Russian Tube Preamp, No Return, Here I go again

seller said: 

"is a circuit analogue of the famous M-7 preamplifier from Mr. Hiroyashi Kondo"

I paid no attention to that when ordering, but now, while waiting:

interview with Hiroyashi Kondo

https://www.stereophile.com/interviews/597kondo/index.html

his company carries on, the current M7 Preamp

https://www.audionote.co.jp/en/products/pre_amplifier/m7heritage.html

I'd hate to pay for that, I got the budget version

isochronism2,521 posts02-13-2021 8:58amI hope they're rushin' to get it to ya'

also funny,

in fact, it was done, just waiting to know what voltage transformer to install. testing today, ships tomorrow.

tablejockey

Good luck-no surprises and smoke when powered up.

I once fired up a vintage amp, ugg, wisp of smoke and smell. hurriedly unplugged it (it had no switch)

took the bottom off, a spider nest, big one got fried. That's the last time I was too lazy to view the innards first.

lewm,

you would think I had a choice of a lot of vintage stuff, but right now there is not much available,

https://www.ebay.com/sch/67807/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=tube+preamp&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1

I have 2 Fisher 500C tube receivers downstairs, I just don’t want something that big in here.

This actually started because I am giving a TT to a friend and it/she needs a phono stage, soooo, why not get tube phono for my office and give her my current one. Almost got a Pro-Ject Tube Box S2, that kind of established a budget,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Ject-Tube-Box-S2-Phono-Preamplifier-Black/392274169114?epid=28035808843...

 then I saw the Russian one, hmm, tubes for R2R also, what a good idea.

I’ve purchased, maybe about five times from Russia, and they all worked well. They were all small items -- cartridges and tubes. Haven’t purchased any big items like amp or preamps from Russia, even though I purchased quite a few gears from China, including amps and preamps. All amps/preamps I purchased from China were OK. The best was Jungson JA-99C and JA-1 amp/preamp.
There were also quite a few scams from China -- a few from eBay purchase and many from Facebook ads.
I got all refunds from eBay scam, but not from Facebook ads even though I paid with PayPal. What happened was, I purchased a few bicycle related items (shoes, pedals, clothes, ...) from Facebook ads and what I received were random junk items (water bottle, stainless whisky flask, ...) or no items at all. I ignored them as junk mails, but they were actual items sent from the sender. To get reimbursed I had to return those items back to China. Shipping cost was almost half as the amount I paid for. If I did not return the item, PayPal would not have refunded me. Now, I don’t purchase anything from Facebook ads if they are sold from China.
Hope you enjoy the Russian gear.