Muzishare X7 - an affordable hand-wired KT88 integrated made at the Line Magnetic factory

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by action pact, Dec 10, 2020.

  1. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Action: just curious......how would you compare the X7 soundstage "3d" factor to the recapped Fisher?

    Thanks.
     
  2. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    That room may be fine for them. It's not really a volume thing though - it's a sonic issue. The X7 was able to provide enough volume to my Linton's, albeit I had to push the volume past 50-60% to get to rocking volumes in my larger room. It just wasn't driving them with any real force or authority. They sounded polite and a bit lifeless.
     
    bridgeless likes this.
  3. WITS

    WITS Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Pittsburgh
    What speakers do you feel pair best with the X7?
     
  4. Nicode70

    Nicode70 Overspending completist

    Location:
    France
    I can only speak for the ones i have paired with the X7 (present or past). But both Atohm - Sirocco 1.0 and - GT1 are great matches.
     
    bridgeless likes this.
  5. knob twirler

    knob twirler Senior Member

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    I’m really considering buying replacements tubes for the frontline au7/ax7 tubes and the rectifier. I was going to buy the geneflex red lion russian tubes. I’m a tube neophyte and wondering whether any of you think it would be enough of an improvement over the stock tubes to justify the extra 200 plus dollars. If it matters, I’ve been running the x7 with a rega fono mk III preamp. Some things sound fantastic, but hardish guitar rock sometimes sounds too bright or sharp.
     
  6. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I think a high-current tube amp can drive the LS50s very well. I have a 22WPC SET amp with LS50s in my office and have never turned the knob past 10 o clock, more like 8 o'clock for normal low-volume listening levels.

    But mainly it is the tonal balance that makes it the match perfect for me.
     
    Spooky likes this.
  7. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Tough to say really as I’ve only tried a few. For me it just seems that certain speakers have a deserved reputation for needing lots of power to bring out their best where others can be run off a potato and sound good.

    I do think accurate sensitivity ratings play a part. Anything maybe 92db or higher would play very nicely with the X7. Anything below there’s more chance of hit or miss.
     
  8. Videotape

    Videotape Active Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    My room is 15x16’. I have LS50 Metas placed 8’ apart and about 7’ from the main listening position. They are 2x’ away from the back wall and toed in towards the listener.

    I did do a quick frequency scan using REW and did not find any large variations except for a strong roll off at 19khz on the X7. I do not get that type of rolloff on the Luxman R117.

    Also, the x7 in my room sounds much better when connected to the denon via the pre-in. I tried the line-in on the x7 with the denon as well a chromecast audio. I found both these to be too bright and harsh for my liking.
     
    Echoes Myron likes this.
  9. Rockenator

    Rockenator New Member

    Location:
    Colorado
    I've had the Muzzy X7 KT88 for over a year now. I bought it through Amazon Prime as I did not want to wait or have any issues with a return. A little more expensive but it was worth it to me. It arrived in ten days. It was so heavy that my USPS postman took me out to his truck, lol, and I carried it in my house. After picking it up, I'm sure he was glad that I brought it in as it's quite heavy. I saved the old guy's gonads as the expense of mine. A rest break before I got it downstairs.

    A couple comments and suggestions:

    1. Don't immediately roll any tubes. See how it sounds after 20, 50 hours of break-in. I find the power tubes to be more than adequate, IMHO.
    2. The headphone jack is superb. I use the Triode mode with my Grado cans. A nice way to listen to the tube sound - wired.
    3. I paired the Muzishare amp with a set of Danish Dali Evidence 470 speakers - 90 dB sensitivity. This is the absolute key into getting the right sound - - the right speakers. I was very fortunate to find a pristine set, locally, as I took a flyer and bought them knowing nothing about DALI, their company or speakers. What a great surprise. Warm sounding, lots of air, solid, tight bass, great vocals and mid-range. A perfect pairing.
    4. I have an ARCAM CDS50 CD/SACD player and I stream with a Bluesound Node 2i (QoBuz). All sound excellent.
    5. I remember exchanging Emails with Yong Lee (China Hi-Fi) and while I did not buy from him (I originally was going to buy a smaller amp but decided on the Muzishare and Amazon) - - he said most of the returns have to do with folks playing around with the biasing. I haven't touched mine and luckily, knock-knock, they work fine.
    6. The only tube I rolled (and the tube that makes the most difference) was the preamp 12AX7 which I replaced with a NOS Tungsram from Upscale Audio. It took a couple hours to break in but the sound was deeper, more solid bass and extension. It was like an octave to two lower.
    7. I found the sockets to be a little tight with the one tube I rolled (12AX7) Some socket savers are probably a good idea if you intend to roll a lot.

    All in all, I'm very happy with my Muzishare X7 KT88. It was the sound I was looking for. Like in college sans the Lava Lamp. :>)
     
    Twinsfan007 and Shackz71 like this.
  10. Vinylistener

    Vinylistener Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Usa
    Seems the price went up on amazon, it's now almost $1500. If it drops back to 1200, will buy for sure, i know it can be found for less on aliexpress but i rather deal with amazon. If it goes up in price again, then i will just save up for Mcintosh MA342 -)
     
  11. Yakbob

    Yakbob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    Very insightful thread, and I appreciate all the great content within. Question for x7 owners on it's compatibility with REL sub woofers (using their speaker level connection cable). Can this be done on this amp?
     
  12. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    You absolutely will get better performance from better tubes. I found the stock tubes to be comparatively thin/bright sounding, particularly the preamp tubes. I changed the tubes in this order, and this is what I observed:

    12AX7 - replaced with a '58 RCA long black plate
    12AU7's - replaced with RCA grey plates
    - immediately tamed the top-end harshness, added body to the mids, and gave it more of a lush soundstage.

    5AR4 - replaced the stock Sovtek with a Gold Lion.
    - provided a tighter grip.

    KT88's - replaced with Gold Lions.
    - not as big an impact as the signal tubes, but it became more energetic/dynamic.

    The X7 is rated at 45wpc in UL mode, yet I find that it does a better job of driving my Spendor SP3/1R2's (88dB efficient) than my Rega Brio-R (50wpc solid state). I usually have the volume knob set no higher than 9 or 10 o'clock in my 12' x 15' room. It's a pretty powerful amp, despite its rating.
     
    Grandpa likes this.
  13. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    I can't speak to REL (or any other kind of) subwoofers, but the one big thing this amp lacks is a pair of record output jacks. I have to plug my external phono preamp directly into my recording device when doing needledrops.
     
    Grandpa likes this.
  14. Yakbob

    Yakbob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    Thanks Action Pact, it looks like I may have found an answer on REL's web site for anyone else interested:
    How to Connect a Subwoofer to a Tube Amplifier | REL Acoustics
     
  15. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    That's a very good question.

    The Fisher has been out of commission since before last summer (I'm currently getting the output transformers rewound by Transcendar), so I haven't been able to do a direct comparison. I hope to have it back in business in 6-8 weeks, if all goes as planned.

    But having lived with the '59 Fisher X-100 as my daily driver for several years, I think I can say that the Fisher has more tonal coloration (in a pleasant way), more lushness, and a looser bottom end.

    It will be interesting to see how the rewired transformers change that impression. It seems that at least one of the transformers had been declining for a while before going kaput. Since it's been nearly a year since I've used the Fisher, I will be able to give it a fresh reevaluation when I get it back.
     
  16. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Interesting! I never thought of splitting the signal at the speaker outputs on the amp. I thought you had to daisy chain from the amp to the sub to the mains.
     
  17. Yakbob

    Yakbob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    The sub woofer doesn't actually draw any power from the amps, it merely receives the signal. It works great with my SS amp (Pass XA30.5), but I haven't attempted connection to a tube amp.
     
    action pact likes this.
  18. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC


    Thanks Action. Youre right, it will be interesting to see how the rewired trannys change the sound. I'm sort of surprised that you are actually having the originals rewound rather than get a drop in replacement. Do you feel the sound will be better with a rewind?

    And...as for those 1950s RCA long plate 12Ax7s, I once put those in a reel to reel recorder and the thing went went from blah sounding to amazing sounding.
     
  19. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore Thread Starter

    Well, rewiring the originals will certainly "look" correct, and I'm not sure which option will sound better.

    You sure got that right. I have a quad of long plates in the Fisher too!
     
  20. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC

    Wow.....they must sound incredible in the Fisher. good for you!! You know, I LOVE my restored EICO ST40, my only gripe is it uses only (2) 12AX7s for the initial preamp signal, then it uses (4) 12DW7s. Wish it used 6 12AX7s so i could use the RCA long plate!!
     
    action pact likes this.
  21. Yakbob

    Yakbob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    I jumped into the deep end of the Muzishare X7 pool last night mainly due to helpful information in this thread. :)
    I look forward to trying it out in my system.
     
    Grandpa and timind like this.
  22. ChrisR2060

    ChrisR2060 Stereo addict

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Love this thread. Out of curiosity, why did you guys picked the muzishare X7 over let's say a Jolida Fusion 1102 or JD 202brc, or Icon Audio PP20?
     
  23. Grandpa

    Grandpa Member

    I am pushing Hersey IIIs. Easy peasy, but they're so efficient my X7 VU meters don't dance much. Trade offs.
     
  24. Grandpa

    Grandpa Member

    An external preamp does bypass the X7 driver tubes. I learned that today when I used my Musical Paradise DAC as a preamp. The sonic signature was different, actually very nice. I shared your concern but it does bypass the X7 pre. So now I need to find a great tube preamp that supports a sub. Maybe the Musical Paradise 701. Cheers.
     
    Seafinch likes this.
  25. Grandpa

    Grandpa Member

    Agree! Makes recording with my reel-reel a real pain. I plan to solve this with a dual output preamp. Cheers.
     

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