Has anyone tried the cheap Japanese valve amps?

[admin_exported]

loads of these on ebay ... example:

NEW Hi-End Class A Tube Integrated Amplifier SV-2A3B ... ebay item 320435162760 ... buy it now of £299 (free shipping)

6 watts x 2

just curious as to how they sound/compare?

 

[Anonymous]

here is perhaps a better one:

ebay item 270476854212 ... £159 plus £40 shipping ... 30 watts X 2

selling like hotcakes (150 feedback for the past 30 days ... many of which are for the amps)

 

[Anonymous]

Looks nice, but what is with that umbilical chord coming out of the power valves??

 

[Anonymous]

Brisk:Looks nice, but what is with that umbilical chord coming out of the power valves??

dont have a clue what those chords are for ... have never even heard a valve amp yet (but would not mind getting a good old one at a good price) .... been seeing these new japanse ones all over ebay

 

[sthomas048]

They are infact Chinese amps. They are very popular on the other side of the ocean, with the Yaqin kit being the most popular it seems. The 10L, 100B and 300B (now 300C) being the choice picks apparently. Some of the "Bewitch" stuff is popular too, mainly due to being connected to the older Pure Sound valve amps, they were improving/modifying them internally and sticking Pure Sound badges on the fronts. Personally ive tried the Yaqin tube buffers - not bad but not brilliant either. The Chinese valve amps like those are worth a shot i suppose, never going to match the Quads or the Icon Audios but with a bit of tube-rolling who knows !

 

[Andrew Everard]

Indeed, the fact that the original item's location is "KOWLOON, Hong Kong" kinda gives away the fact it's Chinese, not Japanese.

But then my wife says we all look the same to them, too...

 

[sthomas048]

I ordered the Yaqin tube buffer from Hong Kong and it took four days to arrive, packaged very well too. I got stung by UPS who charged me an extra £20 for something or other, as they do. But considering how relatively cheap the Chinese valve amps are its no big deal.

 

[Anonymous]

I have bought 2nd hand bewitch 300B amp and believe me it sounds wonderfull on vocals. I found it lacks some high frequency details but overall the sound is sweeter than my Marantz PM7001KI. I just brought the unit to the 2nd hand dealer because it stopped working after few days.. Hopefully after the 1 month warranty they gave the amp will still work as I really love how the the human voice sounded..