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The minimalism of this amp is almost iconic. There’s just one RCA input and speaker terminals are Naim types, i.e. banana-only holes in the chassis. Add a volume control, subtract visible power or output transformers and voilà – bare-boned and simple.

Whenever possible I try to conduct reviews with my reference cables but my Tara Labs Onyx’s big terminations didn’t fit side by side nor was there enough room for the RCAs. Instead I used the flat slinky Ramses II cables from Germany’s Kurt Hecker—one of the principals of the HighEnd Society and organizer of the Munich show—which I had in for review.

These are expensive cables designed by Thomas-Michael Rudolph and as such created quite an imbalance with the Synergy amp but their geometry and convenient BFA plugs made them ideal. I also used the Audinst HUD-mx1 USB DAC/preamp I reviewed for Audio. This is a fabulous device whose dimensions and PC readiness seemed ideal for today’s purpose. After all, the 6F3 is tailor-made for computer-based desk-top systems.

Sound: Discs used for the review - Art Blakey Quartet, A Jazz Massage, Impulse!/Universal Music Japan, UCCI-9043, CD; Barb Jungr, Love Me Tender, Linn Records, AKD 255, WAV 24/96; Basia, It’s That Girl Again, Koch Records/WHD Entertainment, Inc., IECP-10168, HQCD/FLAC; Ben Heit Quartet, Magnetism, Acousence Records, ACO80108, 24/192, FLAC; Diana Dors, Swingin’ Dors, Pye Records/Castle Music, CMFCD1554, CD/FLAC; Diorama, Child of Entertainment, Accession Records, A 119, SP CD; Frank Sinatra, That’s Life, Reprise/Universal Music Company/Sinatra Society of Japan, UICY-94423, SHM-CD; Helge Lion Trio, Hello Troll, Ozella Music, FLAC 24/96; Jean Michel Jarré, Magnetic Fields, Dreyfus/Epis/Sony Music, 488138 2, CD; Judy Garland, Judy in Love, Capitol/Toshiba-EMI, TOCJ-9656, CD; Kings of Leon, Only By The Night, RCA/BMJ Japan, BVCP-40058, CD; Laurie Anderson, Homeland, Nonesuch, 524055-2, CD+DVD; Martin L. Gore, Counterfeit e.p., Mute/Sire, 9 25980-2, CD; Savage, Tonight, Extravaganza Publishing Srl/Klub80, CD001, 25th Anniversary Limited Edition, CD.


What can one expect from an amplifier which puts out a mere 2.5 watts into 8Ω? It depends on the amplifier. Such power ratings are the norm for 45/2A3 triodes whose users don’t complain. But the 6F3 is different. Its dimensions would disappear inside a single transformer cover of a 45/2A3 SET. Not all watts are created equal.

For context, let’s remember that the 6F3 replaced my pre/power combo retailing for around 250.000zł. While this seems silly—insane even—it’s how I had to start to maintain the usual review methodology of changing just one element at a time. Exchanging a reference component with a review loaner usually involves an inevitable smaller or bigger compromise and here the Chinese amp followed tradition. But since I didn’t expect anything else I wasn’t disappointed. Even so I heard something which can make this tiny tube amp an unusual alternative to budget amps like a Cambridge Audio Azur 340A SE or 550A, NAD C515 (I haven’t heard the new C516 yet) or Denon PMA-510AE and PMA-710AE.