Thank you, that's really motivating!!

I agree! More clone reviews it's awesome!!

@@badd99 Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Lol my fault entirely :) I think this is the cheap and great entry point to class A. I'm wondering how this compares to cheap jlh1969 amps, some guys say they are nice but not really transparent. This one is nice and transparent :)

@@k4syx when are you going to get the fm300a clone?

​@@k4syx Class A runs 🔥 Leave top lid off

@@MasterofPlay7 when budget permits. It's on my bucket list along with 255 pre or something similar

@@k4syx but I heard the fm255 will have ground loop hum when paired with the fm300a amp

Thank you! It is! :)

Thanks!

Yes when I saw re-edition of this amp I couldn't help but wonder why would they put bad stuff from the 80s back inside now. I would at least upgrade parts that are better and available now. Well, I guess there will be market for A1 modding soon :)

For sure, and same thing with speakers´ crossovers! 3 years ago I bought the so hyped Wharfedale Lintons, and was exceptionally underwhelmed and disappointed. Severely lacking high frequency resolution and detail, and actually ridiculously lousy spatial qualities. Airy ? No, not at all. My 40 years old Heybrook HB1:s just killed them, which was not a matter of nuances, but so stark it took merely some seconds to realize. Of course I started surfing the internet for similar experiences as mine, and soon found not only that, but a knowledgeable guy who had done some experimenting ( Mike at HEAD Quarter Acoustics ) with upgrading crossover components qualitywise in his Lintons. The transformation of these Lintons, after having upgraded all capacitors and all resistors from cheapest of the cheap China parts, to average or high quality ones, was so profound that my first spontaneous thought was that this must have been the speaker performance the designer originally signed off as "Mission accomplished", and that the purchasing department at the same company then destroyed by swapping overall for cheap crap components.

I believe the designer was Tim de Paravicini.

Bean counters ruin everything.

@@mrcarpentersc life :)

Happy to help. I like TPA3255, it has potential. I wonder where we will be with class D in a few years.

@k4syx I am going to measure my mono tpa3255 on 8 om load, but I expect to have pure 110w before clipping. For me, it is more than enough!

Upper mids and treble, yes. Stunning!

Dear Hi Fi Zone, thanks for the review. I have ordered one and enjoying it tremendously.😂

No. I'm keeping both of them. MF clone cannot power my Martin Logan electrostats. But it has these gorgeous mids that are just right with my less demanding speakers like Motion 35XTi.

Wow I was thinking about JLH - they seem popular, though I've read someone stating that they are not that clean and transparent, though nicely musical. What's your opinion on your amp?

@@k4syx Interesting, in my system JLH is somewhat neutral and clean. Not overly airy though. I was hoping for a bit more smooth treble. However, I run it directly through an ifi DAC with volume control, not through a separate preamplifier. Still thinking about to get a Musical Paradise mp-701 preamp, but can't afford it at the moment.

@@quma001 Funkenya recommended me MP-701 as the preamp for DartZeel clone I got some time ago. So, it seems that there's truth in JLH not being transparent and airy. Try this clone then, it's excellent!

@@k4syx Ok, I also bought the A1 (of course I did 😄) It was running for about 30 hours and I'm very impressed. (Although It was already good from the beginning.) Musical, full, smooth, yet airy. Bass is deep and pleasant but on the soft side. I can imagine it will be even better with a high quality preamp, but it is already at about 85% of my 3.5k Pathos integrated. 👍

@@quma001 And it will be even better. Tiny, amazing amp. I'm glad you enjoy it! :) I'm currently preparing two preamps for testing, two clones (obviously) that could work with MF and DartZeel clones ;)

Yes A1 is splendid with my He6SEv2 - blows away all dedicated headphone amps that I've tried. And for starters I can recommend A1 (its cheaper), but bear in mind that its only 2x20W so if you have low sensitivity or difficult load speakers go for DartZeel clone. DAC clones seem like very rare breed, I've seen just a few of them as there is plenty of great delta-sigma and r2r DACs coming from China with established brands. I dont think I saw any sales for this replica DACs that I've found...

@@k4syx I took the plunge and got the A1. I'll update you when it makes its way here. Thanks for the nudge

@@SartajAnand yes please do, let it burn in for some time and enjoy it - and share your opinion!

Good question. Sabaj includes DAC inside and it's like 3 times more expensive. And powerful, 150W AFAIR vs 20W. Soundwise, A30A is more precise: and MF clone has these gorgeous mids. It's very hard to compare them as they are very different, I would need some kind of table and scores in different categories:)

Thank you! I'd risk stating that this may sound better because it omits cheap pre section of original. I seriously have no idea why on earth they're again using tl072 opamps in 2024, that's like crippling the device on purpose for nostalgia

@@k4syx The original had the best midrange around as you've noted. Circuit was designed by Tim de Paravicini of Quad and EAR/ Yoshino fame... everything he put out had that clean holographic and harmonically rich and complex midrange. The phonostage in the original A1 was also first rate. If the clone is like the original you will find that little amp capable of driving just about anything...it really swings alot of current like most class A amps.

@@mikec8763 yes these two things (mids and imaging) are standing out here IMHO. Great little amp!

It was only called British Fidelity in the US, since the name Musical Fidelity was already registered by a small company in America. And in the UK, all Kenwood products were branded as Trio, so they would not be confused with the Kenwood who made kitchen appliances.

The company was NEVER called British Fidelity. BF was a a brand name used for a short time by MF for the North America markets..

I can if I'll find the time. It's really easy as you just need to disconnect two plugs from reach pot and connect them together with dip8 sized pins - like these used for computer mainboard jumpers. But I will try to find time for you :)

Always on the lookout for something that can feed my power hungry ML beasts :)

Hi! Thank you :) It'll fit your setup just fine, honestly I would say Oberons will be a bottleneck. This amp is not ashamed to perfectly drive my Martin Logan electrostats, so you'll be ready to get some better speakers in the future (with all due respect to Oberons which are great in their price range)

Well I have two of them and both are brilliant. I'm planning on reviewing more pre and power amp clones as this got me really interested, seems like a really big bang for a buck. Two "blind" shots and two superb amps!

3.3mV R, 4.7mV L, inputs disconnected, maximum volume set on both channels. Great question, thank you!

@@k4syx Those are good numbers and probably even better with inputs shorted.

@@airlineflyergg Yes these are good for such simple construction. I have to measure DartZeel clone as it's using DC servo, didn't think about it earlier.

I know, I know :) I'm trying though! I've been in Rotterdam and Amsterdam a few times on business trips - greetings! :) As for the amp that would be Musical Fidelity A1 or DartZeel clone I was referring to (what timestamp are we talking here?) As for power consumed let me check and get back to you :)

Ah ok. 🙂@@k4syx

@@onnonugteren2935 62.5W when playing with maximum volume (6Ohm nominal speaker load) and 63.8W idle with minimum volume. So more or less stable power consumption regardless of actual usage. Class A heater. 50C on the fins and 51C on the transistors, so not bad at all.

Ah thank you. That's complete and helpful. 🙂@@k4syx Nowadays it's expansive to use 60 Watts constantly, so as you said it has its price. Greetings again.

No idea, I haven't heard A1 so I won't try to guess... :(

Martin Logan Motion 15 and 35XTi, some short listening on Dali Ikon 1 MK2. This has not enough juice for my electrostats (unfortunately)

If I would be forced to pick, then only mids. DartZeel has amazing mids and this one amazing+1. Other than that it's very hard to compare them as DartZeel clone pulls 2x150W per channel and costs 2.5 times more.

Good thing it's easily done and fully reversible here, so we have options.

None, I'm always using my DAC volume control. In my experience, all pres I had always caused loss of some very fine detail (electrostats are that transparent)

@@k4syx What's the input impedance of this clone and does your DAC provide proper buffering and decent volume control? My experience is that unless the DAC IS a real good pre-amp too then connecting through a proper good pre provides more body and substance to the sound even at the expense of a tiny bit of transparency (the latter would depend on the quality of the pre used).

@@razisn I have no info on input impedance, I can try to measure it. As for the DAC you're right on both points. I am using Gustard X26 Pro and it has excellent volume control. Regarding the body of the sound - I know what you mean, but if its not in the output of the DAC it shouldnt be added via pre - but its my opinion and sound preference is very personal so I totally get that. But that last bit of transparency lost really hurts with electrostats because when youll bypass pre you clearly hear whats missing. Its not like that with dynamic drivers, in these setups I have available I could hear the difference as these are not as fast and precise. Which makes me note that I should retest this with speakers with AMT to see if I can spot the diference then :)

The A1 clone is coming my way and i will use it with a ldr II volume control and propably the metrum nos quad dac or the Cherry Marashino DAC i have. My speakers are Hyperion HPS-938 speakers and some used single ended tube amps with this speaker with succes. Again i don't expect it to have slamming bass.

@@GentielioGaming cool setup! How do you find ldr II? Do you like it? That's interesting device.

Me too! :)

I've seen Alephs and I was wondering why almost nobody buys them. Like just a few single sales here and there and the buyers comments looked like something generated by bots. I have a list of things that I'd like to try, but my budget has its limits :)

@@k4syx I built it from a kit. The total wasn't more than 100 dollars.

@@tamayaytam exactly, these are great constructions that still make your speakers dance. It's fun to build them and you can tune them with higher quality parts, wiring etc. The only thing that's hard for me is diying really good looking case. I love my stuff looking great and shiny;)

All of them have some input tolerance, but it's always good to ask the store. I think some of the guys here in the comments that got it are from the States

It's quite popular build with power stage only built based on available schematic by BRZHifi. They seem to make quite a lot of different clones (not always 1:1 builds) that have patents expired

FM ones, if you'll search for opinions on the web, there's a few people that got them and are very happy users now. Also, MF 701 came here and there as something really good, but I haven't heard it myself

@@k4syx I guess my question is this… Why are all these clones only analog amplifiers? Perhaps that’s not the right term? But why don’t any of them have digital inputs? Usb, Spdif? Hdmi Arc? And no integrated DACs?

@@TD05SSLegacy that's actually easy. All real hi end stuff does just one job. Amplifiers with DAC integrated are geared towards more common folk who just think about it as having more inputs. Reality is that if your serious about SQ you will pass on "free" built in DAC and get something better, dedicated. For example, many of such integrated amps are using 9016 or 9018 Sabre DACs. These were fine back in the day, but are dated now and were surpassed by any modern DAC. So if you want pure sound quality, you won't be using these internal dated chips, and hi-end manufacturers know about this. They will rather sell you separate HQ DAC than work on integrating something mediocre that can adversely affect sound quality of the whole device :)

Soon :) I need to get a few days off to record everything I have lined up.

Yes, that's a good pairing

If I can get my hands on it, sure :) I'm not a pro reviewer, I just review things that I get for me or family. If I'll have one or someone nearby will get one, then sure!

Dead silent, no sounds whatsoever. Also, clean and silent on max volume when idle. Probably should've mentioned that in the video, important point!

@@k4syx 👍

It's power amp with two pots added in line right after RCAs to attenuate input signal, so no preamp stage :)

@@k4syx Good to know, thanks. Do you think it might pair well with the SOUNDARTIST LS5/9 its 86db at 8ohm?

@@zenboy2000 should be fine, but remember this is just 20W per channel so no disco listening levels with less sensitive speakers.

Stay tuned, there's a heap of them in burn in as we speak :)

Hi! Yes I'm aware of that, though I don't understand why they put that bad pre back there. If I recall correctly bypassing it gives additional 10db to SNR. And 70plus was for fins of the clone :D (if you're referring to my video)

@@k4syx I don't know how much better SNR it provides, I don't believe it is as much as 10db. It provides 10db less gain. Fins are the heat sink on the clone, top plate is the heat sink on the non-clone.. When the system is thermally stabilised the output devices are as hot as the heat sinks by definition, so clone works hotter. The idea was to replicate the original one with as few modifications as possible to replicate the sound character of the original.

JBL recommends 25-200W amp for these so D5PRO.

It actually does some kind of soft start while it's blinking, thought I can't see separate module for that like it was in D5PRO. I wasn't tracing PCB to look for actual parts though.

And thanks for the tip on Omrons, I will watch them carefully!

Simply put sonically these are better (both DartZeel and Musical Fidelity clones). TPA3255 with good power supply will be more powerful and energy efficient than MF, but sound quality wise both clones are better. And I say that being huge fan of class D, there are amazing developments happening now!

@@k4syxThanks for your answer. issues with buying clones is warranty and reliability, how was the warranty for these clones?

@@naren.freak1c yes, these are two main worries. As for reliability my clone worked for past two weeks continuously with no problems (same with DartZeel clone) - the shop owner says that because of shipping costs they check them thoroughly before sending. As for warranty I think it's 6 or 12 months (gotta check this) for Ali purchases. The good thing is that clones have a simple and accessible modular build so it's modder and technician dream: easy to repair. But it would be good to have local dealer, though price probably wouldn't be that great then.

@@k4syx Thanks again. I think dartzeel clone was measured by German youtuber and power specs measured as promised and linearity looked good. I'll consider these ones when I'm able to build my speakers.

@@naren.freak1c Yes Frank measured D5PRO and if I recall correctly it was pulling a bit more power than specced.

It's 2x150W, it can do disco and welding as well ;)

I haven't heard the PMA so unfortunately I can't reliable answer that... Original amplifiers dating back to 89 can probably have capacitor problems by now - worth checking this out.

@@k4syx yeah I am going to recap when it gives problems, still noise free atm.

@@k4syx If you look at a picture of the circuit it looks pretty high quality compared to moden amps. probably due to outdated circuitry though haha.

@@StagnantMizuI think you should also look for changes in frequency response as it may change with drying caps but I'm sure you are aware of that, so just a side note here:)

@@k4syx No devices to measure that accurately. as long as it sounds good enough to give me goosebumps which most systems dont do I am happy with it.

This one inside is dual mono, so it would also work for dual bi-amping in such setup: one amp for one speaker (same input on both channels) and one speaker output connected to bass and another to treble speaker connectors. Im sure you know what I mean. This way we'd have 40W per speaker (=channel) totaling in 80 for both channels. Not so weak anymore!

Many speakers do not have dual inputs that would allow passive biamping. Although this may be dual mono internally, the transformer is still shared between channels. BTW the 30k$ amps that I tried in pseudomonoblocks was the Naim NAP500...dual mono EXCEPT for a shared transformer. Splitting them between channels was a huge improvement.

@@rontoolsie Kinda like this one: dual mono except for the transformer. Separate windings, yes, but common flux. Still better than 90prc of commercial stuff

@@k4syx not really, since bass is what needs the most power (at least in dynamic driver speakers). If one amp is not enough to drive your bass, then 2 amps connected in that scheme will probably not be enough either.

@@razisn In case of the electrostats the panel is the culprit as it goes as low as 1.2Ohm so its a difficult load. 20W for reasonably sensitive bass driver should be ok, as long as you are not planning to do disco in the stadium sized area ;) For home purposes in my experience its plenty, as long as you are not facing low sensitivity or difficult loads. Best regards!

Yes, shame! Seems like it's self-adhesive though so probably can be removed and replaced with something nicer. I've no idea why they do that when it's peanuts to order something that could help to promote the producers brand.

Yes the circuits are completely different, these are different constructions

1500 GBP V 230GBP........EVERYONES GONNA LISTEN TO U

Bass on this clone is very good, very well controlled and precise. It's not disco level bleeding bass that covers most of mid-range.

I have both ;) its like choosing between Ferrari and Lambo: if you can, get both. If you cant, then its personal preference. Whats the rest of your setup?