silk audio mc 100b tube integrated review

marvda1
marvda1 Posts: 4,901
in Electronics
well my review of the silk audio mc-100b kt88 based tube integrated amp is up at stereomojo. listening to the amp as i type.

http://www.stereomojo.com/SILK MC-100B Tube Integrated Amp review/SILKMC-100BTubeIntegratedAmp.htm
Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
Puritan PSM156
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Comments

  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    I thought it was a great review with a tad bit of humor. I know some of YaQin manuals come with diddly squat for info too. Overall i liked your impressions on the unit. Well said-to the point. Didnt hold back on small details. I think its a beautiful unit & would love to get my ears on it
    ..
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    Nice write up. Curious as to how you use the Silk as a power amp with a separate pre? When I inquired about doing that Ray told me no and I also asked the Yaqin distributor from Canada the same question and he also said no.
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2015
    What are these on front for ? just curious - i know what the switch is forpcpicz8ry27e.jpg
    Maybe a quick connect to add source
    ..
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    boston1450 wrote: »
    What are these on front for ? just curious - i know what the switch is forpcpicz8ry27e.jpg
    Maybe a quick connect to add source
    the manual calls them the power amp inputs, when the switch is set to 0.0v only the front inputs work and you can use a preamp.

    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    Faustin wrote: »
    Nice write up. Curious as to how you use the Silk as a power amp with a separate pre? When I inquired about doing that Ray told me no and I also asked the Yaqin distributor from Canada the same question and he also said no.
    yes, even in their manual they call it the "power amp mode selector"
    i used it with my belles pre and there are a lot of owners using it as a power amp.

    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    "yes, even in their manual they call it the "power amp mode selector"
    i used it with my belles pre and there are a lot of owners using it as a power amp."

    That was what I thought as well but thought I would make sure before I screwed something up. Wonder why I was told no? Any thoughts as to how the amp sounds bypassing the internal pre and using an external?
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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    Nice Review Marvin!

    I'm now using the Audio art Power cable I got from you with mine. was listening to it when I read your review B)

    I tried the Mc100b with my Dared preamp and you still have 2 volume controls, so I open the Mc100's volume control a bit and used the preamps volume control to control the volume since it had a remote.
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
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  • Jhayman
    Jhayman Posts: 1,548
    Nice Review Marvin..
    I was actually looking to pick up one of these as my buddy from Finland has one and was telling me you can mod these quite easily with upgrade parts..
    Seems like a reasonable price as well..
    ATC SCM40's,VTL TL 2.5 Preamp,PSB Stratus Goldi's,McCormack DNA 500,McCormack MAP-1 Preamp,Pro-Ject Xtension 10 TT,Ortofon Cadenza Red/Nordost RedDawn LS Speaker cables, Bryston BDP-2, Bryston BDA-2,PS Audio AC-3 power cables
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2015
    Thank you for clarifying the front hook up
    Post edited by boston1450 on
    ..
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 10,716
    sounds like a good update to the article... (mode 30/60)
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited February 2015
    Faustin wrote: »
    "yes, even in their manual they call it the "power amp mode selector"
    i used it with my belles pre and there are a lot of owners using it as a power amp."

    That was what I thought as well but thought I would make sure before I screwed something up. Wonder why I was told no? Any thoughts as to how the amp sounds bypassing the internal pre and using an external?

    You still get the dead silent background plus whatever qualities your pre imparts on the sound.

    the front switch is the power amp mode switch and the switch(one for each channel ) on the top of the amp in front of the caps is for triode/ultra linear mode (30/60 watts)
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    Great review as well as one heck of a good looking unit.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    May have to try my Dared pre amp with the Silk to see how that sounds. Currently have the Silk powering rebuilt RTA 12c's. Nice open sound with nice highs. Did not care for the Silk with my SDA 1c's. Seemed like they never really opened up.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    DSkip wrote: »
    It might take different tubes with different speakers.

    Absolutely....one of the reasons I dumped full on tube gear, especially amps.

    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • rprats
    rprats Posts: 2
    I was considering purchasing this amp but haven't found any seller information anywhere.
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited February 2015
    rprats wrote: »
    I was considering purchasing this amp but haven't found any seller information anywhere.

    silk.audio.products@gmail.com
    the publisher forgot add the contact info.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • rprats
    rprats Posts: 2
    Thank you
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited March 2015
    just put in a quad of eh kt90eh tubes. out the box these are keepers, airy highs, el34 mid range and tight bass. i hope all this will improve with burn in. biased them at 0.6.

    the silk mc 100b now consists of eh kt90, tung sol reissue 6sn7, and new production tung sol 12ax7.
    i will try the mullard reissue cv4004.
    kept going back and forth on whether to get the kt 90 or gold lion reissue kt88. the kt90's are little cheaper.

    the mid range detail on these eh tubes are out of sight (hearing) :D
    Post edited by marvda1 on
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    Nice! sound like you made the right call!

    I'm current using the Mullard cv4004 and like them a lot better then the stock tubes.
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    voltz wrote: »
    Nice! sound like you made the right call!

    I'm current using the Mullard cv4004 and like them a lot better then the stock tubes.
    are you using nos or reissue mullards?

    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    reissue mullards and my 6sn7's are the Tung-sol new production.
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    i may try this tube, heard nothing but great things about it and it's cheap.
    https://www.tubedepot.com/products/sovtek-12ax7lps-preamp-vacuum-tube
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    I found a NIB matched pair of Tesla E83CC's... Worth every penny... and there are not many around... beware of knock offs but if you can find a pair from a reputable reseller they are a 12ax7 that is hard to beat IMHO.
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

    ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4

    Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |

    Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |

    Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |

    Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's

    Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    Mikey081057 wrote: »
    I found a NIB matched pair of Tesla E83CC's... Worth every penny... and there are not many around... beware of knock offs but if you can find a pair from a reputable reseller they are a 12ax7 that is hard to beat IMHO.
    did you compare the treasure kt88's to gold lion reissues?
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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