Dussun V8i Integrated Amplifier

earlmarc · « **on:** 15 Jun 2006, 09:38 pm »

The Dussun V8i Integrated amplifier is the most impressive amplifier I have ever seen, especially at $1600.00. The specs are off the charts for this kind of money. I spoke with Larry at the High End Palace about this amplifier. He likens it to a cross between the Mc Intosh/Jeff Roland. They demoed the Dussun with Dynaudio C4 speakers, and Larry felt it was right at home with these speakers as well as many others. Here is the Link: http://www.highendpalace.com/INDEX%20REF%20Integrated%20Amps.htm

tvad4 · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 09:56 pm »

That Dussun integrated is damn intriguing. $1600 for 250 wpc Class A? Are you kidding?

AAA-Audio offers a 30 day audition period. Amp is $1598.

http://www.aaa-audio.com/index-order.htm

Eric · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 10:47 pm »

Earl,

Are you going to try one?? How about you TVAD

tvad4 · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 10:56 pm »

I think I am going to try one, yes.

Seems like a no brainer.

earlmarc · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 11:04 pm »

Well, Tvad let me know what you think. I was going to pull the trigger. Seems you have a quicker draw.

Eric · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 11:08 pm »

I think I will try one as well

eric the red · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 11:19 pm »

90 lbs?

gitarretyp · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 11:23 pm »

Here's the same thing for much cheaper Dussun v8i.

eric the red · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 11:38 pm »

Quote from: gitarretyp

Here's the same thing for much cheaper Dussun v8i.

Don't forget to add in the 375.00 shipping cost plus not dealing with a US established dealer...

tvad4 · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Jun 2006, 11:45 pm »

Quote from: gitarretyp

Here's the same thing for much cheaper Dussun v8i.

You might want to read this exchange regarding grey market products from China.

http://www.aaa-audio.com/letters.htm

tvad4 · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 12:05 am »

Quote from: earlmarc

Well, Tvad let me know what you think. I was going to pull the trigger. Seems you have a quicker draw.

Is there only room for one Sheriff in town? You can try one, too. We'll compare notes.

I like that the Dussun can be used as a stand alone amp with a preamp.

earlmarc · « **Reply #11 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 12:11 am »

Gentlemen, I had a good long dicussion with Ping, the US distributor for Dusson. Dusson happens to be the OEM for Red Rose. He stated that Red Rose is Lexus and Dusson is Toyota. I asked him to compare the Dusson V8i to the DK Design MKIV integrated. He said that there isn't much to compare because the DK Design MK integrated is a mass marketed Chinese product and the Dusson is a truly high-end piece specially marketed for high-end audio with the build quality to fit that market. The capacitors in the Dusson are the same capacitors used in the Coda amplifiers, internal wiring by Ven Haus, and etc., all parts can't be disclosed. Larry from the High End Palace was asked to quess the price of the Dusson V8i, and quessed between $6000-$10,000 price range after he heard it. Dusson has only had one piece ever returned for warranty and that was because of shipping damage. Pretty damn impressive especially for $1598. The grey market products offered by New York Sound are altered products to fit the 120V US standard and thus are not warranted by Dusson because the transformers used by the gray market are not consistent with the design considerations of Dusson. I too will be trialing the Dusson V8i.

tvad4 · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 12:44 am »

Some hyperbole there. Some parts can't be disclosed? There are plenty of photos of the internals with the parts clearly marked.

The Dussun website says wiring for power transfer is Van den Hul, not Venhaus.

http://www.dussun.com/english/v8.html

Either way, $1598 is inexpensive enough to try it for 30 days. I had read about this amp a couple of times. The fact that it does not have a processor circuit is an issue for my system, but the price is right, and it can be used for the amplifier section alone.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

earlmarc · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 01:24 am »

Tvad, only relaying info received. My mistake about internal wiring. Ven, Van, ... know what I mean. Ping didn't know every part used in amplifier and thus couldn't disclose.

gitarretyp · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 03:47 am »

Quote from: eric the red

Quote from: gitarretyp
Here's the same thing for much cheaper Dussun v8i.

Don't forget to add in the 375.00 shipping cost plus not dealing with a US established dealer...

Sorry if i sound like a shill for ny sound, i've never even bought from them but...

Admittedly they ship directly from china (partially the reason for the high shipping cost. This is built into US dealer's prices), but they do offer warranties and are a legit company. There are several satisfied customer posts here and on audio asylum, including people that needed warranty service (search nysound).

Regarding the swapped transformers, i can't comment on that. However, since they ship direct, the work would have to be done overseas. Also, several of the items are available in 240V form only. Implying they don't have someone switching out transformers for them.

Also, i have mixed feelings on the whole grey market thing. When something sells for ~$500 US in china, is having support in this country worth 3-4 times the retail cost of the item? Of course i understand the reason for the mark-up (to a point anyway), but if you have pretty good electronics skills or have a friend that does, paying $2000 for a $500 item may not be worthwhile.

One example where the mark-up is definately not worth it is cables. Take a look at nysound's xindak cable prices and then look around at "US dealers" (even used xindak cables on audiogon sell for more than ny sound's prices).

Guan · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 04:01 am »

It’s nice to have some company. I've been using my V8-i for about 6 months driving Tyler Linbrook System speakers. It’s a musical gem of an amp.

I obtained a BIG sonic improvement after upgrading the pre/in jumpers (Oritek X-1) and using a VH AirSine or Black Sands Silver Reference power cord w/ silver wattgates. I would highly recommend all V8-i users to upgrade the stock jumpers and power cord as soon as you can.

A word about break-in. You need to be patient as those dual 1Kva toroidals and numerous big caps apparently take a long while to settle. A fellow user in HK with efficient Tannoy speakers said it took about 2-3 years (!) for the amp to reach peak potential albeit playing at low volumes. Fortunately I bought mine used.

I’m not convinced that the amp is a true full-on class A design. It runs barely warm. I suppose it could have some kind of sliding bias system like Krell.

Sound-wise – it has a big sound with a wide soundstage, tight tuneful and deep bass, a surprisingly transparent midrange and clear and unfatiguing top-end. It’s dead quiet in operation and it will clearly telegraph any changes you make to your system. The V8-i is not as refined nor does it have the sheer presence of the ARC Ref2 MkII / Rowland 8T combo I was using before. But musically, it’s in the same ballpark and for the price, it’s outrageously good!

Look forward to hear all your impressions.

tvad4 · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 04:08 am »

Dussun does not claim that the amp is Class A. Hyper Class A is what they call it, which is clearly a marketing term for a variation of Class A/B. Remember when DK was utilizing a version of Class A that they called Class A+? Nonsense. There is no such thing. Just as there is no such thing as Hyper Class A. Let's accept it for what it is, and listen to the amp rather than analyze marketing hype.

2-3 years for break-in? It better give me wood in a week or two, or it's going back.

pingong · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Jun 2006, 06:06 am »

Quote from: tvad4

Dussun does not claim that the amp is Class A. Hyper Class A is what they call it, which is clearly a marketing term for a variation of Class A/B. Remember when DK was utilizing a version of Class A that they called Class A+? Nonsense. There is no such thing. Just as there is no such thing as Hyper Class A. Let's accept it for what it is, and listen to the amp rather than analyze marketing hype.

2-3 years for break-in? It better give me wood in a week or two, or it's going back.

I have received many referral visits from this tread today. Thank you for your interests in Dussun's products. I am only interested in technical discussions. I will not involve in any other topics.

I'd like to share some pictures with every one here.

Pair of transistors’ output Es are showing in the pictures. Horizontal middle is zero.

Clearly, by class-a definition, V8i (250w/ch@8ohm) maintains its class-a output at its max power 250w@8ohm. Hyper class-a is Max class-a. Dussun amps use circuitries, not higher current to achieve its class-a. It runs cool and efficient.

* Picture 1, Dussun DS99 class-AB Integrated, class-AB static:

* Picture 2, Dussun DS99 class-AB Integrated, class-AB 1w@8ohm:

* Picture 3, Dussun V8i hyper class-a Integrated, class-a static:

* Picture 4, Dussun V8i hyper class-a Integrated, class-a 10w@8ohm:

* Picture 5, Dussun V8i hyper class-a Integrated, class-a 250w@8ohm:

Thanks,
Ping

Parnelli777 · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Jun 2006, 12:33 am »

Here is a very nice amp, that is a hybrid tube/MOSFET design, is fairly high powered(150 watts/ch), and is also $1600. And entirely manufactured in the U.S., if that matters to you. The company makes it's own transformers as well. I've really been enjoying this amp now for about 3 months, and gotta say that it's a genuine overachiever at it's price point.

http://www.smartdev.com/2x150vt.html

earlmarc · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Jun 2006, 12:20 pm »

Here is the similar amplifier offered by Red Rose Audio. Dusson is the OEM for Red Rose Audio. Retail $7000.00

http://www.redrosemusic.com/affirmation.shtml