Review: Qinpu A-6000 Mk. II Tube amp


Category: Amplifiers

Budget esoterica review magazine
june 2012 issue
qinpu a-6000 mk II

The queen pooh wears silk panties

The staff at budget esoterica magazine have never tried a tube amplifier so we thought it would be fun to do a review on a popular model that is currently available for purchase at the audio advisor website. The qinpu a-6000 mk II amp is a small integrated tube amp that comes from china. It retails for $ 279 and can be found at various online stores. The amp is rated at only 16.5 watts per channel so if you like your music very loud you should probably look elsewhere. If you have efficient speakers and like to listen at moderately loud levels then the qinpu might be for you. The fit and finish of the amp is very good, although our sample did not arrive in perfect condition. The amp is well protected by packaging, but we were very disappointed that the amp was not double-boxed.
We set the amp up in our listening studio and connected it to our reference equipment. We would like to share with you our listening impressions so that you might receive insights into why we are recommending it.

The queen pooh has balls.

The first reference disc we tried was an excellent jazz cd titled "compulsion!!!!!" by the very under-appreciated jazz artist andrew hill. Jazz fans who are looking for cutting edge jazz need look no farther than this amazing musician. Track number 3, titled "premonition" has very glassy sounding bells. The drums are tight and firm with a slight sense of depth. The piano shows a good range of harmonics from top to bottom. The staff noticed that the tubes in the amp add a slight character and realism to the horns and gives the music a slightly more glassy presentation and a seemingly more colorful sound.

The next reference disc we chose was by the paul horn quintet. This disc is so refreshing and cutting edge, that even the cover art looks like it was made today. The cd we are talking about is titled "something blue", and i highly recommend it to vibe lovers and lovers of jazz in general. We listened to track number five and one of our senior staff members commented that it sounded like the cymbals were being slapped and we all nodded our heads in appreciation of larry's insights. The sound of decay from the cymbals was very nice also. The vibes had a round, juicy and glassy sound to them that seemed to be a little better than what you would get with a solid state amp. There was a good sense of timing and coherence also. During the upright bass and drum solo you can clearly hear a man grunting in the background. During our listening sessions we noticed that the qinpu has a good portrayal of a "hall" sound, which brings you slightly closer to the live event and gives you that "you are there" sensation that many audiophiles lust after.

The last reference disc that we used was by thursday diva on the dmp audiophile label. This is a nice collection of songs that is sure to put you in a relaxed mood. The cd is titled "follow me". On track 12 we noticed good vocal fluidity and very good clarity. Larry commented that he could even see the singers lips moving as she sang. The conveyance of emotions was also portrayed very well on this recording. The saxophone sounded juicy, thick and slightly sweet. The vocals almost seemed as though they were spot-lighted. We also noted that the maracas sounded full with a good sense of density.

Extra large and tall

nice glassy sound
neutral
smooth
adds character and realism to the horns
good portrayal of depth and hall sounds
nice fun factor
extremely stylish and sexy
small footprint
good sense of stability
colorful presentation
wide sound stage
thick and weighty highs
beefy and smooth bass
delicate highs

Small and petite

low powered
limited inputs
could be more refined
could have more resolution/detail

The staff at budget esoterica review magazine liked the qinpu a-6000 mk II very much. We feel it offers good value for the money as well as being a very stylish and fun amplifier that would be a good addition to your audiophile wardrobe. Go ahead and slip on a pair of the queen pooh panties and have yourself a ball!

Associated gear
playstation performance package # 1
madisound vifa studio speakers
axiom bulk speaker cable with ram bfa's
virtue audio nirvana interconnect
atacama speaker stands

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I've been listening to the Qinpu amp for about a week now, giving a lot of playing time to break in, including the burn-in track on Stereophile's Test CD 3. Associated equipment is a pair of Parts Express Overnight Sensations. (I submitted a lengthy review on the Overnight Sensation kit page if anyone is interested in an awesome sounding small set of speakers.) Source is IMac lossless music files and Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 with asynchronous USB connection.

This is unquestionably a very nice amp. It had plenty of power to drive the relatively inefficient OS's and very good sound and wide stage. I would not, however, go quite as far as the superlatives used by the reviewers. I noticed a slight edge or grain to the vocals that can be a little fatiguing after extended listening. That is why I gave it a good long break in, hoping that the grain would smooth out and disappear. So far, there seems to be no change. Mind you, it's not like, "OMG this is raspy mid range." Not at all, and had I not been using another amp that, to me, had a more natural presentation, never gets fatiguing, and has all the qualities of wide sound stage, very accurate reproduction of all instruments and vocals, plus a little tighter bass than the Qinpu.

The amp I'm speaking of is the Audioengine N22 (22 w/ch) which I bought from Audio Advisor for $299. I did not do any checking to see if you guys have reviewed this amp. If not, it's worth an audition for sure.
Woops. The Audioengine N22 is actually $199, not $299. All the more amazing.

Yes, I think it clearly is superior to the Qinpu, but tastes are subjective.