Opinion requested: MingDa MC300 variants versus Consonance Cyber range

[ksporry]

Right, so far many people have bene very positive about the Mr. Liang 845 amp, so for me this is a contender, especially at that price.
However, other posisbilities are MingDa and Consonance, which lie in a different price bracket alltogether.

There are Three MinGDa's that hold my interest:
MC300-C and MC300-D. Both are mono power amps, the D version is 8W, whilst the C is 25W.
MC300-C: È«ÐÂÕýÆ·ÃÀÐÇÃú´ï MC300-Cµ¥ÉùµÀºó¼¶ µ¨»ú µç×ӹܹ¦·Å»ú ¹¦·Å-ÌÔ±¦Íø
MC300-D: ¡ï±±¾©ÊµÌåµê¡ï ÃÀÐÇ MC300-D µ¥ÉùµÀºó¼¶¹¦ÂÊ·Å´óÆ÷ - ÌÔ±¦Íø
At 8W I was expecting the sound quality to be better, but with higher demands form speakers, whereas the 25W version would be easier to drive most speakers but perhaps at the expense of sound quality. I don't know if this is true though, and considering that the C version is more expensive, it may well be they are equal in sound quality, just not in power output.
Then there is the MC845 at 20W: ÌؼÛÃÀÐÇMC845-CÕæ¿Õ¹Üµ¥ÉùµÀºó¼¶·Å´ó(´¿¼×Àà)-ÌÔ±¦Íø
So these fall in the price range of 8000-12000RMB (800-1200GBP)

In the other corner is Consonance with their Cyber range.
Consonance Opera Cyber 845S at 20.000RMB+ which is significantly more expensive: cyber 845_?

Consonance Opera Reference 5.5, which is an integrated tube amp at 18W using 300Bs: ? Reference5.5_?
As you can see, the price of the integrated amp is significantly lower thanthe monoblocks.

If you visit the consonance site (eproducts_TS) you will see many of their amps got good reviews, and having seen them in the shop here in Shanghai, I'd say the build quality is off the chart, especially for a local chinese product. They just look gorgeous! I can try out the consonance, and I'm sure the sound will be good (though iof someone has first hand experience, I'd live to hear it...!)

I guess I'd like to know how much better these mono blocks would be compared to integrated amps.

In addition I wouldlike to know if someone has experience with the MingDa monoblocks and can tell me about their build & sound quality, etc.

Thx!

EDIT: Sorry about the rubbish text in the links, I just copy/pasted them from internet explorer... They are normal links though, just on Taobao in CHina.

[ksporry]

Any comments?

[singa]

Originally Posted by ksporry

Any comments?

Hi ksporry,
If you are hoping for some hand holding I'm sorry to disapoint you.For in the final analysis you are the one to decide and pay for it.Since you
say you are in china now all the better for you can interface directly with the
people concerned.

All that's important is that you take the sensivity of your speakers in consideration of how much power is needed to drive successfully
or for that matter get the sound that you want.Sure both will prouduce sound
output but which will satisfy you.

You have essentially zeroed in on two possibilities which is the allure and mystic of the legendary 300B and the brute power of 845 both are DHT.(directly heated triode).So which is the safer or value for money pick.Of course it would be nice to afford both but we have to be realistic right?

If you're familiar with the technical "hurdles" in the design of DHT single ended power amplifiers,you would have come across comments that why there is a variety of sound quality of 300Bs (from good to mediocre) and large tubes like 845 is because of the quality of it's driver tube in most cases it's a 6SN7 for 300B and a smaller tube like a triode wired pentode like 6L6 or the "brute force" 300B as driver for 845.What is the truth? Which tube drive a DHT best?

Well according to Susumu Sakuma ,to hear the true quality of a DHT
like 300B (same with other DHT) you need a very good driver tube and there are few that can do the job with the critical requirements of low distortion and signal retrival.So the only tube that can do justice to a DHT is another DHT meaning same powertube drive the output tube or simply
300B Vs 300B.This is admittedly extravagant from a commercial manufacture cost point of view but you want the ultimate satisfaction right? That's why in the top of the line 845 they have a 300B as the driver.

In comparison of Mingda vs Consonance.The latter (Consonance)
has already gained a reputation in the western hifi market so their prices
are inline with western hifi prices but still a tad lower. With good build and styling to boot.Mingda on the other hand is concentrating in the low to mid
end of the consumer hifi chain but alot stems from the costs of materials
and the design whims of their designers which western minds do not have a respect for, having the idea that they are only good at mix and matching of
good proven circuits and sometimes more often than not making a mess of it by not understanding the workings of the circuit. But to be fair their products
work because if they do not they won't survive as a company, that's life.

So what is the choice? Well it would make sense to go for the
more power of the 845 because at least you will not have a problem
driving inefficient hi fi speakers and you will have the respect of your peers.
And if you can afford it the one with the 300B driver is right one from the technical performance of the 845 perspective.

Coming back to Mingda and Consonance,they are small companies
with few workers but that does not mean they do not have the means to make good products.Have a look atMingda factory tour and see if they deserve your patronage.

Singa.

[ksporry]

Hey singa, thanks for that comprehensive post
I actually found an article on the lampizators websitedetailing the mingda mc300-c, where he says after some minor mods it goes from barely acceptable to outstanding. I'm curious what the 845 would prefer. I might go for the reference 5.5 though, and later try the mingda 300 with the lampizators mods
thanks for your reply though! Much appreciated.

[ksporry]

Well, I got the Opera Reference 5.5 in the end. It's a great piece of kit!

Now I want more, hehehe. The R5.5 (mk2) is 300B powered, and has nice bias adjustments on the front. Very convenient.

However, obviously I also want 845s! So I am still considering MingDa. I can probably get MC845-C's (845 mono blocks) plus an MC-7R (pre-amp) for about 12k RMB. However, now I know the build quality et al of the consonance, I'm wondering if it's worth saving up some extra cash and go for the Consonance Opera Reference 9.9, which is a dual monoblock using 845s. Again gorgeous pieces of kit, but this one also needs a good pre-amp. So if I go for the R9.9's plus pre-amp from same brand, that sets me back 30k RMB! Whilst the MingDa set would set me back just 12k RMB, quite a difference!

Another point I'd like to bring up is: Speaker choice.
What speakers should I get using the R5.5? With 18W I can imagine I need quite sensitive speakers. Any suggestions for what goes well with 300B driven 18W integrated amp?