comparing 2 same amps (old vs new)

[gaussianmist]

To the OP: since one amp was bought 6 months later, were there any difference in price (Maybe attributable to tariffs)?

 

[khaliss]

To the OP: since one amp was bought 6 months later, were there any difference in price (Maybe attributable to tariffs)?

The price has increased by about $150+ for the amp itself (import/tariff fees already baked in)... but I paid about the same, there was a big discount coupon for December... as well as a shipping option from another seller for sea-based freight, which is considerably cheaper than Fedex/UPS/DHL Express. It did take 4 weeks to arrive, instead of just 5-6 day transit on the first amp I purchased. (my total cost was just under $750, taxes/import fees & shipping included)

Note that purchasing from AliExpress, if it says "import fees" included means you don't have to pay additional tariffs when the item arrives (I mean, that's my experience)

 

[gaussianmist]

The price has increased by about $150+ for the amp itself (import/tariff fees already baked in)... but I paid about the same, this is a big discount coupon for December... as well as a shipping option from another seller for sea-based freight, which is considerably cheaper than Fedex/UPS/DHL Express. It did take 4 weeks to arrive, instead of just 5-6 day transit on the first amp I purchased. (my total cost was just under $750, taxes/import fees & shipping included)

Note that purchasing from AliExpress, if it says "import fees" included means you don't have to pay additional tariffs when the item arrives (I mean, that's my experience)

Thanks.
I did notice that some pics of the 406 appear to differ i.e. VU is framed and other times unframed in Ali adds . Is that so?

 

[khaliss]

Thanks.
I did notice that some pics of the 406 appear to differ i.e. VU is framed and other times unframed in Ali adds . Is that so?

didn't notice that, but I did purchase from 2 different vendors... both look exactly the same. I can PM you the exact vendor I got the last one from

 

[deano454]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share an observation & perhaps get some feedback from the experienced & knowledgeable ASR members. So I purchased a second Musmys E-406 amp (original post here) with the intention of eventually having a true vertical bi-amp setup once I upgrade my main speakers (Martin Logan ESL) to a higher-end pair like the ML Classic ESL-9.
View attachment 500822

The first one I had for about 7 months now, and has probably between 600-1,000 hours of usage. It is still working reliably & remarkably well... sounds as good as the day I got it. So, before I disconnected the cables on the back, I did one more REW in-room measurement test. Then I plugged everything on the brand-new amp, without any changes to how the cabling (DAC > preamp > amp). Then after a bit of warmup, I measured with REW. Here are the graphs:

LEFT channel = red (new) | blue (old)
View attachment 500823
LEFT channel = green (new) | yellow (old)
View attachment 500824

Definitely consistent, however the difference is I actually had to lower the preamp volume by around 3db on the new amp before taking a snapshot of the graphs. It seems the newer amp is about 3db louder than the old. So I asked AI (Gemini) if this is normal (comparing old vs new), here's Gemini's answer:
View attachment 500825

Let me know what you guys think... is what Gemini AI claiming realistic? =)

Okay if you read their blog on their internet site it says categorically that output A is for bass and the B) is for mids and highs so there must be some crossover involved ? I hooked up a single input speaker to the A's and was dismayed ( I didn't know A was for bass and B was for mids and highs as had I known I wouldn't have bought it ) it was dull and lifeless , giving out thumpy bass vocals muted . Intuition kicked in and I hooked up another single input speaker to the B's and it sounded frigging great amazing actually . The irony was both pairs were Seas drivers one from a kit , the other Interdyn

 

[gaussianmist]

Okay if you read their blog on their internet site it says categorically that output A is for bass and the B) is for mids and highs so there must be some crossover involved ? I hooked up a single input speaker to the A's and was dismayed ( I didn't know A was for bass and B was for mids and highs as had I known I wouldn't have bought it ) it was dull and lifeless , giving out thumpy bass vocals muted . Intuition kicked in and I hooked up another single input speaker to the B's and it sounded frigging great amazing actually . The irony was both pairs were Seas drivers one from a kit , the other Interdyn

What do your REW measurements indicate re A and B? Link for the blog?

 

[gaussianmist]

Chinese Factories Are Legally Cloning $95,000 Amps for Under $1,000 and the Original Brands Won't Say a Word | ************
https://share.google/oKY5gkbZsAVVikPWD

 

[khaliss]

Okay if you read their blog on their internet site it says categorically that output A is for bass and the B) is for mids and highs so there must be some crossover involved ? I hooked up a single input speaker to the A's and was dismayed ( I didn't know A was for bass and B was for mids and highs as had I known I wouldn't have bought it ) it was dull and lifeless , giving out thumpy bass vocals muted . Intuition kicked in and I hooked up another single input speaker to the B's and it sounded frigging great amazing actually . The irony was both pairs were Seas drivers one from a kit , the other Interdyn

that's a strange observation... I certainly heard zero difference when connecting my Martin Logan ESLs between A & B terminals (though I didn't run measurements separately). I highly doubt there's an active crossover in the E-406 amp itself... that blog is just a suggestion on how to wire up your bi-wire/bi-amp speakers, but there is no crossover from the amp itself. It's an entry-level HiFi amp, why would the manufacturer add crossovers, it would just drive up cost!