Karma - Monoprice Fabulousness!

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  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Are those the Dayton bookies?

    Yup!


    So... What's the initial verdict?
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    edited June 2018
    Comments:
    • This one seems to be working flawlessly out of the box. What's this, number four?
    • The general heft, fit and finish isn't bad at all for a ninety-nine dollar product.
    • The amber illumination (pilot light and meter light) is both apt and kind of scary at the same time.
    • Whatever is being done with them -- the tubes are run hard enough that the EL84s umm, 6P15s get pretty hot. Not EICO HF81 EL84 hot, but too hot to touch. The small signal tubes (6N1, whatever that is) run cool.
    • The amp does have an interesting bouquet. Slightly stale, musty, resinous and chemical, all rolled into one. It smells exactly like my grandparents' house in Glen Burnie, MD did -- ca. 1965. My grandfather was a dedicated smoker of very cheap cigars (El Productos -- my father called 'em "El Ropos") and the house bore mute testimony to it for many, many years.
    • The cassoulette :) of the amp isn't objectionable at all. I cannot smell it except right up by the tubes -- and my nose is pretty sensitive.
    • No flammulation, no funny noises, microphonics, etc.
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  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,389
    Run Forrest run!!
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    edited June 2018
    I cannot tell with certainty from teh interwebs, but it seems like a 6922 might be close enough to whatever a 6N1 is to drop in. It would be nice to see some consensus on the point :p but I might just have to chuck a coupla cannon fodder 6922s in there and see what happens...

    not tonight though.

    Having played (no kidding) a bunch of Talking Heads 'greatest hits', I've moved on to the Wailin Jennys. They're Wailin' nicely enough.

    I might work up the nerve to try the amp on some real loudspeakers... again, not tonight.

    :|
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 11,779
    Careful with your nicer speakers, look out for those turn on/off transients.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 22,091
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    I cannot tell with certainty from teh interwebs, but it seems like a 6922 might be close enough to whatever a 6N1 is to drop in. It would be nice to see some consensus on the point :p but I might just have to chuck a coupla cannon fodder 6922s in there and see what happens...

    :|
    Yes Doc but there are some differences


    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/6N1P
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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,727
    To reiterate...
    My amp is not in your house?
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 22,091
    lightman1 wrote: »
    To reiterate...
    My amp is not in your house?

    No it is holding up the lawn tractors axle off the ground.... outside
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    I cannot tell with certainty from teh interwebs, but it seems like a 6922 might be close enough to whatever a 6N1 is to drop in. It would be nice to see some consensus on the point :p but I might just have to chuck a coupla cannon fodder 6922s in there and see what happens...

    :|
    Yes Doc but there are some differences


    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/6N1P

    Yeah, the 6N1P I am very familiar with -- it's not completely clear to me that the Chinese 6N1 is "identical" to the Soviet/Russian 6N1P, though.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    edited June 2018
    lightman1 wrote: »
    To reiterate...
    My amp is not in your house?

    That is correct :)
    It is in an undisclosed location -- Dick Cheney may be groovin' to some tunes on it, I suppose.

    ;)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    lightman1 wrote: »
    To reiterate...
    My amp is not in your house?

    No it is holding up the lawn tractors axle off the ground.... outside

    Naaah -- that's what the MC-2100 is for.

    Actually, that's a joke. The MC-2100 makes a much better doorstop.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,797
    Judging by the extreme glow of that thing, I'd say....the wick is lit. Delayed fuse maybe ? Kinda like when we were kids and made that wick on the M-80's/quarter sticks long enough to buy us some time to get the heck out of the way.

    What's the warranty on this thing....36 hours ? :)
    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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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,177
    I’m happy so far so good. Perhaps number 4 is the charm! :smile:
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    edited June 2018
    verb wrote: »
    I’m happy so far so good. Perhaps number 4 is the charm! :smile:

    That's what I am thinking.

    In fact, early results suggest that this gizmo, as is, represents a great 99-dolla desktop/nearfield amplifier, except:
    1. It's rather large compared to most other such devices.
    2. It generates a fairly large amount of heat - mostly from those EL84s - relative to most other such devices.

    I wonder if I can figure out how to do something with the Bluetooth on it? I am pretty... shall we say... low tech. ...or is it old school?


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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 11,779
    edited June 2018
    It's actually $120 plus shipping. Not sure where this $99 figure is coming from.

    https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13194
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    It was $99 at least at one point -- and the same amp with other brand names is or was available for $99, last time I looked.

    If the OP paid more than $99 for it, I do apologize! :blush:
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    As a postscript -- I will give this amp a serious audition at some point in the not too distant future.

    If we really do get rain later today (it's in the forecast), maybe even tonight! :)
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  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 5,886
    $139.99, $120, $119.99, $99? Why does something from MONOPRICE have so many prices? :p
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  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Viking64 wrote: »
    $139.99, $120, $119.99, $99? Why does something from MONOPRICE have so many prices? :p

    HAHA!

    So you like it for $99? What if it was $99.99? Would it still be good for the money? :wink:
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    Viking64 wrote: »
    $139.99, $120, $119.99, $99? Why does something from MONOPRICE have so many prices? :p

    That's a good question.
    One of those Imponderables, I guess.

    Either that, or the company should be renamed Oligoprice. Or maybe Oligoprices, to kind of maintain some consistency of pluralism.

    :|
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 11,779
    Just doesn't have the same ring to it.
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Either that, or the company should be renamed Oligoprice. Or maybe Oligoprices, to kind of maintain some consistency of pluralism.

    :|

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  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 5,886
    How about "Mongoprice"? :p

    79wtoynumfw7.jpg
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    well, still not much clarity vis-a-vis the 6N1. Kevin Kennedy, who's something of a Russky-tube-o-phile (and a talented designer & builder) said it's just a lower-quality Chinese variant of the 6N1P. The 6N1P itself essentially is a 6922, although it requires twice the heater current.

    For fun, I dissected one of those goofy tube cages on the "Monoprice" amp, extricated a 6N1 (labeled on the tube as "6N1-J") and tested it as a 6DJ8 (6922). Both sections tested good.

    Doesn't really prove anything, especially since I used an emissions-type tester... but the result is at least not inconsistent with the notion that it's essentially a 6922 workalike

    FWIW: Datasheet for the 6N1 (in Chinese, but not the numbers, units, or curves) at:
    https://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/095/6/6N1.pdf


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  • BMF35
    BMF35 Posts: 86
    DaveHo wrote: »
    BMF35 wrote: »
    35

    Really, Mr. 1 post. Better luck next time.

    I must have missed the requirement that only members with more than 1 post could participate. Sorry about that Mr. Ho.
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 7,476
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    I wonder if I can figure out how to do something with the Bluetooth on it? I am pretty... shall we say... low tech. ...or is it old school?
    Doc, when I was first getting set up, I picked up a couple of those Bluetooth receivers. Most seem to offer optical and 3.5mm/RCA out. They worked pretty well for the connectivity, and sounded pretty good for streaming music from a smartphone or tablet, so if you're just looking to play de myooziks and not necessarily critical listening, might be worth a shot. I used the Iogear TuneTap, but Oligoprice(s) probably has something less commit-ty. Also might offer the extra spark you need to get this fire started, since Johnny 4 seems to have fizzled (or is a sleeper).
    I disabled signatures.
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 7,476
    Viking64 wrote: »
    How about "Mongoprice"?
    Sole employee leisurely travels around the country punching out those horses that lost in the Derby.
    I disabled signatures.
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  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    BMF35 wrote: »
    DaveHo wrote: »
    BMF35 wrote: »
    35

    Really, Mr. 1 post. Better luck next time.

    I must have missed the requirement that only members with more than 1 post could participate. Sorry about that Mr. Ho.

    That was a requirement, but the real issue was that the karma had already been over for a while, and the amp was being shipped out. You were late to the party.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    edited June 2018
    So -- according to the aforementioned Kevin Kennedy, the 6p15 power pentode is equivalent to the 'western' EL86/6CW5.

    As an aside: the Russian power pentodes just confuse me. It appears that the "Svetlana" branded "SV83" of the 1990s (and used in Steve Deckert's SE-84 "Zen" amplifier) was a relabled 6p15-ev :p The "ev" postscript refers, I believe, to ruggedized, "military-grade" variants of a tube type.

    At any rate -- I looked up the 6CW5 and it's a cool tube. It was a fairly late vacuum tube development for series-string TVs but also for hifi. It is EL84-esque, but rated for lower plate voltage. It requires a gob of filament current, too (0.76 A @ 6.3 VAC). NOS 6CW5s are cheap!

    datasheet: http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/093/6/6CW5.pdf
    http://tubelab.com/designs/tubelab-spp/applications/

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  • msg
    msg Posts: 7,476
    Haha, nevermind this, Doc, I didn't realize that unit already has Bluetooth, dehr. Thought it was just a standard tube integrated.
    msg wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    I wonder if I can figure out how to do something with the Bluetooth on it?
    Doc, when I was first getting set up, I picked up a couple of those Bluetooth receivers
    ...
    I disabled signatures.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 30,855
    There is nothing standard about this little beastie ;)

    So -- today I gritted my teeth and hooked it up to the Frankenaltecs.

    With really simple, really well recorded music -- it's not bad. A little bright, and without the depth of SE 2A3 on these loudspeakers -- but not bad.

    As soon as the music got a little complicated, it started to get two-dimensional and hard/glassy sounding. And very bright.

    Now, in fairness, the Frankenaltecs are adjusted for the "Simple 2A3" amp's behavior - - and that amp is doubtless rolled off in the treble... but the pairing of the Monoprice and the Frankenaltecs really isn't a propitious one. It wasn't awful, or even embarrassing -- but it wasn't compelling, either. The nominal 16 ohm load the Frankenaltecs presents might have played a role, too.

    I will try some other decent quality speakers on the MP amp anon -- meanwhile, I'm
    listening to Patty Larkin's 25 on the Frankenaltecs via SE 2A3 and lovin' what I hear.

    42804946501_83768e04cb_b.jpgDSC_1501 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    40994464340_3cdd728ccc_b.jpgDSC_1506 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

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