Prospectives on Chi-Fi

For me it’s a case of Once bitten - Twice shy

Many years ago I purchsed a Raysonic SP120 integrated amp

• looked great
• sounded pretty good
• Designed in Canada and fabricated in China
• How could I go wrong.

After 6 months the tubes burned out (cheep chinese tubes?)

• replaced the tubes with ones of better quality
  • sound improved a little
• 6 months later the tubes went again
  • so I started digging and discovered there was a flaw in the build
  • the mains transformer was not designed for 120v
  • so the heater voltage was higher than it should have been
  • Found a technician that knew all about this amp and its warts and he fixed it for around $300
  • sounded much better,
  • but compared to a NAIM 5i it lacked in every respect
    • SO - I bought the NAIM
  • I sold the SP 120 and glad to be rid of it

BTW - I now own a Bryston B135 - because the NAIM has a rather special "design feature"

• the power supply caps have to be replaced after 10-12 years
• cost of that little fix $450 and takes two weeks
• The Bryston comes with a 20 year WARRANTY
  • and they stand by it !!!

So the moral of the story - know what you are buying

There are no guarantees these days - regardless of BRAND

- Except for Bryston that is (ask me again in 15 years) 😃

Regards - Steve

Made in China is impossible to avoid in daily life and my one Chinese component, my Auralic Aries Mini streamer has been a fantastically reliable device.

Probably just like anything else, but magnified..

Some decent stuff, some horrible.

The smsl 10 was good.. until it wasn’t (heat)

The gustard r26 has been very good so far.

@tablejockey  what you are saying is absolutely true, but very sad at the same time.

Made (well) in China, is well made 👍🏼

LA90 Discrete reviewed quite well as well. 

Well?