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Chinese products

I'm a little confused... Please bear with me

I recently reviewed a Chinese push pull amp for 600+ dollars as was pleasantly surprised with the sound quality( prev post)

I now see it for $50 more  on the same website.

I started looking at Chinese high end products like Line Magnetic an Sophia. (Please see glowing reviews on Stereophile). They are often 1000s of dollars more. The lm518ia( per SV $4450) caught my attention but the specs match up very close to the mc13s($600+)! So what am I missing?

Also, I see the above lm 518ia 835 integrated now selling for $1800.

This price volatility got me thinking:

Are all these products in fact the same? with the hope that someone will pay more for a variety of reasons?

This may be another thread, but who in world would pay or sell an amp for 114,000? ( Boulder)

Thanks for you input
recluse
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
The general issue with the lower end Chinese audio gear is not necessarily their sound quality. The main problem is the inconsistency in the build quality. Its hit or miss. If you get a "good" unit, it could last a long time and continue to sound good. If someone is handy with electronics and a soldering gun, one could get a low-mid priced point-to-point wired Chinese piece and simply upgrade the tubes and some of the passive components and end up with an excellent sounding audio gear at a fraction of the price of a name brand piece.
tablejockey
3,920 posts
 
dlcockrum-

The Denafrips equimpment looks interesting. Do you have one of these units?

I've never been opposed to  Chinese gear, and this stuff is impressive.

Their lineup appears to have a decent build quality. A nice complinment for my amazing,Chinese made amp.

When I make a move to the dark side(streaming/file playing) I may put this company on the list for a dac, to plug into the yet unknown streamer.

Meanwhile, just gonna continue listening my fabulous record spinning machine.
br3098
996 posts
 
Just a note: Sophia Electric is an American company. and I believe that all of their products, except for tubes and their Baby amp, are made in the U.S.  I have always found that their products excel and are quite competitive at their relative price points.

dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Hi tablejockey,

I did indeed purchase a Terminator and am thoroughly impressed with it. So effortless and yet with resolution and fidelity that exceeds anything I have previously experienced. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Re: streaming, I was at the same place one year ago that you appear to be now. I cannot imagine living without it at this point, although I retained my CDP as a transport feeding the Terminator via AES/EBU for enjoying my collection of silver discs on occasion.

Dave
audiothesis
168 posts
 
Hey Dave. I’ve heard the Denafrips and it’s an excellent unit. It is also not a budget minded product - hence the higher quality, higher price I talked about in my post.

My first foray into nicer tube amps was the Shuguang s845mk and s200mk. Great units but when compared to something like the MastersounD Compact 845, it simply doesn’t compare on a handful of facets. Still, I have them in the closet and struggle with the idea of them leaving my possession. At the time it was as the best move I had made in this hobby so there is a bit of sentimental value to it.
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