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Budget Chinese Tube amps - any good?

In the midst of searching for a budget tube amp. Lots of chinese made models keep popping up. The price on these amps are often really low and would give someone like me a chance to try the tube sound for cheap.

Do you guys have any good experiences with them?

Reason I'm asking is that I hear many conflicting experiences online on each amp. Some say their amps are really good, some say they are really bad - each model might have 5 good reviews and 5 bad reviews. I guess this is par for course with audio, where subjectivity is the rule of the game. However, chinese amps tend to have the largest disparity of opinions.

The models I've read up on so far are: Mingda amps, Miniwatt N3, Yaqin amps etc.
milesandcoltrane
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,806 posts
 
The main thing you have to watch with the Chinese gear is build quality. It might sound alright for a while- till it breaks. The area of greatest concern are the power supply filter caps. We have seen counterfeit electrolytic caps that are half the marked capacity and also with reduced voltage ratings from what they are marked.

If the build quality is OK then you will find that it probably works and sounds fine, but you will likely pay more for it.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I find the Bada hybrid SET tube headphone amp to be of very high build quality and extraordinary sound quality. Even the original Chinese tubes are terrific.

Cheers,

Geoff
hew's avatar
hew
159 posts
 
Vendors like Pacific Valve are very reputable and provide support too and they sell the Bada amps as well.
rnadell
63 posts
 
My experience with Pacific Valve is less than stellar. I will say that my Doge 8 is a nice piece of equipment.
glenfihi
525 posts
 
IMO who and where you buy from makes a difference in amps from China. May wish to check out amps from Quest for Sound. I have the SQ-88 integrated. Rock solid build and wonderful sounding.
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