Eastern Electric MiniMax...??

Hi folks.

A week ago I had a good demo of the Spacedeck into Eastern Electric valve amps - a small pre and seperate 8wpc power.

The sound was surprisingly good - and a bit of research on the net suggest that many people are claiming these rather affordable amps are better than many far more expensive amps - including such stuff as Hovland and Conrad Johnson.

I admit to being a bit of a valve virgin. Sure, I have a (modded) X-Can v2, with NOS mullards amongst other stuff, and I've spent a little time with the big Rogue Audio M150 monoblocks and 99Magnum preamp, but otherwise I'm 'valve curious'.

Until last year I had high-ish end solid state pre-power combos - first a DNM pre-power and then a Naim 52/SC/250. I enjoyed all of these immensely but ultimately decided I had too much money tied up in the system (especially considering that the mains-optimised Nait 2 I have ran the 52/SC/250 very close with my then speakers (Audio Physic Virgo mkIII).

Now, I've got an inclination for change: a new approach. I've tried and enjoyed Naim but found it ultimately lacking the tonal colour and 'tangibility' that I am seeking. The timing and excitement is all there - so I've been keeping an eye open for a valve amp at 'reasonable' money which can offer me good timing and the other stuff.

Which brings me to the Eastern Electric. Anyone here spent any real amounts of time with it; any comments/flaws/recommendations/etc. that you can share with me?

Also, I'm in the market for a pair of sensitive speakers to mate with whatever amp I get - any recommendations for reasonably priced speakers welcome.

John

 

Blakeaudio on this forum has one of these amps and I get the feeling he's quite happy with it.

As for speakers, I would gues something from Living Voice Auditorium/Avatar range, or Triangle might fit the bill as they are quite sensitive and not difficult to drive.

 

The Von Schweikert Virtual Reality* 1 is supposed to be happy with 8w and has plenty of admirers.

http://www.vonschweikert.com/vr1.html

*but you've got to admit that is a crap name for a product!

 

I can reccomend the pre-amp. Its very good, and can be had for less than £500 new if you know where to look. Used examples are around for £400. Hard to beat at the price.

The power amps I haven't heard, but as has been mentioned you'd have to be carefull about speaker matching.

Cheers
Chris

 

Now with official UK distribution I believe, "Shadow" whoever that distributor is - allegedly the bloke who ran Connoisseur Audio and went bust.

Paul

 

hi Paul.

I remember speaking to the new owner of Connoisseur audio about what happened to the old guy..

As I understood it, he left the business to go abroad, I don't know whether it was to work or live.

I don't believe the business went bust, just changed ownership.

If Im wrong let me know.

Cheers
Chris

 

Shadow/Connossieur

Hmm... I knew about the Shadow/Connossieur Audio thing - as far as I know, the business was sold rather than went bust. I reckon Connossieur Audio was always going to be a tricky business to run off the web given that most folks can't spell it. Myself included, most of the time.

As it happens, Shadow are based less than 15 miles from here - but rather than go there and get the 'hard sell' I wanted to get some alternative opinions first. I like the IDEA, and the LOOK of the amps, but am skeptical as to whether they really can be as good as is claimed, at that price.

Ideally I'd be able to get them a bit cheaper than full retail, but they're not exactly hugely expensive amps. That's assuming, of course, that they can do the timing thing at least as well as the little modded Naim Nait 2 I am currently using... plus all the extra stuff that a valve amp oughta do...

John

 

Shawdow Audio

I have never bought anything from Shadow Audio. I recently enquired about a used amp from them. The owner Mark replied my email promptly and he sounded alright on the phone when I discussed a part exchange deal with him.

There is a thread in hifichoice forum where Mark explained about his adverts in hi fi magazines:
http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=17351&highlight=shadow+audio

Hon

 

MiniMax versus Nait...

Hi again. I semi-retired from big hifi purchases 18 months or so back, but living the frugal Nait lifestyle got me wondering about 'the other side' so, in an opportunist moment, I borrowed a 'toob' pre/power from the dealer who sold me the Spacedeck, just to try it out. It's an Eastern Electric MiniMax system, and is quite compact. I thought I'd give valves another try.

It consists of a small, minimal 3-input preamp with three little tubes on top, and a small power amp to match, with four larger valves. It's not too expensive (~£1600 all-in, I think) and getting some excellent feedback based upon the small amount I've read.

I substituted it in place of my much-loved Nait 2. In a couple of evenings, it has made me re-evaluate what I feel about my Nait. In short, the MiniMax betters the Nait in pretty much EVERY way. Now, contentious it might be, but I always felt the Nait 2 ran the 52/SC/250 fairly close for most listening, so I am willing to guess that this little £1600 combo would more than hold its own against the bigger Naim amps for any system with moderately sensitive speakers. Ask it to drive Briks and I suspect it would run out of juice very quickly.

What it gives is a bit of everything. It's more colourful, but not coloured. Despite having only 8wpc on paper, it has considerably deeper and better controlled bass than the Nait, and comparable or better than that of the 250. This is highly speaker dependent, though - connect to the wrong output taps and there is almost no bass. I'm using a pair of Royd "The Doublet" speakers right now, which are 6 ohm, 89dB speakers with a surprisingly extended bass for a small box. I initially tried the 8 ohm taps, and though the 'waist up' was beautiful, the 'waist down' was a bit skinny-assed to say the least. I have settled on the 4 ohm taps, and haven't bothered with the 16 ohm taps.

I am very, very tempted to buy a MiniMax combo. They drive the Doublets as well as I've heard, without bloat or bloom. I was actually very surprised how good these little amps are - sure, they won't suit everyone, but they sound exactly like I imagine the big Border Patrol amps to sound (though I've never heard them). Listening to the SpaceDeck*/MiniMax/Doublets, it's hard to imagine ever needing or wanting anything else. However, I've said that before (a couple of times ;-) so I'm wary of first impressions.

On the negative side, there's no remote, and it's an extra box to accommodate. We have lots of pets running around so hot vacuum tubes will need to be carefully placed so as not to end up with burning fur on them. Also, the amps run so far against the grain of what one would expect a flat-earther to enjoy that I am doubting my own ears.

Having said all of this, I don't know if I'd buy them - they are truly miles ahead of the Nait, and most any system I've heard to date - but I enjoy running the budget amp and knowing that I'm getting great sound for buttons. Shelling out another �1600 or so is something that I'm not entirely comfortable about doing...

So, if anyone fancies hearing something a bit different, with the timing and foot-tapping-ness of a good Naim system and a bit more transparency, colour and timbre, I think these are well worth a listen.

John

(* The improvements between LP12/Aro/Geddon to SpaceDeck are far more obvious with the MiniMax, and I am kicking myself I never bought a Spacedeck to begin with and bugger all the other stuff I've owned - with the Helikon cartridge, it's (to my ears) quite a way ahead of the LP12 in all areas, *especially* timing! In between ordering and receiving the new deck, I was regretting committing myself to losing the Linn, but within an evening of the new deck being in place, I'm glad to have done this.)

__________________
Spacedeck HD/Spacearm/Lyra Helikon/Dyna P75
Resolution Audio Opus 21 cdp
Naim Nait 2
Royd Doublets

 

John

That's a really interesting post. I know Kevin Scott at Definitive had a new Minimax pre-amp for sale at half-price, and called it a "quality cheapy" or something similar. I've looked on the EE website before and there was pretty nice stuff on there. Superb value. If you like the sound, buy the amps. You won't regret it. There are times like now in the South East when you need a second radiator like the Border Patrol like a chocolate fireguard, but valves aren't as difficult to live with as some make out.

PS There's a 2A3 based Consonance amp in one of the hi-fi mags this month [hifi choice, I think]. Beautiful looking thing, and a great review. Check that out too, if I were you...

Good luck.

Paul

 

I heard a MiniMax integrated at Shadow Audio last week. I have just started to listen to replacement amps, so didn't feel that I could buy one right now as I need to listen to others. It was the first valve amp that I'd heard and I was pleased that they can sound so good. Obviously I've no idea whether they are better/worse than other ones.

 

the minimax pre now is into a mk2 version, which takes care of my only complaint which has to do with the thing having loads of gain and only being able to use half of the volume range. there are a few other changes to the power supply that supposedly tightens up the bass (though this was never an area that i felt was lacking...) and allows for a wider selection of tubes that can be "rolled". mine already had 4 inuts so i think the one you heard must have been a really early model. i like mine a lot, and the only thing that i'm tempted to replace it with is a vac pre, but that would be a LOT more expensive....

 

Im soon to be reviewing a new pre-amp with built in phono (phono is supposed to be good in it) tweaked and designed by Andy Grove.

It will be available in a kit.

I'll post a review ( a zerogain scoop - before the mags have it!) when I get my mucky mits on it.