Qinpu A-6000 (MKll)

[LeRoy]

Howdy fella's, its been a while since I have posted anything as I had not felt inspired to share any new findings till now....

The short version is this little amp is the best amp I have ever purchased. Got it in about 4 days ago and simply turned on the amp for 24 hours to allow for some tube burn in before playing any music on it.

So, last night I got to spinning a variety of tunes: George Benson & Earl Klugh, Leonard Cohen, Allison Krauss, Youssou N'Dour, Dean Peer, Diane Schuur & Count Basie, Jean-Luc Ponty, and a mix of tunes from Sarah Jaroz, Lizz Wright, and Cassandra Wilson.

The Qinpu amp takes the best of the MiniWatt and best of the Rogue Cronus Magnum and plays back music without any of the shortcomings of either unit. The Q is quiet like the MW... very silent, lightweight and easy to handle, and really sings. Especially great presentation with strings, snappy snares, and beautiful cymbal taps and brushstrokes. Inner detail easily discerned and excellent separation of voices and instruments. Does not sound thick or syrupy.

Like the Rogue, the Q delivers deep weighty bass. No shortage of SPL within my listening room and only need to have to volume set to 12:00 to max out my limits of listening levels. Presentation is forward toward the listener and I normally sit about 14 feet away and it sounds like I got headphones on. Tonally rich, and unwavering pace...excellent pace. The bass on the Rogue is a little tighter and a just a tad faster but that's the only concession the Q makes to the Rogue.

In the end, 16.5 watts per channel, and a pair of 6N3 tubes is clearly outperforming the 90WPC 9 tubes Rogue, and also the 3.5 watt 3 tube MW. For only about $1900 less that the Rogue and only about $50.00 more than the MW this amp is a outright steal. The Q is giving my Dali Ikon 2's MK2's all it can handle (more on that later).

The Q amp also has a line out for sub woof or earphones, and AUX input (both are of the mini pin variety). The unit comes with a mini pin IC with the mini pin on one end and on the other end a pair of male pins/plugs. There is also and ipod/MP3 input and also an input for CD/DVD. Designed for one pair of speaker only the connectivity is very user friendly as the speaker posts are on top of the unit making connectivity very easy.

Paid $279/free shipping. This is a no brainer purchase. I plan to roll some tubes in the near future and will let you know what I am going to get. Its gonna be adios to the Rogue around here very shortly.

LeRoy

[frenchmon]

Sounds like you hit the jack pot! Congrats. Looking forward to reading more!

[Poultrygeist]

The Qinpu is a very nice solid state desk top amp ( with tube pre stage ) which should work well with many conventional speakers that need the extra power.

Don't see it competing with a Miniwatt SET driving HE full range speakers which don't require the extra power. It was up for the 6moons Realization Award which the Miniwatt won.

Leroy, you jettisoned the MW without trying it with the right speakers.

[LeRoy]

Hi P.G.,

Well, I did try the M.W. with the type of speaker it was meant to be paired with. About 3-4 months ago I took the MW over to friends house and hooked the MW amp to some modded Khorns and I think the Khorns are rated at 101 db. The modded Khorns sound amazing and it was quite amazing to see and hear an ittby bitty amp drive such huge speakers....but I felt the bass from MW was too wobbly..not controlled. Deep yes but sloppy. Still, that would be one of only two sniggles I had with the M.W.

The other is that the right speakers are the one's I already have which are the Dali's and System Audio brands and MW is not the right amp for these speakers. Overall, I preferred the MW over the Rogue in terms of SQ but not enough watts also had it's drawbacks for me.

The Qinpu delivers basically delivers the same SQ as the MW but with only with weightier bass with control and has no problem driving the right speakers for me. I was not aware of a 6 Moons shoot out with the MW-vs-Qinpu so I will have to check that out when I get back from work tonight.

[Poultrygeist]

"A good SET amp combined with using a full range driver with no crossover or a simple 2 way using minimum crossover parts on the tweeter only, has a purity and depth that you simply don't find in more conventional speakers" - Steve Deckert

DECWARE - Audio Paper - Troubleshooting hum problems

[Poultrygeist]

Miniwatt awards and reviews from around the world.

http://www.miniwatt.com.hk/reviews-a...s1-review.html

[LeRoy]

"A good SET amp combined with using a full range driver with no crossover or a simple 2 way using minimum crossover parts on the tweeter only, has a purity and depth that you simply don't find in more conventional speakers" - Steve Deckert

DECWARE - Audio Paper - Troubleshooting hum problems

Nice little article. Dekert also scribed this in the same article:
"In closing, remember this – It is dangerous to place amplifiers, speakers, cables etc., into neat little categories in an effort to make some sense of it all. Not all tube amps sound good. Not all solid- state amps sound bad."

I have never heard the opportunity to listen to a decware product and hopefully one day I will be fortunate to give a listen to one of their amps sometime.

[LeRoy]

Miniwatt awards and reviews from around the world.

http://www.miniwatt.com.hk/reviews-a...s1-review.html

Having had one in house for a while and testing it's merits with the modded Khorns the MW quite a bargain. However, for my audio needs and audio tastes the Quinpu is at least the equivalent bargain that the MW is. Have you had an opportunity to give a listen to the A-6000 mkll?

[Poultrygeist]

No but I'm sure it sounds good with your speakers. I've owned more expensive Chinese solid state tube hybrids ( Bada DC and Yaqin VK ) but ended up selling them as they weren't a good match for full range drivers.

I've heard my Miniwatt S1 driving a friend's Khorns but the combo sounded somewhat veiled. I don't think all that SET magic shines through when driving speakers with passive crossovers. Passives suck the life right out of the music and the Khorns use rather complex ones.

If you ask Steve if he's ever heard a bad sounding SET he would probably say no.

[winston]

congrats Leroy, reading your post, you seems very satisfied with your (Qinpu A- 6000 Mk11 puppy enjoy your purchase man