Mark Levinson Fake Copies

[watchnerd]

Not so cheap for this $1150 "Accuphase" "Fuiruas"

 

[watchnerd]

Yeah Purifi is something I might want to test in the main system, the ready-made NAD C298 looks espacially tasty. But I am actually looking for a portable amp I can throw in the car, drive around with, put in the basement, use with all kinds of old, possibly faulty speakers etc. So it has to be cheap, easy to fix if broken and able to take a beating while at the same time have an audio quality I can somewhat judge a speaker by and not think "this sounds terrible" all the time :-D

Pro amp is what you want.

 

[Sound86]

Some of the gear is first rate. The problem, as Sal pointed out, is how can you know for sure? And if you ship something half way around the planet, on your own, and then encounter a problem, can you solve it satisfactorily? At a reasonable cost?

If I could afford to live in Shenzhen I'd be all over some of the Chinese stuff you read about, here at ASR. Then, if there was a problem it would be easy to fix. But I don't, so I won't.

I have no engineering background, but I actually managed to fix an old amp once with some help from a german forum. The neat thing about vintage gear and also the new chinese clone amps of classic circuits is the rather easy layout and big components you can buy pretty much everywhere. If something is broken you can often see it with the naked eye or find the problem with also cheap measurement instruments and even if that doesnt help a somewhat accomplished engineer can find the problem for you.

New integrateds, active speakers etc no chance, they are either unfixable or only for a price almost as high as a new item.

So yeah I believe it is great chinese manufacturers actually re-engineer some of the classic circuits and built new cheap amplifiers this way. Although like you I would want to know a little more before ordering one from china.

 

[PortableMusic]

I dont much care honestly. Everybody into hifi will know its not a real Mark Levinson, everyone not into hifi will not even know what Mark Levinson is. That being said, what is value in hifi? May I remind you of Mark Levinsons "red rose" affair?
I am looking at the amplifier, I think it has a great chassis, the internal wiring and components look clean and if they actually used good components this will make a great cheap amplifier for what I am looking for.

Gosh golly, those are huge "ifs". how in the world would you ever be able to ascertain the quality of the components, or the actual design of the amp? furthermore, would you trust the integrity of, say, even merely the soldering?

as @watchnerd said, this isn't some passive device (like a watch). you put 110 volts into it and leave it plugged in 24/7! as he said, your house could potentially catch on fire!

i think even twice about devices with lithium batteries. unless they are from a well known and respected brand, who knows the quality of the lithium cells they have inside the device just to save costs?

chacun a son gout, but this is scary stuff from my point of view. ymmv, of course.

 

[StefaanE]

Not so cheap for this $1150 "Accuphase" "Fuiruas"

Neat link. A quick gander brings forth this beauty of a speaker called “Stalin”: (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...68#1000022185#1000066059#0_668#3468#15616#770): M-044 12-inch coaxial HIFI speaker passive Loudspeakers pk Tianlang speaker Stalin

 

[Sound86]

Pro amp is what you want.

I actually thought about that, but non-hifi studio disco equipment? God forbid, before I know it I am into car audio tuning. We cant have that

 

[Sound86]

Dartzeel NHB-268

Would really like to know how this one performs. That I would call a proper knock-off by all appearances

 

[PortableMusic]

Dartzeel NHB-268

Would really like to know how this one performs. That I would call a proper knock-off by all appearances

gosh, so if i bought ossetra caviar, jamon Iberico, ... and tossed them all into a pot, it'll invariably turn out to be a proper dish?

also, funny components:

2 pieces of New York balanced sockets

2 pieces of New York audio transformer

2 pieces of New York XLR balance sockets

i don't know what that means, "New York audio transformer". is there really such a thing? i don't build amps myself, so there may well be and i would not have heard about them, but i'm thinking that likely not. it's just some made up term that the writer thinks would make it sound better. please do educate me if there is such a thing as "New York audio transformers"!

 

[Vasr]

So, for the audio manufacturers, finding replicas in China is the signal that you have "arrived"?

 

[watchnerd]

Neat link. A quick gander brings forth this beauty of a speaker called “Stalin”: (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001830003654.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.34fe6342mWx1GE&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.169870.0&scm_id=1007.13339.169870.0&scm-url=1007.13339.169870.0&pvid=9e01b642-7edf-4477-b005-7f3c49ce208b&_t=gps-idcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.169870.0,pvid:9e01b642-7edf-4477-b005-7f3c49ce208b,tpp_buckets:668#0#131923#24_668#888#3325#5_668#2846#8111#1996_668#2717#7567#937_668#1000022185#1000066059#0_668#3468#15616#770): M-044 12-inch coaxial HIFI speaker passive Loudspeakers pk Tianlang speaker Stalin

I've always wanted a Tannoy named after a Communist dictator.

But I'm holding out for either the Castro or the Che models.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Recall some company doing a knock off of the B&W 801. Like the Levinson here, found out it was more "scaled" down variation.

Really scaled down my interest.

 

[Harmonie]

i think even twice about devices with lithium batteries. unless they are from a well known and respected brand, who knows the quality of the lithium cells they have inside the device just to save costs?

chacun a son gout, but this is scary stuff from my point of view. ymmv, of course.

Such as a respected brand like Samsung & their Galaxy Note 7 ?

 

[PortableMusic]

Such as a respected brand like Samsung & their Galaxy Note 7 ?

at least they blow up less frequently than joe's this or that.

 

[Harmonie]

at least they blow up less frequently than joe's this or that.

Just teasing.
Lithium cells and other batteries are now a true battery separator research subject to prevent fire.

 

[Colonel7]

Gosh golly, those are huge "ifs". how in the world would you ever be able to ascertain the quality of the components, or the actual design of the amp? furthermore, would you trust the integrity of, say, even merely the soldering?

as @watchnerd said, this isn't some passive device (like a watch). you put 110 volts into it and leave it plugged in 24/7! as he said, your house could potentially catch on fire!

i think even twice about devices with lithium batteries. unless they are from a well known and respected brand, who knows the quality of the lithium cells they have inside the device just to save costs?

chacun a son gout, but this is scary stuff from my point of view. ymmv, of course.

Yes, fake outside = fake inside, otherwise why go through with the fakery at all?

 

[steve59]

So did anyone follow up on the amp?

 

[Frank Dernie]

I have bought inexpensive HiFi from China, but not copies.
The problem here in the UK is they offer either 110V or 220V.
The European standard was set at 230V with tolerance to allow both those countries which had a system at 220V and 240V to fall within the tolerance without modification...
Here in this part of the UK the voltage is around 250V so 220V is not good, the transformers hum and the heaters for valves run too high. A local guy made a bucking transformer and they are quiet at 220 volts.
My US made projection screen hums like mad too, it is 220V spec, so not really suited to UK either.
The guy also checked over and amp and added insulation to CE standard and measured the distortion, which was normal for the type (40W push pull valve).
The whole purchase cost me about £1000 shipped, CD player and amp, both chosen for their styling not as copies.
Some of the cases would cost more to make here than the cost of the amplifier.

 

[wje]

So did anyone follow up on the amp?

You mean the fake Mark Levinson amp? In my comments about a month ago, I referenced that there was one available locally for sale. The lady selling it was firm on her $300 asking price when I communicated with her. So, I passed - only to realize about 2 weeks later, she dropped her asking price to $250, which is what I was willing to pay. She sold it in about 3 or 4 days after dropping the asking price and I didn't have time to reach out after the price change. Though, for similar money, I have a Denon POA 5200 that was made in Japan along with a POA 1500. If I could have nabbed the Levinson clone, I would used it for a few days to get some impressions, then sent it to Amir for testing here at ASR.

 

[PortableMusic]

Just teasing.
Lithium cells and other batteries are now a true battery separator research subject to prevent fire.

@Harmonie: may i ask what "true battery separator research" means please?

 

[Harmonie]

@Harmonie: may i ask what "true battery separator research" means please?

Please replace true by important/serious subject.
Battery separator is the media that separates the chemicals between the Cathode and Anode
A nail test is simply banging a nail in the cell which makes the cell leak

or a harsher example here: