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2 reviews
Faux valve amp
I bought this with the knowledge that it's not a true valve amp as such ,having had similar amps beforehand and even dissecting a similar one of them ,however sound quality is similar with warmth of a valve amp,and analog qualities,
it takes about a half hour to get fully warmed up for best sound quality but worth the wait once your there,the valves are used in the preamp stage which does not require the voltages needed to power them very high hence it takes a good half hour to get some warmth into them ,
Although the instructions were in German it doesn't take a genius to work out how everything works or connects,not all MP3 players will work with it,those with physical hard drives will not work or connect whilst flash drive USB stick/ dongle types will,(a display would have been more helpful for the USB section rather than the VU input meter but then the vu gives it a retro look)
2x16watt RMS is ample enough for my needs anyway,I've got it hooked up to a set of vintage mission 700 s (100 watt)which sounds very good and easily fills the room with sound at just 10o clock on the volume dial ,
The gold control knobs look very nice against the silver front plate and wooden panel sides,again nice retro styling ,
Overall if you wanted true analog valve sound then your just going to have to pay the extra money for it ,this amp emulates a valve amp and has valves that look the part but it'll never be a true valve amp ,if you're familiar with guitar amps this would be a valvestate or voxtronic type of amp compared to an AC30 or jcm,
Two things I found annoying is the Bluetooth light flashes whilst my radio or other apps is playing and static when connected only,the second is I think the LED lights below the valves are a bit bright hence you cannot see the actual valve lighting very well ,
4/5*Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: art-of-sound-sb
Big Surprise
It looks great and frankly I wasn't really looking for hi quality, just something to power the JBL speakers in the office whilst I work.
The surprise is, its great build quality, versatile with the Blue tooth option and once its warmed up sounds pretty good too.
Some words of caution:
This is only a Hybrid, not a full valve amp. Only the preamp stage is valve powered, the power amp stage is solid state.
Coming from Germany it is supplied with a euro/schuko plug so you will need an adaptor or replace the plug in the UK.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: art-of-sound-sb