Has anybody bought or heard a Chinese knock off amplifier?

I have bought many China electronics. I have learned to use Google chrome translation on the China Taobao site and other Chinese reviews. There are cheap knockoffs and there are VERY good ones. Unless you know the language or spend time on the Chinese language sites you may never know. For the most part the ones on Aliexpress are the better ones but the best ones are only on the Chinese language Taobao.

I have very high end original equipment and some of the best clones. The best clones sound incredible but are slightly different from the exact sound of the originals.  Unfortunately there are some real turds as well as outstanding products as well. Most are modeled after discontinued products though which probably circumvents the issue with copyright. The Dart Zeel boards are 100% exact circuitboards and the component choice and device matching it what will seperate the original sond from the clone in absolute terms.

What about Magnetbox, Panaphonic and Sorny ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guck4FoWQss

I have some experience in this area--not much, but some.

First off, true knock offs--posing to be something they are not--are not too common. There are clear examples, like Mistral’s B&W knock offs.

In my view, most of the China HiFi market is made up of four types.

1) clear knock offs--not that common. I define this as something that says it’s a Mark Levinson amp--not a cloned circuit.

2). Clones/Kit Using Legendary Circuits.

3) Discrete New Products. I define these as Line Magnetic, Doge Audio, Cayin, Willenston, Denafrips, and so on. These are organically designed and made in China products with strong corporate back stories. Also, these products use high quality components and should not be judged without listening or "popping the hood". The quality in these products is near exceptional.

4) US/Canadian/European Companies. Many household name companies design their products in their home sovereign then build them in China, under contract with a factory. The list of these is massive.

As to the OP’s question, I have heard some clone amps. I heard a Mark Levinson clone and a couple Pass clones. A friend built a Marantz clone from a PCB sold by China-HIfi. All were pretty decent, but of varying quality. Some of them are really, really nice. I think ones that use a tried and true circuit from an older product--e.g., Citation, Marantz M7, etc.--are pretty decent. Those products trying to be a facsimile of a product (see clear knock offs), are less likely to impress if compared to the real thing.

I hope that makes sense!

I’ve bought quite a few Chinese audio components over the last decade. Mostly mid-fi stuff that I upgraded myself.

My first foray was a Music Angel XD800 Mk3 tube amp. It cost ~$600. After upgrading it with about $200 worth of parts, it was an excellent performer. Not a $10,000 amp killer, but it definitely punched above the $800 amps.

I then modified a Shanling T-80 tubed CD player. $100 in parts turned it into a killer analog-sounding CDP. Friends couldn’t believe that a CDP could sound so analog.

My latest modification has been to a Singxer SU-1 DDC. I bought it for $450 and have spent $250 on upgrading it. It connects (via I2S) to a Gustard x20 Pro DAC (another Chinese component). This is a killer combo for playing DSD files.

I haven’t heard any of the other high end components mentioned already but I feel there are good deals to be found. Not all Chinese components are dogs (or blatant copies).

Yes, but nobody survived to talk about it.