Amp Nerds please help.

[tomjackson]

well i am a bedroom player too and having to sit right next to the stack is annoying. it would cost them next to nothing to give us 20 feet cable for the switch.
 :x british engineering is dead. period.

Chinese Engineering is dead!

I've got to admit I had reservations about this amp although I was tempted at the price.  But I remember my HT Dual when I changed the valve and looked inside, masses of surface mount consumer grade electronics on several PCB's,  when I read the HT5 used the HT preamps I was slightly put off the amps.
That's not to say they don't sound good, I'm sure they do but there is a lot crammed in those things for the price.

You get what you pay for....save up another £250 and you could buy a hand wired british head amplifier with the best quality components that would last you a lifetime - British engineering is alive and well.

[martinw]

You get what you pay for....save up another £250 and you could buy a hand wired british head amplifier with the best quality components that would last you a lifetime - British engineering is alive and well.

Well said that man!  :D

[f.sardis]

You get what you pay for....save up another £250 and you could buy a hand wired british head amplifier with the best quality components that would last you a lifetime - British engineering is alive and well.

sure like a Marshall for instance. Lifetime warranty it will blow up  :roll:

as for Chinese engineering, they are going to the moon, where is Britain going?
I am not Chinese, i just call it as I see it.

And why does it have to be handwired? So I have to pay more for some guy with a soldering iron? PCB is good enough.

Check the "Imperial" pride at the door, the UK is not an empire anymore.

[Twinfan]

PCB certainly is certainly good enough, if it's done well.  Unfortunately in a lot of amps it isn't - they're made with cheap components and poor quality boards to save costs.  This has led to the "PCB is bad" stigma.  Something like a Mesa or a Bogner have quality PCBs and components, and they're designed properly, which shows in their tone.  The only cost effective way to mass produce amps is to use PCBs, and it's so important to do it properly.

The Blackstar amps sound like they have a design flaw, regardless of their type of construction or country of origin.  A shame, as they have some great products and this will affect their reputation.

[martinw]

Check the "Imperial" pride at the door, the UK is not an empire anymore.

You're the one who brought nationality into it, by insulting British Engineers.
And who's said anything about Empires?

The point made by Tom is not nationality, but price.

If the Chinese do get to the moon, I guarantee it won't be by using the same manufacturing methods used in guitar amp factories.
Enjoy your amp.

[f.sardis]

you missed a couple of facts though, one of the being that it is a British designed amp and the second one is that it is manufactured in Korea, not in China.

I do not understand where the comment about chinese engineering came from though. I made a comment about British engineering because the amp IS British. China on the other hand has no part in this in any way.

[martinw]

you missed a couple of facts though, one of the being that it is a British designed amp and the second one is that it is manufactured in Korea, not in China.

I do not understand where the comment about chinese engineering came from though. I made a comment about British engineering because the amp IS British. China on the other hand has no part in this in any way.

I didn't miss any facts. I'm aware of Blackstar's design and manufacture policy, and I'm aware that their amps are Korean made. It wasn't me who said the thing about China.

I'm responding to YOUR posts, slagging off British engineering, which is clearly fallacious and ignorant. I suspect you actually meant large scale manufacturing, on which point it's hard to argue.
Then when someone points out your error, you assume this is because they are imperialists.  :lol:

It's funny that Blackstar get grief on the one hand for claiming that their amps are British, which some people state that they aren't because they're not made here.
Then when there's a problem, it's claimed by others this reflects badly on British engineering!

In actual fact, it's entirely possible, that this is a failure of Korean QC or manufacturing procedures!

[f.sardis]

Yes i was talking about large scale engineering which is what i consider mass produced amps, whether manufacturing happens here or in another country. The point is there is no large scale engineering left for the most part and the few things that remain have the quality of the HT-5.
Anyway, that was not the point of the discussion. It is an engineering fault by the way, not manufacturing. A guy asked Blackstar and they told him it is a fault with a resistor.

[martinw]

.... the few things that remain have the quality of the HT-5.

Silly generalisation.

In any case, one incorrect resistor does not make a poor quality product.

I give up  :|

[f.sardis]

not silly at all. look around you, the evidence is there.

one wrongly specified resistor that went from research and development all the way to manufacturing without being spotted is a major failure and it makes a poor quality product. It is not like only mine is faulty. It seems the entire first batch is faulty.

[tomjackson]

You get what you pay for....save up another £250 and you could buy a hand wired british head amplifier with the best quality components that would last you a lifetime - British engineering is alive and well.

sure like a Marshall for instance. Lifetime warranty it will blow up  :roll:

as for Chinese engineering, they are going to the moon, where is Britain going?
I am not Chinese, i just call it as I see it.

And why does it have to be handwired? So I have to pay more for some guy with a soldering iron? PCB is good enough.

Check the "Imperial" pride at the door, the UK is not an empire anymore.

What's that, the Empire has fallen? :(  Why did the news take so long to reach me here in Manchester??
I shall remove the imperialist chip from my shoulder imediately and never defend anything that is Brittish again!
(Just incase somebody thinks it is my imperialist pride talking)

The next amp I get will still be hand wired and Brittish though :D

[HTH AMPS]

.... the few things that remain have the quality of the HT-5.

Silly generalisation.

In any case, one incorrect resistor does not make a poor quality product.

I give up  :|

Exactly, sounds like they've under-spec'd a resistor and it's slowly burning up - I'm sure someone will get an arse-kicking in their R&D dept, but they're a new company and shite like this happens.  I'm sure the amp will be fine once this small detail has been sorted.

For some perspective, AC30s have been blowing up due to poor design for over 40 years and we still love them.

[jibidy]

not silly at all. look around you, the evidence is there.

one wrongly specified resistor that went from research and development all the way to manufacturing without being spotted is a major failure and it makes a poor quality product. It is not like only mine is faulty. It seems the entire first batch is faulty.

I think that besides the bass popping problem the HT5 is an amazing product. It responds very well to my big muff and I really enjoy playing with the emulated output on my headphones. I think its a great product for £220 considering what else you could buy for that money.

I'll be honest, Im looking for other amps incase this problem cant be resolved quick but if it can I will keep this amp without question, and it wont effect my opinion on Blackstar. I've heard their pedals are great and they have some great players using their expensive handwired stuff.

LOL I never imagined this thread to go so crazy. Im not going to dis anything because of where its made, because it means i can afford it of its made in korea or china.