Interested in the following entry level, affordable Tube Amps

[Billiam1962]

First are there any users of the Gemtune X-1, Nobsound NS-13, Nobsound 6P1 or Musical Paradise MP-301 MKIII?

I have noted that Amazon has these at good prices and most reviews are good. A few bad one's of course but that is true with most components that are considered entry level. I figure I may try one and if I get a good one, it will be a great amp for many years. Several people have commented that amps like this or the Musical Paradise model sound far above their price point and outshine any Solid State costing several times as much money. And a couple of people that have previous experience with tube amps said these amps can sound almost as good as something costing several thousand. Not as good but pretty close. Good enough for me to at least consider trying one.

Any comments from users of these or at least users of amps from Nobsound or Douk and Gemtune? All appear to be from the same manufacturer but are rebranded under different names. Mostly interested in how they sound and if they are reliable and don't fall apart after the warranty expires.

Would like to know the experiences people are having with these amps.

Thanks.

 

[4-2-7]

I would become a subscriber here and that way you could shop here for nice stuff. Lots of members here will build their own custom amps but they can't keep everything they want to build. So you'll see them come up for sale as well as used factory equipment all at reduced prices.

 

[darkblue94]

GemTune is a no-no.
It's no bargain at any price.

 

[Smitty43]

I have the MP301 and like it but it's only 6.5 watts and use it with Zu's and JBL's so be careful with the speakers that you use. What are you using now ?

 

[southportjac]

I also have the mp301 and really like it.
I am currently using it in my home office with klipsch kg2.5s. It has been reliable and gets plenty loud for my tastes.

 

[slimecity]

Theres a thread here on the Oldchen EL34 single ended. Get the fancier version if you get this one. It sounds very nice to me. The only thing I may consider is upgrading the preamp tubes to better russian ones.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/AIQ.../1644878382.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.lBHNgi

 

[Billiam1962]

Speakers are Mirage OM 10's. Towers. 6 Ohm and sensitivity is 91 db. Easily ran my Qinpu A3 hybrid which was 8.5 wpc. Also have a pair of Castle Conway 3 Towers and they are 8 ohm and at least 88 or 89 db on the sensitivity level. Will likely keep those paired with a Yamaha A500 amp.

Germtune a no no? I take it that it has reliability issues? I've read some pretty good reviews of it but a few dogs too.

 

[Billiam1962]

Theres a thread here on the Oldchen EL34 single ended. Get the fancier version if you get this one. It sounds very nice to me. The only thing I may consider is upgrading the preamp tubes to better russian ones.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/AIQ.../1644878382.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.lBHNgi

Thanks for the reply. Looks like exactly what I am looking for. If I am reading the info correctly this things puts out at least 10 wpc or possibly 12? Do you know exactly. Sometimes the info pages are confusing and have information that is not easily written in English.

 

[Billiam1962]

Trouble in Musical Paradise right now. It appears as though the MP-301 is out of stock. I suspect that is common because I've seen that note before when looking at their website. I plan to buy in April at this point.

 

[Billiam1962]

I would become a subscriber here and that way you could shop here for nice stuff. Lots of members here will build their own custom amps but they can't keep everything they want to build. So you'll see them come up for sale as well as used factory equipment all at reduced prices.

Subscriber? What is that.

 

[BillWojo]

There is another forum on here that allows you to both buy and sell if you subscribe to AK. It cost 25 bucks a year and is well worth it.
Have you ever noticed that no one try's to buy or sell in any of the forums? It's not allowed.
When you subscribe there is a whole other forum with subforum's that opens up.

BillWojo

 

[slimecity]

Thanks for the reply. Looks like exactly what I am looking for. If I am reading the info correctly this things puts out at least 10 wpc or possibly 12? Do you know exactly. Sometimes the info pages are confusing and have information that is not easily written in English.

The amp is set up at the factory to run in default mode (pretty sure this is ultralinear - around 10 watts) or in triode mode (around 8 wpc). Dont quote me on that - but thats my understanding.

I got it in the default mode -it sounds all good. If you order it and dont specify a preference, thats the mode you will get it in. Still waiting for it to break in - the chinese PSVane tubes are very good apparently but definitely not warm or "mullardy" sounding. Im hoping it will generally sound a bit warmer over time.

 

[DavidTT]

I bought the gemtune X-1 two weeks ago from Amazon. It's been great so far. I'm driving a pair of desktop Klipsch speakers in a home office environment and it works and sounds great. I've been very pleased so far and would not pay heed to the doubters.

 

[Billiam1962]

Slime City. What is the difference between ultra linear and triode?

DavidTT. Most of the reviews for the Gemtune and the comparable Nobsound version are good. There may still be a couple of bad one's that get through QC but that unfortunately is a fact of life with a lot of products these days regardless of what it is and where it is made. I remember when most American car brands were putting out some really bad cars fraught with mechanical problems. They got the message from declining sales and now make quality vehicles again.

 

[darkblue94]

I bought the gemtune X-1 two weeks ago from Amazon. It's been great so far. I'm driving a pair of desktop Klipsch speakers in a home office environment and it works and sounds great. I've been very pleased so far and would not pay heed to the doubters.

Come back in 6 months and give us an update on that. People only opine that the Gemtune sounds great until it gets compared to decent quality tube amplifiers.
I had a buddy who was ecstatic about his new Gemtune amplifier after he spent another $150 to replace all the crap tubes it came with and paid a tech close to another $100 to fix a crosstalk problem. I brought a couple of amplifiers over to his house for comparison purposes and that wiped the grin right off of his face.
Even my 50+ year old Magnavox console pull amplifier (total investment <$250) crapped all over the Gemtune.

 

[DavidTT]

There are other threads that discuss the nobsound EL34 model (NS-13), which is the same as the gemtune X-1. It gets good reviews from those who have acquired it. Some are put off by Chi-Fi. I'm not. For my application and wants the gemtune at $265 delivered has been great. Hobbyists ought to but what works best for them.

 

[slimecity]

Slime City. What is the difference between ultra linear and triode?

I'm not actually the best person to ask for this - but some tubes run in triode mode, others run in pentode mode. Some tubes can run in both modes (with some connection changes). Im still not really sure how interlinear mode fits into this.

Essentially and very simply - triode mode sound is "softer" however you get less power out of the tube. UL or pentode mode operation sounds more like transistors, and you get more power. Triode is better for softer/fluffy music, and pentode is better for rock.

This is something that you are better researching yourself - there is plenty of info out there on this topic. I am not qualified with tubes by any means.

 

[Dandy]

The Mullard Circuits for Tube Amplifiers book is a good place to start. This chapter includes a section on Output Stages. Ultralinear is halfway between pentode and triode operation. http://www.r-type.org/articles/art-003a.htm#010

You need suitable OPTs for ultralinear (Mullard calls it 'distributed loading') to make connections between the screen grids and and the plates. The Mullard 5-10 and 5-20 designs usually have ultralinear connections.

 

[GChief]

Even my 50+ year old Magnavox console pull amplifier (total investment <$250) crapped all over the Gemtune.

Yeah I was looking hard at the Chi-Fi stuff but ended up with a console pull Maggie for $200ish when all was said and done. And I am as sure as one can be of the reliability for the next 20yrs. I would wait and get something in BT from one of the guys that build amps.

 

[ZR9B]

I had a monoprice witch is a budget amp....it was ok but not great. Sent it back and found a nice Fisher 500....the Fisher is not ready and did cost more but I'm sure it will out last the budget amps and I hope sound better.