I found this while perusing the eBay tube amplifier search results:
(FreeShipping)X3 EL34 ClassA Tube Integrated amplifiers - eBay (item 260546765006 end time Feb-10-10 18:30:26 PST)
Now, this is claimed to be a Push Pull stereo amp. It has left and right inputs and outputs but.....only one power tube per side I assume (maybe they are hiding the other 2 somewhere else) Also claimed to have 20+ watts per channel. Price $268 with free shipping from Hong Kong.
If this is a stereo amp, which it appears to be than it cannot be push pull and if it is not push pull than I doubt very much with a 6N2 driver that it has 20+ watts per channel.
For $268 it still might not be a bad deal, b/c s/h is free but, buyer beware.....I don't think this is what it is made out to be.
Jeff
(FreeShipping)X3 EL34 ClassA Tube Integrated amplifiers - eBay (item 260546765006 end time Feb-10-10 18:30:26 PST)
Now, this is claimed to be a Push Pull stereo amp. It has left and right inputs and outputs but.....only one power tube per side I assume (maybe they are hiding the other 2 somewhere else) Also claimed to have 20+ watts per channel. Price $268 with free shipping from Hong Kong.
If this is a stereo amp, which it appears to be than it cannot be push pull and if it is not push pull than I doubt very much with a 6N2 driver that it has 20+ watts per channel.
For $268 it still might not be a bad deal, b/c s/h is free but, buyer beware.....I don't think this is what it is made out to be.
Jeff
There's ALWAYS a gotcha with Hong Kong vendors. In this case I guess each output tube is pushing and pulling all by itself. Free shipping is 5 - 9 *weeks* (surface). Be afraid.
In this case, I think it's probably just the description that's suspect, though I wouldn't trust the vendor -- even a little.
The real push-pull EL34 amp is in their eBay store for $360. Still a good deal considering how nice they look. But I wonder if it's a Chinese knock-off of a Chinese amp. What a gratifying thought.
..Todd
In this case, I think it's probably just the description that's suspect, though I wouldn't trust the vendor -- even a little.
The real push-pull EL34 amp is in their eBay store for $360. Still a good deal considering how nice they look. But I wonder if it's a Chinese knock-off of a Chinese amp. What a gratifying thought.
..Todd
This is the new Mengyue Mini that was mentioned in another thread, and at the time I disputed the power claim.
It's also offered direct from HK here:
MENG "X3 EL34" Integrated Amplifier - EL34 Tube Amp @ on9mart.com
It's clearly a SE stereo amp. Based on previous experience with Mengyue (I have a 6P1 Mini), their power claims are double that of reality. My Mini is claimed at 10W x 2, in fact it gets about 6W x 2 before clipping at best.
They are actually reasonable amps for the price, so long as you take the above into account. They are a good platform for some mods, but they will never be more than mid-fi as far as tube amps go. You can build better easier, but not cheaper. That is the bottom line for a lot of people, myself included.
A point in their favor is that they seem to have been making amps for a few years now, so they are not just a one night stand.
Gary
It's also offered direct from HK here:
MENG "X3 EL34" Integrated Amplifier - EL34 Tube Amp @ on9mart.com
It's clearly a SE stereo amp. Based on previous experience with Mengyue (I have a 6P1 Mini), their power claims are double that of reality. My Mini is claimed at 10W x 2, in fact it gets about 6W x 2 before clipping at best.
They are actually reasonable amps for the price, so long as you take the above into account. They are a good platform for some mods, but they will never be more than mid-fi as far as tube amps go. You can build better easier, but not cheaper. That is the bottom line for a lot of people, myself included.
A point in their favor is that they seem to have been making amps for a few years now, so they are not just a one night stand.
Gary
You know those containers of stuff from China. The ones that come by ship and then hook up to semi-trucks. That is surface shipping. Your package is placed in one of the containers and it doesn't leave China until it is completely filled (which might take awhile).
Then it comes by Slow Boat, gets offloaded somewhere like Long Beach, then mixes with the US mail....
Then it comes by Slow Boat, gets offloaded somewhere like Long Beach, then mixes with the US mail....
Well I never had any intentions of buying one, just thought I would put it out there for others to poke at.
I don't buy manufactured amps anymore, too much fun in building them yourself. Well, I will buy a nice Scott or similar every now and then to restore, but that is about it.
It is pretty nice looking though isn't it!
Jeff
I don't buy manufactured amps anymore, too much fun in building them yourself. Well, I will buy a nice Scott or similar every now and then to restore, but that is about it.
It is pretty nice looking though isn't it!
Jeff
i hate to bring this back up, but i just found an ebay store selling these for $259.00 with free 3-7 day AIR mail! this would be a good deal for someone looking for a nice looking cheap amp to toy around with.
MENG X3 EL34 x2pcs Vaccum Tube Integrated Amplifier NEW - eBay (item 260476031549 end time May-11-10 23:02:00 PDT)
MENG X3 EL34 x2pcs Vaccum Tube Integrated Amplifier NEW - eBay (item 260476031549 end time May-11-10 23:02:00 PDT)
Hallo everybody, I had a Hlly amplifier from HongKong, looking good, sounding bad, it was the worst tube amp ever, really. I reused the parts and made a somewhat nice amplifier out of it using different tubes, but I will never buy a Chinese amp again. Still I know not all are bad, it is a gamble.
Kind regards from Holland
Ben
Kind regards from Holland
Ben
I bought the Sweet Peach from Hlly, it didn't sound great when it arrived.
After changing some caps and a tube it sounded really good though - and after more reconfiguration it sounds most excellent.
For the price a paid and the small time needed to tweak it I think it was excellent value. If you want a Chinese amp to sound good out of the box you have to go to Yaqin or Ming Da but they are a little more.
For me - I did not have the time or skills to build a decent chassis but I'm very pleased with what I have now - it looks professional quality and sounds awesome.
I.e. The cheap chinese stuff is semi-diy - you need to tweak it. The biggest improvements were from putting real coupling capacitors in and selecting a driver tube that was suited for the job (ECC82 or 6n6p in this case). The other tweaks just improved it from there.
Result
After changing some caps and a tube it sounded really good though - and after more reconfiguration it sounds most excellent.
For the price a paid and the small time needed to tweak it I think it was excellent value. If you want a Chinese amp to sound good out of the box you have to go to Yaqin or Ming Da but they are a little more.
For me - I did not have the time or skills to build a decent chassis but I'm very pleased with what I have now - it looks professional quality and sounds awesome.
I.e. The cheap chinese stuff is semi-diy - you need to tweak it. The biggest improvements were from putting real coupling capacitors in and selecting a driver tube that was suited for the job (ECC82 or 6n6p in this case). The other tweaks just improved it from there.
Result
I got a Music Angel from the seller kyleaudio mentioned in his link (tubestein168). This amp is different than the Lampizador one.
After listening for about 3 hours, one of the power capacitor melted. It took me more than a month to get the schematic from him. Based on my experience I would never buy Chinese again.
I will have to change power capacitors, coupling capacitors and the tubes before I can have a decent amp. By the time I do all this I'll have to spend another couple of hundreds of dollars. To me it's not worth it.
Alex
After listening for about 3 hours, one of the power capacitor melted. It took me more than a month to get the schematic from him. Based on my experience I would never buy Chinese again.
I will have to change power capacitors, coupling capacitors and the tubes before I can have a decent amp. By the time I do all this I'll have to spend another couple of hundreds of dollars. To me it's not worth it.
Alex
I am in Guangzhou China now on a business trip and picked up a Mengyue X3 EL34 SE amp.
It supposedly puts out around 10 Watts RMS. Build quality seems to be ok, but I have not opened it yet. It actually sounded good while listening to it in the store before I bought it.
When I get back to the US, I'll let you know how it measures after some testing.
Bought it for $1000RMB ($151USD) And the best part? No shipping (hand carry back)!
It supposedly puts out around 10 Watts RMS. Build quality seems to be ok, but I have not opened it yet. It actually sounded good while listening to it in the store before I bought it.
When I get back to the US, I'll let you know how it measures after some testing.
Bought it for $1000RMB ($151USD) And the best part? No shipping (hand carry back)!
Attachments
Last edited:
It looks pretty cool. Does it have a 120V primary or do you plan to run it on 230V? (I use an isolated step up transformer just for this purpose some stuff I got overseas.)
I've only listened to it briefly so far (too many other projects). The transformers are a little small, which explains why it sounds a little "thin", but it is not too bad.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.