buddhism. Those old values have been all but stamped out. Modern Chinese history is one of terrible cruelty and starvation caused by the idiotic ideas of Mao and all stemming from Paris... (wasn't that were Marx and Engels wrote their ideas to paper?). A it of historic knowlegability really helps in understanding different cultures and helps in doing business abroad.

My Classic 16.2 300B tubeamp is also very well made, so were their other products. Unfortunately I don't see them anymore.

Let's face it, high end audio, tubes and hifi are but a speck in the grander scheme of world trade. Generalisations don't apply on such small sample size.