Doge 9 listening experience...

I have had these amps together with the Doge 8 preamp and the Doge 6 cd player since December 2013 (more than a year and 3 months), bought them directly from China through Mark. (I live in Israel).
At first, the Amps with the original tubes sounded quite crappy to my ears. I changed all(!) tubes to NOS, including the 211 to GE. That last change was critical to the quality of the sound and made the most improvement. Overall the sound is VERY good, in my view comparable to almost anything out there with the usual trade-offs (like when you use low watt amps you will get less distortion but smaller sound-stage etc. ). My speakers are moded Klipsch La Scala and I use the lower negative feedback option on the Doge (but you will get much more dynamics on the high NF option).
From my experience these amps are very sensitive to the kind of cables you use (mine started to really sing only after I switched to an expensive MIT IC). Then I could experience the Nirvana I was looking for.
As for the Doge 8, don't dare using its MC input stage. Its the worst I ever heard. If you have a MC cartridge, use the MM with either a SUT or head amp. Again, change all tubes to NOS.
The CD 6 is also amazing, very recommended at its price.
As for service, don't expect what you get in the US, but the saving in costs makes up for that. I have bought many audio components in my 30 years in audio and this was the best deal, no doubt about it. Will it last 30 years or more like an an old McIntosh or Leak? I doubt it, but what current production amps will?

Thinman:
I own a pair of Magnepan 3.6 and use a Doge 8 with a Bryston 14B ST. I am thinking of going the Doge 9 route as I absolutely love the Doge 8. You mentioned you did not like the Maggie's / Doge 9 combination. Can you expand on that?

Cheers,

I can't understand the interest in esoteric entities, when so many proven companies are there for your coins? Service, longevity, Support????

Price Stringreen, it's really price. If one has champagne taste and a ......... what do you do? When it comes time to service will be the time that love can turn into anxiety and even worse. But then again maybe these units are very well built and actually represent good value, time will tell. I've been tempted to try but personal principle more than price always wins out. I'd rather support North American companies whenever possible.

The Doge 8 preamplifier I purchased cost me $1399 in U.S. Dollars or about $1800 Canadian. However, it blows away the bryston BP-25 I was using and is much better than other preamps I have used or heard including anything by Sonic Frontiers and the Mcintosh C2500 I was considering. The C2500 price I was quoted was $7500 Cdn. The Doge 8 weighs over 30 pounds, looks great, is very well built and - as many have stated - sounds fantastic for a fraction of the cost of a C2500. In my opinion, the Doge 8 sounds much better.

There are many great amps out there but they are not cheap. VTL, ARC and Lamm make some great tube amps but the cost approaches $20K! Are they that much better that I want to drop that kind of money? I am very impressed with my Doge 8 preamp and I am sure I will be impressed with the Doge 9 amps if I get a chance to buy or listen to them.