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Portable tube amp from china?
Sep 16, 2020 at 9:56 PM Post #588 of 916
From what I read in this forum other members didn't think there was much difference between the B4 and B4-x.
I went for the standard B4 as it only uses 1 opamp, so easier to upgrade (if you plan on going down that route).
 
Sep 16, 2020 at 11:27 PM Post #590 of 916
For me yes, at times I really like a warmer/smoother presentation of music, I can find it to be more relaxing and emotionally engaging. Ideal if I'm working, reading or late at night.

I'm using my Cowon P1 or Mojo with the amp going to Focal Stellia.

For critical listening for me the amp does smooth the sound at the expense of precision, detail and texture compared to not having it in the chain. So the amp gives a flavour option that for you may or may be worth the sacrifices.

It is still early days for me and I'm still to come to a final conclusion on it. With the Stellia it is quite clear that they are not performing to their full potential with this amp (I suspect all my gear are holding them back to be honest).

I haven't tried it with some of my other headphones yet (nothing else has had a look in since I got the Stellia 2 months ago), but I suspect that they will also sound smoother with the negative differences being less apparent (I have Hifiman HE400i, Senn HD6xx, Fostex TH-X00, Audeze EL8).

Note I almost immediately replaced my opamp with a burson v5 as I had one to hand. Without this change I am less inclined to answer yes to your question.
 
Sep 16, 2020 at 11:44 PM Post #591 of 916
Barndoor said:
For me yes, at times I really like a warmer/smoother presentation of music, I can find it to be more relaxing and emotionally engaging. Ideal if I'm working, reading or late at night.

I'm using my Cowon P1 or Mojo with the amp going to Focal Stellia.

For critical listening for me the amp does smooth the sound at the expense of precision, detail and texture compared to not having it in the chain. So the amp gives a flavour option that for you may or may be worth the sacrifices.

It is still early days for me and I'm still to come to a final conclusion on it. With the Stellia it is quite clear that they are not performing to their full potential with this amp (I suspect all my gear are holding them back to be honest).

I haven't tried it with some of my other headphones yet (nothing else has had a look in since I got the Stellia 2 months ago), but I suspect that they will also sound smoother with the negative differences being less apparent (I have Hifiman HE400i, Senn HD6xx, Fostex TH-X00, Audeze EL8).

Note I almost immediately replaced my opamp with a burson v5 as I had one to hand. Without this change I am less inclined to answer yes to your question.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. This Burson upgrade doubles the price of the unit pretty much
 
Sep 22, 2020 at 1:10 PM Post #592 of 916
katatonicone1 said:
How is your muses02 experience after this time? Do you use b4 with IEMs by any chance?
Click to expand...
after long use i decided not to use IEMs (not even the SONY-MDR-EX800ST) there is nothing that even close My LCD 2C. a after trying a all lot of OP-AMP i can say that yhe V6 vivid is one of the best (if not the best OP) I ever used
if you want to know why than read this:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-supreme-sound-opamp-v6-vivid-and-classic.23186/reviews
 
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Oct 21, 2020 at 1:23 PM Post #594 of 916
I see some people on here tinkered with their Little Bear B4-X. Could someone tell me what effect those 4 potentionmeters on the circuit board have? I guess two of them are for volume? That would be handy as one channel of my Little bear seems to be a tad louder than the other.
 
Oct 21, 2020 at 7:48 PM Post #595 of 916
paraphernalia said:
I see some people on here tinkered with their Little Bear B4-X. Could someone tell me what effect those 4 potentionmeters on the circuit board have? I guess two of them are for volume? That would be handy as one channel of my Little bear seems to be a tad louder than the other.
Click to expand...

The small potentiometers set the Grid #1 & Grid #2 Bias Points / Operating Voltages for the two tubes.
See this post - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/portable-tube-amp-from-china.626237/post-14511729

Note that this appears to be the schematic for the B4 (and not the -X), since it doesn't have two dual op-amps, driving a Balanced Output - but the vacuum tube preamp section is basically the same.
 
Oct 23, 2020 at 6:16 AM Post #596 of 916
Nov 16, 2020 at 12:40 PM Post #597 of 916
I've just received a B4-X, I was curious to try it,
Excuse the stupid question, but how do you know when it's fully charged?
I've plugged it and there's no sign something is happening...

edit: the charger is warm while the Amp is cold
 
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Nov 18, 2020 at 1:18 AM Post #599 of 916
I recently took delivery of a B4-X and am planning to mod this great little amp. I've already ordered a pair of V5i-Ds, am planning to do the copper shielding tape mod to the interior of the case, and perhaps a few other simple things.

One question, would anyone happen to know which size of silicone o-ring dampeners will fit the 5899 tubes? I figured out 19mm apparently suits 6922s, but these 5899s are virtually half the size. The microphonics in my B4-X are rather severe so its definitely an area I'd like to address.
 
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