[horscht]

dear head-fiers,

i'm on the brink of buying the RKV and just looked what eBay could do for me in order to save some money. and look what i found:

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...category=22509

do you have any info about this model? hums and hisses? sound? what do you think it's worth? i made a search here and found thousands of threads about the MKII but none about the MKI. any info would be appreciated.

if anyone of you here is stalag or someone else on the bidlist than i wouldn't try to outbid you, of course.

many thanks in advance.

horscht

 

[alexerwu]

For the current bid price, it's hard to go wrong.

I have just recently purchased a RKV MKII from Meier Audio at a significantly higher price.

 

[Sovkiller]

Where is the power supply on this one, no transformer inside??? Weird??? All what I've seem has the toroidal transformer inside and the audio connectors in the back, definitelly ahs to be an old different model, right???

from eBay:

from Meier Website, MarkII:

 

[ServinginEcuador]

For my .02: This looks like an old prototype or something, so I would be careful in getting one. The internals are totally different than either their Mk I or II. I don't see any RCA inputs on the back where they sould go, nor a power inlet. There are several days left, so you might contact either Jan Meier or Helmut Privat to find out what it is, and if it is worth buying.

 

[antness]

ServinginEcuador,

Nein...ich schaetze dass du kein deutsch sprechen. There are only about 8 hours left in the auction.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

No hay ningun problema. Perdona la ignorancia mia.

Guess I should have looked closer as it's obvious that 8 stundens and 26 minuten would be hours and minutes. Sorry about that.

I still say stay away from it! No AC inputs, could be 220 and not 110V, no RCAs in sight, smells like a prototype someone got a hold of. Plus, does he ship to the states???

 

[antness]

Yes, it says he ships to any country

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Thanks Antness! If you ever need any help with Spanish translation, don't hesitate to PM or email me. I'd be glad to help out.

Also, I hope you guys there in MD are not still buried in all that snow. My dad sent me some pictures of his driveway in Laurel. The sides of it were piled up nearly 3' with snow. Wow, we got hit hard in November, but this was incredible.

 

[horscht]

Hi,

thanks for your input. Although 220 V and shipping is no problem (I live in the same town as this guy) I think I will follow your advice, ServinginEcuador. I sent the seller an email asking about age and condition of the amp. This is what he replied:

“As per description.”

And this is the description (not literally translated but I think I got the meaning):

“Since 20 years Audio Valve offers a top class headphone amp known under the name of RKV. This device has fully automated bias-servo control and is equipped with 4 PCL 805. The output power is 2-3 watt at 100 ohm. The damping is ca. 3000!! More details can be found on the Audio Valve homepage.”

Uhm, so what age, condition? Very disappointing reply

So I think I let this go and save for the RKV MKII

Horscht

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Horscht,

Bummer! I wonder why that guy didn't respond with more information about the amp? Maybe he didn't know anything about it?

It seemed too risky to buy an amp which has a physical layout that is drastically different from the current design. That and a design never seen before.

The good things is that for you the price for the Mk II will be stable, while we have to pay more money for it. It sold for $890 just last month, and now costs $935. It is still 890 Euros, so for you it is still a great deal.

 

[antness]

Since he lives in Germany, he has to pay VAT. So his price will be 990 euros, or $1065

 

[horscht]

...and 180 for the impedanzer

too bad this deal felt through. I was really tempted to give it a try, but since there were neither rca inputs nor power inlet... what's the use of it then?
Anyway, here is another Audio Valve treasure http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...category=35262

Seriously, I'm torn between buying the RKV now and waiting for the MG Head OTL32. What do you think? Get the RKV and never look back or wait for the shoot-outs that will come?

Again, thank you for your participation

horscht

 

[geom_tol]

That case looks higher than the current one. So the tranny is probably underneath the pcb, and that is probably where the connections are as well.
It was a good price.

 

[wallijonn]

it went for $178 (roughly 178 Euros).

what a steal!

 

[horscht]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn it went for $178 (roughly 178 Euros). what a steal!

the problem is that i already had too many of such steals. the next purchase has to be the big deal and cure me from upgraditis.

...as long as possible

horscht