[doug s.]

i have never heard the dared, but it's gotten nice rewiews.  and a bud i know a-b'd it w/a vtl tl5.5 and he said the dared was better.  also, tube rolling will further improve it.  all you need remote for, imo, is for wolume.

if you want to go integrated, you will be hard-pressed to top the yaqin mc-100b, imo - you can get one from an on-line wendor, or an ebay seller for $700 shipped, or less.  and, when grant fidelity was selling their iteration of it (same amp, different name - a-88?) at $1400, it was getting great rewiews.  it's amazingly flexible, built like a tank, and drop-dead beautiful, imo...

here's a rewiew of it, when it was being sold by a wendor for $1300:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0108/markhill_audio_mc100b.htm

and a quote from the summary:
"The MC100B is a breakthrough product and is superior to anything with comparable specifications at anything near to its price. Let me rephrase that statement, I don't know of any integrated tube Amplifier at this price that can equal the Markhill MC100B. Audiopals this is a no brainer."


doug s.

[doorman]

I thought he specified PRE AMP ? 
don

[doug s.]

I thought he specified PRE AMP ? 
don

that's why i commented on one he mentioned.  but, perhaps you should read more carefully.  from the o.p.'s first post:
"...Not to derail my own thread right off the bat, but do you think a tube pre and SS power amp is a good way to go opposed to a fully tubed integrated in the $5-800 range? I realize that is subjective, but would like to hear some thoughts on this as well...   

that's why i mentioned, as an alternative, a $700 integrated tube amp. 

doug s.

[jlafrenz]

What equipment will you be using the pre with? You'll get a lot more informed suggestions if you include this info.

Speakers are Aurum Cantus Monitor 1's

If you're willing to go used you could find a Counterpoint SA-3.1 for under $400.  The SA-7.1 would be even less.  Those should compare favorably to the newer offerings you've mentioned,  plus they have phono sections!  No remote though.

No problem going with a used piece of gear. Also remote is not a big issue for me. It is in a smaller secondary room where I can easily jump up and adjust volume if need be. I will take a look at the Counterpoint stuff. A built in phono stage would be a plus. Do you know off hand if the phono stage is a true tube output?

[guest1632]

I have an Aric 3.7 and adjusting it's gain control is a pita. Although it has 2 outputs it's weak when driving two amps or one amp and one sub. It's cheap lap top power supply is not a good feature for a preamp that cost $400.

I've read lots of good reviews on the Yaqin MS-12B which is less expensive and has a phono stage. I can't help but believe it would be better than the Aric.

The reviews I've read on the Yaqin have not! been very favorable. It's a DIYer dream to upgrade parts to make it sound much better than it does stock. That Aric if I read reviews right with proper tubes can really sound pretty good for what it is.

Ray

[doug s.]

The reviews I've read on the Yaqin have not! been very favorable. It's a DIYer dream to upgrade parts to make it sound much better than it does stock. That Aric if I read reviews right with proper tubes can really sound pretty good for what it is.

Ray

the yaqin rewiews i have read are similar to the one i posted.  yes, you can take it to near s.o.t.a. if you are a diy'er, and have something that is really a freaking bargain, if you are so inclined.  i suspect that it's inspired this type of behaviour because it's such a freaking over-achiever in the first place.  otherwise, no one would bother... 

ymmv,

doug s.

[PDR]

I own the Yaquin....Grant Fidelity A-88, had it for about 3 yrs now.
Purchased a Musical Paradise MP-401......this amp blows the A-88 away.
Not as powerful at 15w but is a keeper if you dont need more.
The $625 price is nice as well.....all point to point, build quality #1
Thats the one I'd get if your looking for a bargain integrate.

[sebrof]

I own the Yaquin....Grant Fidelity A-88, had it for about 3 yrs now.
Purchased a Musical Paradise MP-401......this amp blows the A-88 away.
Not as powerful at 15w but is a keeper if you dont need more.
The $625 price is nice as well.....all point to point, build quality #1
Thats the one I'd get if your looking for a bargain integrate.

In what system, what speakers, what music and volume and room size. What did one do better or worse than the other?
It's hard to glean what "Blows away" means with no context.

[PDR]

Ok.......Some context
My System:
Raysonic 128 Tube (6922EH) CDP
The Speakers are the GR Research V-1s, open baffle @ 97db
The room is 14'x26' fully treated.....heres a couple pics



Heres a pic of the A-88 and the MP401 side by side



The A-88 was used daily until the purchase of the 401, I enjoyed it. It wasnt until I received the 401
and compared them side by side that the differences were apparent.The 401 produces a bigger soundstage, both deeper and wider than the A-88, the tonality of instruments were more realistic as well.
I play a number of string and woodwinds so I am familiar with how they sound in not only the real world
but in the exact room pictured. As far as volume goes I dont usually play anything over 90db, my music tastes are varied but dont go to rap, heavy metal, or orchestral.
I thought perhaps that maybe the A-88 was just underachieving with the open baffles, but when I compared both my arrays on the two amps, the results were the same.....the music on the A-88 was thinner and a bit veiled compared to the 401. Moving the KT88s and the 12ax7 from the A-88 to the 401
for comparison still gave it to the 401 by a large margin.
Heres a pic of the arrays used.....

 

I am not a fan boy of MP, this is my first purchase. It is just a case where I own and could do a fair
comparison on my equipment.....the 401 really does blow the A-88 away.
If you have any direct questions about the differences in the two I would be happy to answer.

Perry

[Poultrygeist]

It doesn't surprise me that the MP sounds better as it's a SET amp. My 2a3 is magical with OB's.

But can we get back to opinions on preamps? Especially the Yaqin MS-12B aka Grant Fidelity P-307. The reviews at Vinyl Engine are glowing.

[doug s.]

agreed - if you don't need a lot of power, single-ended amps are magical.  i have a few myself.   

poultry, is this your thread?  the o.p. also asked about going w/an all tube integrated amp as well...

but... if you are wanting a sweet tube pre and can live w/bare-bones, this will be hard (or impossible?) to beat at its price, imo:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1321220408&/Melos-SHA-1-Tube-Preamp


and, if you happen to be into headfones, (which i am not), this still gets raves as one of the best headfone amps out there...

doug s.

[Poultrygeist]

I need a preamp with a phono and line stage.

[jlafrenz]

I think the Yaqin would be a great choice for myself if it had more output voltage. The pictures show only .7 V output. Not sure why that is all it can put out since that is less than some source gear. It wouldn't be enough for my application.

[doug s.]

I think the Yaqin would be a great choice for myself if it had more output voltage. The pictures show only .7 V output. Not sure why that is all it can put out since that is less than some source gear. It wouldn't be enough for my application.

you misunderstand the spec - what that means is it has a lot of gain - it only needs 0.7v to be driven to full power.  (i am sure you are talking about input sensitivity, not output.)  this is not uncommon for tube amps...  amps output watts not wolts.   

doug s.

[jlafrenz]

you misunderstand the spec - what that means is it has a lot of gain - it only needs 0.7v to be driven to full power.  (i am sure you are talking about input sensitivity, not output.)  this is not uncommon for tube amps...  amps output watts not wolts.   

doug s.

There aren't any specs being listed on the page I am looking at. Perhaps I will find one from another place to verify specs, but here is the picture I am looking at. I see it as .7V output. I need 1.25V to drive my amp to full power.

[doug s.]

There aren't any specs being listed on the page I am looking at. Perhaps I will find one from another place to verify specs, but here is the picture I am looking at. I see it as .7V output. I need 1.25V to drive my amp to full power.

oops - sorry; my bad - i thought you were talking about the mc-100b amp i mentioned.   

yes, i cannot say how the 0.7v  on that preamp would match up w/your amp rated at 1.25v...  i can say a quick web search has never indicated anyone having a problem w/this, and one user's amp i checked has input sensitivity of 1.0v, if that helps...

doug s.

[jlafrenz]

I actuall looked at the 100b and tried to buy one, but it git sold out from underneath me.  I haven't been really looking for one though since I noticed a used Cayin in the same price range. I really want to try one, but dont see them for that price any more. One of the other reasons I am giving SS a try with a tube pre is that there is the possibility of going to Magnepan MMG'S in the future. Not sure though. It would be nice to use the same amp combo with those, but realize that may change. I probably should have mentioned that before, but didn't because it is a big "if" and not sure it will happen.

[doug s.]

re: the ms-12b, it also seems that you could swap the two 12au7's for 12ax7's - this would prowide a little more gain.

perhaps querying one of the on-line wendors about this unit's gain might be worthwhile.  or, maybe not - hard to say what kind of reply you would get from the off-shore wendors! 
doug s.

doug s.

[doug s.]

I actuall looked at the 100b and tried to buy one, but it git sold out from underneath me.  I haven't been really looking for one though since I noticed a used Cayin in the same price range. I really want to try one, but dont see them for that price any more. One of the other reasons I am giving SS a try with a tube pre is that there is the possibility of going to Magnepan MMG'S in the future. Not sure though. It would be nice to use the same amp combo with those, but realize that may change. I probably should have mentioned that before, but didn't because it is a big "if" and not sure it will happen.

if you are interested in the mc100b, i would not buy one (or any of the yaqin stuff off ebay) w/o querying the seller first - try to offer a better price, shipping included.  note that many ebay sellers have a buy-it-now price, or "best offer"  so, you can still be within ebay's guidelines.  (of course, if you use a credit card for payment, you will still be protected.)  these sellers have lots of stuff, not yust one...  and, these (and lotsa other gear) are also offered f/s off of ebay.  example:

http://hi-end.on9mart.com/blog/whats_new/archives/cat_yaqin.html

http://cattylink.com/page437.html

http://www.nysound.com/exec/servlet/CategoryServlet?action=productdetail&itemID=yaq-2039-01001&formID=0

doug s.

[Poultrygeist]

Here is a Canadian ebay seller who tests the Yaqin MS-12B before shipment  and his prices are inline with those purchased directly from China. He will also answer any questions about this preamp.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130587444826?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649