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#1
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Yaqin MC10L
I received this amp yesterday from Hong Kong. You can get it from ebay
at around $500 ~ $600. It arrived safe. First relief. I tested it in my friends house who has Klipsh Lascla speakers and Sota Comet turntable with Shure 97 cartridge. He has Dynaco STxx tube amp (separates), Bellari tube phono stage, and Jolida tube CD player. At first plugin, there was a power and sound. Another relief. We first listened to some CDs - Dumky trio (Dvorak), Bach solo violoin, Yama****a playing Bach cello suite, Tchaikovsky Symphony #5, and Sumi Jo Opera. My first impression was that the sound is a bit harshy and not so dynamic. Also, I did not feel a full stereo sound either. My friend told me not to worry too much since it would take some time to settle in. My friend, who has spent much time and money on amps/turntable/speakers/cds/LPs, really like the look and its build quality. For $560 (what I paid), I can't get a 50W tube amp like this in US or Europe, he told me. But I was still not quite thrilled with the sound. Then we went for LPs. First, LA four's Nouveau Bach. A lot difference. The sound was much smooth and the imaging/balance was much better than any of those CDs. Few other Bachs were also very good. My friend told me that it is not surprising to see a tube amp works better with LPs. Then, we listened to Santana's Black Magic woman. This sounded like a crap on my system -- Rotel turntable, Grado Black cartridge, Yamaha RXV3000 recviver, and Klipsh KLF-20. With high volume, all I heard on my system was just a noise. But, it sounds so detailed and lively on my friend's system. With full volume (12 O'clock on 50W amp with 104dB speakers), it was not noisy at all. I just fell like that I was in Santana live concert. Overall, I would say that matching this amp with right speaker/turntable/CD player is the most important one, but I still wonderhow come there were so much differences of sound between CDs and LPs. Maybe his Sota table and Shure cartridge is a much better source than the Jolida CD player. To sum up, $560 was well spent. All tubes (4 x EL34, and another unidentified smaller 4 tubes) are made in China. If I can pull out another $200 or so, I may try to replace all tubes with Mullards. The manual that came with this amp is all in Chinse and it does not seem to explain any about the tubes. My friends and I have no ideas of the front 4 tubes which are roughly half the size of EL34. If you google search on Yaqin MC10L, you will get some pics, but still no info on those smaller tubes. I wonder whether any of you experts can tell me what they are. |
#2
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Yaqin MC10L
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#4
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Yaqin MC10L
Max wrote: Note: 12AX7's, 12AT7's, 12AU7's, 12BH7's have a centre tapped filament, so they can also be run on 6.3V Yes, they can. But not typically. And I am guessing. The more I think on it, the more I am leaning towards the 6.3V tube. I generally dislike Chinese Iron, this is one of the reasons why. Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA |
#5
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Yaqin MC10L
My friend could indeed find that the tubes are 6N1.
Thanks for the info. The amp is still in my friend's house. Well, he is almost 60 years old and have very bad eye sight. Also, he did not know about 6N1 at all. He told me that his tube catalog book has 6N3, but not 6N1. What would be a better tube for replacement? They probably ordered a containerload at $200 each and sell them for $600 and there is no parts support, no documentation, and no one to come back at when it catches on fire, or shorts out its power transformer and shocks the **** out of some kid. It may well be true. The thing is I sort of knew it. To make a profit by selling the amp at around $500~$600 from Hong Kong, the seller must have got them just at around $200, definitely not more than $300. I bought it most out of curiosity. Before buying it, I asked several folks who already owns it, and the response was also not quite bad. My friend's system is 35W Dynaco separate tube amps. They are more than 30 years old vintage model. He feels that the sound of his and my amps are different, but cannot tell if one is decisively better than the other. The reliability factor needs to be seen. Anyway, any recommendation on speaker set for a 50W integrated tube amp? I am thinking of spending around $1000 for used one, which would be noticeably better than Klipsch KLF20 and B&W CE 603 S2. Only if I could find Klipsch LaScala or Cornwall at around $1000! Again, thanks for help. |
#6
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Yaqin MC10L
Bret Ludwig wrote: More educational would have been to simply build a pair yourself from known good transformers. When the market gets a few more containerloads of these things their used value will probably drop to less than wholesale new cost, like Korean guitars. Probably most have chrome plating as nasty as old Macs, meaning in most houses they will rust. I am not a handy man and I may not try it by myself. I think it is not only for Korean guitars, but virtually all man made products. Their used price will be much less than the wholesale new price. How much do you think the price would be for China made 50 Watts tube integraged amps at Wallmart? The thing is, Wallmart will never sell tube amps, not even Bestbuy or Circuit city. I cannot imagine China made tube amps will ever fall into like guitars made in Korea. Even if they appear in US with mass volume, the price would be at least $500. Yes, the amp looks very glossy. I'll see how soon it will get rusty. Anyway, any recommendation on speaker set for a 50W integrated tube amp? I am thinking of spending around $1000 for used one, which would be noticeably better than Klipsch KLF20 and B&W CE 603 S2. Only if I could find Klipsch LaScala or Cornwall at around $1000! LaScalas are common if you are willing to get stage or installed models or house ones needing work. The stock LaScala has beautiful bass and harsh treble, as it has a $35 EV tweeter. The x/o and bass drivers are available reasonably, and most will refinish beautifully with modern automotive paint systems or good old lacquer. Cornwalls are best left alone IMO, they are a harsh sounding compromise that never did work very well. These are the key links: http://www.alkeng.com/klipsch.html http://home.comcast.net/~wooferboy/T...ng_League.html Thanks for the link. I must admit that my friend's LaScala is a bit harsh on some kind of music. But the vocal and horn (trumpet, saxphone, ...) sound is exceptionally good. As I said earlier, the Santana album sounded very much like you are in a live concert. A good thing is that my friend has not found a noticeable flaw on my Chinese amp. How long will it last? Will see. Again, thanks for your thought. |
#7
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Yaqin MC10L
Bret Ludwig wrote: wrote: I am not a handy man and I may not try it by myself. I think it is not only for Korean guitars, but virtually all man made products. Their used price will be much less than the wholesale new price. When that's the case i buy it used. Maybe it would have been better to buy used. I could probably get a good working condition Jolida JD302B at around $600. New one costs at around $1000. It is 50WPC. It is made in China and uses most of the parts made in China. I hope my Yaqin amp is as good JD302B (with finger crossed ;-). I buy used guitars. Most of times I pay only half of the retail price and the price does not drop any further. I wonder why I have not done the same. ;-| |
#8
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Hello,
I too have a Yaqin MC10L,and I'm very impressed.For less than 400.00US,it is an incredible value. The small tubes you are wondering about are Shuangang 6N1's. I had a little hum at first,but after replacing them with Svetlana 6N1p's and the hum was gone. I have some T.A.D. EL34B's coming,but the more I listen,the stock Shuangang EL34B's just keep sounding better. I guess I'll find out after a comparison. |