New Toy - for (budget) hifi enthusiasts

[Jipster]

Got myself a new toy recently.A budget valve tube amp! An oxymoron perhaps but read on.....Was actually thinking of getting the Fatman iTube iPod Dock (see here http://www.fat-man.co.uk/) in the UK recently but something else caught my eye.....the Dared MP5. It was being sold by the good fellows at Desa Home Theater (Kompleks Desa) bundled together with decent Mordaunt Short MS900i 'bookshelfs'. I did my research and found out that the Dared people (made in china!) also made the Fatman products for TL of UK. So after much surfing I decided to take the plunge and here it is:

It looks really good....not in a condrad johnson or jadi's kind of way but at this price no one's complaining.... nice 'glow' shots:

The mordaunt's:

Brief specs - Dared MP5 13w per channel (eeeek! smallest output amp I've owned ever....) uses 2 6N1(ECC85'S) and 1 6E2 (EM87). The Mordaunt's can be bi-wired.I then looked at how to connect my iPod to the amp (the original idea was to get an iPod dock based system remember)..... I already had a monster cable set up I bought from the US... nice and simple - takes signal from the 3.5mm jack (for headphones) and splits signal into left and right channels:

BUT..... I thought the signal may not be as good if picked up from the 3.5mm jack ..... so in my anal retentiveness I decided on a different route - an iPod dock from apple!

Its got a weighted base so its stable and takes signal from apples proprietary 30pin set up found on all ipods (except shuffle). I thought this would be a more ideal arrangement as signal would be line level (or at least from my non-technical background). Here it is on the Modaunt's:

Its also got a remote to boot ..... nice one apple.....

From my non-technical understanding the dock's cabling splits the line signals into L,R audio (+ video if you want to hook up to a monitor) and power (usb).... i can even charge my pod while its playing with this arrangement:http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/therealjipster/9.jpgHow does it sound? pretty good i must say. I was running m,y ipod with the monster cables off a mini compo whose cd player had died (via aux input) and it was not 'open' enough.... but with this set up its big sound, nice smooth warm and enough detail ..... I am always mindful of the fact that its only an iPod based budget system but I am happy enough. Given the right material, its awesome actually (speakers are still being run in).I have just bi-wired it today and sound even better .....urm..... 'better separation'??... dunno..... but definitely sounds better.Very happy with this......... go on...... try it! :rock:

 

[Jipster]

Updates!

Ok bi-wired the sucker - pics:

Crime scene 1 - back of speaker

Crime Scene 2 - back of amp

Another look at iPod dock wiring arrangement - the 30 pin connector thingy is split into 3 separate wires: one for power (usb), one for audio left right channel (rca/phono plugs) and the third wire is for video (also rca/phono plug).... clever.....

30 pin connector at back of dock:

The audio left right plugs from back of amp.... they are 'metal' bodied.... nice quality but not sure about their 'audiophile' credentials though.... but no matter, line level signal was what we were after..

The Modaunts's.... not particularly handsome. Not sure about the silver finish match with faux wood veneer but nice and neat. By the way the stands i use are Target's (UK). Excellent simple black powdercoated design (flat packed for delivery) with spikes top and bottom. I use only the bottom spikes. For the top I use blue tack. This is the only thing I still have from my student hifi craze days....

A curious thing about the Dared's is that one of the tubes (or valves) have a cool 'magic eye' (their words) feature.... almost like a electronic graphic equaliser. Its a green glow which dances to the music being played .... played soft the lights dont move much but when you crank it up it .... rocks!

And yes... the teeny 13w per channel Dared's DO ROCK..... with the right kind of music. Rock as in Dire Straits (sorry I'm old) no problem..... tunnel of love is fabulous on this set up. But try heavier stuff.... say.... iron maiden (i happen to have number of the beast on my iPod) and the Dared's are less successful.... pleasant enough but not good. It sounds busy and jumbled up. But everything in between is really really good. Good bass extension is great, highs are smooth. I learned that if you pull the speakers out a bit from the wall behind the music literally comes together after that and bass is less bloated.

One caveat, as this is an iPod backed system, I find that quality of recording or in this case the bit rate plays an important role. 128 bit is ok but if can get better eg iTunes Plus (pay extra.... not the US99 cent ones) will play better. It also means if you use limewire go for the highest bit rate available ....

Other than that..... try it and enjoy. If anyone here has got the Fatman version would love to hear from you.

Next step...... better speaker cables (the ones I use are the bulk purchase, sold by the reel type multi strands sold by harvey norman for AV systems).... wondering if better cables will 'tighten' the sound up even more..... damn..... i'm beginning to sound like a contributor on HiFi Choice magazine

 

[535i]

Wow - pink iPod .... niceeeeee ... :rock:

 

[bmw7833]

Exclude the iPod, how much for whole set?

 

[affan66]

this is nice.. when can audition? I'd like to play tubes but afraid of small curious little fingers touching them....

 

[kevster30]

Nice! Burn those tubes in well my friend....play some material on a loop for around a week round the clock and the sweetness will sing through! Enjoy!

 

[shaifulo]

pakai tube to play ipod? try it with a turntable......

 

[pussy]

this is nice.. when can audition? I'd like to play tubes but afraid of small curious little fingers touching them....

build a litte cage around them... or put it in a sealed door with plenty of ventilation behind..

usually, the tubes run it will take some time and during start up not nice to hear, till they reach optimum level, so what i used to do, use a timer to on 2 hrs before i get home, then voila..:rock:

 

[Jipster]

535@'zam - 'pink' coz used to be my daughter's.... she moved on to iTouch. My own iTouch went to my young man so I took over ..... merry go round lah. How's the new 'wife'?

bmw7833 - a quite reasonable RM2100 (amp and speakers 1700, apple dock 200, apple composite av cable 200). Extras would be speaker stands (absolutely essential) Targets a bit difficult to get here probably quite pricey too. Speaker cables - cant remember how much they cost.

affan's - audition? by appointment. Valves have a cage dude. My first post has pics of them. The rest of the amp runs hot too but wont burn fingers I think

kev - yup running almost non-stop for past few days. Placed a small fan next to it now just to keep things in check. Its also for the speakers.

shiafulo - hey your company re-listed!! cool. Turntable? turntable scene too expensive lah these days. And LPs very very very limited. Will stick to more accessible stuff

puss - hey heard about your little.... how shall I say.... misadventure. Sorry to hear that my friend. That ride was the bomb. Anyway, what you doing for ride these days? another 3er?

Thanks to those who posted.

My quest for speaker cables have yet to start. Will post updates when i get those. The challenge will be to secure incremental enhancements ie each addition bearing positive results. a bit like modding BMWs LOL. I hope the change to new cables (likely more expensive) will further improve the sound.

 

[affan66]

bila bila??

The cage is insufficient. You know la those little fingers... They go poke poke also I'm scared. I sold my complete rig when they started poking the silk tweeters of my floorstanders.

I got some speaker cables and RCA cables lying around. I believe I still got Ms. Kimber , Ms. Tara lying around...

My initial thoughts is that since you already have a pretty "warm" setup, look for "fast" cables, usually made of silver rather than copper

 

[Jipster]

ahhh.... sage advice. Kimbers are pretty good stuff. Yes will be looking for such 'fast' cables. Maybe even solid core's. But then they were all the rage back in late eighties dont know whether they are still in vogue. Anyway budget is also a consideration Thanks mate.

 

[pussy]

there is this shop that sell lots of speaker cables at Low Yat... big shop too... ground floor next to maxis centre..

 

[pussy]

Jip, thanks for your concern.. these days riding with a 7...

 

[Jipster]

pusss..... fcuk! a 7er? I'm guessing an E38..... 728i or a 'fixed' nudge nudge wink wink 740i..... or a nice E32 slammed with alpina wheels in dolphin grey.... nice one mate. Thanks for the info. Will check out low yat then.... amazing place that.... has everything.

 

[pussy]

no, just a humble e32, 730i...

 

[kevster30]

Kimber cables are excellent! Have been running on Kimber PBJs since '94.....

 

[affan66]

way to go Peanut Butter and Jelly (PBJ) hehehe...
I used PBJs with B & K components last time before I moved on to Cardas.... alamak.... kacau thread orang

 

[ALBundy]

ahhh.... sage advice. Kimbers are pretty good stuff. Yes will be looking for such 'fast' cables. Maybe even solid core's. But then they were all the rage back in late eighties dont know whether they are still in vogue. Anyway budget is also a consideration Thanks mate.

I am using DNM solid core cables for my pair of Maggies. One or two local audio retailers do carry it I believe and for the sonic quality these cable do deliver, the price is relatively reasonable.

 

[Jules]

wah, abang jip left E30 world to go golfing, left that.....and now back to tube amps?

bila mau pusing balik to playing a e30?

U feel the RACUN? ........GOOD! he he

 

[flash]

Aiks, with the meow meow, nothing is "humble".

Jips, enjoying your new toy, I see. I have to give up the world of hi fi for a short while. Have one itchy finger around. Let's see, one "injured" speaker and many times almost blew my amp and speakers, yup, right, the volume was at max!

no, just a humble e32, 730i...