Stephe, I enjoy your videos so much. Your honesty and common sense approach to technical issues and how they impact the sound are invaluable. So glad I found your channel. Will continue to look for your upcoming videos. Warmest regards!
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@dtg4745 ай бұрын
Excellent followup on that Boyuurange A50.
@cobar53425 ай бұрын
I did all your mods on this amp and it really sounds very good. Kudos
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
It's a real sleeper. After the mods it really sounds amazing! I'm shocked they haven't stolen my circuit lol.
@kenlane3001Ай бұрын
Thank you for your content/blunt truth/and information that is easy on the ears! Cheers.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronicsАй бұрын
Thanks for listening
@figgymoonpowda5 ай бұрын
remarkable and so cool! well done.
@gabrieljung67633 ай бұрын
Another Great video as always. Thank you so much!
@MadR-zc4eg5 ай бұрын
THIS is your strength Stephe: tube amplifier 'reviews' with measurements and comments/suggestions how to improve them if they are not good enough. Subjective reviewers are in abundance, praising amps that are not worth it as YOU have shown. So you are unique in that respect. Please stick to designing and reviewing *with* measurements!!
@ryanwallman711417 күн бұрын
Awesome channel I’m a new subscriber ❤ thank you for all your expertise and knowledge on hifi audio and also caring for the consumer in what products are junk. I was wondering if you could give me some suggestions; I’m looking to purchase my first tube amp in the $1,000 to $2,000 range? Just the other day I was about to pull the trigger and buy the BoyuuRange A50 until I found your video. A guardian angel directed me to you and the video to give me sign 👍
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics16 күн бұрын
That's a tough price range. How much power do you need?
@1mctous5 ай бұрын
ePay has some Shugi 300B-Z's in the $300/pr. range. If I had a Reisong/Boyuurange A50, I'd wait for a suitable matched pair.
@plaubelmakina89165 ай бұрын
Great video. The value of finding an easily upgradable budget amp is substantial. General question, I don’t see many videos of McIntosh amp build dives. I guess I am curious if they’re built well and in what way. Are they better amps than homegrown and modified amps? Do they last a long time or do they just get rebuilt regularly because of the sunk costs?
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
I've never personally seen or even listened to one of their tube amps. I know they use very unique circuits and special wound output transformers. I'm personally not a fan of PC board tube amps so there is that.
@paulgood22185 ай бұрын
Fun video
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
Thanks! For a DIYer, this and especially the A12, after Skunkie mods, are a real bargain in tube HiFi.
@garyvitrano83625 ай бұрын
Thanks for another great video, do you think that the Reisong A12 would benefit from wiring the driver tubes in a cascode manner?
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
No, it's not needed or wanted. The mod I did for that amp works great, as the EL34 tube is MUCH easier to drive than a 300B tube.
@jazzin312 ай бұрын
There seems to be a discrepancy in the distortion graphs. In the 2nd video in the series, which is the "Boyuurange 300B Tube Amp Full Test" from 2 years ago after the original unboxing, out of the box with no mods, you said the distortion started quite low and went to 3% at 3A. While this video shows 1% distortion at very low power out of the box and 3% distortion at 1A. What am I missing?
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics2 ай бұрын
That these amps are all over the map with their performance. They come out of the box with different voltages measured on the tubes, a variety of parts inside them and who knows if they all have the same output transformers etc. I've worked on about 5 of these any they are all over the place from horrible QC.
@blejzerosamigos61155 ай бұрын
Thanks for the video, I did all the upgrades except transformers, which one would be a very good upgrade in your opinion I'm looking for meaningful difference to the A50 Thank you.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
ISO FC-30-3.5SII A pair is more than the amp costs but if you have those other cascode mods, it will sound like a $5000 amp IMHO.
@blejzerosamigos61154 ай бұрын
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Thank you for the recommendation, would you say that middle one power transformer need to be replaced as well?
@blejzerosamigos61152 ай бұрын
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics so I got some good quality output transformers but I ran into a problem, the holes didn't lineup so I have to drill new ones. This stainless steel plate is so hard I can't drill any thing, tried Cobalt drill bits and nothing any suggestions please help. Thank you
@5thlevelweb8874 ай бұрын
Stephe, how is the input sensitivity of this amp - after your mods - relative to the Nobsound 6P1 amp, also after your mods? I love the sound of the Nobsound amp after these updates - thank you for that - but my preamp is the passive Schiit Saga+ and I can't quite drive the Nobsound to clipping with it from my DAC. SoI am considering getting this amp and modding it as per your instructions as an upgrad.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics4 ай бұрын
You should be able to drive it straight from the DAC to clipping.
@5thlevelweb8874 ай бұрын
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics thanks. So it has more input sensitivity than the Nobsound? By the way, after doing your mods, I actually prefer the sound of the Nobsound (through Martin Logan speakers) to the much more expensive push-pull El34 Yaqin amp I was using previously.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics4 ай бұрын
I meant you should be able to drive the nobsound to clipping from your DAC. Is that preamp shaving off some of the signal strength? Some of those Schitt passive pre-amps have SUPER low impedance, which can be problematic to drive.
@5thlevelweb8874 ай бұрын
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics it's more like my DAC doesn't have very high output. It's a DIY TDA1541a DAC using the "fetishizator" jfet circuit ... I found a sweet spot for the IV resistors for sound quality and gave up some output in exchange. I will have to check and see if the Schiit reduces the output ... I don't think it does. My Yaqin MC13-S tube amp has no issues with input sensitivity in the same setup - it seems 6-8 db louder than the Nobsound at full volume. But the Nobsound sounds better now, thanks to your mods - more density and solidity to the stereo images, especially on voices and acoustic instruments. But I need more power in addition to wanting that SET sound. I am considering modding the A50 as per your instructions and maybe using 2 for vertical biamping my Martin Logans (500 Hz crossover frequency) ... with Rythmik subs handling the low bass. My other option is just getting a Willsenton r800i for a high powered SET tube amp. It would be great if you could test one of those.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics4 ай бұрын
I would NOT spend the $$$ on a r800i! What you are running into is some of those made in China amps have very high input sensitivity and can be driven to clipping with as little as 0.5Vrms or less. That's not normal. If your source has less than 2Vrms, that's also not normal. And yeah that Yaquin is a 40W push pull amp, of course it's going to be a lot louder on the same speakers as a 2W SE amp. I'm happy to continue this conversation on the phone or email stephe@skunkiedesigns.com
@abinashpradhan9355Ай бұрын
Would I damage the amp if I use GZ34 rectifier tubes without doing the mods ?
@SkunkieDesignsElectronicsАй бұрын
There is no point, it's not going to improve the sound.
@artvandelay45455 ай бұрын
Not sure this would be feasible or interesting or profitable for you but what about hosting an amp building workshop where everyone leaves with a completed amp. Of course the devils in the details but I'd bet you could get people to come to something like that. I'd consider depending on location.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
Possibly for something simple like a headphone amp?
@artvandelay45455 ай бұрын
Start with something simple to see how it goes. I really like the idea without thinking too much about the logistics.
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
I think I could figure out the logistics.
@sgasior66885 ай бұрын
Would Hashimoto H-30-3.5S work?
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics5 ай бұрын
Yes
@antoniojoseandreomartinez97105 ай бұрын
👍♥️🫂
@user-mp2rd9kt4o2 күн бұрын
Curious what the cost would be for the upgrades? Shop near me selling these amps for $550 CDN. Im new to this and wondering if good price and worth the effort?
@SkunkieDesignsElectronicsКүн бұрын
I don't do this type of work, and it's really geared more for DIY. The parts are reasonable, sadly good 300B tubes are not. Low budget and 300B do not go together. but this is the lowest entry point to a 300B amp and the modified version sounds pretty good. The Reisong A12 is cheaper, easier to mod, uses much less expensive tubes and IMHO sound as good or better than the A50. See this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ba2qkptq076diHU.html