Well Francoise what can I say!
Let's go back to 2014 and a visit to Cape Town. This was the first time I had ever heard an SE amp and in particular the 845 tube based SE. I was immediately blown away by what I heard and the very special midrange, detail and complete presentation was forever imprinted in my mind.
Up until that point I had only ever heard Push Pull Valve designs in the form of my Consonance Cyber 800 and the Venerable Audio Research Ref 210 with the KT120 upgrade which I still own.
Since hearing the Unison Absolute 845, I have always dreamed of owning this or something similar, but the price of a decent 845, 211 or 805 single ended tube amplifier can be the same as a decent car of R200 to 300K a pair, the Absolute retailing at R600K.
I started to do some of my own research as to what alternatives there were to get the same or similar sound. One of the names that popped up was Ming DA and to my amazement my old friend Francois had just secured the Agency here is South Africa and was about to place his first order with them. One of the single ended valve amplifiers that I had done some research on was the MC3008A that uses the 805 power Tube fed by a single 300B and produce +-40watts class A. the 300B in its own right has earned the reputation for being one of the finest Valves in the world for low wattage Speakers or HE Speakers.
All of the reviews of this Amplifier were nothing short of fantastic and I shall quote Lukasz Lampizator
"This amplifier is wonderful - with charming mids, deep bass, pure sound and silent background. While it is not Ongaku, it is damn close. It beat my own super duper GM70 with everything the best I could find including Mundorf gold oil caps, E182CC drivers, copper plate power tubes, silver wiring etc. Remember to bias the power tubes well and voila - you have a world class monos for under 2 grand. Very much recommended"
For those of you that do not know what an AN Ongaku valve amp is, I urge you to read up about it!!!
On Monday I popped over to Francois place and Johan and I had a whole lot of fun listening to at least three different Ming Da amplifiers on various different speakers and I was gob smacked at how good they were especially when you consider the quality and price that they are being sold for.
The main reason for my visit however was to get my hands on the MC3008A which is now under review in my system. Out of habit I never listen to cold amplifiers or speakers and after I connected everything up I went down stairs and had a cup of tea and a chat with my wife before going back up to my room. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to hear! All of a sudden I was hearing Mids and highs like I heard in Cape Town and liquid deep tight bass that not even my AR 210's could make.
I know valve amplifiers produce treble that is easier and more convincing in its character than transistor amplifiers, but SEs like the MC3008 take the whole process a step further, with a quality that I have rarely encountered elsewhere. This amplifier charms your ears, with a smoothness that only the very best and expensive SET can do. There absolutely no sign of top end brightness or harshness, but at the same time this amplifier reaches to 38kHz with no sign of early roll off.
It produced a deliciously lucid yet fast midband quality and had Davis Silvian singing so clearly that I could swear he was just in front of the loudspeakers with a tactile presence that only valve amplifiers can manage. The amplifiers also painted up a glorious wide sound stage on which instruments and singers had a rich and intense presence. Unlike a lot of valve amps, this 3008A gave a big, solid feel to singers and instruments, giving a feeling of great depth. I have sat each night this week totally captivated by what I am hearing and last night my daughter (14) joined me before going to bed and commented that the speakers are sounding better than ever Daddy! I tend to agree with her!
Do your selves a favour and go listen at Francois place and judge for yourselves, these are no joke amplifiers that produce music like few others can. You might have to come to my place to listen to these MC3008A's as I don't think Francois will be getting them back.
Thanks for reading.
Stu
Let's go back to 2014 and a visit to Cape Town. This was the first time I had ever heard an SE amp and in particular the 845 tube based SE. I was immediately blown away by what I heard and the very special midrange, detail and complete presentation was forever imprinted in my mind.
Up until that point I had only ever heard Push Pull Valve designs in the form of my Consonance Cyber 800 and the Venerable Audio Research Ref 210 with the KT120 upgrade which I still own.
Since hearing the Unison Absolute 845, I have always dreamed of owning this or something similar, but the price of a decent 845, 211 or 805 single ended tube amplifier can be the same as a decent car of R200 to 300K a pair, the Absolute retailing at R600K.
I started to do some of my own research as to what alternatives there were to get the same or similar sound. One of the names that popped up was Ming DA and to my amazement my old friend Francois had just secured the Agency here is South Africa and was about to place his first order with them. One of the single ended valve amplifiers that I had done some research on was the MC3008A that uses the 805 power Tube fed by a single 300B and produce +-40watts class A. the 300B in its own right has earned the reputation for being one of the finest Valves in the world for low wattage Speakers or HE Speakers.
All of the reviews of this Amplifier were nothing short of fantastic and I shall quote Lukasz Lampizator
"This amplifier is wonderful - with charming mids, deep bass, pure sound and silent background. While it is not Ongaku, it is damn close. It beat my own super duper GM70 with everything the best I could find including Mundorf gold oil caps, E182CC drivers, copper plate power tubes, silver wiring etc. Remember to bias the power tubes well and voila - you have a world class monos for under 2 grand. Very much recommended"
For those of you that do not know what an AN Ongaku valve amp is, I urge you to read up about it!!!
On Monday I popped over to Francois place and Johan and I had a whole lot of fun listening to at least three different Ming Da amplifiers on various different speakers and I was gob smacked at how good they were especially when you consider the quality and price that they are being sold for.
The main reason for my visit however was to get my hands on the MC3008A which is now under review in my system. Out of habit I never listen to cold amplifiers or speakers and after I connected everything up I went down stairs and had a cup of tea and a chat with my wife before going back up to my room. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to hear! All of a sudden I was hearing Mids and highs like I heard in Cape Town and liquid deep tight bass that not even my AR 210's could make.
I know valve amplifiers produce treble that is easier and more convincing in its character than transistor amplifiers, but SEs like the MC3008 take the whole process a step further, with a quality that I have rarely encountered elsewhere. This amplifier charms your ears, with a smoothness that only the very best and expensive SET can do. There absolutely no sign of top end brightness or harshness, but at the same time this amplifier reaches to 38kHz with no sign of early roll off.
It produced a deliciously lucid yet fast midband quality and had Davis Silvian singing so clearly that I could swear he was just in front of the loudspeakers with a tactile presence that only valve amplifiers can manage. The amplifiers also painted up a glorious wide sound stage on which instruments and singers had a rich and intense presence. Unlike a lot of valve amps, this 3008A gave a big, solid feel to singers and instruments, giving a feeling of great depth. I have sat each night this week totally captivated by what I am hearing and last night my daughter (14) joined me before going to bed and commented that the speakers are sounding better than ever Daddy! I tend to agree with her!
Do your selves a favour and go listen at Francois place and judge for yourselves, these are no joke amplifiers that produce music like few others can. You might have to come to my place to listen to these MC3008A's as I don't think Francois will be getting them back.
Thanks for reading.
Stu
