Budget Chinese Tube amps - any good?

Maybe I lucked out, but I bought a 50WPC Yaqin MC-10T EL34 amp and was really surprised by the fidelity. It was certainly better than my old modified Dynaco 70 and I even preferred it to my Dynaco Mark IIIs. The output transformers are beefy too, almost the same size of a Dynaco Mark III.

Build quality is pretty high with a nicely made chassis. But based on my capacitor replacement experience, working on them is difficult. Components are located underneath the circuit board, which required the removal of a dozen screws, a coupled of wire clips, and some tie-downs to get at.

Regarding sound quality - what started off as very good, got even better once I replaced the four Shuguang 12AT7s with a pair of Mullards and a pair of US-made Tungsols. I now use the amp to drive the tweeters in my bi-amp system, where a Threshold S/500 does the heavy-duty work.

Full-range sound quality is very fast and detailed, and doesn't sound sloppy/spongey like some vintage tube amps. What really surprised me is the treble detail and clarity - clean and effortless without a hint of glare or stridency. Again, much better than I expected for under $500.

I'll have to see about long-term quality - my main concerns are the Chinese tube sockets since replacing them looks like a tough job. With that in mind, I don't plan to do a lot of tube-swapping.

purchased a cayin integrated S.E.T. 300b 10w/pc .great sound and value superb craftmanship,,point to point wiring ,probably my last amp ,heard a few others for twice the price ,,cayin won hands down ,,anyway just my opinion,mated with the outstanding sounding speakers made by louis of omega speakers in norwalk ct..

I bought a new factory modded/upgraded Jolida JD502p power amp some months ago and it's working out really well...it was amazingly inexpensive. It's a powerful sweet sounding amp (with the XLR inputs that I wanted) for about half the cost of what a comparable amp by ANY other brand, Chinese or domestic, offers, as well as being a great vehicle for my endless tube rolling fetish.

My old Cayin TA-30 from Paul at BizzyBee was my first and only tube amp. Great sound and a kissin' cousin (if not outright fraternal twin) to the Prima Luna which came out around the same time. Paul, sadly, is gone and so are his products but the Prima Luna marches on in many variations. One look underneath and you be hard pressed to tell the difference. Kind of like the Mini Watt controversy as to who owns the rights to the same thing being made at two different factories.

You can get some really good quality product from Chinese makes xenophobia aside. Check out what Pacific Valve imports after it's been modded to their specs. The stuff will look the same as what you can get from Chinese exporters but it's not the same internally. That, and PV backs up their stuff with warranty.

Like what Wolf says about Jolida: great product. Jolida has always gotten great reviews and have been around a very long time. In fact, I am considering getting one instead of a Luxman to satisfy my EL-84 itch to see if what they say about that El-84 sound and Jolida is true. $650 vs. $2400 makes it very tempting.

All the best,
Nonoise

Ive had a Jolida 102-B for about 8 years that I use for a back up for my seperates.I have it playing now.My power amp is going in for repairs.The Jolida is stock except tubes,and it sounds very good! Very musical!Heavy little thing!Never regreted buying it.The first one they sent me had shipping damage,I called them and they sent out a replacement right away.I was surprised that it arrived damaged as it was packaged very well with fitted foam and heavy double boxed.