@Donovan Gibson You may not understand exactly how vacuum tubes really work. Or, you are overlooking what others know and have studied for many decades. 1. The power circuits must work somewhat conservatively as to power and heat dissipation to achieve a reasonable life expectancy. Electronics' life are invariably inversely affected by temperature, ergo heat dissipation. What good have you done if your circuit outputs three times the power for just a few days or weeks? This is a real design issue. 2. This is a linear power amplifier, not switching mode. To achieve good linearity, the tube(s) must also be operated within its linear range. That linear range is always a smaller fraction of its large signal range of operation. You would need a set of graphs and charts to design a power amplifier circuit, not just one or two maximum operating points. 3. As has been wisely said, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of understanding and engineering are wonderful things, and there are (at least) dozens of factors and economics to be wrestled to the ground in electronics. 4. Amplifiers are hard to do well, impossible to do perfectly.
As someone looking for a beginners tube amp is there anything that I need to know such as finding replacement tubes wiring & whats the speakers ground wire? Never used/ heard of that
A B Replacement tubes aren’t hard to find. If you’re looking for an online resource, Upscale Audio is a good choice. Speakers have a positive and negative terminal, yeah? One is the ground, typically the negative.
Thanks for the review! It was instrumental in my buying decision. I took delivery of an A10 yesterday, and listened to it for the first time today. This is my first tube amp, although I own vintage tube radios and phonographs and I am familiar with the '"tube sound." The amp is everything I hoped for and isn't disappointing in any respect. I am very happy with it.
I will review one soon. Tomorrow it arrives in my house and I will do a unboxing frst and after the burn in I will do a few video's from it, The one I will review have a price from 800$. I am curious to but i need to burn it in first
Tube Amps never sound ruler flat, as they are boosted in bass and treble. BUT I listened to tube amps for a long time, and when I blew a few tubes, I threw in some of my Solid state amps . That was when I realized how good the tube sound was, it brings three dimension into music . Once you get that layered 3-D sound , Solid State seems dull and lifeless. Tubes are more work, have to warm up and in the winter will heat up your room for you, but their is just something special about the sound they produce.
@53patsfan "Tube Amps never sound ruler flat, as they are boosted in bass and treble" - that sounds very confuzering - I have never come across a linear audio tube amp that's designed that way - I'ed say the bass has less damping, due to higher output impedance & sounds more "floppy" compared to solid state. The bandwidth is limited due to practical & cost limitations inherent in transformer design/construction & high frequencies are rolled off due to transformer BW limitations - NEVER "boosted"
Had my a10 since January and it's been perfect since. Sound quality is breathtaking for the price, (audio monitors bx2) (cyrus cd6) I did however notice mine had been fitted with the better psvane el34 tubes. I cant go back to solid state, I'm hooked on tubes.
You are such a great reviewer, Sean, keep up the splendid work my friend! I just picked a Reisong A10 with upgraded Gold Lion KT77's and Shiit Modi 3 DAC on Craigslist today for a steal, $250. My usual amp is Musical Paradise MP-301 MKIII, which I was very happy with. My speakers are Quad ESL57's and the the amp definitely has synergy with the Quads as I heard much more detail in the music, yet it was easy on the ears with all the inner detail you could ask for! The Mp301 is 6.5 watts and the A10 is 6 watts, but the A10 sounds like a vail was lifted from the music. This amp is destined to become a classic!
Great review that holds up. Bought this unit and a pair of refurb'd rp600 m's all for less than 825. Very good match. Have it in bedroom and tempted to take it into bigger room to see how it sounds. Keep them reviews coming Thanks
That is an awesome looking amplifier. 360 dollars, awesome. Cool to hear about the build quality. Think I might pick one of these up "just because". Like the bonus segment at the end. Thanks for another great review.
Nice to see you taking a look at such a budget friendly tube amp. I bought a similar unit, the gemtune gs-02, to hold me over for a while and I was also pleasantly surprised at how good it is, especially after swapping out the stock kt-88 and 6sn7 tubes with better ones. I still want a primaluna amp but the gemtune does a great job in the meantime, I have solid state amps to but I'll be selling those to once I get the primaluna setup I want.
Go by want sounds good to your ears not what someone else says. Listen to the new amp 4 or 5 times at different times then make up your mind. You will be so much happier.
I saw the photo of the amp and thought it was way out of my price range and almost didn't watch the review. Surprise! Sean, your reviews are always worth waiting for.
All the way through this review I was wondering about the IotaVX which I had already strongly recommended to my sister based on your previous review of it, and then BAM!, you magically answer me! She is soon receiving a pair of Ohm Walsh 1000's and since she's living in a thin walled apartment massive volume is not a priority. I believe the Boyuu Reisong A10 is the better option, especially for acoustic and vocally driven music. And it just looks SO much cooler! Thanx Sean.
Nice video and review! Love the pics too. A lot of affordable tube amps are coming out of China. So so many. My first tube amp is the Yarland FV-34B IV. Also an EL34 but it’s push pull with 40w. Cost me a mere $325. It was great for its price. Then I sent it off for Mundorf and Kiwame caps etc. Re-tubed to 6CA7, improved a bit. Was slightly smoother and more open. Slightly. These affordable amps allow us to get upgrades done and not cost an arm and a leg. I enjoy tube amps with ProAc speakers. 😬
Thanks Sean! Appreciate reviews like this on less well-known gear as the value can often be astounding. I had a limited edition Chinese valve amp that was marketed in the UK (Idyam Zeus) and still regret selling it. The sound was superb but it burned through valves quite fast. At only £300 bucks paired with my Totem dreamcatchers, it beat many high-end setups of 5k or more. I can forgive an amp like this eventually failing (what do you expect of 300 bucks) but it would be more difficult to forgive bad sound quality!
Looks awesome. At US$360 is a great value. At 12 watts... well, I'll keep looking. I'm sure the purist would be turned on by this. And you are so relaxed in your review... thank you for another excellent job.
@@ZeroFidelity I plan on trying this or a similar amp, now that I have a pair of ADS L810's with rebuilt tweeters/mids/x-overs @ 94db. Since I use them as near-field monitors, 12wpc should be plenty of power.
Thank you Sean for reviewing another affordable piece of FUN, some of us just want to know exactly what you presented in this video. Music should be about enjoyment and this review is spot on in my opinion. Please do more reviews like this when you get the opportunity.
The EL34 tubes should last a lot longer than 6 months as you stated. Usually years if manufacturer isn’t operation tubes at an unstably high voltage. Plus besides tube swapping for sound changes, you can try different coupling capacitors which are easy to replace if you have a basic understanding of electronics and soldering.
Nice review and beautiful little jewel of an amp. So tempting for the cost of a cable for some :-D Thanks for doing budget audio reviews for the 99% ! I run a 30w EL34 Silk Audio Ms38 ($600) in my second system. Gold lion tube upgrades make it more transistor clear, but why? Mullards and GEs give the best tube warmth for me. I swap to a Musical Fidelity integrated for a change from time to time ( like now :-) This review makes me miss the tube sound again...yep, it's time
Ha, that is just how it goes. I've got an Elekit TU8200 parked right under my Yamaha integrated, just swap the speaker wires as I run my DAC balanced to the Yamaha and the single ended outs to the Elekit. Sometimes it's a certain album (or a comment) and I'll switch for a couple weeks. I've got 6L6, KT88, EL34 and some nice old 12au7 for even more flavor.
I received my Reisong A20 today which comes with 2 x Psvane Kt88, a larger rectifier tube & 2 other smaller tubes. It has 9 Watts per channel. Was worried would it drive my Monitor Audio Studio 20se speakers with 89db sensitivity. No worries at all. Loads of bass, sweet treble & lovely midrange. Played them for 9 hrs straight, they just kept getting better as the day went on. I like them loud, didn't need to go past 11-12 on the volume. Rock, acoustic, folk, even some disco. Handled all genres really well. Was going to get the A10 for €400 delivery included, but say the A20 for €528 which included delivery. Nobody seem to be reviewing it on TH-cam. Its all A10 or A50 for some reason. Just to let viewers know it exists. It's about twice the weight of the A10 & from reading reviews from people who tried both they say its in a different league for not much extra
Well, I purchased the a10, and it sounds great with my klipsch rf62-2s. I also purchased the klipsch rp 600ms. The towers actually sound better with the towers. So if you get the amp, from amazon and you read that they don’t do well with towers, don’t believe it. If you have towers with 97 dB sensitivity, it’ll sound great
Great job Sean ! Under 400 bucks not bad at all and its what i call a bare bones integrated ! Holographics? thanks again Sean For straight up reviews !
As bad as i wanna find my own Gems dag on this is a sweetdeal ! I may order on pay day over 150 hour 2 week paycheck 😆 just an amazing deal Sean ! And my dad loves that smooth warm tube sound
I would expect this integrated tube amp to be very worthy & sought after for mods with tube roller crowd, & for the more tech inclined with a soddering tool, upgraded volume pot, caps & resisters etc. Steve Guttenberg said you hooked him up on this amp, but he said it was 6wpc, which is very low output for an EL34. Your reference to 12wpc sounds far more likely, & still that is driving them gently.
Wow. Loving this amp. Arrived in a couple of weeks. Using them with the Elacs. I’m sold on tubes now. Love the soundstage. My IOTA arrived in about a week
Excellent review!! I may actually buy this amp to try with my low efficiency LS50's. I've been looking at tube amps for the past 6 months and the price is right here. I have a small listening room (12X10), so I think this may actually work at the low volume levels that I typically play music at.
The voicing of the LS50's is what will save the day with this pairing. Should compliment the A10 fairly well, particularly at low volumes. If you get it, then I hope the synergy works out for ya!
Diatonic5th I have LS50’s as well and I have a 14 by 10 room, but I like to listen a bit louder. I have a subwoofer to do the heavy lifting, but we’ll see how it goes.
I've never hauled my 30w tube amp upstairs to use with my LS50s and pair of REL subs...they need lots of power to come alive. I use 200w bridged Musical Fidelity amps and they don't sound small! Seems that Klipsch high efficiency speakers would be a better match?
It my cup of tea with my Casta horns 100 db, so small room , because I can solder and know a bit of electronics. I can repair it 90% of the way thank you so much
This is a really nice amp if you have efficient speakers. I listened to it on the most efficient speaker I had a Triangle Bro 3 at 90db. The sound was good but at 3:00 I was wanting more volume and didn't want to get distortion from over stressing the amp. My listening room is 15'x17' and I sit approximately 8' from the speakers. I returned it and am waiting for a Muzishare x7. Four KT88s should solve my problem and go from 6 watts to 45. I also tried this amp with some 87 db speakers and while it drove them, I got audible distortion from the over taxed amp. If you want to do cheap tubes on a budget, match this map to some Klipsch M600 speakers when they are on sale and you can have fun. actually any efficient speaker. People say 90db efficient, I'd go further at 100 db. They also make a four EL 34 tube version of this amp for $700. Personally, I'd start there so as to not limit my speaker choices. At 40 watt it should handle a lot bigger variety. That said, The amp is an amazement in terms of build quality, sound and price. I look forward to the Muzishare. I had to pick between this and the Willsenton amp for the same money and came down on the X7 with a one week delivery time vs 4 to 6 weeks for the Willsenton amp. Both are very similar except the Willsonton is designed to also use alternative EL34 tubes. Both amps are powered by four KT88s and have a remote, etc.
thanks for taking a look at this designer. I'm going to buy their 2a3 SET amp right now, and if i like it will maybe get the 300b amp. Know a great tube guy here in texas and one in oklahoma, that i'll introduce to this amp, to see if they see room for possible upgrades. But, from what i've learned from them, and the great point to point of these amps, upgrades should be worthwhile, easy, and possibly placing the amp at a much higher sound quality. Very excited to have a 2a3 -at this price- that could turn into a upgrade project. How does China do it? I'm also buying a very reasonably priced Musical Paradise tube DAC today as well. You can change DAC modules, caps, and a whole host of tubes on it...a tweakers delight. Can't wait to hear this DAC. How does China do it?...well, this designer is in Canada that builds in China.
You are waaaaaay too hard on yourself, I mean you've seen Steve Guttenberg"s outro's..lol. I think I've done it. Nice piece of gear. I think I'll try it.
@@ZeroFidelity Thanks for being real & keep-up the good work bloke :-) leave the evacuous & wanky & tossy "professional audiophile" reviews to those who show a natural resonance for that GloboHomo Agenda frequency :-)
I bought this amp to compare with my rebuilt 1975 Marantz 1060. Interestingly, what most people seem to call "warmth" I hear as a slight, but lively reverb effect. So I did some research and found what a single ended tube does is introduce second order harmonics and audiophiles like that! At least according to First Watt. Search youtube for "Ladies and Gentlemen: THE KLIPSCHORN!" and listen to Eric Clapton's London version if "Old Love". The youtubers must have used a good mike because I streamed the youtube music version back to back with the Reisong cranked up and my rig sounded identical! That same sort of lively reverb. The Khorns were in on it and that big Mcintosh was certainly wasted. The Reising makes loose electrical conection sounds when horsed around on the shelf as do the controls but just sitting its silent. So this was a good way to get something different. Further, it cost less then the smooth and refined Marantz. But I have two pairs of 1975 KEF 104s and ordered a second Bluetooth 5.0 receiver. Now there will be no need to switch the RCA leads amp to the other!
@@sammottley8462 its kt = kinkless tetrode (6v6, 6l6, 6550/kt88 kt77, 6ca7) as aspposed to pentode type, (el34/el84). beam power or kt is straightforward in sound, pentode is is a bit lush but rolled off in the highs. Keep in mind this is a gross generalization.
Hey thanks for your usual informative review. By the way can I call you Zero, or since we are not properly introduced would you prefer Mr. Fidelity? I like the sound of the latter better than something less than an iota 😀. Talking of which, what a wonderful gift at the end of your review for those who like to wait for surprises! I was really interested in your review because I have a long time unsatisfied longing for a tube amplifier. When I could have bought one I chose instead the Luxman 5C50 and 5M21 combination instead of some quite high end tube amps. That was many years ago. Recently I have been looking for a pair of speakers and a nice amplifier to drive them. My budget is far more restrained than when I bought the Luxman duo. I have at the top end of my speaker budget the Klipsch M600 or the Buchardt M3, though I have also considered some lower priced speakers, such as the ELAC Debut 6.5, to allow more funds for the amplifier. After your review of the IOTAVX I was considering that, with perhaps the additional power amplifier. I’ve also considered NAD, Denon, and Cambridge Audio in the same approximate price range. Living in Australia is disadvantageous since most of the gear I desire is only available in the U.S. or perhaps the U.K., and the low $AUD and the high cost of shipping cause a dolorific effect on the budget. This being so, it is tempting to go for the IOTAVX S3 and the Buchardt M3’s. I would welcome your advice on this combination knowing that I probably couldn’t afford the IOTAVX power amplifier at the moment. As a more affordable wild card, what about the Boyuu Reisong A10 with the Buchardt’s ?
I have never seen a simple tube amp like that use anything other than point to point wiring. Now if you have a tube amp with sophisticated protections circuit, auto-biasing, etc, then circuit boards makes sense because there will likely be some IC's required for those features. Typically those are assembled in countries with cheap labor, and they can solder those parts quite quickly.
Ground terminals ? (2 black posts) in the back, are those the same as negative and positive for the left and right channel when connection to a speaker wire?
As always thank you for the great review. Just a quick question. Do you still have this amplifier? Is it hanging in there? Thinking about picking up a used one for 200 bucks. Thanks
Khalid Akkad Because they look good is fine; once you listen the tubes will reel you in and you will be hooked. I suggest PrimaLuna if you can afford them, not super expensive but still a lot more than this little gem. I suggest something like this to get you started.
@@juliaset751 Thanks for the tip. I just went over the reviews, and they are all extremely positive. The only problem now is that I have to upgrade the speakers to be more in line with the price of the Amp lol Instead of getting the Klipsch RP-600Ms, I am now considering getting the Klipsch Fortes instead. This hobby can get outa control real quick lol
I just did a "napkin" calculation, Max V of 250V, Min V of 25 V (to stay linear), says you have a plate swing of 225 V. For a sine wave that is 112.5 each half, that is a max power of .707X (112.5/2500), the 2500 is the plate loading (from the Philips data sheet), this comes to ~ 3.6 W, impossible to get 12 W/ch, 6 W would be difficult unless you go over the maximum ratings of the tube.
Same for guitar players...I used a tube amp for a few years until I sold it to someone who's amp blew and needed for gigs. I then bought a modern transis amp, but miss the warm tube sound. But now, tube amps are cashing in on the retro fad and so overpriced.
replace the 220nf orange philips caps with paper in oil then bypass them with 47nf polycarbonate caps (not [polypropylene ) , then fit long plate 12ax7 from jj with adapters , add a pair of kt77 . detail and bass will improve and those dynamics will take your breath away with a wide ,dynamic and 3d sound stage .
Yeah, come back in six months and let us know if it’s still working or hasn’t burned your house down or fried your speakers. I didn’t see any fuses in there. Auto bias probably means no bias. You get whatever is set by those resistors. Still pretty amazing to be even able to make it for that price, but you get what you pay for.
I believe the center PCB was the autobias circuit. Could be wrong. Seems as though this amp has been around for a number of years in various iterations. Haven't read about any insurance claims shortly after ownership. Time will tell.
Auto bias is accomplished by using a heavy resistor from the output tube cathode to ground. This will, indeed, properly bias and EL34 type tube (EL34, 6CA7, KT77). You loose a bit of tube efficiency using this compared to user adjustable bias, but you never have to worry about bias drifting out of spec as the tube ages, which can cause a tube to run too hot and shorten lifespan.
Great review Sean. Currently I have the Rp600m powered by audio vista spark (purchased because of your endorsement) and I just ordered the Boyuu. However, I wonder what do you mean exactly when you say that RP600m and Boyuu pairing is “a little bit forward sounding”?
12watts per channel.. Yea it's seems too weak for my Elac f6.2 and for the money aswell. On another note, I've been having good look with a chifi amp called the l7-48 amp from tthe "sep_store" on Aliexpress that is designed from car audio mono amps. They drive the Elac f6.2 very well with a passive preamp.
Thanks for the informative review. There are two tube options at China HiFi, PSVANE and Shuguyang. Do you have a preference? Also, would you get 110V or 120?
Good bare bones tube amp. What do you want or expect at this price point? Your going to get what you pay for and to expect miracles out of nowhere is both ludicrous and stupid. It is about what each person wants and have fun people!😊👍🏻
There no such thing as the prefect amp. When it comes to any amp it is what sounds good to your ears. I have listened to 1k amps in my life time. Also it depends on how something was recorded. One other thing is the placement of your speakers. The quality of your speaker drivers is another factor. When going to buy speakers look for speaker with a sensitive of no lower than 90db. 92db is the best. Once had a pair of 1960 Allied radio shack speakers the sensitivity at 93db max watts was 65 watts. It was a two way with a 12 inch woofer and a tweeter horn. The speaker sound would blow you away with a 30 watt tube amp. Lots of luck in the audio world.
@@Smokej620 you are 100% right!! btw I ordered the Boyuu for my 2nd system, I'd like to compare their sound signatures. As you said, it's not a replacement for the PrimaLuna but If the Boyouu sounds good it can be a good alternative for smaller rooms or cheaper systems. I will use it in my dorm room.
@@carlitomelon4610 yes I will post my impressions here, I ordered it at amazon and the amp will arrive by late september. Feel free to post a message in this thread if i forget to do it. Thanks!
@@carlitomelon4610 I have the Boyouu for almost 2 weeks now... my initial impression: wow It's great!!! The sound is pretty similar and on par with the PrimaLuna (I have the stock EL34 tubes in the PL too), the sound is super sweet and it has almost the same black background as the PL (no tube noises no static, just silence). The PL is cleaner sounding, more solid state like, but not by much, I really like the Boyouu sound and I didn't even finish the break-in period yet. The biggest difference between the Boyouu and the PrimaLuna is, obviously, the amount of power... the Boyouu is pretty week in this aspect, don't get me wrong, It can drive very sensitive speakers like the Kilpschs to high levels of sound pressure but don't expect to drive less sensitive speakers to high SPL because it just can't do it. My initial conclusion: the Boyouu is a match made in heaven for high sensitive speakers like the Klipsches (RP-600M or even the 280F columns that I have) so I recommend it to any person that wants a high quality tube sound without crashing the bank. But beware, If you have a less sensitive speaker, like the KEF LS50 for example, it fells a little bit short.
Awesome review Sean ! I mean dang thats a crazy budget price ! Thomas Said Sean hard on the Wallet 😆 Actually you have saved me alot of money ! Still love my YOTA 😆 does this tube have a decent richness in the upper register like 🎸 strings this is a weakness i see in many pre 1k integrated amps
I simple hooked my linn preamp into the aux of the a10 set the a10 volume at about 2/3 & from there I can control the volume remotely plus I can use the linn phono output plus anything else I have connected to the Linn pre . To be clear there is no reason you cannot drive a pre with another pre as audio engineers have been doing this like forever
me to, a pair of good/matched EL 34 is about 50- 100 bucks ( for guitar amps).If bias is auto, i thought he said that, so no big deal..in a guitar amp EL 34 or others can last for years if treated gently and If swapped and you get better ones could be nice ahhaa Event....i like these amps, great deal, may get one..
Lifelong analog fan (I've played guitar through tube driven Laney's and Orange for years), but I am a newbie to high-end audio....currently, I am listening to a Project Debut Carbon turntable through a Yamaha EQ-70 into a Yamaha Class A solid state amp...through KEF 104.2 Reference Series (rebuilt and capped) and a decent (not great) pair of JBL bookshelves. My question is: can I run two of these, one left channel, one right for four speakers? Thanks for replies.
Will this amp drive tower speakers with a 86dB sensitvity or a bookshelf speakers with 87dB sensitivity? If so, is this a good starter for a tube amp? Thanks!
Having put around 20 hours of listening at moderate volumes on the tubes; I really love the sound of this amp. You really can hear a difference in a wider soundstage and a smoothing of both high and low frequencies. The midrange is pure magic and a little forward. I highly recommend this amp for those looking to get into a tube amplifier, without wanting to shake the pictures off the walls. Don't get me wrong; the power will take my 102db efficient Cornwalls to ear splitting levels, but it doesn't have the umph of the higher wattage amps to give that extra thump factor. It is a keeper in my book!
@@LiamsDad001 I'm considering this amp as my first tube amp, I have a Rega Brio-R amp now, I'm in Canada, thinking to get one from www.china-hifi-audio.com any opinions from this site? never heard before, thanks!
@@sagadust-1079 I see a few people ordering from China HiFi in my Facebook Tube Rolling Group. I have no experience with them personally. They seem to say that the prices are lower than I paid on Amazon, but it will take longer to receive the Amp.
hey, id like to see a video when you compare the budget from a just a stereo guy replacing sound bar w dac/amp combo, to a tube amp? (or something from the line) what kind of equipment and new budget should be looking to a quality, or just talking about your personal expiriences or your fellow hi-fi comunity, i think theres a lot to explore here, melting knowledge from the industry and as a reviewer!
Looks even better than Canada Chi-Fi that Thomas recommended recently.You can’t go wrong if you get a few more watts and it still costs what a good AB or D mini (say a SMSL) amp goes for.Yo that guitar music at conclusion segway sounds like what you’d hear in PBS show like This Old House (not that’s not OK but I prefer “This Old House Music”
Sean, FANTASTIC REVIEW as always. Question. Can this amp be used with a DAC and a streamer? And if so, how would they be hooked up? Also, do you know if the company has that same swap plan even if it's purchased through Amazon?
Would be worth swapping out the regulator tube for solid-state rectifier, a rectifier solid-state plug-in straight replacement, will tighten Up the bass better transient response maybe you should try it
@@Gullsz yeah changing the tubes my help as well now something with a softer tone, different solid-state rectifiers and capacity will have a difference as well. Do you know what rectifier it is
Thinking of getting this based on your review. Is there a small pair of speakers you’d recommend to go with the a10? Would like to use on my office desk
Looks like a really good match for some vintage speakers. Been looking for an affordable little tube amp for Dynaco A25s and/or KLH 17s; both in the collection!
I have this amp and Dynaco A40XL and a Schiit Loki in a medium sized room. A40XLs are a little more sensitive than A25s. It really sounds incredible but needs a sub. Warm and detailed. Compared to my Marantz 2230 the Reisong A10 is way more clear and detailed with about the same warmth but less low bass. People have been stacking 2 Dynacos on each channel. That would present a 4ohm or 16 ohm load on each side but would make more bass and add sensitivity. I may try that if I ever find another reasonable set of A40XLs for sale..
Thanks for the review. I was about to buy a Musical Paradise 301 but now I'm considering this one. Do you have an opinion between the two? Also what tubes can be used in this amp?
WOW , BIC America is a GREAT Company ( I remember they were in NY then..I think) and I am going way back. I actually called them like 20 plus years ago and they were just showing up around here(Boston). They were shocked where I got their phone number (pre-internet days). They were very cordial and helpful, as I was calling for pre-purchase advice, as there was no internet and I found them in Sound And Vision magazine. I still have the BIC bookshelf speakers and they still sound great! They are very reputable.
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This amp outputs 6wpc instead of 12wpc. No need to comment. I'm the one who passed along the info to other reviewers.
@Donovan Gibson You may not understand exactly how vacuum tubes really work. Or, you are overlooking what others know and have studied for many decades.
1. The power circuits must work somewhat conservatively as to power and heat dissipation to achieve a reasonable life expectancy. Electronics' life are invariably inversely affected by temperature, ergo heat dissipation. What good have you done if your circuit outputs three times the power for just a few days or weeks? This is a real design issue.
2. This is a linear power amplifier, not switching mode. To achieve good linearity, the tube(s) must also be operated within its linear range. That linear range is always a smaller fraction of its large signal range of operation. You would need a set of graphs and charts to design a power amplifier circuit, not just one or two maximum operating points.
3. As has been wisely said, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of understanding and engineering are wonderful things, and there are (at least) dozens of factors and economics to be wrestled to the ground in electronics.
4. Amplifiers are hard to do well, impossible to do perfectly.
@Donovan Gibson It's 6 watts per channel due to single end topology.
@Donovan Gibson It's clearly single ended. One EL34 per channel. Therefore needs to be class A. That's all you could expect in that configuration
As someone looking for a beginners tube amp is there anything that I need to know such as finding replacement tubes wiring & whats the speakers ground wire? Never used/ heard of that
A B Replacement tubes aren’t hard to find. If you’re looking for an online resource, Upscale Audio is a good choice.
Speakers have a positive and negative terminal, yeah? One is the ground, typically the negative.
Thanks for the review! It was instrumental in my buying decision. I took delivery of an A10 yesterday, and listened to it for the first time today. This is my first tube amp, although I own vintage tube radios and phonographs and I am familiar with the '"tube sound." The amp is everything I hoped for and isn't disappointing in any respect. I am very happy with it.
I really wish more people would do "serious reviews" for these cheap(read
I will review one soon. Tomorrow it arrives in my house and I will do a unboxing frst and after the burn in I will do a few video's from it, The one I will review have a price from 800$. I am curious to but i need to burn it in first
Tube Amps never sound ruler flat, as they are boosted in bass and treble. BUT I listened to tube amps for a long time, and when I blew a few tubes, I threw in some of my Solid state amps . That was when I realized how good the tube sound was, it brings three dimension into music . Once you get that layered 3-D sound , Solid State seems dull and lifeless. Tubes are more work, have to warm up and in the winter will heat up your room for you, but their is just something special about the sound they produce.
@53patsfan "Tube Amps never sound ruler flat, as they are boosted in bass and treble" - that sounds very confuzering - I have never come across a linear audio tube amp that's designed that way - I'ed say the bass has less damping, due to higher output impedance & sounds more "floppy" compared to solid state. The bandwidth is limited due to practical & cost limitations inherent in transformer design/construction & high frequencies are rolled off due to transformer BW limitations - NEVER "boosted"
Had my a10 since January and it's been perfect since.
Sound quality is breathtaking for the price, (audio monitors bx2) (cyrus cd6) I did however notice mine had been fitted with the better psvane el34 tubes.
I cant go back to solid state, I'm hooked on tubes.
Better el34 how?
Next review should be tweaks and upgrades for the a10.
You are such a great reviewer, Sean, keep up the splendid work my friend! I just picked a Reisong A10 with upgraded Gold Lion KT77's and Shiit Modi 3 DAC on Craigslist today for a steal, $250. My usual amp is Musical Paradise MP-301 MKIII, which I was very happy with. My speakers are Quad ESL57's and the the amp definitely has synergy with the Quads as I heard much more detail in the music, yet it was easy on the ears with all the inner detail you could ask for! The Mp301 is 6.5 watts and the A10 is 6 watts, but the A10 sounds like a vail was lifted from the music. This amp is destined to become a classic!
Great review that holds up. Bought this unit and a pair of refurb'd rp600 m's all for less than 825. Very good match. Have it in bedroom and tempted to take it into bigger room to see how it sounds. Keep them reviews coming Thanks
That is an awesome looking amplifier. 360 dollars, awesome. Cool to hear about the build quality. Think I might pick one of these up "just because". Like the bonus segment at the end. Thanks for another great review.
Nice to see you taking a look at such a budget friendly tube amp. I bought a similar unit, the gemtune gs-02, to hold me over for a while and I was also pleasantly surprised at how good it is, especially after swapping out the stock kt-88 and 6sn7 tubes with better ones. I still want a primaluna amp but the gemtune does a great job in the meantime, I have solid state amps to but I'll be selling those to once I get the primaluna setup I want.
Go by want sounds good to your ears not what someone else says. Listen to the new amp 4 or 5 times at different times then make up your mind. You will be so much happier.
I saw the photo of the amp and thought it was way out of my price range and almost didn't watch the review. Surprise! Sean, your reviews are always worth waiting for.
All the way through this review I was wondering about the IotaVX which I had already strongly recommended to my sister based on your previous review of it, and then BAM!, you magically answer me! She is soon receiving a pair of Ohm Walsh 1000's and since she's living in a thin walled apartment massive volume is not a priority. I believe the Boyuu Reisong A10 is the better option, especially for acoustic and vocally driven music. And it just looks SO much cooler! Thanx Sean.
Nice video and review! Love the pics too. A lot of affordable tube amps are coming out of China. So so many.
My first tube amp is the Yarland FV-34B IV. Also an EL34 but it’s push pull with 40w. Cost me a mere $325.
It was great for its price. Then I sent it off for Mundorf and Kiwame caps etc. Re-tubed to 6CA7, improved a bit. Was slightly smoother and more open. Slightly.
These affordable amps allow us to get upgrades done and not cost an arm and a leg.
I enjoy tube amps with ProAc speakers. 😬
Try some KT-77 tubes for your next re-tubing. I find them nicer than 6CA7 or EL-34.
gurdyman1 ... aaaaah ok. Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks Sean! Appreciate reviews like this on less well-known gear as the value can often be astounding. I had a limited edition Chinese valve amp that was marketed in the UK (Idyam Zeus) and still regret selling it. The sound was superb but it burned through valves quite fast. At only £300 bucks paired with my Totem dreamcatchers, it beat many high-end setups of 5k or more. I can forgive an amp like this eventually failing (what do you expect of 300 bucks) but it would be more difficult to forgive bad sound quality!
Looks awesome. At US$360 is a great value. At 12 watts... well, I'll keep looking. I'm sure the purist would be turned on by this. And you are so relaxed in your review... thank you for another excellent job.
You write the best audio equipment reviews. Concise an precise.
A buddy of mine is going to be getting a pair of vintage Sansui full-range speakers with a 98 dB sensitivity. I will let him know about this amp!
Ohhhh I love big vintage Sansui's! Gratz to him!
@@ZeroFidelity I plan on trying this or a similar amp, now that I have a pair of ADS L810's with rebuilt tweeters/mids/x-overs @ 94db. Since I use them as near-field monitors, 12wpc should be plenty of power.
Thank you Sean for reviewing another affordable piece of FUN, some of us just want to know exactly what you presented in this video. Music should be about enjoyment and this review is spot on in my opinion. Please do more reviews like this when you get the opportunity.
The EL34 tubes should last a lot longer than 6 months as you stated. Usually years if manufacturer isn’t operation tubes at an unstably high voltage. Plus besides tube swapping for sound changes, you can try different coupling capacitors which are easy to replace if you have a basic understanding of electronics and soldering.
I have the A9, which has the same output tubes and transformers. The voltages in it are way lower than the tube is spec'd for.
Nice review and beautiful little jewel of an amp. So tempting for the cost of a cable for some :-D
Thanks for doing budget audio reviews for the 99% !
I run a 30w EL34 Silk Audio Ms38 ($600) in my second system. Gold lion tube upgrades make it more transistor clear, but why? Mullards and GEs give the best tube warmth for me.
I swap to a Musical Fidelity integrated for a change from time to time ( like now :-)
This review makes me miss the tube sound again...yep, it's time
Ha, that is just how it goes. I've got an Elekit TU8200 parked right under my Yamaha integrated, just swap the speaker wires as I run my DAC balanced to the Yamaha and the single ended outs to the Elekit. Sometimes it's a certain album (or a comment) and I'll switch for a couple weeks. I've got 6L6, KT88, EL34 and some nice old 12au7 for even more flavor.
Cool, looks like a fun little tube amp. Great review 👍. Take it easy, We are staring down the barrel of this hurricane, Florida fun.. later ✌️
I received my Reisong A20 today which comes with 2 x Psvane Kt88, a larger rectifier tube & 2 other smaller tubes. It has 9 Watts per channel. Was worried would it drive my Monitor Audio Studio 20se speakers with 89db sensitivity. No worries at all. Loads of bass, sweet treble & lovely midrange. Played them for 9 hrs straight, they just kept getting better as the day went on. I like them loud, didn't need to go past 11-12 on the volume. Rock, acoustic, folk, even some disco. Handled all genres really well. Was going to get the A10 for €400 delivery included, but say the A20 for €528 which included delivery. Nobody seem to be reviewing it on TH-cam. Its all A10 or A50 for some reason. Just to let viewers know it exists. It's about twice the weight of the A10 & from reading reviews from people who tried both they say its in a different league for not much extra
Saying how your outros are awkward just makes them funny! 😆
Thanx for the awesome videos! Keep’em coming!!
Well, I purchased the a10, and it sounds great with my klipsch rf62-2s. I also purchased the klipsch rp 600ms. The towers actually sound better with the towers. So if you get the amp, from amazon and you read that they don’t do well with towers, don’t believe it. If you have towers with 97 dB sensitivity, it’ll sound great
I doubt you would have to replace the tubes at 6 months. I would think a couple of years before they start to sound ''old''.
Great job Sean ! Under 400 bucks not bad at all and its what i call a bare bones integrated ! Holographics? thanks again Sean For straight up reviews !
Always wait for da BONUS!
I agree 100%. Coming from a 30Watt class A amp the A10 liquifies the sound. Amazing.
As bad as i wanna find my own Gems dag on this is a sweetdeal ! I may order on pay day over 150 hour 2 week paycheck 😆 just an amazing deal Sean ! And my dad loves that smooth warm tube sound
I would expect this integrated tube amp to be very worthy & sought after for mods with tube roller crowd, & for the more tech inclined with a soddering tool, upgraded volume pot, caps & resisters etc.
Steve Guttenberg said you hooked him up on this amp, but he said it was 6wpc, which is very low output for an EL34. Your reference to 12wpc sounds far more likely, & still that is driving them gently.
Wow. Loving this amp. Arrived in a couple of weeks. Using them with the Elacs. I’m sold on tubes now. Love the soundstage. My IOTA arrived in about a week
Excellent review!! I may actually buy this amp to try with my low efficiency LS50's. I've been looking at tube amps for the past 6 months and the price is right here. I have a small listening room (12X10), so I think this may actually work at the low volume levels that I typically play music at.
The voicing of the LS50's is what will save the day with this pairing. Should compliment the A10 fairly well, particularly at low volumes. If you get it, then I hope the synergy works out for ya!
Diatonic5th I have LS50’s as well and I have a 14 by 10 room, but I like to listen a bit louder. I have a subwoofer to do the heavy lifting, but we’ll see how it goes.
I've never hauled my 30w tube amp upstairs to use with my LS50s and pair of REL subs...they need lots of power to come alive. I use 200w bridged Musical Fidelity amps and they don't sound small!
Seems that Klipsch high efficiency speakers would be a better match?
It my cup of tea with my Casta horns 100 db, so small room , because I can solder and know a bit of electronics. I can repair it 90% of the way thank you so much
Your reviews are great man, always very helpful!
This is a really nice amp if you have efficient speakers. I listened to it on the most efficient speaker I had a Triangle Bro 3 at 90db. The sound was good but at 3:00 I was wanting more volume and didn't want to get distortion from over stressing the amp. My listening room is 15'x17' and I sit approximately 8' from the speakers. I returned it and am waiting for a Muzishare x7. Four KT88s should solve my problem and go from 6 watts to 45. I also tried this amp with some 87 db speakers and while it drove them, I got audible distortion from the over taxed amp. If you want to do cheap tubes on a budget, match this map to some Klipsch M600 speakers when they are on sale and you can have fun. actually any efficient speaker. People say 90db efficient, I'd go further at 100 db. They also make a four EL 34 tube version of this amp for $700. Personally, I'd start there so as to not limit my speaker choices. At 40 watt it should handle a lot bigger variety. That said, The amp is an amazement in terms of build quality, sound and price. I look forward to the Muzishare. I had to pick between this and the Willsenton amp for the same money and came down on the X7 with a one week delivery time vs 4 to 6 weeks for the Willsenton amp. Both are very similar except the Willsonton is designed to also use alternative EL34 tubes. Both amps are powered by four KT88s and have a remote, etc.
Great review. MIGHT pull the trigger on one today. :)
thanks for taking a look at this designer. I'm going to buy their 2a3 SET amp right now, and if i like it will maybe get the 300b amp. Know a great tube guy here in texas and one in oklahoma, that i'll introduce to this amp, to see if they see room for possible upgrades. But, from what i've learned from them, and the great point to point of these amps, upgrades should be worthwhile, easy, and possibly placing the amp at a much higher sound quality. Very excited to have a 2a3 -at this price- that could turn into a upgrade project. How does China do it? I'm also buying a very reasonably priced Musical Paradise tube DAC today as well. You can change DAC modules, caps, and a whole host of tubes on it...a tweakers delight. Can't wait to hear this DAC. How does China do it?...well, this designer is in Canada that builds in China.
I’ve got the little A10 paired to some Klipsch Forte IVs and I love it. It’s a sweet open engaging sound.
You are waaaaaay too hard on yourself, I mean you've seen Steve Guttenberg"s outro's..lol. I think I've done it. Nice piece of gear. I think I'll try it.
haha I need to collab with Steve so we can have one hell of an epic awkward outro. If you try the A10 - then I hope you end up liking it!
I love Steve but I think the pressure of making a daily video make his reviews seem off the cuff and not nearly as thorough as I'd like.
@@ZeroFidelity Thanks for being real & keep-up the good work bloke :-) leave the evacuous & wanky & tossy "professional audiophile" reviews to those who show a natural resonance for that GloboHomo Agenda frequency :-)
I bought this amp to compare with my rebuilt 1975 Marantz 1060. Interestingly, what most people seem to call "warmth" I hear as a slight, but lively reverb effect. So I did some research and found what a single ended tube does is introduce second order harmonics and audiophiles like that! At least according to First Watt.
Search youtube for "Ladies and Gentlemen: THE KLIPSCHORN!" and listen to Eric Clapton's London version if "Old Love". The youtubers must have used a good mike because I streamed the youtube music version back to back with the Reisong cranked up and my rig sounded identical! That same sort of lively reverb. The Khorns were in on it and that big Mcintosh was certainly wasted.
The Reising makes loose electrical conection sounds when horsed around on the shelf as do the controls but just sitting its silent. So this was a good way to get something different. Further, it cost less then the smooth and refined Marantz. But I have two pairs of 1975 KEF 104s and ordered a second Bluetooth 5.0 receiver. Now there will be no need to switch the RCA leads amp to the other!
What do you do if you have 6 ohm speakers? Maybe my Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelves wouldn't be the best pairing anyway at 85 db sensitivity.
Interesting as always, thanks Sean. Interesting to compare this to the musical paradise mp-301, for roughly the same price.
For starters I'd replace every tube. Replace the 5u4 with a 5ar4, the el34s with Kt77/6ca7/kt88 and the preamp tubes with vintage old stock.
Does the kt88 make a big difference? What did you have to change?
@@sammottley8462 its kt = kinkless tetrode (6v6, 6l6, 6550/kt88 kt77, 6ca7) as aspposed to pentode type, (el34/el84). beam power or kt is straightforward in sound, pentode is is a bit lush but rolled off in the highs. Keep in mind this is a gross generalization.
Tube amp bass does not cut off at 20Hz. Listening to pipe organ means you hear the 16Hz pedal.
EL-34s are MORE than capable of 12 watts individually Sean, as a matter of fact that's running them quite conservatively.
Hey thanks for your usual informative review. By the way can I call you Zero, or since we are not properly introduced would you prefer Mr. Fidelity? I like the sound of the latter better than something less than an iota 😀. Talking of which, what a wonderful gift at the end of your review for those who like to wait for surprises!
I was really interested in your review because I have a long time unsatisfied longing for a tube amplifier. When I could have bought one I chose instead the Luxman 5C50 and 5M21 combination instead of some quite high end tube amps. That was many years ago. Recently I have been looking for a pair of speakers and a nice amplifier to drive them. My budget is far more restrained than when I bought the Luxman duo. I have at the top end of my speaker budget the Klipsch M600 or the Buchardt M3, though I have also considered some lower priced speakers, such as the ELAC Debut 6.5, to allow more funds for the amplifier. After your review of the IOTAVX I was considering that, with perhaps the additional power amplifier. I’ve also considered NAD, Denon, and Cambridge Audio in the same approximate price range.
Living in Australia is disadvantageous since most of the gear I desire is only available in the U.S. or perhaps the U.K., and the low $AUD and the high cost of shipping cause a dolorific effect on the budget. This being so, it is tempting to go for the IOTAVX S3 and the Buchardt M3’s. I would welcome your advice on this combination knowing that I probably couldn’t afford the IOTAVX power amplifier at the moment. As a more affordable wild card, what about the Boyuu Reisong A10 with the Buchardt’s ?
I’m thinking of buying this for a pair of 92db Polks. Small living room.
The price is going up. No wonder. It's my go-to amplifier now. All day.
Have one. Love it! And I have many high end SS amps and receivers.
I have never seen a simple tube amp like that use anything other than point to point wiring. Now if you have a tube amp with sophisticated protections circuit, auto-biasing, etc, then circuit boards makes sense because there will likely be some IC's required for those features. Typically those are assembled in countries with cheap labor, and they can solder those parts quite quickly.
Unique set up using this as the power amp and IOTA VX as pre amp and powering my sub (B&W PV1) with ELAC deb 2 speakers. Extension port on IOTA.
Great review! Title it - Fun for the money! Cool !
Are you a saleman for iota products your always mentioning there products in comparisons
Ground terminals ? (2 black posts) in the back, are those the same as negative and positive for the left and right channel when connection to a speaker wire?
As always thank you for the great review. Just a quick question. Do you still have this amplifier? Is it hanging in there? Thinking about picking up a used one for 200 bucks. Thanks
I am seriously thinking about buying a tube amp, not for the sound, but for the way those tubes glow in a dark room.
Khalid Akkad Because they look good is fine; once you listen the tubes will reel you in and you will be hooked. I suggest PrimaLuna if you can afford them, not super expensive but still a lot more than this little gem. I suggest something like this to get you started.
@@juliaset751 Thanks for the tip. I just went over the reviews, and they are all extremely positive. The only problem now is that I have to upgrade the speakers to be more in line with the price of the Amp lol Instead of getting the Klipsch RP-600Ms, I am now considering getting the Klipsch Fortes instead. This hobby can get outa control real quick lol
@@khalid969 This amp would really rock with Fortes.
Just got my A12 setup sounds good!!
I just did a "napkin" calculation, Max V of 250V, Min V of 25 V (to stay linear), says you have a plate swing of 225 V. For a sine wave that is 112.5 each half, that is a max power of .707X (112.5/2500), the 2500 is the plate loading (from the Philips data sheet), this comes to ~ 3.6 W, impossible to get 12 W/ch, 6 W would be difficult unless you go over the maximum ratings of the tube.
That is accurate. I did modify this amp to increase the performance. I can get to about 3 watts before distortion before unbearable.
Love your videos love your personality
Same for guitar players...I used a tube amp for a few years until I sold it to someone who's amp blew and needed for gigs. I then bought a modern transis amp, but miss the warm tube sound. But now, tube amps are cashing in on the retro fad and so overpriced.
replace the 220nf orange philips caps with paper in oil then bypass them with 47nf polycarbonate caps (not [polypropylene ) , then fit long plate 12ax7 from jj with adapters , add a pair of kt77 . detail and bass will improve and those dynamics will take your breath away with a wide ,dynamic and 3d sound stage .
Yeah, come back in six months and let us know if it’s still working or hasn’t burned your house down or fried your speakers. I didn’t see any fuses in there. Auto bias probably means no bias. You get whatever is set by those resistors. Still pretty amazing to be even able to make it for that price, but you get what you pay for.
I believe the center PCB was the autobias circuit. Could be wrong. Seems as though this amp has been around for a number of years in various iterations. Haven't read about any insurance claims shortly after ownership. Time will tell.
My Yarland was spec with auto bias. Sent for upgrade and then the shop guy taught me how to ‘auto bias’ it myself 😂🤣
Auto bias is accomplished by using a heavy resistor from the output tube cathode to ground. This will, indeed, properly bias and EL34 type tube (EL34, 6CA7, KT77). You loose a bit of tube efficiency using this compared to user adjustable bias, but you never have to worry about bias drifting out of spec as the tube ages, which can cause a tube to run too hot and shorten lifespan.
I would love to see you review the Monoprice pure tube stereo amp.
Great review Sean. Currently I have the Rp600m powered by audio vista spark (purchased because of your endorsement) and I just ordered the Boyuu. However, I wonder what do you mean exactly when you say that RP600m and Boyuu pairing is “a little bit forward sounding”?
Klipsch: either you love them or you hate them. They can be too unforgiving at times.
12watts per channel.. Yea it's seems too weak for my Elac f6.2 and for the money aswell. On another note, I've been having good look with a chifi amp called the l7-48 amp from tthe "sep_store" on Aliexpress that is designed from car audio mono amps. They drive the Elac f6.2 very well with a passive preamp.
What people like you and Steve G describe sounds very much like a Marantz 8b.
I’ll bring a spark up to VA so you can compare if you would like...
I keep coming back to this review. I keep thinking this amp would sound wonderful with my RF7 IIs. Maybe it's time to jump in to tubes.
Tried it, have been unimpressed
Thanks for the informative review. There are two tube options at China HiFi, PSVANE and Shuguyang. Do you have a preference? Also, would you get 110V or 120?
Good bare bones tube amp. What do you want or expect at this price point? Your going to get what you pay for and to expect miracles out of nowhere is both ludicrous and stupid. It is about what each person wants and have fun people!😊👍🏻
There no such thing as the prefect amp. When it comes to any amp it is what sounds good to your ears. I have listened to 1k amps in my life time. Also it depends on how something was recorded. One other thing is the placement of your speakers. The quality of your speaker drivers is another factor. When going to buy speakers look for speaker with a sensitive of no lower than 90db. 92db is the best. Once had a pair of 1960 Allied radio shack speakers the sensitivity at 93db max watts was 65 watts. It was a two way with a 12 inch woofer and a tweeter horn. The speaker sound would blow you away with a 30 watt tube amp. Lots of luck in the audio world.
Thinking of buying this one did you get to try it with the Hersey's 3 speakers. Thanks again for the great reviews great channel
wow beautiful!! I have a PrimaLuna integrated and I love it but this is much cheaper... gonna give it a try.
Isn’t you amp a 30 watt amplifier? It won’t compare to your amp.
@@Smokej620 you are 100% right!! btw I ordered the Boyuu for my 2nd system, I'd like to compare their sound signatures. As you said, it's not a replacement for the PrimaLuna but If the Boyouu sounds good it can be a good alternative for smaller rooms or cheaper systems. I will use it in my dorm room.
@@net_news let us know how it sounds
@@carlitomelon4610 yes I will post my impressions here, I ordered it at amazon and the amp will arrive by late september. Feel free to post a message in this thread if i forget to do it. Thanks!
@@carlitomelon4610 I have the Boyouu for almost 2 weeks now... my initial impression: wow It's great!!! The sound is pretty similar and on par with the PrimaLuna (I have the stock EL34 tubes in the PL too), the sound is super sweet and it has almost the same black background as the PL (no tube noises no static, just silence). The PL is cleaner sounding, more solid state like, but not by much, I really like the Boyouu sound and I didn't even finish the break-in period yet. The biggest difference between the Boyouu and the PrimaLuna is, obviously, the amount of power... the Boyouu is pretty week in this aspect, don't get me wrong, It can drive very sensitive speakers like the Kilpschs to high levels of sound pressure but don't expect to drive less sensitive speakers to high SPL because it just can't do it. My initial conclusion: the Boyouu is a match made in heaven for high sensitive speakers like the Klipsches (RP-600M or even the 280F columns that I have) so I recommend it to any person that wants a high quality tube sound without crashing the bank. But beware, If you have a less sensitive speaker, like the KEF LS50 for example, it fells a little bit short.
Awesome review Sean ! I mean dang thats a crazy budget price ! Thomas Said Sean hard on the Wallet 😆 Actually you have saved me alot of money ! Still love my YOTA 😆 does this tube have a decent richness in the upper register like 🎸 strings this is a weakness i see in many pre 1k integrated amps
I simple hooked my linn preamp into the aux of the a10 set the a10 volume at about 2/3 & from there I can control the volume remotely plus I can use the linn phono output plus anything else I have connected to the Linn pre . To be clear there is no reason you cannot drive a pre with another pre as audio engineers have been doing this like forever
Great review! I'm curious how long the tubes would last in normal use and what the typical replacement cost might be.
me to, a pair of good/matched EL 34 is about 50- 100 bucks ( for guitar amps).If bias is auto, i thought he said that, so no big deal..in a guitar amp EL 34 or others can last for years if treated gently and If swapped and you get better ones could be nice ahhaa Event....i like these amps, great deal, may get one..
Lifelong analog fan (I've played guitar through tube driven Laney's and Orange for years), but I am a newbie to high-end audio....currently, I am listening to a Project Debut Carbon turntable through a Yamaha EQ-70 into a Yamaha Class A solid state amp...through KEF 104.2 Reference Series (rebuilt and capped) and a decent (not great) pair of JBL bookshelves.
My question is: can I run two of these, one left channel, one right for four speakers? Thanks for replies.
Will this amp drive tower speakers with a 86dB sensitvity or a bookshelf speakers with 87dB sensitivity? If so, is this a good starter for a tube amp? Thanks!
Their Amazon listing for this amp says 6w/channel, not 12
Thanks for your good video and I fount an adapter (SAT UB-1) that can connect headphones by connecting to the amplifier speaker terminal on etsy. .
I just ordered this amp based on yours and Steve's reviews. I am really looking forward to hearing what it will do with my Cornwall III's.
Interested in your opinion once you get it. Please let us know your thoughts!
Having put around 20 hours of listening at moderate volumes on the tubes; I really love the sound of this amp. You really can hear a difference in a wider soundstage and a smoothing of both high and low frequencies. The midrange is pure magic and a little forward. I highly recommend this amp for those looking to get into a tube amplifier, without wanting to shake the pictures off the walls. Don't get me wrong; the power will take my 102db efficient Cornwalls to ear splitting levels, but it doesn't have the umph of the higher wattage amps to give that extra thump factor. It is a keeper in my book!
@@LiamsDad001 I'm considering this amp as my first tube amp, I have a Rega Brio-R amp now, I'm in Canada, thinking to get one from www.china-hifi-audio.com any opinions from this site? never heard before, thanks!
@@sagadust-1079 I see a few people ordering from China HiFi in my Facebook Tube Rolling Group. I have no experience with them personally. They seem to say that the prices are lower than I paid on Amazon, but it will take longer to receive the Amp.
@@LiamsDad001 Thanks!
hey, id like to see a video when you compare the budget from a just a stereo guy replacing sound bar w dac/amp combo, to a tube amp? (or something from the line) what kind of equipment and new budget should be looking to a quality, or just talking about your personal expiriences or your fellow hi-fi comunity, i think theres a lot to explore here, melting knowledge from the industry and as a reviewer!
Hello Sean !
How do you compare both Willsenton R8 to the Reisong A50. Which one do you like the most ? What about the price ?
Thank you !!
Great review . Could you review the
Fosi Audio HD-A1 . They claim to have tube amp sound. Thank you for all the great info as always.
Is Kevin Deal/Upscale audio the US importer Sean?
Casta C horn speakers 98 sound fantastic. Audiozen Achemy hybrid amp for year now. Canadian thanks so much
Looks even better than Canada Chi-Fi that Thomas recommended recently.You can’t go wrong if you get a few more watts and it still costs what a good AB or D mini (say a SMSL) amp goes for.Yo that guitar music at conclusion segway sounds like what you’d hear in PBS show like This Old House (not that’s not OK but I prefer “This Old House Music”
I have no idea what "This Old House" reference is, but who the heck doesn't like a lil' guitar riff? :D
Sean, FANTASTIC REVIEW as always. Question. Can this amp be used with a DAC and a streamer? And if so, how would they be hooked up? Also, do you know if the company has that same swap plan even if it's purchased through Amazon?
You take the analog output from the DAC to the input of the amp.
my next build will be 36 watts rms per channel.
variable between triode and ultra-linear . . . mode(s)
Sean, I am eying a pair of Klipsch r51. Would like to try with a tube amp as I hear there is good synergy. Would the A10, be a good match? Thanks.
Sells now for $420 on Amazon, not $360 as in the review.
price is up to 450. they must be selling more of them from these reviews.
Hi Steve I’m interested in purchasing a set of megapan speakers 1.7 I wonder will this tube amp (The Boy Reisin A10) will be able to drive them
Would be worth swapping out the regulator tube for solid-state rectifier, a rectifier solid-state plug-in straight replacement, will tighten Up the bass better transient response maybe you should try it
@@Gullsz yeah changing the tubes my help as well now something with a softer tone, different solid-state rectifiers and capacity will have a difference as well. Do you know what rectifier it is
Thinking of getting this based on your review. Is there a small pair of speakers you’d recommend to go with the a10? Would like to use on my office desk
Looks like a really good match for some vintage speakers. Been looking for an affordable little tube amp for Dynaco A25s and/or KLH 17s; both in the collection!
I have this amp and Dynaco A40XL and a Schiit Loki in a medium sized room. A40XLs are a little more sensitive than A25s. It really sounds incredible but needs a sub. Warm and detailed. Compared to my Marantz 2230 the Reisong A10 is way more clear and detailed with about the same warmth but less low bass. People have been stacking 2 Dynacos on each channel. That would present a 4ohm or 16 ohm load on each side but would make more bass and add sensitivity. I may try that if I ever find another reasonable set of A40XLs for sale..
Hi Sean what would you say about connecting the Reisong A10 to Triangle Borea BR03 since they are also 90db sensitive. How would you define the sound?
Thanks for the review. I was about to buy a Musical Paradise 301 but now I'm considering this one. Do you have an opinion between the two? Also what tubes can be used in this amp?
I was wondering the exact same thing.
This can make a good power amp mated to a pre and phone pre.
Please review anything from BIC America.......made in Ohio.
WOW , BIC America is a GREAT Company ( I remember they were in NY then..I think) and I am going way back. I actually called them like 20 plus years ago and they were just showing up around here(Boston). They were shocked where I got their phone number (pre-internet days). They were very cordial and helpful, as I was calling for pre-purchase advice, as there was no internet and I found them in Sound And Vision magazine. I still have the BIC bookshelf speakers and they still sound great! They are very reputable.
Drop Bic an email about Seans channel and maybe BIC will contact him
Could you give us a list of tube amps in this price range that are also wired point to point?
Don't have one!
@@ZeroFidelity okay, I can wait a week.
@@williamnaman3570 Check out Nobsound 6P1
Guess you a pre-amp for a turntable.