Chinese Little Bear P6 preamp/tube buffer FRAUD

Another YouTube review by a guitar player states his sound is "a little bit better" with the Little Bear. Wonder what he was smokin'....

Oh boy......thanks for the thread! I'm a bass player and some of the fakes and low quality replica instruments coming out of China have to be seen to be believed.

Some quotes from audiophile-land about the Little Bear P6:

> ...in the midrange, vocals move forward. There's an emphasis applied
> to vocals, baritone through soprano. Also, throughout the entire
> range there sounded like some phase variation that was pleasing for
> the most part.

> ...After listening through this tube pre-amp then going back to pure
> digital, the digital source sounded more accurate, more mechanical,
> more formulaic, less artistic and a little too perfect. The tube had
> a sort of live performance quality, a little imperfection that gave
> the sound character.

> ...The soundstage really opened up and I am quite happy with my
> purchase.

> ...I bought this about a month ago and I have to say that I am pretty
> impressed. The only concern that I have is how long it will last? The
> tubes are too awfully close to the electrolytic capacitors and we all
> know the hotter it is, the faster the electrolytic capacitors will
> fail. I changed the stock 6N3 to JAN GE 5670 and it improved the
> separation, improved the sound staging and makes listening more
> enjoyable. Been listening to the 5670 for more than 2 weeks comparing
> it once in a while to the 6N3, no competition at all.. the 5670 wins.
> I agree with sdcz.. Two days ago I received an EZ80 to 6Z4 adaptor,
> which enables me to use my Marconi EZ80 to replace the stock 6Z4
> rectifier tube. I was not expecting anything substantial, but it
> really made a lot of difference: The soundstage width remains the
> same but the depth is improved; Separation is better, I can very
> clearly hear now the layering of Sade's voice in "Mr Wrong"; and the
> instruments sounds more natural.. at least to my ears...


P.T. Barnum would be proud!

The reason this preamp can continue playing AFTER it's unplugged
is that it was PREVIOUSLY plugged into a Wattgate 381.
After the initial plug in to the Wattgate,
no further power is required to operate your device.
Typical newbie reviewer misteak (sic).

Tom wrote:The reason this preamp can continue playing AFTER it's unplugged
is that it was PREVIOUSLY plugged into a Wattgate 381.
After the initial plug in to the Wattgate,
no further power is required to operate your device.  
Typical newbie reviewer misteak (sic).

Thanks, Tom.  I had not looked in at the Amazon.com customer reviews for the Wattgate in too long a time, and once I did, I had a rollicking good time reading them.  Something to consider, though: users of the $150 Wattgate should realize that their AC power must also pass through the outlet plate.  How many are pairing their $150 Wattgate with a 69 cent plastic wallplate, with unknown dielectric characteristics, from the hardware store?  Bob, you are missing an opportunity here.  There must be billions of audiophiles just waiting to throw handsful of cash at a perfectionist-grade outlet plate!

Hang on though, there may be some good science behind these units. Heard of the Hall Effect and the Doppler Effect? This uses the Placebo Effect.

Actually I'm considering going into production with a new version: positively guaranteed 10x more improvement to your sound than the original Little Bear.

Doctor Hugocat wrote:Hang on though, there may be some good science behind these units. Heard of the Hall Effect and the Doppler Effect? This uses the Placebo Effect.

Actually I'm considering going into production with a new version: positively guaranteed 10x more improvement to your sound than the original Little Bear.

Ten times more improvement?  You should, in the best audio marketing tradition, charge a hundred times more.

Th Emperor's new pre amp. If you can t hear its virtue, you're unworthy.

Doctor Hugocat wrote:This uses the Placebo Effect.

It has plenty of company in the audiophile "tweak" world.

Kudos to Bob, Roy, and Kevin for keeping American made tube audio on the move, Shannon Parks deserves some credit too! these Chinese "look a-likes" are simply " money-making" schemes to appeal to tube audio nostalgia of the classics!

They are scoundrels! I'll stop myself there.

GreggW wrote:Another YouTube review by a guitar player states his sound is "a little bit better" with the Little Bear. Wonder what he was smokin'....

These are the same audiophools that will pay $300 for a power cord that runs from the wall socket to their amp. Never mind that pesky unshielded wire in the wall.

I know most folks on this forum don't buy into the hi priced audiophool speaker cableage, but some  are fans of those hi fi power cords.

I've not seen any discussion that attempted to address the reality that the AC wires in the wall are pretty humble, inexpensive, simple, "non-directional" (isn't that the funniest hi fi wire claim yet? Directionality?!). How is an audiofile power cord to improve on what 10 gauge Romex delivers to it?

Some of them sure do look good, though.

I try not to judge a speaker wire, nor a book, by it's cloth-bound cover.

Women, however, I still make certain judgments. ;-)

Tubes4ever wrote:

These are the same audiophools that will pay $300 for a power cord that runs from the wall socket to their amp.  Never mind that pesky unshielded wire in the wall.

But what do you then connect your $300 power cord to?

Why, of course, a Furutech FI-33R Rhodium 20A IEC Inlet, for $124.99    at http://www.vhaudio.com/connectors-ac.html

It never ends!

Doing a Google on this item and others that are total fakes has been an absolute hoot. It reminds me so much of our old shop teacher, who we trolled by telling him we needed to order some of those good old muffler bearings or high-speed bumper bolts....or putting a fake knob on a guitar or something so when that person in the audience or a club owner ragged you for being too loud at a gig you "turned" the knob and they nodded in agreement. Or gooing to "11" on your Marshall amp. I suppose if i did not know these things were fake I may look like a dummy, too, finding new nuances and warmth in my music....so much is in our mind or how we perceive things....

Im sure at best a crappy AMP. Ill have to say, as this is a more highly informed group than the average consumer, that Id like to see an independent teardown from another person.
There is a good chance that this unit was modified to make the video.... we cant be sure