Randy, ignore the naysayers that don't like your "Ok? Alright."s. It's quirky and your style. 👍 The important part is your videos are structured with lots of quality analysis. 🍻
I once knew a small company in Kent UK called Lowther. The owner once told me that his speakers were so efficient he could acoustically operate Westminster Catherdal on just 2.5 Watts. I believe he held the record for the most efficient paper coned speakers - a few % above the theoretical maximum. His single tube end amp demo of those speakers was astounding, but I couldn't afford them. Amp/speaker design is voodoo magic :) I picked up your mention of a band called Tool - wow after 30 years (I'm nearly 70), of musical doldrums they awakened my ears. Their sound staging of CCTrip is brilliant - very innovative music, thank you.
That's a great story, there's nothing better than excellent audio, shut your eyes relax in your favourite armchair and let it wash you all over you, immersive yourself in the beauty of musical heaven 😀
Randy, you have no idea how good this little amp is. Recently I move my Reisong from hibernation to my my listening room where I have multiple amps, one being a Jolida JD202 40 WPC Intergraded amp with upgraded set of EL34s and better pre-amp little guys. My jaw dropped when the A10 was playing. In addition to the construction, the sound quality of the stock tubes Reisong is packing this amp is amazing. You will hear what I mean when you come back down to the A10 after listening to pricier amps.
Well, I don’t think I will ever be able to hear someone discuss chuffing without thinking of Jacinda’s Port Lube. The power of marketing. Thanks for that.
I swear it's like you read my mind sometimes, Randy. When I asked you about Chinese tube amps in the live chat some time ago, this is exactly what I was looking. Just bought one because of this video.
Great video. I just got my A10 earlier this month. It sounds amazing in my system. I'm running Klipsch Heresys from 1979 with Crites crossover upgraded caps. My sources are a Fluance RT85 with a tube phono preamp. Also an Ah! Njoe Tjoeb tube cd player. It can get very loud no problem and the details are astonishing. I did have a power tube fail already though so I would get another set of tubes right away if buying again. The pre tubes can be switched to the common 12ax7 with an adapter. I have some coming soon and I have a ton of nos tubes to try. The new A12 uses 12ax7 and I think that is the only difference. You can rewire the A10 pre sockets to use 12ax7 but adapters are cheap and easy. I was very skeptical but not anymore. This thing is worth more than its selling price.
I have the A12, my first tube amp. I thought it sounded good until I recently found out about the Skunkie Design mod. It now puts out 6 watts like it was supposed to out of the box. Before the mods Skunkie measured 1% distortion at .04 watts and 8% distortion at 2 watts. There is a huge difference in sound quality after the upgrades. I'm using the original tubes it came with for now until I get new ones in a few days. I highly recommend any one that owns an A10 or A12 to do this mod.
Considering an A10 or A12 and doing the Skunkie mods. It’s not a very powerful amplifier, though. Considering that it would then put out the full 6 watts, how loud would it get with (low-to-mid-90s) efficient speakers? Any dB measurements? Thanks!
@@bzster I have Klipsch RP600M's that are very efficient but Klipsch over rates the 96db spec using in-room, half-space conditions, more like 86db. They seem to be more efficient than some speakers because of the horn tweeters. I also have a pair of Elac Debut 2.0 6.2's that I've been using lately because the Klipsch's are too bright and fatiguing to listen too for more than an hour. I only need to turn up the volume a quarter of the way with the Elac's and get plenty loud enough for a 20'x15' room. Don't worry to much about getting high efficiency speakers. It is definitely worth upgrading the A12. I cost me about $130 to replace all the tubes and $30 for the components.
I have one of these amps. They sound great even with low efficiency speakers like the Elac Ub5. I use a tube preamp with a remote of course though it’s not needed since this amp has a preamp section, no remote 🙁. With the 6 watts it can get pretty loud in a moderate way in a medium room with the UB5. Again it has great sound and well worth it. It surprises me , my parasound amp has 225 watts into 4 ohms. Sure it is louder and also sounds great but there is something about a tube amps sound. So I switch them every so often. And don’t worry about buying from this Chinese company. When I first got this amp I put the tubes in wrong and blew up the amp 🥲. I contacted the company thru Amazon. They repaired the amp no questions asked, even paid for shipping to and from the repair facility. Can’t ask for better 🤙.
My old mod for weak and light (or leaky joints) on a cabinet for speakers was to pour in gray mineral filled concrete crack filler - flowing it into the joints; one side at a time.. or forming a puddle on a side to weight/damp it - let dry - then other sides after that. I would let a fan blow in until dried each time
Thanks Randy, Great look at the Reisong A10. I know it is about the sound but that thing is beautiful and I bet with the tubes glowing it gets all warm and fuzzy around there. Now I have to start saving my pennies, you are a bad influence I'm going to need that number for the divorce attorney.
Randy, I love your channel and what you are doing for the music lovers and audiophiles with the common man's budget and with a great sense of humor. But my fascination with tubes waned long ago after working on tube TVs and radars and building numerous tube kit amplifiers, oscilloscopes, and TVs. You do get quite a lot more with tubes than transistors though. Like heat, replacing tubes that wear out, distortions from tube and transformer nonlinearities, extra noise from the higher impedances, microphonics, fiddling with the sound by changing expensive tubes, the added artificial sense of soundstage from the the lowered damping of the speaker reactances, and of course that nice orange glow. These days I'm more into active speaker design and building using the latest technology and information available. But tubes can be fun.
I bought one of these a few months ago, hooked up to a pair of Frugal horns fitted with Mark Audio drivers the performance is shockingly good. Top Tip: Swap out the power tubes for Tung Sol el34b's, you won't regret it... 👍😉
MIne came with psvane hifi EL34's ...also got the tung-sol EL34b's for backup, for now i like more the psvanes, maybe they have better burned in already :)
Now that I've watched this video I'm getting multiple UA-cam recommendations for old newsreel documentaries about British valve companies in the glory years post WW2.
If you want to know more about tube amps you should talk to a guitarist, coincidentally I am one, haha. The most significant change in sound you will hear when you change the power valves but only you change the valve type, for example, el34 to 6l6, el84 to 6v6, but if you keep the same type of valve and just change the brand, the most significant change in sound will occur in the pre amp valves. A brand change on pre-valves will give us a drastic change in sound. It was also said that this amplifier has el34 valves in power and you would like to switch to el84, unless I heard you wrong, el84 has much less power than el34, in guitar amplifiers, a pair of el84 usually produces on average 15w while a pair of el34 usually produces 50w
Just got mine in and hooked it up to some Kiipsch RB 61 II speakers. Sounds great! Mine ran about $450 with shipping for the hand welded version with the tube cage. I'm really enjoying them. Vocals are up front, the way I like them. Bass is there for Intergalactic, by the Beastie Boys. Cannons on Dorati's recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture sounded good, too. That being said, if you're looking for earth-shattering kabooms, this amp won't cut it. Even with 95db speakers, near-field, I run it turned at least 90% of the way to max. It still sounds good maxed. Distortion is low, and tubes produce 2nd order harmonics, which have a "smoother" sound than the 3rd order harmonics produced by solid-state amps. Bottom line: I'm really liking this amp/speaker combo. If you're not looking to make the neighbors call the cops, this amp, with high efficiency speakers should work fine for small-room/near-field listening.
Searching thru new products on China HiFi, they have a Reisong A12 12AX7 EL34 Tube Integrated Amplifier single-ended Class A Boyuurange for under $500. They state, the "Reisong A12 Amp is an upgraded version of A10, could use more replacement models of tubes without convertor. Come with Tube Cage". How about that? PS...they are also including free shipping per their site.
Break in is important for the tubes and capacitors (could take 300 hours). Also up grade the power cord. Tube rolling can cost more than it cost for the entire amp.
OK, just to clarify, I enjoy the number of OK's. Good or one of the best reviews on the A 10. As for the port lube-well, we use it for something totally different and I do so enjoy the after effect.
nice job . . . describing the immersive effect of tubes. Drive that Risong w/ an Audioquest Red, use their 'Tower' interconnects . . . SVS cables, you will love it, as I do . . . and thankx.
My A10, with the Skin kid Mods has been moved into our small living room. Paired with Klipsch RF250F towers. 96dB. Not powerful loud, but great bass and sweet sound.
Love the port lube sponsor :) If you had a chuffing problem with your wave guides, would it also work there? How many ounces per speaker Randy? Important to avoid those chuffing problems!
I'd be willing to bet that port lube has other uses as well. Great review, Randy, and something I've always looked at (tube amps) but wasn't sure if I wanted to bother with "tube rolling." Perhaps I will now!
dude, i laughed so hard at your "port lube" entry that a spit out my port all over my 97"tv in my 500 sq ft apartment which fits very well by the way. everyone has one. a 97"tv that is. in an apartment. cuz, we HAVE to have it.
You are correct. The Orchard Audio and Pecanpi with tubes in the mix makes a whole new recepie of goodness. I'm holding out for a tube DAC to use with their PecanPi and Starkrimson Monoblocks on my Sopra's and Burmester preamp. Thomas Stereo did a video on that mix. Yes, I spend more money on my gear than a divorce. Lol But My wife is Happy, unless she's seeing a lawyer on the way to the day spa 😂 Have a good weekend and remember tube rolling is another expensive rabbit hole, but so is the Just-Send-Uz Chuff Lube Co.🕳️ 🐇
Bought this yube amp 3 weeks ago. The sound is amazing. Using on 89db speakers and it runs them plenty loud! Itd also silent in terms of noise hum etc.
FYI, Shipping through Chini Hi Fi is $200 bringing the total to around $440 before tax and duty. I found it on Amazon for $399 plus you don't have to wait for it to ship internationally. Food for thought if you want to buy one.
Okay! After months of research my first build will be a CSS Audio DIY kit and a decent China Tube Amp (Doge / Reisong/ Wilson)mand also a Topping DAC and i will go on from there
I have a BoyuuRange A9 that I built from a kit. Same kind of deal, EXCEPT the pre-amp tubes are Octal. I think the kit was like $370 a year ago roughly. I use it on my computer, and have built some other tube amps after that.
So in my journey, I started with the Nobsound 6P1. Phenomenal amplifier. Matched currently to a set of Klipsch KG 3.2's.i had done some mods to it. And it sounds absolutely amazing. I just got this one today. Hooked it up, might try some vintage EL34's to see if I can pull out a fuller midrange. But it has potential to sound better than the 6P1. But at this moment in time, I'm in love with the intoxicating midrange the Nobsound has. It will be interesting when I get them side by side to hear the exact differences. I already know with the stock PSVaine tubes it sounds good. I just love these single ended triode (SET) amplifiers. With efficient speakers, the power requirements are overated.
Got this same A10 amp couple month ago. It powers my main speakers (Klipsch Heresy III) Getting the main L+R signal to A10 from Denon AVR pre-outs, it also pre-outs to SVS sub. Rears are directly powered from the AVR: I basically have adjusted the pre-outs + A10 own volume level (around 9-10 clock) that it matches with my other speakers. That way i dont never need to adjust the physical volume knob on the A10. Works very nicely, plenty of sound to integrate to rest of my speakers. Then i only adjust volume from my AVR. I can easily get more volume i would never use. My main speakers connected to the A10, are 99dB/1w ..so it helps. Oh, tried different tubes, found the stock Chinese rectifier affected the sound most and sounded best for my taste (bought couple for backups, least solid state like). Also tried Tung-Sol EL34b, which i bought for backups, currently using the power-tubes it came with, the Psvane HIFI EL34. Oh, also got and swapped the pre-amp tubes for Russian variant, the 6n2p-ev. Overall enjoying this amp very much. Its my first class-a amp. Very realistic, non fatigue sound and good imaging. Thanks to the class-a topology.
Like somebody who build a few tube amps on my own I have two comments on this one. Seem to be a good platform but here is a thing. Most of China tube amps are “tube eaters” which means tubes does not last as long as they could if build was better. This amp has AC heaters direct heated. Well tubes like to be “preheated” prior high voltage kicks in. Easy way to achieve this is to heave separate switch on high voltage which allows you to let tubes preheat before high voltage kicks inn. Further on having DC voltage on heaters gives less noise and if you want to have it even better it should be slow rising DC voltage… Other thing as a tube roller I miss variable resistors on cathodes of EL34’s to make it easier to bias tubes. But that is me. Anyhow it looks like good amp! I would not put any expensive tubes in it without adjusting filaments on 6,3 volts and biasing power tubes.
You shouldn't swap the rectifier tube unless you understand voltages. I found this out when recommended to change one on a Nobsound 6P1. End result was lots of distortion. I believe a set of KT77's would be a good Fit.
I bought their LS/35a speakers and forgot about it ( coming from China right) but they came within a week or so. I’m satisfied with China HiFi so far, will get more from them.
Great stuff Cheapaudioman! Welcome to the fold ; ) If your the more adventurous type, there are non assembled versions of this thing at even cheaper price! Most definitely mess around with some tube rolling sir! Perhaps you have some contacts to find some old military grade tubes, that be pretty damn kewl!
A lot of Guitar amps are still tube based. The distortion recorded in tube amps is there, but it is the second order harmonics that cause that reading to be higher, and that is not the type of distortion that is unpleasant or detracting from the music. This is a situation where specs on paper do not match what the real sound is. The harmonics in tubes are what allows that space and imaging that a lot of solid state devices lack. I haven't been able to replicate those harmonics in a solid state amplifier, no matter what processing I apply to it.
I got the Reisong A10 too. After a lot of tube rolling and speaking to people who know way more about tubes than me, I came to some insights. The rectifier tube used seems to be too weak for the EL34's. The DC output of the 5Z4P is only 125mA, while the EL34's need 100mA each (the pre-amp tubes only need about 2.5mA each, so these don't really matter much). Instead you could use a 274B (Shuguang, very good), a 5U4G (LinLai, very good), 5U3C (russian, Svetlana (winged C), amazing), or a 5R4GY (RCA NOS tube, effin' amazing). Or 5AR4, GZ34, 5Z3PA. For non EL34's like the 6V6GT, you could also use 5U4C or 5Z4, but generally the more powerful ones tend to sound better (or is it that the chinese low power ones are no good, although stronger Shuguang and LinLai are actually very good). For the Amp-tubes the EL34's were ok, especially the PSVane it came with and a pair of EH 6CA7's. A pair of Groove EL34 was underwhelming. A pair of russian 6p3P was way too bright, especially with the 5U4G LinLai rectifier. Very nice combo was a pair of JJ KT77 with either the RCA 5R4GY's or a GZ34 tube from Tube-Town. Also amazing (and used right now) was a pair of Marshall 6V6GT with any of the above mentionend rectifiers, although the NOS RCA was still the best imo. Since I got the Marshall's from China, I'm not sure how 'Marshall' they actually are. ;) As Preamp tubes I use russian Vokshod (the one with the little rocket) 6N2P-J (J for military grade). I've also used a pair of NOS Westingshouse 6201's (12AT7) with an adapter socket. Was really good too, but I only got one pair. Both added more detail, while the chinese originals were a bit 'uninspired', at least to me. Together with a pair of Magnat Signature 703 speakers (91dB, 31-54000 Hz, very clear and detailed sound) and a FX-Audio DX-3 Pro DAC, the office system was done for ~€1.100 (including a pair of ELAC speaker cables and a set of new tubes, not including the test tubes I bought :)). As I said, I'm not an expert. I run my amp like that and it works, but I take no liability for other ppls experiments. :)
No problem don’t need the cage children’s skin grows back it’s a learning experience. After they touch their first hot glowing item they will be very aware of the surroundings and what not to touch ever again . Protecting our children too much makes them stupid and later on in life they earn a Darwin Award 🥇
I'm DEFINITELY gonna treat myself to one of these, after my Decree Absolute comes through! (What a coincidence that you happened to compare the price of hifi equipment to a divorce!)
Best sponsorship yet this shit literally had me stomping my foot laughing I'm glad I didn't grab myself a cup of coffee or it would have been sprayed on my new carpet Which cost more than my living room set up.
Please mister cheapaudioman, can you make a floor standing tower speaker shootout, with the cheap approach, like using the Topping MX3 price pointish sources to power them. I had set my mind on bookshelf speakers, but I now see that some towers would also fit in my budget, allowing me to drop the sub from the price tag and putting it's value towards better towers. Or do towers not perform well enough to forgoe the sub? Also hoping to here your community chime in on me inquiry.
I'm Considering this amp, but with the speakers I plan on matching it with I need add a subwoofer in order to get more low end. Thanks for the review. I'm still researching how best to hook the sub to the amp.
Ok and alright are serious upgrades from the dime store “ummm” and don’t cost much more to use. Ok and alright represent the highest bang for the buck for connective phrases/utterances. Ok?
I have been interested in this, but don't want to give up my NAD 3020 sound. That said, I am certainly interested in a tube power amplifier... to run in concert (see what I did there?) with the 3020. Thanks for this. I have wanted an honest opinion regarding CHIFI, and this was exactly that.
buy one next time when you travel to China and get it delivered to your hotel room for free. Just haul it all the way back to wherever you’re from. That’s called a GREAT deal 😁
I'm such a noob and would love to deep dive onto tube swapping. but to start I'd like to get as close as I can to good sound for classic rock on vinyl. Anyone have any suggestions of any cost but to get me started I'd like to not break the bank.
So, I'm on the website for the amp, and it appears that shipping is included as the baseline price for the amp is $199.00. That's what I'm seeing here. Also, they want me to select a voltage level. Since we're U.S. we choose the 120 V, right? 120 V, 60 cycles per second?
I've have a reasonable amount of tube amp experience and I'd like to share some info that I believe to be true. I have a bunch of cheap tube amps that I have modified and a very expensive one called the McGary SA2. Tube amps can be really fun and sound good, but it's important to understand that they are expensive and there is nothing magical about them. I like tweaking the sound by tube rolling, but it's expensive. I have two amps like this A10. They come with fairly shitty tubes. I replaced all the tubes on both of them: #1 cost $180 and #2 Cost $154. The research on tube options for each tube took me a while and it's all subjective. I ended up with JJ KT 77s Power tubes in one and Psvane EL34C(C is important) in the other. I used Electro Harmonix 5U4GB for the recitifiers. Mine use a different input tube type. I used JJ 6SL7s for those. If you buy one of these amps for $400?, expect to spend another $180 to put decent tubes in it. Tubes add harmonic distortion and a "sound signature". This is good if you like the sound signature and bad if you don't. I'm a silly tube lover, but a smarter option might be to get a good Solid State amp and use a tube pre to add the nice harmonic distortion. They only put out 9 watts per channel and that's important. It's enough for most things, but you have to crank them and that exaggerates the distortion. At around $600, you are getting close an epically good $800 Topping LA90(35WPC) and blowing by much cheaper TPA3255 Type D amps like the Fosi ZA3 & Aiyima A07 Max. These are excellent amps with a ton of power for $150 each. I use them dual mono with the Aiyima T10 Tube Pre amp. I rolled the tubes out on the Aiyima with the GE 5654 tubes. This combo will drive almost any speaker and sound great for about $200($300 w/ dual mono). The next alternative for a cheap tube amp is a hybrid. Parts Express & Mono Price both have excellent AB Power Amps with tube input sections. These hybrids sound really nice and you have some power. A hybrid is essentially what the Fosi/Aiyima combo is creating with a type D. There are many other ways to add harmonic distortion to a Solid State and round out the sound: Tube Buffers, DSPs, etc. So if you have to have an old school tube amp or you don't feel cool, go for it. I love them and I can afford to tube roll a little. Just go into it with an understanding that tubes are not magic. All things in audio are up side and down side. The lack of power, needing to replace tubes and built in unchangeable harmonics are big issues. That being said, the sound you get with something like a Decware 300B tube amp and big high sensitivity open baffle speakers like Caintuck Betsy is incredible. I think speakers are the place to spend your time and money. KEF LS50 Meta & LS60 Meta are state of the art. Warfdale EVOs are nice, etc.
Awesome video, have been waiting for your impression of the A10...as always hilarious...I'll have to lube up the bassholes of my Elac UniFis 5.2s...if you like the Vista Spark, check out the S.M.S.L SA300. Personally I think it sounds better. There's some magic happening from that Infineon chip, heads and shoulders above their last one...but oddly is minus some features. Sound makes up for it though. Love the channel!
Good morning. 50 years ago it was Sat morning cartoons. Today it's Sat morning CheapAudioman. Scooby-Dooby-Doo!
Ruh Roh!
So true though!
@@phantasm1004 Only when translated into Scooby language.
Always learn something from your videos, Randy. Thanks
Oh Randy, don't stop being you. Ok? Alright.
Randy you have reached the pinnacle of sponsorship spots, “Port Lubricant” for port chuffing lol, this is pure gold.
I would only recommend the Port Lube for Polk T15 Bookshelf/Doorstop speaker.
I know I'm kind of randomly asking but does anyone know a good site to stream newly released movies online?
@Darren Alexis Flixportal xD
@Larry Alan thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service :) I appreciate it !!
@Darren Alexis happy to help =)
Randy, ignore the naysayers that don't like your "Ok? Alright."s. It's quirky and your style. 👍 The important part is your videos are structured with lots of quality analysis. 🍻
I'm glad there's channels like this that help to show you can get into audiophile toys while on a tight budget.
I like it when you say "ok". I also like, what audio equipment shouldn't cost more than, segment. Also the sponsors are stellar. 👍
I once knew a small company in Kent UK called Lowther. The owner once told me that his speakers were so efficient he could acoustically operate Westminster Catherdal on just 2.5 Watts. I believe he held the record for the most efficient paper coned speakers - a few % above the theoretical maximum. His single tube end amp demo of those speakers was astounding, but I couldn't afford them. Amp/speaker design is voodoo magic :) I picked up your mention of a band called Tool - wow after 30 years (I'm nearly 70), of musical doldrums they awakened my ears. Their sound staging of CCTrip is brilliant - very innovative music, thank you.
That's a great story, there's nothing better than excellent audio, shut your eyes relax in your favourite armchair and let it wash you all over you, immersive yourself in the beauty of musical heaven 😀
wash all over you ...
immerse (spell check is not in tune tonight...)
Randy, you have no idea how good this little amp is. Recently I move my Reisong from hibernation to my my listening room where I have multiple amps, one being a Jolida JD202 40 WPC Intergraded amp with upgraded set of EL34s and better pre-amp little guys. My jaw dropped when the A10 was playing. In addition to the construction, the sound quality of the stock tubes Reisong is packing this amp is amazing. You will hear what I mean when you come back down to the A10 after listening to pricier amps.
Dude you’re almost at 20K subscribers !! Awesome 👏 Keep up the good work...
It arrived today and after listening for 3 hours straight, listening lps from jazz to hard rock. I love it.
I've had very good results with lubing the rear port, reduced chuffing and improved speaker thrust are priceless for that low end enjoyment.
Bought mine almost a year ago. May be one of my favorite audio components of all time! And it's a tube amplifier!!
Well, I don’t think I will ever be able to hear someone discuss chuffing without thinking of Jacinda’s Port Lube. The power of marketing. Thanks for that.
Turns out it was a total scam. Some transient out of the back of a van putting chocolate syrup into different containers... live and you learn
Dang, I was hoping to get some of that for my old DCM's. 😿
You always make me laugh. What would I do without you?
I swear it's like you read my mind sometimes, Randy. When I asked you about Chinese tube amps in the live chat some time ago, this is exactly what I was looking. Just bought one because of this video.
Great video. I just got my A10 earlier this month. It sounds amazing in my system. I'm running Klipsch Heresys from 1979 with Crites crossover upgraded caps. My sources are a Fluance RT85 with a tube phono preamp. Also an Ah! Njoe Tjoeb tube cd player. It can get very loud no problem and the details are astonishing. I did have a power tube fail already though so I would get another set of tubes right away if buying again. The pre tubes can be switched to the common 12ax7 with an adapter. I have some coming soon and I have a ton of nos tubes to try. The new A12 uses 12ax7 and I think that is the only difference. You can rewire the A10 pre sockets to use 12ax7 but adapters are cheap and easy. I was very skeptical but not anymore. This thing is worth more than its selling price.
Tube amps for song, Reisong. Thanks for the review.
If you like your bass even more muddy . . . add Port Lube to your Polk T15s.
UA-cam Subtitles:
„hey i‘m randy and i‘m the
CHIEF AUDIO MAN“!
Word!
I can accept that
It's like "We are Motörhead, and we play Rock 'n' Roll." 😁👍
I have the A12, my first tube amp. I thought it sounded good until I recently found out about the Skunkie Design mod. It now puts out 6 watts like it was supposed to out of the box. Before the mods Skunkie measured 1% distortion at .04 watts and 8% distortion at 2 watts. There is a huge difference in sound quality after the upgrades. I'm using the original tubes it came with for now until I get new ones in a few days. I highly recommend any one that owns an A10 or A12 to do this mod.
Considering an A10 or A12 and doing the Skunkie mods. It’s not a very powerful amplifier, though. Considering that it would then put out the full 6 watts, how loud would it get with (low-to-mid-90s) efficient speakers? Any dB measurements? Thanks!
@@bzster I have Klipsch RP600M's that are very efficient but Klipsch over rates the 96db spec using in-room, half-space conditions, more like 86db. They seem to be more efficient than some speakers because of the horn tweeters. I also have a pair of Elac Debut 2.0 6.2's that I've been using lately because the Klipsch's are too bright and fatiguing to listen too for more than an hour. I only need to turn up the volume a quarter of the way with the Elac's and get plenty loud enough for a 20'x15' room. Don't worry to much about getting high efficiency speakers. It is definitely worth upgrading the A12. I cost me about $130 to replace all the tubes and $30 for the components.
I have one of these amps. They sound great even with low efficiency speakers like the Elac Ub5. I use a tube preamp with a remote of course though it’s not needed since this amp has a preamp section, no remote 🙁. With the 6 watts it can get pretty loud in a moderate way in a medium room with the UB5. Again it has great sound and well worth it. It surprises me , my parasound amp has 225 watts into 4 ohms. Sure it is louder and also sounds great but there is something about a tube amps sound. So I switch them every so often.
And don’t worry about buying from this Chinese company. When I first got this amp I put the tubes in wrong and blew up the amp 🥲. I contacted the company thru Amazon. They repaired the amp no questions asked, even paid for shipping to and from the repair facility. Can’t ask for better 🤙.
I have one of this, driven a pair of Elac b6.2 and it sound amazing.
My old mod for weak and light (or leaky joints) on a cabinet for speakers was to pour in gray mineral filled concrete crack filler - flowing it into the joints; one side at a time.. or forming a puddle on a side to weight/damp it - let dry - then other sides after that. I would let a fan blow in until dried each time
Your videos are always sooo informative as well as entertaining. The insight you provide on the Reisong and divorce is very enlightening...
Thanks Randy, Great look at the Reisong A10. I know it is about the sound but that thing is beautiful and I bet with the tubes glowing it gets all warm and fuzzy around there. Now I have to start saving my pennies, you are a bad influence I'm going to need that number for the divorce attorney.
Randy, I love your channel and what you are doing for the music lovers and audiophiles with the common man's budget and with a great sense of humor. But my fascination with tubes waned long ago after working on tube TVs and radars and building numerous tube kit amplifiers, oscilloscopes, and TVs. You do get quite a lot more with tubes than transistors though. Like heat, replacing tubes that wear out, distortions from tube and transformer nonlinearities, extra noise from the higher impedances, microphonics, fiddling with the sound by changing expensive tubes, the added artificial sense of soundstage from the the lowered damping of the speaker reactances, and of course that nice orange glow. These days I'm more into active speaker design and building using the latest technology and information available. But tubes can be fun.
Was just thinking the other day, where can I get a good port lube! Sponsors keep getting better and better!
I bought one of these a few months ago, hooked up to a pair of Frugal horns fitted with Mark Audio drivers the performance is shockingly good. Top Tip: Swap out the power tubes for Tung Sol el34b's, you won't regret it... 👍😉
MIne came with psvane hifi EL34's ...also got the tung-sol EL34b's for backup, for now i like more the psvanes, maybe they have better burned in already :)
I just replaced the stock power tubes because one of them died after a year of solid use with Tung Sol EL34s. Really great sound.
Now that I've watched this video I'm getting multiple UA-cam recommendations for old newsreel documentaries about British valve companies in the glory years post WW2.
If you want to know more about tube amps you should talk to a guitarist, coincidentally I am one, haha. The most significant change in sound you will hear when you change the power valves but only you change the valve type, for example, el34 to 6l6, el84 to 6v6, but if you keep the same type of valve and just change the brand, the most significant change in sound will occur in the pre amp valves. A brand change on pre-valves will give us a drastic change in sound. It was also said that this amplifier has el34 valves in power and you would like to switch to el84, unless I heard you wrong, el84 has much less power than el34, in guitar amplifiers, a pair of el84 usually produces on average 15w while a pair of el34 usually produces 50w
Just got mine in and hooked it up to some Kiipsch RB 61 II speakers. Sounds great! Mine ran about $450 with shipping for the hand welded version with the tube cage. I'm really enjoying them. Vocals are up front, the way I like them. Bass is there for Intergalactic, by the Beastie Boys. Cannons on Dorati's recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture sounded good, too.
That being said, if you're looking for earth-shattering kabooms, this amp won't cut it. Even with 95db speakers, near-field, I run it turned at least 90% of the way to max. It still sounds good maxed. Distortion is low, and tubes produce 2nd order harmonics, which have a "smoother" sound than the 3rd order harmonics produced by solid-state amps.
Bottom line: I'm really liking this amp/speaker combo. If you're not looking to make the neighbors call the cops, this amp, with high efficiency speakers should work fine for small-room/near-field listening.
Searching thru new products on China HiFi, they have a Reisong A12 12AX7 EL34 Tube Integrated Amplifier single-ended Class A Boyuurange for under $500. They state, the "Reisong A12 Amp is an upgraded version of A10, could use more replacement models of tubes without convertor. Come with Tube Cage". How about that?
PS...they are also including free shipping per their site.
Break in is important for the tubes and capacitors (could take 300 hours). Also up grade the power cord. Tube rolling can cost more than it cost for the entire amp.
OK, just to clarify, I enjoy the number of OK's. Good or one of the best reviews on the A 10. As for the port lube-well, we use it for something totally different and I do so enjoy the after effect.
"tube rolling is a silly way of saying tube changing.". Hahaha, yes! Right on. Thank you.
nice job . . . describing the immersive effect of tubes. Drive that Risong w/ an Audioquest Red, use their 'Tower' interconnects . . . SVS cables, you will love it, as I do . . . and thankx.
My A10, with the Skin kid Mods has been moved into our small living room. Paired with Klipsch RF250F towers. 96dB.
Not powerful loud, but great bass and sweet sound.
I went from tube rolling to women rolling. No guilt. Nice amplifier and thanks for going to the trouble of posting all the links.
I endorse this video! The Reisong A10 is a great little amp, one I have personally owned. Thanks, Randy!
I have one too and it’s wonderful! My first tube amp was this one. Highly recommended!
“Okay, Alright” is an in-joke at our place - love it!
Thanks for the review! I have the Reisong MT 34. (Push Pull) I rolled some Mullard EL 34 ‘s. Sounds damn good!
When you get free Reisong gear, you know youve hit the big time.
Love the port lube sponsor :) If you had a chuffing problem with your wave guides, would it also work there? How many ounces per speaker Randy? Important to avoid those chuffing problems!
I'd be willing to bet that port lube has other uses as well. Great review, Randy, and something I've always looked at (tube amps) but wasn't sure if I wanted to bother with "tube rolling." Perhaps I will now!
I'd sure like to hear Ron expound on how different power tubes sound. 6550, kt88, 77, 300B, 120, 150, el34 etc.
dude, i laughed so hard at your "port lube" entry that a spit out my port all over my 97"tv in my 500 sq ft apartment which fits very well by the way. everyone has one. a 97"tv that is. in an apartment. cuz, we HAVE to have it.
You are correct. The Orchard Audio and Pecanpi with tubes in the mix makes a whole new recepie of goodness. I'm holding out for a tube DAC to use with their PecanPi and Starkrimson Monoblocks on my Sopra's and Burmester preamp. Thomas Stereo did a video on that mix. Yes, I spend more money on my gear than a divorce. Lol But My wife is Happy, unless she's seeing a lawyer on the way to the day spa 😂 Have a good weekend and remember tube rolling is another expensive rabbit hole, but so is the Just-Send-Uz Chuff Lube Co.🕳️ 🐇
I’ve found black PSVane tubes called Cossor.
I’ve found that they create the a deep thick signal. I hope you can look into these tubes.
Bought this yube amp 3 weeks ago. The sound is amazing. Using on 89db speakers and it runs them plenty loud! Itd also silent in terms of noise hum etc.
FYI, Shipping through Chini Hi Fi is $200 bringing the total to around $440 before tax and duty. I found it on Amazon for $399 plus you don't have to wait for it to ship internationally. Food for thought if you want to buy one.
Okay! After months of research my first build will be a CSS Audio DIY kit and a decent China Tube Amp (Doge / Reisong/ Wilson)mand also a Topping DAC and i will go on from there
I think you need to pour some of that port lube on your pancakes Randy!
I have a BoyuuRange A9 that I built from a kit. Same kind of deal, EXCEPT the pre-amp tubes are Octal. I think the kit was like $370 a year ago roughly. I use it on my computer, and have built some other tube amps after that.
So in my journey, I started with the Nobsound 6P1. Phenomenal amplifier. Matched currently to a set of Klipsch KG 3.2's.i had done some mods to it. And it sounds absolutely amazing.
I just got this one today. Hooked it up, might try some vintage EL34's to see if I can pull out a fuller midrange. But it has potential to sound better than the 6P1. But at this moment in time, I'm in love with the intoxicating midrange the Nobsound has. It will be interesting when I get them side by side to hear the exact differences. I already know with the stock PSVaine tubes it sounds good. I just love these single ended triode (SET) amplifiers. With efficient speakers, the power requirements are overated.
Got this same A10 amp couple month ago. It powers my main speakers (Klipsch Heresy III) Getting the main L+R signal to A10 from Denon AVR pre-outs, it also pre-outs to SVS sub. Rears are directly powered from the AVR: I basically have adjusted the pre-outs + A10 own volume level (around 9-10 clock) that it matches with my other speakers. That way i dont never need to adjust the physical volume knob on the A10. Works very nicely, plenty of sound to integrate to rest of my speakers.
Then i only adjust volume from my AVR. I can easily get more volume i would never use. My main speakers connected to the A10, are 99dB/1w ..so it helps. Oh, tried different tubes, found the stock Chinese rectifier affected the sound most and sounded best for my taste (bought couple for backups, least solid state like). Also tried Tung-Sol EL34b, which i bought for backups, currently using the power-tubes it came with, the Psvane HIFI EL34. Oh, also got and swapped the pre-amp tubes for Russian variant, the 6n2p-ev.
Overall enjoying this amp very much. Its my first class-a amp. Very realistic, non fatigue sound and good imaging. Thanks to the class-a topology.
Keep on fighting the good fight, thanks for doing these, sir.
Like somebody who build a few tube amps on my own I have two comments on this one. Seem to be a good platform but here is a thing. Most of China tube amps are “tube eaters” which means tubes does not last as long as they could if build was better. This amp has AC heaters direct heated. Well tubes like to be “preheated” prior high voltage kicks in. Easy way to achieve this is to heave separate switch on high voltage which allows you to let tubes preheat before high voltage kicks inn. Further on having DC voltage on heaters gives less noise and if you want to have it even better it should be slow rising DC voltage… Other thing as a tube roller I miss variable resistors on cathodes of EL34’s to make it easier to bias tubes. But that is me. Anyhow it looks like good amp! I would not put any expensive tubes in it without adjusting filaments on 6,3 volts and biasing power tubes.
best intro to date, sir.
You shouldn't swap the rectifier tube unless you understand voltages. I found this out when recommended to change one on a Nobsound 6P1. End result was lots of distortion. I believe a set of KT77's would be a good Fit.
First time watcher!, That port lube reminds me of molasses you pour on dirt roads to keep dirt down.
Couldn't find your promotional lube link so I improvised and I'm exhausted
that was funny
Mine was $420 delivered including the tube cage.
A sign, perhaps?
Where did you buy it from?
@@florenciomendez5529 amazon
I bought their LS/35a speakers and forgot about it ( coming from China right) but they came within a week or so. I’m satisfied with China HiFi so far, will get more from them.
Great stuff Cheapaudioman! Welcome to the fold ; )
If your the more adventurous type, there are non assembled versions of this thing at even cheaper price! Most definitely mess around with some tube rolling sir! Perhaps you have some contacts to find some old military grade tubes, that be pretty damn kewl!
What brand and type of coffee do you drink that makes you so very knowledgeable.
Your preparation must be a grind at times. Keep up the good reviews.
Bro, thanks for the cool reviews and the really funny jokes!
A lot of Guitar amps are still tube based. The distortion recorded in tube amps is there, but it is the second order harmonics that cause that reading to be higher, and that is not the type of distortion that is unpleasant or detracting from the music. This is a situation where specs on paper do not match what the real sound is. The harmonics in tubes are what allows that space and imaging that a lot of solid state devices lack. I haven't been able to replicate those harmonics in a solid state amplifier, no matter what processing I apply to it.
I got the Reisong A10 too. After a lot of tube rolling and speaking to people who know way more about tubes than me, I came to some insights.
The rectifier tube used seems to be too weak for the EL34's. The DC output of the 5Z4P is only 125mA, while the EL34's need 100mA each (the pre-amp tubes only need about 2.5mA each, so these don't really matter much). Instead you could use a 274B (Shuguang, very good), a 5U4G (LinLai, very good), 5U3C (russian, Svetlana (winged C), amazing), or a 5R4GY (RCA NOS tube, effin' amazing). Or 5AR4, GZ34, 5Z3PA. For non EL34's like the 6V6GT, you could also use 5U4C or 5Z4, but generally the more powerful ones tend to sound better (or is it that the chinese low power ones are no good, although stronger Shuguang and LinLai are actually very good).
For the Amp-tubes the EL34's were ok, especially the PSVane it came with and a pair of EH 6CA7's. A pair of Groove EL34 was underwhelming. A pair of russian 6p3P was way too bright, especially with the 5U4G LinLai rectifier. Very nice combo was a pair of JJ KT77 with either the RCA 5R4GY's or a GZ34 tube from Tube-Town. Also amazing (and used right now) was a pair of Marshall 6V6GT with any of the above mentionend rectifiers, although the NOS RCA was still the best imo. Since I got the Marshall's from China, I'm not sure how 'Marshall' they actually are. ;)
As Preamp tubes I use russian Vokshod (the one with the little rocket) 6N2P-J (J for military grade). I've also used a pair of NOS Westingshouse 6201's (12AT7) with an adapter socket. Was really good too, but I only got one pair. Both added more detail, while the chinese originals were a bit 'uninspired', at least to me.
Together with a pair of Magnat Signature 703 speakers (91dB, 31-54000 Hz, very clear and detailed sound) and a FX-Audio DX-3 Pro DAC, the office system was done for ~€1.100 (including a pair of ELAC speaker cables and a set of new tubes, not including the test tubes I bought :)).
As I said, I'm not an expert. I run my amp like that and it works, but I take no liability for other ppls experiments. :)
No problem don’t need the cage children’s skin grows back it’s a learning experience. After they touch their first hot glowing item they will be very aware of the surroundings and what not to touch ever again .
Protecting our children too much makes them stupid and later on in life they earn a Darwin Award 🥇
SO RIGHT!!!! If you don't learn from mistakes,you are doomed to repeat,and that's a dirt nap. We are human after all!!!
Dude, you are ROCK'n Hilarious Bro! Absolutely THE most unique presentation and delivery of anyone here. That lube oil thing was the $hitZ mate! :D
I'm DEFINITELY gonna treat myself to one of these, after my Decree Absolute comes through!
(What a coincidence that you happened to compare the price of hifi equipment to a divorce!)
You REALLY want to nerd out on Tube Amps, Get an amp with 300B's in them. I built one...... that sounds COOL.
Any advice on how to get Jacinda's lube oil of my carpet - I didn't wait long enough?
DIY audio has a huge thread on the A9, which is similar in kit form. Lots of mods to try. I am running 6SL7 preamp tubes
Best sponsorship yet this shit literally had me stomping my foot laughing I'm glad I didn't grab myself a cup of coffee or it would have been sprayed on my new carpet Which cost more than my living room set up.
Should be ur new slogan on the Cheapaudioman T Shirt... OK Alright
Alright Alright Alright
Last time I was out picking up some blinker fluid.
That port lube was on sale...
Please mister cheapaudioman, can you make a floor standing tower speaker shootout, with the cheap approach, like using the Topping MX3 price pointish sources to power them. I had set my mind on bookshelf speakers, but I now see that some towers would also fit in my budget, allowing me to drop the sub from the price tag and putting it's value towards better towers. Or do towers not perform well enough to forgoe the sub? Also hoping to here your community chime in on me inquiry.
I'm Considering this amp, but with the speakers I plan on matching it with I need add a subwoofer in order to get more low end. Thanks for the review. I'm still researching how best to hook the sub to the amp.
Good morning, Randy. Is there a Q Acoustics 3030i review in the future?
Agreed! The 3030i are the ones I’m eyeing. But they’ve been sold out for a while now.
Dude. You have to check out the glow amp one. Afordable el84 single ended pentode. Made in the US. I just bought mine and totally love it!
"Ok? Alright?"
Yep. Yep.
Ok and alright are serious upgrades from the dime store “ummm” and don’t cost much more to use. Ok and alright represent the highest bang for the buck for connective phrases/utterances. Ok?
Alas, therefore, hence, ergo, and whilst remain as elusive as a cheap hand soldered tube amp ready to be rolled.
. . . and the Queen of all the low-vocabularies is the venerable "whatever."
I have been interested in this, but don't want to give up my NAD 3020 sound. That said, I am certainly interested in a tube power amplifier... to run in concert (see what I did there?) with the 3020.
Thanks for this. I have wanted an honest opinion regarding CHIFI, and this was exactly that.
buy one next time when you travel to China and get it delivered to your hotel room for free. Just haul it all the way back to wherever you’re from. That’s called a GREAT deal 😁
Good morning!
I'm such a noob and would love to deep dive onto tube swapping. but to start I'd like to get as close as I can to good sound for classic rock on vinyl. Anyone have any suggestions of any cost but to get me started I'd like to not break the bank.
So, I'm on the website for the amp, and it appears that shipping is included as the baseline price for the amp is $199.00. That's what I'm seeing here. Also, they want me to select a voltage level. Since we're U.S. we choose the 120 V, right? 120 V, 60 cycles per second?
Correct. Our typical household current is at 120V, 60 Hz.
Yes 120v 60hz is correct.
This amp would work well with sony scs5 speakers?
It's OK and it's alright. Making me laugh. I needed it today. Thanks
I've have a reasonable amount of tube amp experience and I'd like to share some info that I believe to be true. I have a bunch of cheap tube amps that I have modified and a very expensive one called the McGary SA2. Tube amps can be really fun and sound good, but it's important to understand that they are expensive and there is nothing magical about them. I like tweaking the sound by tube rolling, but it's expensive.
I have two amps like this A10. They come with fairly shitty tubes. I replaced all the tubes on both of them: #1 cost $180 and #2 Cost $154. The research on tube options for each tube took me a while and it's all subjective. I ended up with JJ KT 77s Power tubes in one and Psvane EL34C(C is important) in the other. I used Electro Harmonix 5U4GB for the recitifiers. Mine use a different input tube type. I used JJ 6SL7s for those. If you buy one of these amps for $400?, expect to spend another $180 to put decent tubes in it.
Tubes add harmonic distortion and a "sound signature". This is good if you like the sound signature and bad if you don't. I'm a silly tube lover, but a smarter option might be to get a good Solid State amp and use a tube pre to add the nice harmonic distortion. They only put out 9 watts per channel and that's important. It's enough for most things, but you have to crank them and that exaggerates the distortion.
At around $600, you are getting close an epically good $800 Topping LA90(35WPC) and blowing by much cheaper TPA3255 Type D amps like the Fosi ZA3 & Aiyima A07 Max. These are excellent amps with a ton of power for $150 each. I use them dual mono with the Aiyima T10 Tube Pre amp. I rolled the tubes out on the Aiyima with the GE 5654 tubes. This combo will drive almost any speaker and sound great for about $200($300 w/ dual mono).
The next alternative for a cheap tube amp is a hybrid. Parts Express & Mono Price both have excellent AB Power Amps with tube input sections. These hybrids sound really nice and you have some power. A hybrid is essentially what the Fosi/Aiyima combo is creating with a type D. There are many other ways to add harmonic distortion to a Solid State and round out the sound: Tube Buffers, DSPs, etc.
So if you have to have an old school tube amp or you don't feel cool, go for it. I love them and I can afford to tube roll a little. Just go into it with an understanding that tubes are not magic. All things in audio are up side and down side. The lack of power, needing to replace tubes and built in unchangeable harmonics are big issues. That being said, the sound you get with something like a Decware 300B tube amp and big high sensitivity open baffle speakers like Caintuck Betsy is incredible.
I think speakers are the place to spend your time and money. KEF LS50 Meta & LS60 Meta are state of the art. Warfdale EVOs are nice, etc.
Awesome video, have been waiting for your impression of the A10...as always hilarious...I'll have to lube up the bassholes of my Elac UniFis 5.2s...if you like the Vista Spark, check out the S.M.S.L SA300. Personally I think it sounds better. There's some magic happening from that Infineon chip, heads and shoulders above their last one...but oddly is minus some features. Sound makes up for it though. Love the channel!
Port lubricant? Looks like molasses. I’d say that audio gear is history! Our D.i.v.o.r.c.e becomes final today...sing it Tammy.
I was half paying attention at the beginning and I thought "Port Lube? What is that?" - lol
Zero head room on these 6 watts .. means you are running to el 34s into clipping ... but that distortion will be even harmonics and can be nice.
EL34's are max dissipation of 25 watts
You're killing me with, 'OK??' Okay? Alright?
Randy, great reviews. I watch them all. Wondering which DAC you use?
Let's keep the tube flow going up next with the xduoo ta-10r please my good sir.
I have this, what a great amp runs my Ruark Prelude floorstanders medium size room no problem
Another great review, okay alright! 😉
Always apply the port lube before the tube amplification.