[pelliott321]

Has any one here bought any of their kits, the prices seem almost to good to be true.

[JakeJ]

I visited their website here: http://www.analogmetric.com/index.php

I am highly skeptical due to the fact that the product descriptions lack enough detail to really understand what you are getting for your money.  I need a list of everything included and "PV5 Preamplifier Kit ref Conrad John (Stereo)" isn't complete.  Although they do at least include an assembly manual.  I am also uncomfortable with the fact that most of their circuits appear to be copies of other manufacturer's patented products.

That's my .02.  YMMV

[Folsom]

That is because almost no one that knows technical language also is an extremely good translator.

They are just another Hong Kong enterprise. The things I have got for cheap builds for friends (other sources) work great. They are not at the fore front of anything, but for cheap they provide really decent sound. The 1543 DAC I got actually sounded smoother than most DAC's anywhere, from DIY HiFi supply. I ran it off a battery and gave it to a friend though. These Chinese dudes know electronics. In fact if you notice they are so engineer minded they just use high quality parts so they can name them, so you will buy them. They are very trendy.

My experience is that even if you have a technical question they don't know how to explain it to you, but will try.

But whatever, they want to make money so they sell real working products. Just don't expect them to best Pass Labs or anything like that.

[Bill Baker]

If you compare their circuits to the real thing, you will find they are 'variations' rather than an exact copy. They do this to stay away from infringement issues. I know of people who have tried various circuits from them and all mentioned they did work without any problems but as mentioned above, don't expect a world class product without significant modification. They appear to be a good, low cost introduction into audio kit building.
Some of their accessories, such as their stepped attenuators, are decent. I have used their stepped attenuators that use the Dale RN resistors and they work very well. Very nice for the money.

[pelliott321]

thanks guys
I will give them a try, just to see, very intriguing without much cost

[pelliott321]

I have received some of their stuff and the quality of the PCB's are very good. Tube sockets are ceramic, gold(looking)pins that are very tight grabbing on the tube pins. Dale resistors, Solen(maybe knock off) coupling caps.  Tech service is fast responding to questions, but you need to read the manuals very carefully and ask questions before ordering. The web site is a bit confusing.  I did not order all the stuff I need for my first project, but shipping is very fast, about a week to get it delivered. 

[JakeJ]

Cool.  Keep us posted on your project, please.

[pelliott321]

sorry I have not logged for awhile. not much to report other than I did not read the manual well enough to order all the right stuff. My first order was the GGPlus board and one PS. I was misled by some info on another forum that led me to believe the GGPlus only needs one PS but if I read the manual before I ordered I would have learned that the GGPlus indeed needs both +200Vdc and -200Vdc PS's.  Admittedly AM is a little scarce on details but their customer service response is fast. 
So the stuff took about a week to show up, easy to build, not many parts on the GGPlus board or the PS. Using the BOM and the schematic you can figure which parts go where.  Again very little instructions so some guess work on hooking up the positive and negative PS's. When I went to set up grounding scheme I screwed up and blew a VR. So I am waiting for that part to arrive.  I did have the pre-amp working for awhile but with some hum and thats why I was trying a different grounding system.   
Even with a couple of small set backs I still feel positive about the project.       

[guest1632]

sorry I have not logged for awhile. not much to report other than I did not read the manual well enough to order all the right stuff. My first order was the GGPlus board and one PS. I was misled by some info on another forum that led me to believe the GGPlus only needs one PS but if I read the manual before I ordered I would have learned that the GGPlus indeed needs both +200Vdc and -200Vdc PS's.  Admittedly AM is a little scarce on details but their customer service response is fast. 
So the stuff took about a week to show up, easy to build, not many parts on the GGPlus board or the PS. Using the BOM and the schematic you can figure which parts go where.  Again very little instructions so some guess work on hooking up the positive and negative PS's. When I went to set up grounding scheme I screwed up and blew a VR. So I am waiting for that part to arrive.  I did have the pre-amp working for awhile but with some hum and thats why I was trying a different grounding system.   
Even with a couple of small set backs I still feel positive about the project.       

Hi all, Well, I stuck my nnosenose in this one. Paul wasn't getting very far to get answers as to how to hook up both HV400 supply boards to his GG+ board. The tech guy kept telling me that this is how you hook up the transformer. I wrote him a few times even getting granular and told him I need to know from the Plus or Minus on each supply what component on the GG+ is hooked up.up. All this guy could do is tell me about the T120 transformer and how it was hooked up. So Paul this morning decides to just totally give up, cut up the three boards and throw them in the trash. He did keep the transformer. So that's the end of that project. So looks like it may not be a good idea to buy from this company after all.

Ray Bronk

[JohnR]

Hi all, Well, I stuck my nnosenose in this one. Paul wasn't getting very far to get answers as to how to hook up both HV400 supply boards to his GG+ board. The tech guy kept telling me that this is how you hook up the transformer. I wrote him a few times even getting granular and told him I need to know from the Plus or Minus on each supply what component on the GG+ is hooked up.up. All this guy could do is tell me about the T120 transformer and how it was hooked up. So Paul this morning decides to just totally give up, cut up the three boards and throw them in the trash. He did keep the transformer. So that's the end of that project. So looks like it may not be a good idea to buy from this company after all.

Ray Bronk

Ray, who is "Paul"?  Is that who we see as "pelliott321"?

[guest1632]

Ray, who is "Paul"?  Is that who we see as "pelliott321"?

Yes.

Ray Bronk

[wushuliu]

?

Why not ask anyone here? He didn't say which kit he got, either. You have to buy
these kits knowing customer support of any kind ain't gonna happen. So run straight
to The Lab or diyaudio.

Too bad. Paul's trash is getting full...

[Bill Baker]

I don't know if I would have thrown it away. A look at the schematics for these kits should give you a bit more insight as to what is needed above an beyond what the web site tells you. At lease Paul has a T120 transformer that he can use on another project. Their transformer are pretty good for the money but the shipping is what kills you for a single kit and/or transformer.

[simoon]

Friend of mine is using a complete 'Jadis' kit (board, parts, case, x-former) he got from an Chinese eBay seller a little over a year ago for about $600 shipped.

He's still using it. He did replace some caps.

While there's no way it sounds anywhere near as good as a legitimate Jadis, I would say it sounds substatially better than it should for $600. Probably better than anything at twice the price.

[simoon]

Double post.

[guest1632]

?

Why not ask anyone here? He didn't say which kit he got, either. You have to buy
these kits knowing customer support of any kind ain't gonna happen. So run straight
to The Lab or diyaudio.

Too bad. Paul's trash is getting full...

Actually, he did. It was the Grounded Grid Preamp. They have that one as well as a upgraded version of that preamp. i was told by the tech that he could have just used one supply, but it wouldn't be as quiet as using both supplies. That was where the rub came in. We couldn't get a straight answer as to how to hook up the Minus 200V supply. Yes, I agree it was to bad that he just cut them up and threw them away. This problem I think could have been sorted out. The tech told me that there were basically three wires to hook up to the GG+ board, and then apparently you hook up both Minuses of the two boards together. That is at least what I got out of it. I had corresponded with the tech several posts after the death of the boards, attempting to get some clearification of the hookup procedure. I finally gave up. i know you can buy there stuff already assembled. That might be worth the try.

Ray Bronk