Totally Tubular: The Tube Thread

kvetcha said:
Well, if I keep the Dec I will want to resell the KingKo. I’ve already returned it once on the seller’s dime and then paid to have it sent back to me after he diagnosed the issues I was having and did 48 hours of in-home testing to confirm all was well. I don’t have the heart to return it a second time and say ‘I got something I like more.’

I suppose if it comes to it, someone will get a nice deal on a pretty sweet little amp.
Click to expand...
The Decware gain stage wasn't cheap, but if you wanted to I'm sure you could find something WAY less expensive to give you a boost in the meantime. They have all kinds of similar Chi-Fi type options on Amazon in the $60 range that I haven't researched but would probably work.
 
Bloodlemons said:
The Decware gain stage wasn't cheap, but if you wanted to I'm sure you could find something WAY less expensive to give you a boost in the meantime. They have all kinds of similar Chi-Fi type options on Amazon in the $60 range that I haven't researched but would probably work.
Click to expand...
Honestly, even at 50% output the Dec gets loud enough to shake the walls, so the preamp is as much a convenience factor as anything else. I’d probably get a Schiit Freya or similar. Not in any rush.

This KingKo really is a gem, though. Its a shame the secondary market for it is basically non-existent.
 
kvetcha said:
Honestly, even at 50% output the Dec gets loud enough to shake the walls, so the preamp is as much a convenience factor as anything else. I’d probably get a Schiit Freya or similar. Not in any rush.

This KingKo really is a gem, though. Its a shame the secondary market for it is basically non-existent.
Click to expand...
IME, the gain stage added a little heft to the Decware detail. It wasn’t just a volume thing.
 
Joe Mac said:
Ooooooh! Do spill!
Click to expand...
Instead of diving into tubes, I decided to dip my toe in by snapping up @kvetcha’s Jolida. Then I’ll be able to make a better decision on what direction I go with tubes.

If I end up replacing the Focals with say a pair of Zu Souls (cough, cough, @hifiguy), I can take a good look at some SETs which I think is possibly more of what I’m looking for on the tube front. Especially, if I hang onto the Marantz which I most likely will.
 
After a lot of listening, I have decided to keep the KingKo KA-101 Pro, though perhaps not for the reasons one might expect.

First, the Decware sounds good. Really good. It sounds better than the KingKo, which itself is no slouch. The Dec has immense accuracy, detail, clarity, and a nuanced, holographic sound field. The KingKo feels more laterally compressed by comparison, and lacks some of that high end sparkle that makes reference recordings sound truly breathtaking, but it is still a smooth, confident and likable performer.

Both amps are sturdy and feature tank-like builds. The Decware's internal layout is uncommonly thoughtful and elegant, and its component quality unimpeachable. Except for the tubes, the whole amp is hand made in the US, from US-made components. The KingKo, in contrast, was designed in Hong Kong, but is assembled in mainland China. The Decware is, and feels like, the more expensive product, but both amplifiers demonstrate admirable attention to detail.

The Dec offers a lifetime warranty (although, being a used unit, it would need to undergo re-certification at Decware HQ), while the KingKo carries more limited one year coverage, and warranty repairs have to be covered by the vendor, Big Ear Stereo in Tempe, AZ.

So...why choose the KingKo?

To paraphrase Douglas Adams: The KingKo has won out over the great Decware Torii Jr in my system because, though it is smaller, less powerful, built abroad from materials of questionable provenance, and has absolutely no associated brand cachet, it scores over the bigger, more objectively impressive amp in three important respects.

First, it is slightly cheaper.

Second, its compact, squarish, squattish shape veritably shouts I AM FRIENDLY to my spouse, who enjoys listening to records on the stereo but does not feel comfortable approaching a thirty-pound power amp that looks like set dressing from Nikola Tesla's lab in The Prestige.

Third, as I am reselling the unit that I choose not to keep, I am vastly more likely to recover my initial investment with the Decware. Nobody knows what a KingKo is. Nobody wants to buy one slightly used.

The Decware is incredible. I hope to one day purchase another, when my life is better suited for it. But for me, right now, it feels a bit like having Beyonce as a weekend guest. It has me walking on eggshells, worrying that the rest of my system isn't up to snuff. When I'm listening to it, I'm constantly thinking about upgrades, looking for ways to better my space so that it won't be ashamed to be seen on my shelf.

The KingKo is 80% of the amp for 50% of the price, but it has no pretensions, no audiophile reputation to uphold. It's just happy to be here. And so I'm happy to have it.
 
Last edited:
Hmmm! So my cogs are spinning. I’m considering thinking about swapping out my PS Audio Gain Cell for a fully analogue preamp. I can get by without the DAC as I have a DAC board for the pi and my SACD is a player. I’d hope to recover around €1300 from it as a trade in so I’m wondering what might be a good call in the €1000-€2000 range or if I’m just insane and should stick with what I’ve got...

I’d love this one in my system but it’s out of my budget for now...

www.cloneyaudio.com

Copland CTA 305 — Cloney Audio

Vacuum tubes: ECC83/12AX7 (2) 6922 (2) Output voltage: Rated 2 V, max. 40 V Frequency response: +0, -1dB from 10 to 100kHz THD.: Phono – less than 0.1% (output 1 V) CD, line – less than 0.1% (output 1 V) Input sensitivity: Phono – 2.7mV (output 1 V) CD, line – 300 mV (output 1 V) In
www.cloneyaudio.com www.cloneyaudio.com
 
Joe Mac said:
Hmmm! So my cogs are spinning. I’m considering thinking about swapping out my PS Audio Gain Cell for a fully analogue preamp. I can get by without the DAC as I have a DAC board for the pi and my SACD is a player. I’d hope to recover around €1300 from it as a trade in so I’m wondering what might be a good call in the €1000-€2000 range or if I’m just insane and should stick with what I’ve got...

I’d love this one in my system but it’s out of my budget for now...

www.cloneyaudio.com

Copland CTA 305 — Cloney Audio

Vacuum tubes: ECC83/12AX7 (2) 6922 (2) Output voltage: Rated 2 V, max. 40 V Frequency response: +0, -1dB from 10 to 100kHz THD.: Phono – less than 0.1% (output 1 V) CD, line – less than 0.1% (output 1 V) Input sensitivity: Phono – 2.7mV (output 1 V) CD, line – 300 mV (output 1 V) In
www.cloneyaudio.com www.cloneyaudio.com
Click to expand...
You aren’t insane. Keep an eye on Audio Shark and see if you can score a Manley Jumbo Shrimp.
 
HiFi Guy said:
You aren’t insane. Keep an eye on Audio Shark and see if you can score a Manley Jumbo Shrimp.
Click to expand...

Cheers! I will do if they fit price wise. The reason I was looking at the Copland was that the local does trade ins and gives a fair price and carry them but if I could shift the PS myself I’d totally consider looking elsewhere. Might get saving and try to have the money for this and new speakers ready for next summer!
 
kvetcha said:
After a lot of listening, I have decided to keep the KingKo KA-101 Pro, though perhaps not for the reasons one might expect.

First, the Decware sounds good. Really good. It sounds better than the KingKo, which itself is no slouch. The Dec has immense accuracy, detail, clarity, and a nuanced, holographic sound field. The KingKo feels more laterally compressed by comparison, and lacks some of that high end sparkle that makes reference recordings sound truly breathtaking, but it is still a smooth, confident and likable performer.

Both amps are sturdy and feature tank-like builds. The Decware's internal layout is uncommonly thoughtful and elegant, and its component quality unimpeachable. Except for the tubes, the whole amp is hand made in the US, from US-made components. The KingKo, in contrast, was designed in Hong Kong, but is assembled in mainland China. The Decware is, and feels like, the more expensive product, but both amplifiers demonstrate admirable attention to detail.

The Dec offers a lifetime warranty (although, being a used unit, it would need to undergo re-certification at Decware HQ), while the KingKo carries more limited one year coverage, and warranty repairs have to be covered by the vendor, Big Ear Stereo in Tempe, AZ.

So...why choose the KingKo?

To paraphrase Douglas Adams: The KingKo has won out over the great Decware Torii Jr in my system because, though it is smaller, less powerful, built abroad from materials of questionable provenance, and has absolutely associated no brand cachet, it scores over the bigger, more objectively impressive amp in three important respects.

First, it is slightly cheaper.

Second, its compact, squarish, squattish shape veritably shouts I AM FRIENDLY to my spouse, who enjoys listening to records on the stereo but does not feel comfortable approaching a thirty-pound power amp that looks like set dressing from Nikola Tesla's lab in The Prestige.

Third, as I am reselling the unit that I choose not to keep, I am vastly more likely to recover my initial investment with the Decware. Nobody knows what a KingKo is. Nobody wants to buy one slightly used.

The Decware is incredible. I hope to one day purchase another, when my life is better suited for it. But for me, right now, it feels a bit like having Beyonce as a weekend guest. It has me walking on eggshells, worrying that the rest of my system isn't up to snuff. When I'm listening to it, I'm constantly thinking about upgrades, looking for ways to better my space so that it won't be ashamed to be seen on my shelf.

The KingKo is 80% of the amp for 50% of the price, but it has no pretensions, no audiophile reputation to uphold. It's just happy to be here. And so I'm happy to have it.
Click to expand...
I don’t care what Beyoncé thinks, you’re a Decware to me. :p
 
So here's the two-day hot take on the Jolida 801 I picked up from @kvetcha. This is the first tube amp I've had in ages; I think I was still using a Gemini table with a plastic platter at the time, and the amp wasn't very good either.

  • I'm loving the added midrange. Vocals are much more forward, even on recordings where I've felt they were buried in the mix. Let's Get It On is a prime example of this. Marvin is in just the right place now.
  • The bass is adequate for some things, but not very defined recordings with more going on. I don't know if this is something that's typical of the amp design or if it's the 6550's.
  • @kvetcha was kind enough to include a couple of different input tubes, Sovtek, Tung Sol, Gold Lion, and JJ. I've listened to all but the Tung Sol for a few hours at a time. I started with the Sovtek, which sounded better and better as the night went on. Strings were heavenly. The lack of bass definition was most noticeable with the GL's, but holy soundstage, Batman! I don't think I left these in long enough to hit their stride, but they had me wondering again what I could do about the bass. The JJ had a more narrow soundstage than the others, but felt really balanced while still favoring the midrange.
I'm curious what others who are more experienced with tube amps think I can do about the bass. Also, I'm getting a bit of hum in the speakers, more so in the left channel, even with the volume all the way down. It sounds similar to the hum I'm hearing coming from the amp. Is this from the transformers?
 
Jango said:
So here's the two-day hot take on the Jolida 801 I picked up from @kvetcha. This is the first tube amp I've had in ages; I think I was still using a Gemini table with a plastic platter at the time, and the amp wasn't very good either.

  • I'm loving the added midrange. Vocals are much more forward, even on recordings where I've felt they were buried in the mix. Let's Get It On is a prime example of this. Marvin is in just the right place now.
  • The bass is adequate for some things, but not very defined recordings with more going on. I don't know if this is something that's typical of the amp design or if it's the 6550's.
  • @kvetcha was kind enough to include a couple of different input tubes, Sovtek, Tung Sol, Gold Lion, and JJ. I've listened to all but the Tung Sol for a few hours at a time. I started with the Sovtek, which sounded better and better as the night went on. Strings were heavenly. The lack of bass definition was most noticeable with the GL's, but holy soundstage, Batman! I don't think I left these in long enough to hit their stride, but they had me wondering again what I could do about the bass. The JJ had a more narrow soundstage than the others, but felt really balanced while still favoring the midrange.
I'm curious what others who are more experienced with tube amps think I can do about the bass. Also, I'm getting a bit of hum in the speakers, more so in the left channel, even with the volume all the way down. It sounds similar to the hum I'm hearing coming from the amp. Is this from the transformers?
Click to expand...
I had the same observations with the various input tubes! The Gold Lions have this incredibly wide and dreamy soundfield, but can sound a little thin. The JJs are punchy and fun, but definitely less expansive.

Have you grounded to the amp? I don’t recall any hum and my system’s pretty sensitive to it.
 
kvetcha said:
I had the same observations with the various input tubes! The Gold Lions have this incredibly wide and dreamy soundfield, but can sound a little thin. The JJs are punchy and fun, but definitely less expansive.

Have you grounded to the amp? I don’t recall any hum and my system’s pretty sensitive to it.
Click to expand...
I haven't tried that. The table is grounded to the Sutherland.
 
Jango said:
So here's the two-day hot take on the Jolida 801 I picked up from @kvetcha. This is the first tube amp I've had in ages; I think I was still using a Gemini table with a plastic platter at the time, and the amp wasn't very good either.

  • I'm loving the added midrange. Vocals are much more forward, even on recordings where I've felt they were buried in the mix. Let's Get It On is a prime example of this. Marvin is in just the right place now.
  • The bass is adequate for some things, but not very defined recordings with more going on. I don't know if this is something that's typical of the amp design or if it's the 6550's.
  • @kvetcha was kind enough to include a couple of different input tubes, Sovtek, Tung Sol, Gold Lion, and JJ. I've listened to all but the Tung Sol for a few hours at a time. I started with the Sovtek, which sounded better and better as the night went on. Strings were heavenly. The lack of bass definition was most noticeable with the GL's, but holy soundstage, Batman! I don't think I left these in long enough to hit their stride, but they had me wondering again what I could do about the bass. The JJ had a more narrow soundstage than the others, but felt really balanced while still favoring the midrange.
I'm curious what others who are more experienced with tube amps think I can do about the bass. Also, I'm getting a bit of hum in the speakers, more so in the left channel, even with the volume all the way down. It sounds similar to the hum I'm hearing coming from the amp. Is this from the transformers?
Click to expand...
I really like modern Tung Sol tubes. Maybe give that one a shot too?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top