Xiansheng 728 Vacuum Tube Preamp

JimBRICK
JimBRICK Posts: 1,543
edited July 2007 in 2 Channel Audio
Anyone have any experience with this?

http://www.pacificvalve.us/Preamps.html

1181353278.jpg
2 CHANNEL
Speaker - Klipsch Heresy II
Under construction
Post edited by JimBRICK on
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited July 2007
    Yea, its generic "Chinese" gear....what's your obsession with this stuff?
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,554
    edited July 2007
    dorokusai wrote: »
    Yea, its generic "Chinese" gear....what's your obsession with this stuff?


    It's cheap.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • JimBRICK
    JimBRICK Posts: 1,543
    edited July 2007
    exactely LOL
    2 CHANNEL
    Speaker - Klipsch Heresy II
    Under construction
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  • JimBRICK
    JimBRICK Posts: 1,543
    edited July 2007
    I want to buy something tube but I dont wanna get something for 700 bucks and then say "oh **** its not for me"
    2 CHANNEL
    Speaker - Klipsch Heresy II
    Under construction
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited July 2007
    That's the great part about rolling tubes. You can change the sound in a heartbeat for fairly cheap. That's talking about tubes in general (not the offshore mass produced gear). I see a lot of Ming Da gear hitting craigslist / canuck audio mart every once in a while.
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  • W WALDECKER
    W WALDECKER Posts: 900
    edited July 2007
    JimBRICK wrote: »
    Anyone have any experience with this?

    http://www.pacificvalve.us/Preamps.html

    1181353278.jpg
    It is ugly,with questionable build and circuitry. i am willing to bet it sounds like ****! other than that it seems like a really good deal :eek:
    Rogue Audio stereo 100 tube amplifier - Lector Zoe preamplifier with 6H30 pi's
    .Audience AU24SE speaker and ic cables- Chord Qutest DAC - Black Cat Silverstar II 75ohm digital cable-Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature system with large bass cabinets to accommodate 10" Seas magnesium woofers.2xhmpsuownoj.jpg
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited July 2007
    these have been getting prett good word-of-mouth, audio mirror.
    http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1188944886
    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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  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,502
    edited July 2007
    if your gonna go tune on budget, just go used.
    Living Room 2 Channel -
    Schiit SYS Passive Pre. Jolida CD player. Songbird streamer. California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC, DIY 300as1/a1 Ice modules Class D amp. LSi15 with MM842 woofer upgrade, Nordost Blue Heaven and Unity interconnects.

    Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
    Prometheus Ref. TVC passive pre, SAE A-205 Amp, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E50 DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Von Schweikert VR3.5 speakers.

    Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Mac Mini, Aiyma A07 Max (BridgedX2), Totem Mites
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  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited July 2007
    I've read some things about folks getting burned on the chinese stuff. Bad quality... knock offs... etc.

    I'd avoid it and get used, KNOWN gear.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited July 2007
    The cheapest gear is good known gear used for about 50% of list. This thing (as well as everything else) is worth half as soon as you receive it. 5 years from now, its still worth half. Buy used if you are worried about cost.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • fredv
    fredv Posts: 923
    edited July 2007
    Here is my 2 cents worth:
    1. For this price, you can't even buy parts and build one yourself.
    2. Get the mind set that this will sound like a $299 preamp, then you can only be pleasently surprised. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean this preamp will sound bad!!
    3. Tube rolling can't fix a bad circuit design, watch out!! However, this circuit topology looks quite decent.
    4. If you are into mod spirit, prepare yourself to modify this pre. Quite a lot of low cost Chinese tube gears are half brew (come on, yo get what yo pay for). However, quite a few can be up a couple notches by tweating, but then it will no longer be the same cost :-)
    5. I would permanently bypass the tone control if I were to buy it.

    All in all, it looks like a good value for this price. You are likely to be pleasently surprised than disappointed :-)

    -fredv-
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,029
    edited July 2007
    Not to mention, are you going to pay to ship it back to a dealer in China and then pay again to ship it back? ..............and what if that shop is a bogus shop? You gonna fly out there and "get 'em"?:eek:
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,029
    edited July 2007
    For a repair, that is..........
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • fredv
    fredv Posts: 923
    edited July 2007
    For this one, it is not the case, sort of. You ship back to Pacific Valve (Geneva, IL) for repair. Whether they will ship back to China is a different story, but you don't pay the full shipping to China for sure :-)

    -fredv-
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited July 2007
    Too many knobs -- that's a deal killer regardless of brand.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • Midnite Mick
    Midnite Mick Posts: 1,591
    edited July 2007
    Zero wrote: »
    Save your pennies for something worth owning ; something to take pride in. China Fi? Blah

    HEY!!!:D
    Modwright SWL 9.0 SE (6Sons Audio Thunderbird PC with Oyaide 004 terminations)
    Consonance cd120T
    Consonance Cyber 800 tube monoblocks (6Sons Audio Thunderbird PC's with Oyaide 004 terminations)
    Usher CP 6311

    Phillips Pronto TS1000 Universal Remote
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited July 2007
    FWIW -- there's a lot of Chinese branded gear that is excellent such as Shanling. You gotta know what to look for and where to buy from.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • cbl117
    cbl117 Posts: 285
    edited July 2007
    For what its worth, I've been burned by a tube cd player I bought from pacific valve. I had the MHZS cd33e. Within a month of owning it the left channel develops popping noises. Based on my experience with chinese gear (which is quite limited) I'd stay FAR away.
    2 Channel

    Vandersteen 3a Sigs
    Music Reference RM-200
    Hovland HP-100
    VPI Scout w/ Benz Ace
    Rotel RCD-1072
    Cardas Golden Reference Speaker Cables
    Cardas Golden Reference Interconnects
    Cardas Golden Power Cords
    PS Audio UPC-200HB
    Black Diamond Racing Isolation
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  • fredv
    fredv Posts: 923
    edited July 2007
    It is quite true that the quality control (or lack of) of Chinese gears isn't as good they can be. That's one of the reasons why they are cheaper than the comparable boutique brands. Like Early said, some are pretty good and the odds of getting non-defective is better than leap of faith, but again, there is a reason why something is sold at certain price. cbl117, did PacificValve honor the warranty and fix it for you? If so, did they tell you what was wrong?

    -fredv-
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  • Shizelbs
    Shizelbs Posts: 7,433
    edited July 2007
    Zero wrote: »
    Save your pennies for something worth owning ; something to take pride in. China Fi? Blah

    I dare you to look my Shanling in the tubes and say that.
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,775
    edited July 2007
    For what its worth, I've been burned by a tube cd player I bought from pacific valve.

    I thought you said you bought it off Audiogon, and that's why Pacific Valve was not helpfull.?
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  • cbl117
    cbl117 Posts: 285
    edited July 2007
    Yeah my bad, I did word that wrong. I contacted the guy that was selling it on audiogon and he purchased from pacific valve. Pacific Valve will not offer warranty work since I did not buy it from them.
    2 Channel

    Vandersteen 3a Sigs
    Music Reference RM-200
    Hovland HP-100
    VPI Scout w/ Benz Ace
    Rotel RCD-1072
    Cardas Golden Reference Speaker Cables
    Cardas Golden Reference Interconnects
    Cardas Golden Power Cords
    PS Audio UPC-200HB
    Black Diamond Racing Isolation
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  • fredv
    fredv Posts: 923
    edited July 2007
    cbl117, maybe bad tube, did you try swapping the 2 tubes to see the noise follows? Also, try looking for some cold joints.

    -fredv-
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited July 2007
    If you want try the Chinese stuff, look at companies that already have a good record in North America like Antique Sound Lab, Shanling, Ming Da, Sheng Ya and a few others.

    Here's a budget one worth trying out... http://www.divertech.com/asllineone.html
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  • Yashu
    Yashu Posts: 772
    edited July 2007
    organ, I was looking at that very preamp the other day on audioadvisor, but I couldn't find many reviews on the net, forums or otherwise, about it. Have you tried it?

    On another OT note,

    I delt recently with a company that was getting a bad rep. because chinese knockoffs began to appear on ebay, exact copies of the products that this company produced, but with extremely inferior quality. People would buy this stuff, thinking they were getting a deal, and then something would break right away, and then these persons would contact the actual company thinking their product was under warranty. Since these were knockoffs, those people were screwed and, by word-of-mouth, the legit company was recieving an undiserved negative reputation.

    I will say that Pacific Valve sells some outdated products as-new, and non dealer authorized, and then those same types of warranty issues crop up. I don't quite trust them. They have some good deals, but they don't give you all the details.

    My point is, I would follow the advice given above about being careful... sometimes if a deal looks too good to be true, then sometimes it is. Going used is certainly a great way to get some good gear at a discount... esp. tube gear, since essentially, tubed designs are pretty tried and true.
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited July 2007
    Yashu,
    No, I haven't tried it but I own ASL's discontinued entry level pre amp, the AQ2004DT. I believe it retailed for $450 when it was around. That thing is amazing. The other day, I connected it to my ASL mono blocks and they have the most incredible dynamics. IMO, I think ASL is on the top of my list for getting the most bang for your $$$.

    I know what you mean about the Chinese rip-offs. There are good and bad stuff coming out of there. You really need to know what to look for. An excellent place that sell original designs is www.nysound.com , www.aaa-audio.com is another high end stuff from asia.
    I got my ASL pre online and the mono blocks from an authorized dealer (used). My CD player was delivered from Hong Kong (original cd-a8t). They have a distributer in North America now. I decided to gamble back then when they weren't very well known yet because the price was real good. The product is excellent. It replaced my NAD cd player.
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  • fredv
    fredv Posts: 923
    edited July 2007
    I will say that Pacific Valve sells some outdated products as-new, and non dealer authorized, and then those same types of warranty issues crop up. I don't quite trust them. They have some good deals, but they don't give you all the details.
    What does this mean? What kind of detail are you looking for? I bought a DAC from PacificValve. It was brand new, and it was the newest product line of Lite Audio. The website had very much everything I needed to know about this DAC before the purchase. I didn't experience what you described about this company.

    Regarding to authroized dealer, many Chinese lo-fi gears have no authorizaed dealers in US. If I had $100K, I could order a a couple hundred of gears from the factory and become an importer like PacificValve. You probably have seen the same amp being sold by different sellers. That is the exact reason. IMHO, service is very much the differentiation factor. They all sell the same product, but who will stand behind their customers will be ahead. I don't know PacificValve will stand behind their product, and I frankly don't want to find out, but they did ship very fast ........

    -fredv-
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