McChanson Valve Amp Owners Thread

[halogen1995]

My New Amp

I recently purchased a 6AS7 pEar Amp from Eric Chan (MCchanson) it is superb. I ordered a well set up top of the line 300B MarzE Amp 12 months ago and it was great, it had the full music tubes. The music was clear and full and very enjoyable. I also listened with PSVane tubes but preferred the full music tubes. Someone else is now listening to that Amp unfortunately for me. I did some research into the 6AS7 tube Amps and fortunately Eric produced those as well. What I was after was an Amp that sung to me like the 300B but with a little difference, I could experiment with tubes at low cost but quality sound. These Amps do the trick. They are point to point soldered by hand and not one circuit board in sight. The signal is as bare as is possible. This is what I was after. It came with a single Svetlana 6H13C same as a 6AS7, this is what I specified. It makes it very cheap and easy to experiment with power tubes. The sound was very close to the 300B I had. It is pleasant accurate and was satisfying. Mainly classical. I was very pleased and have been listening regularly. I then asked Eric to send me a variety of 6AS7 tubes. I finally settled on either the GE 6AS7 or the RCA 6AS7. The RCA is my personal favourite better than the 300B in my opinion, the roll off and accuracy of the timpani in Beethoven’s 7th is as natural as I have heard. As is opera I have listened to. This is my subjective view of course.

The beauty of this Amp is it’s very reasonable price and the ability to experiment with different tubes. There are Chinese, old Soviet tubes, new Russian tubes mil spec tubes, the US and UK versions and the 6080 line as well. Tubes for this Amp are around 20 to 50 dollars and there is only one which serves both channels. It’s an expensive proposition to do this with two 300B’s and the Amp sounds better than my 300B. The 300B tubes are also out of my price range.

Anyway I am very pleased. The cost is very reasonable, workmanship is quality, backup and advice is great and experimenting with tubes is fun and cheap. This is a hand made not mass produced Amp. Importantly my music is a pleasure to listen to.

[Bill206]

My New Amp

I recently purchased a 6AS7 pEar Amp from Eric Chan (MCchanson) it is superb. I ordered a well set up top of the line 300B MarzE Amp 12 months ago and it was great, it had the full music tubes. The music was clear and full and very enjoyable. I also listened with PSVane tubes but preferred the full music tubes. Someone else is now listening to that Amp unfortunately for me. I did some research into the 6AS7 tube Amps and fortunately Eric produced those as well. What I was after was an Amp that sung to me like the 300B but with a little difference, I could experiment with tubes at low cost but quality sound. These Amps do the trick. They are point to point soldered by hand and not one circuit board in sight. The signal is as bare as is possible. This is what I was after. It came with a single Svetlana 6H13C same as a 6AS7, this is what I specified. It makes it very cheap and easy to experiment with power tubes. The sound was very close to the 300B I had. It is pleasant accurate and was satisfying. Mainly classical. I was very pleased and have been listening regularly. I then asked Eric to send me a variety of 6AS7 tubes. I finally settled on either the GE 6AS7 or the RCA 6AS7. The RCA is my personal favourite better than the 300B in my opinion, the roll off and accuracy of the timpani in Beethoven’s 7th is as natural as I have heard. As is opera I have listened to. This is my subjective view of course.

The beauty of this Amp is it’s very reasonable price and the ability to experiment with different tubes. There are Chinese, old Soviet tubes, new Russian tubes mil spec tubes, the US and UK versions and the 6080 line as well. Tubes for this Amp are around 20 to 50 dollars and there is only one which serves both channels. It’s an expensive proposition to do this with two 300B’s and the Amp sounds better than my 300B. The 300B tubes are also out of my price range.

Anyway I am very pleased. The cost is very reasonable, workmanship is quality, backup and advice is great and experimenting with tubes is fun and cheap. This is a hand made not mass produced Amp. Importantly my music is a pleasure to listen to.

Are you able to post some pictures?....if you don't mind me asking, what was the all up cost of this?


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[JPete9]

For those of us with next to no valve exposure. How does it compare to your SS experiences? 

[dwbasement]

Are you able to post some pictures?....if you don't mind me asking, what was the all up cost of this?


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Send Eric an email mate, he is very helpful and ask as many quesrioms as you need.
mcchanson@gmail.com

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[Guest scumbag]

I don't think there is anything wrong with me linking to this - http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/mcchanson/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

Eric is a very courteous guy who will always respond to your questions.

Edited October 29, 2016 by scumbag

[halogen1995]

Hello

 

Yes, I will take a photo and upload it. How does it sound compared to my SS amps? Wonderful. I have had recently an old Harmonn Kardon 90 Watt that died a complete terminal death, atoll Electronique IN50 which was very nice and of course Eric's 300B. I also still have an idecco from peachtree audio. The Atoll was very pleasant to listen to and clear. It was not as detailed for me as the 300B or the current 6AS7 Amp. The idecco is more of a multi purpose Amp which is now a preamp connected to the McChanson Amp. It sounds great but not a lot of oomf. It doesn't come close to the Atoll. The best was the Harmon Kardon but that is still not as detailed and very very bright. Eric Amp, the 6AS7 I have now is a long way ahead of the other three. I have enjoyed pulling and pushing valves in and out over the last month. My latest find is the GE 5998. The Amp isn't optimised for this valve but it sounds just as good as the RCA. The GE 6AS7 is very good but a little behind the RCA and the 5998. I've also tried the winged Russian version, Chatham 6AS7, Shuguang and a few 6080's. The 5998 and the RCA come out on top for me which is probably not surprising. Mucking around using 1 valve is also cheap. I couldn't do that with the 300B. I borrowed some Chinese valves and that was it for the experiment. The speakers are old high sensitivity Peerless which sound great. The midrange is off getting refurbished, the yellow one is temporary.  They are on Eric's eBay site. Just type in McChanson Amplifier and they come up. 6AS7. The cost is 1380 minus the valves I have bought of course.

Edited October 31, 2016 by halogen1995
Typos

[halogen1995]

a

Edited October 31, 2016 by halogen1995
Typo

[dwbasement]

Hello
 
Yes, I will take a photo and upload it. How does it sound compared to my SS amps? Wonderful. I have had recently an old Harmonn Kardon 90 Watt that died a complete terminal death, atoll Electronique IN50 which was very nice and of course Eric's 300B. I also still have an idecco from peachtree audio. The Atoll was very pleasant to listen to and clear. It was not as detailed for me as the 300B or the current 6AS7 Amp. The idecco is more of a multi purpose Amp which is now a preamp connected to the McChanson Amp. It sounds great but not a lot of oomf. It doesn't come close to the Atoll. The best was the Harmon Kardon but that is still not as detailed and very very bright. Eric Amp, the 6AS7 I have now is a long way ahead of the other three. I have enjoyed pulling and pushing valves in and out over the last month. My latest find is the GE 5998. The Amp isn't optimised for this valve but it sounds just as good as the RCA. The GE 6AS7 is very good but a little behind the RCA and the 5998. I've also tried the winged Russian version, Chatham 6AS7, Shuguang and a few 6080's. The 5998 and the RCA come out on top for me which is probably not surprising. Mucking around using 1 valve is also cheap. I couldn't do that with the 300B. I borrowed some Chinese valves and that was it for the experiment. The speakers are old high sensitivity Peerless which sound great. The midrange is off getting refurbished, the yellow one is temporary.  They are on Eric's eBay site. Just type in McChanson Amplifier and they come up. 6AS7. The cost is 1380 minus the valves I have bought of course.

I believe the GE is 5998A which is different to tungsol 5998 or chatham 2339, these will give you bigger watt than 6as7 or 6080.
Chatham 6as7 should sound better if it is a JAN-CAGH copper grids.
GEC 6as7 brown is the best so far i have tried. GEC 6080 also nice if it is the earlier production ( the codes shouls be letter not numbers)
Chatham 2399 also very nice better than tungsol 5998 imo
Have a go with the rectifer tube as well, try some mullard gz34 code f32 or 31 but metal base is the best.
Enjoy!

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[halogen1995]

Thanks for the info Dennis

I will give those a try. GEC is a bit pricey but the possible later down the track. I changed the Chinese rectifier tube for a Mullard 5AR4. It improved the quality slightly.

[was_a]

 

For headphone aficionados with neutral to bright cans, Eric Chan's 2-Watt 6EM7 SET Super-amp (A$650) is great value and compares favourably with mainstream offerings by Schiit and Woo Audio.

 

 

Based in Sydney, Eric builds a variety of amplifiers under the McChanson moniker on eBay. Alternatively, he can be reached via his webpage McChanson — where a quick read of the blurb gives you a nice sense of Eric's personality. Formerly on staff at the University of Technology Sydney with qualifications in the computer and mathematics fields, Eric brings sound technical knowledge to the table. His ‘direct couple’ circuit forgoes capacitors in the signal path, while careful consideration is given to the layout of transformers, output tubes and internal hardware. Negative feedback is kept appropriately low.

 

Refreshingly, Eric is not enamoured with audiophile terminology, so don't expect a basket of metaphors when inquiring about the aural characteristics of his amplifiers. 'I just know when an amp sounds good, and when it doesn't,' he says.

 

 

Over the past few months I've had several McChansons on my desk, including a 6FD7 amp; a 'standard' 6EM7 with two sets of inputs and line-out facility; and the subject of this review, the 6EM7 Super-amp – as nicknamed by Eric – with one set of inputs, upgraded sockets and ALPS volume control. Importantly, the Super-amp also uses higher-grade transformers salvaged from old Telefunken tube radios. German valve radios from the 1960s represent the pinnacle of the wireless — in the original sense of the word, and the superior frequency response of the Telefunkens is evident in Eric's implementation, with better dynamics and transparency than the standard fare.

 

 

All McChansons require 150 hours to open up and shed that ‘cotton wool’ trait of fresh components. While the presentation of soundstage and tonal flavour is there from the beginning, the dynamics don’t really come alive until later. One attribute that does not change is the noise-floor, which is as low as you could hope for in a tube amp.

 

After break-in the Super-amp delivered a robust, open, natural sound that relegated some highly touted brands in my setup to apprenticeship status (see endnotes). Two watts and a low output impedance of 4 ohms is good enough for most headphones, including Sennheiser HD800 and HD650s, although their darker midrange isn’t a natural match, I found. But I was shopping specifically for an amp to drive my Grado RS2e and SR325e headsets, and with the Super-amp I found the ideal partner.

 

 

Through the Grados the balance across the frequency range was impeccable, with a little extra lite-cream in the midrange depending on the selection of output tubes. Transients were quick and well defined. Soundstage width and frontal dimension was equal to the $1000 league, although this auditory facet has never been a priority for me. I value tone and the ‘live’ sound of instruments far more, and this is where the McChanson really shone,  even in the company of a Woo WA6. With acoustic genres it also bested my Schiit amps – the popular poop brigade sounding brighter or thinner depending on the model. Perhaps this is better explained by what I call the 'Madurodam effect', where instruments sound less lifelike in size.

 

 

This is not apparent listening to a symphony from the start because all the proportions of the orchestra are the same, but plug in the McChanson and suddenly you hear what a cello really sounds like. Switch genres to Rage Against The Machine and there's plenty of heft to bass-lines and splashy cymbals galore. Some listeners might prefer a more honed or finely layered texture à la Chord Hugo, but I'm not one of them.

 

What I noticed in particular was how clear everything sounded as the Super-amp settled in. Vocals, violins, guitars, you name it. It's this unforced clarity that, to my ears, makes the McChanson an amp for grown-ups. Φ

 

 

Sources 

Marantz SA-11S2 SACD player
Audio-gd NFB-1 DAC

Topping D30 DAC

Headphones

Sennheiser HD800, HD650, HD600
Grado RS2e, SR325e
Beyerdynamic DT800

 

Other amps:

Schiit Lyr

Schiit Valhalla 2

Schiit Vali 2

Woo Audio WA6

Little Dot 1+

Chord Hugo (previously)

 

Audition albums

Mozart – Symphonies 29, 31, 32, 35 & 36 – Mackerras, Scottish Chamber (Linn)
Rachmaninov – 24 Preludes – Steven Osborne (Hyperion)
Beethoven – Symphonies 3 & 1 – Leibowitz, Royal Philharmonic (Chesky)
Donald Byrd – The Cat Walk (Audio Wave)
Free – Free (Island Masters)
The Presets – Pacifica
Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire

 

Tubes

Output: RCA 6EM7 side getter (clear, uncoloured sound); RCA 6EM7 coin base (a little more refined); Sylvania 6EM7 coin base (similar to previous, a little less definition); Realistic Japan 6EM7 side getter (obvious low-mids, pleasant); Pro/Comm Japan 6FD7 with adapter (good extension top to bottom and nice soundstage, more euphonic than in its natural habitat of a 6FD7 amp)

 

Rectifier: Sylvania 6BW4 grey plate (neutral, pairs well with most output tubes); Sylvania 6BW4 black plate (a little fuller in sound)

 

NB: Sylvania made most 6BW4 rectifiers. Many were re-labelled RCA, General Electric, Dumont, Tungsol etc. Still, the sound signature can vary between these 'brands' I've found.

 

 

 

Disclaimer:

I am not affiliated with McChanson. These words reflect my opinion as a grateful customer.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by was_a

[Neo]

Very well written and thoroughly enjoyed as a informative reference 

Thank you

Neo

[Happy]

Some of you would be aware of those pedestrian looking valve amps on eBay dubbed 'McChanson' amps. Pretty cheap for valve amps. Considering however, you can import way fancier looking valve amps with more mainstream tubes like EL34 etc at the similar prices you might wonder why anyone would bother buying his.

 

Well I have been one of his regular customers for years and my oversized horns have been driven by his 2WPC valve amps (plural because it's an active multi amping system).

 

And why do I bother buying his. It's because I find his valve amps to sound reasonably good without any hum. Now hum often becomes an issue when you're into valves. Some people pretend they can live with it as long as the music is great but no not me. Plus, most importantly, he lives some 30 mins drive from me and is only happy to check on your amp EVEN IF you bought it secondhand with no warranty. So, unlike Chinese imports the purchase of which can be a hefty gamble, Eric's amps are built for the Aussie voltage and can be serviced easily, quickly and cheaply by the man himself if you run into a problem. 

 

Did I just mention his name? Yes his name's not McChanson. That's not even his surname. He's called Eric. 

 

Enough on the long intro....

 

The problem with his amps apart from the unattractive (to me anyway) aesthetics is that you know WTF his amps are. He's got 6fd7 or 6em7 based 'mini' amps the output of which (whooping 2W if you're lucky) is comparable to the venerable (and usually way more expensive) 2a3 based amps. What the hell is 6fd7. My Google search indicated it was used for a purpose that has nil relevance to audio. I vaguely understand, however, 300B has a similar sort of lineage. And hey if we think that's ok it's all ok no?

 

On 6fd7, Eric had this to say:

Quote

The marzE amp [ie his previous series of amps] uses marzE outputs, which was designed and made by a factory, I do dismantle ONE to see its workmanship and material, it is very good, Z11 lamination, interlaced winding, and the result from a marzE amp is good. The current lines I have two model, one is timE amp using timE output which uses similar Z11 Core similar size, but co-designed with a friend, with some interlacing winding ( different from marzE - a bit simpler ).and the result is equally good. The other is pEar amp that applies only to SET amps - it is a NEW approach using different transformers. 

 

He doesn't profess to have a golden ear. He doesn't pretend to be at all. He doesn't place a very strong emphasis on the importance of output transformers unlike well the mainstream manufacturers in this field. So unless you reach the Tamura or Tango level he thinks them OPTs are not that different from each other (NB: relatively speaking that is). He just seemingly tries to find the best quality trannies at his cheap pricing. Oh and he's Chinese so he has access to better deals than most English speaking people would. 

 

Oh BTW, he also doesn't care about cables, caps etc....but he's happy to use whatever you get him to order etc. When I had the trio of my 6fd7 mini amps being made I supplied him Neotech whatever cabling, better connectors, plugs etc. No caps needed because the amp is direct coupled. I dunno what that means but I like how I don't have to worry about upgrade caps.

 

Currently he doesn't use 6fd7 anymore. He uses 6em7 instead now. He says this:

Quote

 

All standard amps are now use 6EM7 as driver tube ( equal to 6FD7 in bigger Octal base). 6FD7 and 6EM7 is a marvelous tube !! it contains a voltage amplifier triode (like half of a 6SL7) and a power triode (like a 2/3 2A3 ) - BEST as a driver tube for lazy power tubes like 300B, 6AS7. This tube is much better than traditional ones like 6SN7, 6SL7, or 12AX7,... One miss this tube is ones loss..

 

Please see picture that I salvage a marzE output. actually you cannot see much. The winding is interlaced. with the secondary paralleled - fairly compicated. lamination (core) is thin Z11 high quality. All things are good with chrome top cover. I acquired them through my friend in Hong Kong from a (big) transformer manufacturer in China. On the other hand the timE output are co-designed by my friend and myself, same core, simpler interlaced, looks not as good. 

 

 

 

 

 

So why do I care to post this info...?

 

Well I'm grateful that I managed to try his amps despite the mundane look and very foreign valves he uses. And I thought the potential buyers need to know more about his OPTs and oddball valves. And the above is something you don't see on his eBay ads. He's no marketer really.

 

Lastly, the aesthetics. I had some custom gloss finish Mulga slabs for the side burns for my mini amps. And recently bought a special aluminium chassis  300B on the classified here.

 

Anyway, enough typing. Hope this was entertaining at least to some degree. Eric was happy for me to publish this here. 

 

 

 

[Happy]

...instead of info on his amps he decided to tell us more about the man himself for some reason on his website: https://www.mcchanson.com/ ain’t he cute.

[goldiver]

https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/245042-mini-review-mcchanson-6em7-set-headphone-amp/?tab=comments#comment-3888180

[Happy]

2 minutes ago, goldiver said:

https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/245042-mini-review-mcchanson-6em7-set-headphone-amp/?tab=comments#comment-3888180

That’s a great write up thanks for the link

[Guest Muon N']

Eric is great, provides great service and good value amps.

 

I have only heard one of his guitar amps and was impressed with how it sounded.

[Lindsay Broadway]

Eric is wonderful. Many emails to and fro answering my dumb questions. I have two of his headphone amps, which (because I actually know nothing) I will describe here as The Bigger One (which can also drive some crappy old Sony speakers I had laying around but not my new Pro Ac clones) and The Smaller One, for headphones only. They just sound great to me.

 

I have recently re-engaged with Eric re my next purchase, an amp to bring music into my main listening area. Again, Eric is completely selfless with his time in seeking out my requirements and preferences and then describing what will work and what will not and why. He has offered to loan me various of his amps at no cost other than postage so I can hear them in my own setting. I will take him up on it soon.

 

McChanson! Highly recommended.

[Happy]

Some pics of my new (purchased used) McChanson amp. Parts and chassis upgrades.

 

 

 

[TerryO]

Great pictures of the amp Happy and the city, that looks like a view from Bondi Junction?

 

By the way how does the amp sound?

 

cheers Terry

Edited August 18, 2018 by TerryO

[Happy]

40 minutes ago, TerryO said:

Great pictures of the amp Happy and the city, that looks like a view from Bondi Junction?

 

By the way how does the amp sound?

 

cheers Terry

Thanks Terry look how I ended up addicted again lol.

Yes somewhere between the Junction and the Beach

 

The amp sounds fantastic. Just like any good 300B SET. Driving LS50 (85dB) without a sweat in a small room. Mates well with LS3/5a too. If the background noise is very high and we’re partying with Gangnam Style on NYE probably not a good fit as that’s what happened with Time Machine 300B with KEF 105.2 ages ago here, but otherwise more than adequate volume for my usual listening.

 

The build is absolutely impeccable and solid. 

 

I snabbed a good sized chopping board at K Mart yesterday and made a platform for it:

 

I also obtained the initial production pics. Eric makes sure you know what goes on during his build. And here’s an innard shot:

 

 

Simple, minimal and neat. No frills.

[Happy]

As I said the only issue I have with Eric’s amps is the look. The upgraded aluminium chassis solves that issue of mine:

 

 

 

[maxsimonjp]

Just ordered the junior 6EM7 SET 2W based on reputations and this thread. Will let you know

[Happy]

Well done @maxsimonjp I have a trio of 6fd7 that has been going on strong....the tube rolling becomes cheaper than most if you can be bothered too! Will need a pair of pretty high sensitive speakers though.

[maxsimonjp]

Thanks, the speakers are over 97db, my plan is to go active amplification with a xover, one amp per way, if i like this one i might get the 300B. I currently have a 2A3 so that will be enough amps

[Happy]

Yup that’s where I use the trio...3 pairs of horns