[eclein]

Irishsammy did your amp arrive? Thoughts??

Hey I hooked up with a reviewer over on head-fi (skylab) and he had some Mullard pre-amp tubes for this that he never got to try as they arrrived after he sent the review unit back so he sold them to me for hardly anything and man they sound sweet-as in good not syrupy...very dynamic presentation now.
 So I have reissue Mullard EL34's(2) from Russia they say and some Mullard 6SK7GT (2) from Holland (probably Phillips I'm told)and they cost me a total of around $70 for all and this is hard to describe, it sounds more like real instruments than recorded instruments....No Hum, No Noise at all, very quiet, so the stock pre-amp tubes can be replaced and still be super quiet. Very neat and always amazing how tubes change the sound, like a new amp showed up...LOL..
 Irish let us know!!!

[Zerogravity]

I am considering buying the MK2 and it will be my first tube amp. I am very interested in hearing their reviews as well! I am concerned about the taps or lack  of selector and I will be using 8 ohm speakers (GR N3) so knowing it is set for 4 or 8 oms would be reassuring. My speakers sensitivity is fine at 90.5 db @ 1 Watt/1 Meter so I'm not worried about volume output, however MK2 seems to hum more using these 8 ohm speakers compared to 4 ohm as others have noted. I have no experience with Tube amps and I was looking at some of the other Chinese brands such as the Audioromy FU29, Music Angel Meng Series EL34b and the Yaqin 10L. They are all comparable in price to the MK2, but they have much more wattage. I was wondering if anyone with experience has compared these?

[Zerogravity]

This amplifier will still drive 8 ohm speakers at 6.5 watts per channel, according to Gary it was designed for 8 ohm speakers!

I'm not sure I can give you the answer you're looking for, but I'll tell you what I know. The miniwatt, the N3 in my case, has separate 4, 6, and 8 ohm taps, while the mk2 only has one set of posts. The mk2 has a stated output impedance of "4-8 ohms". I imagine the power rating on higher than 4 ohms is lower than 6.5 wpc, but I really don't know. 2 of my speaks are 8 ohms, the other is a tough 4. I only listened to the miniwatt on the 8 ohm speaks, but I did try out the mk2 on the 4 ohm to see whether the humming and other noise diminished on these speakers. (It did.)

[Zerogravity]

The MK2 arrived yesterday! All I can say is "Wow" it sounds fantastic! I'm just in shock from the level of build and sound quality at this price point! Absolutely no hum with Cans or Speakers. I was concerned about detail being diminished somewhat compared to my digital and Solid State amplification, but this is not the case, as I am hearing more detail. Not to say my Digital or Solid State amplification is high end but lower midlevel quality! I was also concerened about the 6.5 watts of single ended power not being enough to drive my GR Research N3 speakers  or my Less efficiant 86 db bookshelves? Rest assure this amp drives them well above levels I can tolerate. I measured the N3s at 90.5 db @ 1 watt/ 1 meter outputting a level 90 db at 15'! It's just hard for me to understand not knowing much about Tube Amps how so few watts can be this loud! My Marantz puts out 120 watts to the front channels and the MK2 is louder? This amplifier sounds just fantastic out of the box so I am anxious to
see what tube rolling can accomplish!
   Thanks for the recommendation Ed, I am just elated by this amp!

[milford3]

Glag to hear it Zero!!  I have had my MP-302 MK2 for a while now.  I was just listening with my Beyerdynamic DT-990 600 ohm phones.  The amp with the 990's just fills your head with unblievable sound its hard to discribe.  I rolled the power tubes to Shuguang EL34-B's.  The power output increased the db's even further.  Enjoy!!

[eclein]

All right!!!!! Thanks for letting us know, I got what I think are newer Mullard Labelled tubes in the back for power-EL34's right? And some real Mullards the fella "Skylab" was going to use but never did for his review-they are the smaller ones up front and I love this thing. It seems to get stronger and cleaner as time goes on but that could be my wishful thinking.....I was wondering if it handle N3's and thats good news because I think this amp with those speakers and a Squeezebox touch would be a great sounding system...easy, efficient, but musical for around a $1000 ish......

[milford3]

I forgot to add this to my last post.  I also rolled the preamp tubes to (NOS) Rauland's 6SK7GT's  This roll elimanated the last remaining hum.     Rock on my friends!

[Zerogravity]

Yes, the N3s were my biggest concern as I bought the amp mainly for the Floorstanders! I almost didn't get them because of SkyLabs review on HeadFi and he didn't think the amp would drive floorstanders in a big room. I called Gary and after telling him what the speakers were, he said it would sound excellent and should drive them to 95 db! So here I am thinking these measly 6.5 watts are going to call for the volume control to be maxed out... Wrong! With the MK2 adjusted halfway I was measuring 90+ db at 15 feet! In my opinion these speakers are excellent to begin with but this amp makes them come to life and seems more musical and all the instruments playing are much
more prominent! Soundstage, Imaging, depth and all the other qualities
improved! Details diminish with a tube amp especially the lower ranges? Not so with what I am hearing, in fact I hear more detail and the only thing I can compare it to, is being in a live venue as it's completely natural sounding, like I am hearing what I am supposed to be hearing, rather then listening to something unnatural? Milford, yes I agree about the headphones, it made a huge difference compared to my Marantz AVR. My Cans (Speaker Company HD Pro7) are cheap probably entry level quality and they sound so much better.
I hear what your saying on the Tubes, especially the Power Pentodes. Anyone want to give me their Treasures! My Friend, Robert purchased the amp as well and said it is superior all around compared to his much higher powered Yaqin 20L, he wants to try the Russian tubes and I am leaning towards Genelax Gold Lion? Heck I might not do anything at all since it sounds so darn good out if the box! If I were going to Roll tubes, I'll try to emulate what you have Ed! The last few recommendations seemed to work excellent. Hopefully I can find those tubes since they are so hard to get! Gotta go listen to some Porcupine Tree!

[Zerogravity]

Ed, I forgot to mention the N3s and the MK2 sound superb and much better then what I was using, but for Digital to Analog Conversion I am using the HRT Music Streamer II and StraightWire USB cable! I did hear the DAC in the Squeezebox was very good, but I am very happy with the analog quality of the MSII!

[eclein]

Zero- I think your setup is probably sounding awesome!!!  Good stuff, I was just saying in my post that if your like a new person interested in this hobby you can get really great sounding gear and do it very cost effectively. When I first came here for whatever reason I kept seeing these huge $$$$ amounts that folks were spending. I had just bought my car for 13K and the first week I was on board here checking stuff out somebody paid that much for a set of speakers and It really blew my mind, this hobby is like everything we just come into for the first time, cost look out of this world, and they can be or you can do like I do and find as many great bang for the buck ideas as you can and let other folks know!!!!! Enjoy Zero!!!!!

[Zerogravity]

Milford I am getting the same hum via the headphones, but nothing from any speaker I have tried.  it is very slight! As soon as I turn the volume up slightly it eliminates the hum. However I noticed this getting worse and found the stock 6L6 tubes to be defective and redplating the metal shield in the center of the tube! Gary applied the credit towards the EL34Bs and they are on the way down as south as you can go! I can't wait to hear them, I am also contemplating Genelex Gold Lion KT77 reissues or JJ Electronics KT77. I read good things from both brands but there is a big price differences and not sure the "You get what you pay for" phrase is going to apply here?
   Thank you on the heads up for the PreAmp tubes, I may take a look into that if the hum is not eliminated by installing properly working power tubes!

[eclein]

Zero what kind or brand of EL34's?? My hum lasted about a week and is now totally gone, so maybe time will be on your side here..