Vacuum Tube Pre-amp from XiangSheng & Other Tube Gear from China

[Big Daddy]

I ordered a XiangSheng vacuum tube pre-amplifier from TubeStein Ebay Dealer in China.

XiangSheng Website.

TubeStein sells other Vacuum Tube Products on Ebay.


Before I discuss the pre-amp, a little introduction.

INTRODUCTION

In my two-channel room, I used a vintage Carver C-16 Sonic Holography Preamplifier for many years. Unfortunately, it started having some distortion problems and I decided to retire it and put it in the retired audio closet. That closet is really a gold mine and has more vintage products than Ebay. Among the retired equipment are a Carver stereo amplifier, a Pyle stereo amplifier, a 200 Sony CD changer, A 200 Sony DVD changer (new in an unopened box), a Carver tube CD player, a Rotel CD player, and a NAD CD player. Other items are a Yamaha center channel speaker, two Pioneer bookshelf speakers, an Audio Control equalizer, and many more items. Did I mention that there is a ton of car audio products in that closet and in the garage? Many of them are in working condition. I need to hire someone full-time to catalog them and sell them on Ebay. I don't need the money, but I can use the closet space.

SEARCH FOR A TWO-CHANNEL PRE-AMPLIFIER

Anyway, for the past several months I have been using a cheap Pyramid Preamplifier from Amazon for $70. I bought it as an interim product until I found a better quality preamplifier. Surprisingly, its performance has been beyond expectation and as a result, I have been hesitating to buy a new preamp. After I finished my big DIY speakers and added two 15" subwoofers to it, I realized that I needed a preamp with bass management. I started searching the web and finally limited my choices to Emotiva USP-1 for $449, Parasound Classic 2100 for $649, and Vincent Audio - SA-31 Hybrid Tube Preamplifier for $599.

I was leaning toward the Emotiva USP-1, not only because it was the cheapest of the three, mainly because I was under the assumption that it offers the best bass management options out of the three. My second choice was the Vincent SA-31 because I like the warmth of tube products. I started checking the reviews of the Emotiva unit and they were all good. However, there was absolutely no information about the available crossover frequencies. The USP-1 manual said the 11o'clock mark represented the 80Hz and there was no mention of the other marks. So I decided to send Emotiva an email and ask them about the markings for the crossovers on the back of the preamp. It showed the options are from 50Hz to 250Hz:

Emotiva USP-1.jpg

I specifically asked them if the marks were 1/3 octave or 1/6 octave marks. After a week, I received the most shocking response from Emotiva. This is their response:

Thank you for your interest in Emotiva. The marks on the high pass and low pass settings do not represent any specific frequencies or octaves. We just put them on there as a cosmetic feature more so than a technical feature. Most customers either set it all the way down at 50Hz or set it at 80Hz, you will just need to play with the settings to see what sounds the best in your system. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best Regards,

Nick Hetzler
Technical Support

Emotiva Audio Corporation

They should have known that a response like that pisses Big Daddy off. Immediately, the Emotiva USP-1 was dropped from one of the options. I decided to buy the Vincent SA-31. I really liked the tube in the Vincent, but it lacked bass management.

TWO-WAY CROSSOVER FROM HARRISON LABS

After an exhaustive search, I decided to buy the FMOD 2W-1 2-way crossover from Harrison Labs in Colorado. They also have an Ebay Store. I ordered mine from Ebay. Its price on Ebay was $45 plus $11.66 for shipping. This $50 gadget has an amazing range of crossover frequencies, but despite the good reviews, I was a bit concerned that a product with such a low price cannot possibly be that good.

PFMOD 2W-1 Two-way Adjustable Crossover

By removing factory jumpers in the high pass section you can select 50hz, 70hz, 100hz, or 150hz at 12 db per octave. Each high pass channel crossover frequency can be selected independently. This is a two channel device (stereo). The low pass section has two mono-mixed outputs with 16 selectable crossover frequencies from 42hz, 44Hz, 46Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, 52Hz, 55 Hz, 65Hz, 70Hz, 80Hz, 85Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz 18db per octave. Perfect for bi-amping your system. Passive device so there is no noise or distortion (transparent to your system).

To make a story short, I ordered the crossover and within four days I received the unit. I have been using it for a week now and its performance is as good as several hundred dollar crossovers. The crossover does not have fake cosmetic marks and has a very reasonable number of frequencies that you can use. I should send the description of this low-priced unit to Emotiva and tell to be ashamed of themselves for putting fake cosmetic marks on the back of their preamplifier. If you are in the market for an external crossover to actively bi-amp your speakers, don't hesitate to buy this unit.

THE XIANGSHENG 728A VACUUM TUBE PRE-AMPLIFIER

I was pretty satisfied with the FFMOD 2W-1 from Harrison Labs and ready to order the Vincent stereo preamplifier. Before I finalized my order with Audio Advisor, I decided to check Ebay for new tube preamps. Of course as I expected, most of the tube preamps were from Hong Kong and mainland China. Many of them were below $200, but they only had one or two inputs and I needed at least four inputs. Finally, I hit the jackpot and found this great-looking tube preamp at an exceptionally low price. It is the XiangSheng 728A Vacuum Valve Tube Pre-Amplifier in Black for $332 plus free airmail shipping. They also have the silver version. The delivery is expected to be in 10 days to two weeks. If the unit is as good as the manufacturer claims, it will be the deal of the century. The total cost of the tube pream and the Harrison Labs crossover was $388.66, a saving of $60 over the Emotiva USP-1. The XiangSheng Website.

The pre-amplifier improved based on famous Wada Shigeho's Style Electric circuit, which was Introduced by Wada Shigeho in the early 1960s and gave an excellent performance. Regarding the Wada Shigeho's Style Electric circuit, it not only still keep the good features of Marantz7, meanwhile it have superrior features in Dynamic, High/lLow Frequency Response, Resolution and Signal to Noise Ratio as compared to Marantz7. But apart from above features, it’s also not inferior to Marantz7 in Sound stage and airy feeling. Adopt 4pcs paper in oil capacitors and German WIMA capacitors for coupling effect, make the sound warm and delicate.

Specifications
Input Power: AC100V-AC240V available 60Hz/50Hz
Output Tube: 12AT7×2?12AU7×2?6Z4×2
Input Sensitivity: 400mV
Input impedance: 100K
Output ImpedanceL 600 ohm
Signal/Noise Ratio: 90dB
Frequency Response: 10Hz--30KHz
Humidity: 35%—80%
TMD: less than 0.01%
Input Jack: 4 groups
Output Jack: 2 groups
Size Dimension: W430mm × H80mm × D290mm
Colour: Black
Weight: 8 kg
Packing Includes: Full Set Valve, 1.5m Power Cord & Brand new in original box

[Blu-Benny]

Am I the only one that feels like an uneducated moron when reading big daddy’s threads??

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

Am I the only one that feels like an uneducated moron when reading big daddy’s threads??

Don't worry too much. I have no idea what I am talking about.

[Blu-Benny]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Don't worry too much. I have no idea what I am talking about.

U can say that big daddy, but I’ll never believe u!!

[MrFattBill]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

Am I the only one that feels like an uneducated moron when reading big daddy’s threads??

I'm sure we are a bigger club then most would admit

Bill

[Big Daddy]

I just received an email confirmation from China that they have received my payment through Paypal and ready to send the tube pre-amp by airmail.

[lojack1976]

HERE is a link to their website for those interested. They offer a wide variety of products. I actually stumbled across some of their products on an online retailer's site a couple of years ago and the feedback on the XS products they sold was pretty good. I've also read a lot of good feedback in various forums around the net, so it seems that this young company is making a lot of good products. Can't wait to hear your impressions Big Daddy!

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

HERE is a link to their website for those interested. They offer a wide variety of products. I actually stumbled across some of their products on an online retailer's site a couple of years ago and the feedback on the XS products they sold was pretty good. I've also read a lot of good feedback in various forums around the net, so it seems that this young company is making a lot of good products. Can't wait to hear your impressions Big Daddy!

Thank you for your comments. I am expecting to get the preamp by the end of next week. Hopefully, U.S. Customs does not make any trouble. I will definitely post my impression afer using it fro a week or so.

[Big Daddy]

I ordered the tube pre-amp from China on Novemeber 7, 2011. Immediately, I received a confirmation and yesterday I received this Email from them.

Hi,

Thanks for purchasing!

Your order is sent on 11-08-2011 (November 8, 2001) by airmail (7-14 days delivery).

Please inform me when it is arrived.

Thank you!!

They also gave me a tracking number. That's great service.

[Big Daddy]

My tube pre-amp from China cleared customs over the weekend and was delivered by the mailman today. Unfortunately, it required a signature and I wasn't home. It means I will have to wait another 24 hours before I can make love to it.

Edit:
False alarm. The tube pre-amp is sitting in the U.S. customs warehouse pending inspection. As far as the seller in China is concerned, he did his job and it is not his fault.

[Big Daddy]

From China with Love. Sexy things from Hong Kong.

[Milksnake]

Nice looking pre. I love tubes and currently own a Cayin A88-T that rocks ballz!

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Milksnake

Nice looking pre. I love tubes and currently own a Cayin A88-T that rocks ballz!

The prices from China are unbelivably low. This is a classy pre-amp that only cost me $320 including airmail delivery. I have been playing with it since last night. The amp that I use with it is a vintage Carver TFM-45, The speakers are DIY speakers. The pre-amp has improved the sound significantly. The bass became deeper and the highs have become sublime. Overall, I highly recommend for people to use a tube pre-amp with their solid state amplifiers, particularly for two-channel music.

[jlafrenz]

So how long before you get into tube rolling?

[sandman922]

what nice looking piece BIG DADDY !! i bet it sounds great with your diy speakers

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

From China with Love. Sexy things from Hong Kong.

[Show spoiler]

Vary Nice Big Daddy ~ I am on my way down to Cali. to visit you

Originally Posted by jlafrenz

So how long before you get into tube rolling?

Please Don't Give Him Any Ideas Judd He Has Cost Me Enough To This Point

[JJ]

I've seen these in eBay a whole bunch of times, but always wondered about their reliability and what one would do if they were to break. Guess you're the guinea pig, Frank. I read over their auctions a few times when I wanted a 2 ch setup in my bedroom.

[dolphinc]

Beautiful vacuum tube, will that work on bare floors or just carpets?

Good luck with it, I was looking into getting either a pre amp or a amp but after reading your post I will wait until I understand 1/10 of what you posted.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by jlafrenz

So how long before you get into tube rolling?

I urge all of you to buy a tube pre-amp and use it with your Emotiva two-channel amplifiers. Most people don't know what they are missing.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by sandman922

what nice looking piece BIG DADDY !! i bet it sounds great with your diy speakers

Thanks. They sound absolutely marvelous.