dreamover Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Anyone familiar with the Little Bear amps from china? I've heard many good things and decided to splurge for the "pro" model. mine looks something like this: I've been running it a couple days and it sounds incredible, but unfortunately there's low buzz/hum coming from the speakers. You can't really hear it when the music's loud but between songs and when the record stops spinning, it's very noticeable. Anyone have any experience with these or something similar? Matt123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGhostOfRandySavage Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I'm sure you've already checked, but is your turntable fully grounded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 I'm sure you've already checked, but is your turntable fully grounded?Yes!I was able to get rid of the hum! The problem could be a couple things but the solution was plugging the amp power cable into an extension cord and plugging it into a different outlet. This thing sounds amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 A hum from cheap Chinese valve (tube) amps is pretty common, they don't tend to use the most expensive components but then that's why they are cheap, it also doesn't help that it's not in a metal box to help screen it. These things do tend to sound quite nice though if you can live with the hum and are a good toe in the water into the joy of valve amplification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 A hum from cheap Chinese valve (tube) amps is pretty common, they don't tend to use the most expensive components but then that's why they are cheap, it also doesn't help that it's not in a metal box to help screen it. These things do tend to sound quite nice though if you can live with the hum and are a good toe in the water into the joy of valve amplification. Got rid of the hum entirely! It was an outlet issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Got rid of the hum entirely! It was an outlet issue. Good to hear, it will get better as it breaks in as well. If you like that valve sound it's downhill from here on in in the wallet department I'm afraid though. Try some tube rolling as well, it's amazing how different you can make a valve amp sound just by changing the valves to a different make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 i know tube amps are generally super expensive. this one is a huge upgrade from what i was using. so i am very happy for now. This model has 12ax7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidamnesiac Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 i know tube amps are generally super expensive. this one is a huge upgrade from what i was using. so i am very happy for now. This model has 12ax7's. What were you using before this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 What were you using before this? just an earlier version of this... http://www.amazon.com/ART-USB-Phono-Plus/dp/B000BBGCCI/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1434654715&sr=8-11&keywords=phono+preamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Here's a photo right after I wired it up and plugged it in. Much bigger in person than it looked in the photos kidamnesiac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidamnesiac Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Looks dope. I'm gonna have to try an external preamp with my Marantz 1060 to see if such an upgrade would really be worthwhile for me. My buddy has a Bugle2 I'm gonna have to have him bring over for such a trial. Solid state I know, but just trying to get a feel for separates in general in my signal chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 i know tube amps are generally super expensive. this one is a huge upgrade from what i was using. so i am very happy for now. This model has 12ax7's. Or ECC83's for european valves, same thing but different numbering for the UK/US. Try the modern issue Mullards or Tung Sols, they are modern Russian copies of original UK and US tubes but very good for the money, and valve amps don't have to be expensive, power output ones can be because of the big output valves and big output transformers but pre amps and phono stages don't need to be. dreamover 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlegg Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I just picked up the version of this with the toroidal transformer. I'm stoked to get it and check it out and eventually do some mods. Where'd you get this one from and hoe long did it take to come in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 I just picked up the version of this with the toroidal transformer. I'm stoked to get it and check it out and eventually do some mods. Where'd you get this one from and hoe long did it take to come in? i bought it from the seller on ebay, i believe. but it comes from the same place whether it's amazon or ebay. it came pretty fast... i want to say a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlegg Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 i bought it from the seller on ebay, i believe. but it comes from the same place whether it's amazon or ebay. it came pretty fast... i want to say a week. Oh, great. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlegg Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I received this same one a few days ago. It wasn't the toroidal transformer version I thought I ordered, but I really like it. There is a little hum on first setting it up, but with a little research it can be fixed. The OP was lucky the they just had an outlet issue. I previously used a similarly priced Music Hall PA1.2 and this thing completely blows it out of the water. I've done a few mods that have helped and expect to do a few more, but even out of the box it sounds amazing. I couldn't recommend this guy any more. For reference I am using this with a Music Hall MMF 2.2 with acrylic platter and Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, and Klipsch RF82's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BitLess Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 My Little Bear arrived a few days ago, but I just got around to putting it all together and hooking it up yesterday. Prior to this, I was just using the built-in phono stage in my Marantz integrated, and holy crap! What a difference! Having had no prior experience with a dedicated phono preamp, I am astounded by the added levels of detail and liveliness I am hearing now. I can't say how long I'll stick with this particular phono preamp. It's bulkier than I was expecting, not terribly well-built -- at least in terms of sturdiness and parts quality, and my wife isn't too thrilled with the visible circuitry aesthetic in our living room. But for $150 it was worth it, just to get a small taste of what tubes have to offer, and also to open my eyes (or ears, I should say) to the possibilities of phono preamps. I really had no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic_ Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 If I get one I don't plug it into the phone om my receiver, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney Crosley Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 If I get one I don't plug it into the phone om my receiver, right? Correct. You can go through almost any other input, but you'll do a lot of damage if you plug your phono preamp into your phono input in your amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlegg Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I guess it's been about a month and a half since I recoeved mine and still love it. I rolled the tubes with some Russian military grade just because it was cheap and I'm happy with them. Big enhancement for me came from changing out the input stage capacitors. I changed them out with some Russian paper in oil caps. I very highly recommend if you have any sort of electrical inclination at all and can operate a soldering iron. They are pretty cheap, but take forever to come in from Russia. If anyone is interested in the capacitor change I bought plenty extra and wouldn't mind sending a few out to whoever wants them. I can even send a how to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic_ Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 What's the cap change do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlegg Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 What's the cap change do? I couple of things actually. First I noticed a reduction in hum. Not as drastic as some of the other things you can do on the cheap to improve this amp if you are into DIY, but it was significant. Second, I noticed a significant improvement in clarity between each instrument. The pre amp itself represented a huge improvement over my last preamp in this department, but changing out those caps took it to another level. I feel like I can hear each individual instrument separate from the recording as a whole, if that makes sense. I definitely notice it more on some of my better mastered records, but it was definitely worth the $5 I put into that particular improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic_ Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I couple of things actually. First I noticed a reduction in hum. Not as drastic as some of the other things you can do on the cheap to improve this amp if you are into DIY, but it was significant. Second, I noticed a significant improvement in clarity between each instrument. The pre amp itself represented a huge improvement over my last preamp in this department, but changing out those caps took it to another level. I feel like I can hear each individual instrument separate from the recording as a whole, if that makes sense. I definitely notice it more on some of my better mastered records, but it was definitely worth the $5 I put into that particular improvement. I may hit you up and buy them from you if I get a preamp. Think it'd be an upgrade to the phono stage on my Marantz 2225? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlegg Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I may hit you up and buy them from you if I get a preamp. Think it'd be an upgrade to the phono stage on my Marantz 2225?I haven't had any experience with you're turntable so I can't give you a fully honest answer. What I can say is that any on board preamp I have heard has been pretty rubbish and in my experience a stand alone preamp is far superior to a built in turntable pre. I have heard some tube amo's with decent phono stages, but that's it.I'm biased. I bought this preamp after reading a ton of positive reviews and think it is definitely the most bang for my buck out of every system component I have purchased. I wholeheartedly recommend it. If you can spring for the pro, do it. What I li about it so much is that I spent the same amount for a Music Hall preamp and it blew it out of the water out of the box. The cheap DIY upgrades just completely take it that much further. If you do decide to go for it, I bought 8 extra caps, and am willing to send them out completely free of charge. If you want to cover shipping, that would be great, but certainly not necessary. What's a few bucks, you know? And that goes for anyone here with this preamp. I even have some extra materials to help you along with some of the other mods. Just pm me and we can work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic_ Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 How much do these cost/where can I get them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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