Feb 17, 2018 - Dussun V8i Manual. The korsun / dussun v6i is a monster of a power amp from china costing around 800 usd. It really is a poor man's krell.
I've read several reviews of these amps and integrated amps and was just wondeering if anyone has actually heard them. Their 2 top models, V8 & V6, are 'hyper Class A' (whatever that is have outputs of 250 watt and 150 watt, respectively. Reportedly they run so cool, for being Class A, that you can put your hand on the heatsinks and leave them there.
The speaker terminals look like terminals on a 1950's Tektronix oscilloscope, I once owned. Check these amps out at Is anyone familiar with these items from China? JoeE, I'm not familiar enough with 'variable or sliding bias' to know how it works.
Obviously it keeps outputs running cool but what about side effects on sound quality. DUP; 'upside down.over the top from the front', I'm too old and arthritic to be getting in such gymnastic positions. PhilNYC; In my recent search for new equipment I listened to numerous devices that were made in China. The audio quality on all of it was very good to outstanding.
All the pieces I heard sounded as good as or better than equipment costing much more. I recently read that some well known high end equipment (domestic and European) are actually designed and manufactured in China then the appropriate logo applied. I recently purchased Music Hall's A series amp, tuner and CD player.
These items sounded better than many other products costing 2, 3 and 4 times as much. It's not where it is made but how it is made.
I also have been looking at the Dussun amps and reviews on the internet and am intrigued & skeptical at the same time. I read there was some kind of controversy between Dussun & Red Rose (Mark Levinson Group) but can't really provide any details about that. I googled Red Rose (redrosemusic.com) and found two amps that look identical to the DS-99 & 6Vi, only they called them the Passion & Affirmation, respectively.
It turns out these Chinese amps are OEM and their names can be changed & specs even modestly modified by those who sell them under a different name. Nevertheless, I have only read good reviews on the sound quality. The internal photos of the 6Vi are incredible with the dual-mono circuit layout looking superior to even a Bryston 3B with otherwise matching specs.
The $1200 dollar price tag is what bothers me most though (especially considering these beasts weigh roughly 70 lbs). I guess that's the benefits of inexpensive labor.
Quote: I read there was some kind of controversy between Dussun & Red Rose (Mark Levinson Group) but can't really provide any details about that. I googled Red Rose (redrosemusic.com) and found two amps that look identical to the DS-99 & 6Vi, only they called them the Passion & Affirmation, respectively. It turns out these Chinese amps are OEM and their names can be changed & specs even modestly modified by those who sell them under a different name. Nevertheless, I have only read good reviews on the sound quality. The internal photos of the 6Vi are incredible with the dual-mono circuit layout looking superior to even a Bryston 3B with otherwise matching specs. The $1200 dollar price tag is what bothers me most though (especially considering these beasts weigh roughly 70 lbs). Since my previous post (my mistake by the way - that was the Music Hall 25.2 series I purchased) I have learned, just as you mentioned, regarding Mark Levinson and other manufacturers buying 'off the shelf' items and passing them off as their own.
Maybe some of the other reasons these items are less expensive is the fact that functions like phono input and tape out are eliminated. I haven't heard any Dussun or Red Rose devices but the hi-end equipment, from China, that I have heard is impressive. Quote: I read there was some kind of controversy between Dussun & Red Rose (Mark Levinson Group) but can't really provide any details about that. FWIW, it was Red Rose and Korsun, and the controversy as I understood it was that consumers believed that Red Rose was just re-badging Korsun amps and selling them at incredible markups, but Red Rose was claiming that they were modifying the Korsun amps with better (more expensive) parts, etc. The original designer (founder?) of Korsun left and started Dussun. Quote: That's the Red Rose story, and I think only the overly credulous would accept it. The mod didn't include changing the box and obviously affirmed the basic circuitry design.
Given that, why would you even assume any such mods were an improvement rather than just reflecting outmoded design prejudices? I don't have a problem with someone buying equipment that was designed and manufactured by other parties then placing their name on the device. It's when they claim to have spent endless man hours designing/engineering a piece of equipment putting their own blood, sweat and tears into it.
The korsun / dussun v6i is a monster of a power amp from china costing around 800 usd. It really is a poor man's krell or Mark Levinson that is built like a tank with dual mono construction in 1 stunning but large aluminium chassis. It is kind of a class A build in that the first few watts are class A were then it slides into class AB mode as it is driven harder; with output powers of 2x300 W into 4Ω and 2x150 W into 8Ω. Sonically the dussun V6i was rather hit and miss.
In the right combination of source and speakers it could sound good but more often than not it sounded a bit lack luster. The main issue I found with this amp was the lack of dynamics and musicality. No matter how loud it was driven into certain speakers it sounded a little flat and soul less. It was too source and particularly speaker dependant. This amp can be split by links at the rear so it can be used as a pure power amp.
I ran the amp in power-amp only mode using a DIY 12b4A tube pre-amp and this was a much better combination on Monitor Audio Studio 20SE speakers, the tube pre adding vastly better dynamics than the built in pre and a little warmth to the cold sound. This seemed to be the preferred way to use this amp but it kind of defeats the purpose of buying an integrated. On a pair of Martin Logan electrostatic speakers the V6i in power amp mode was again not a good match as I had hoped for when compared to driving the Monitor Audio Studio 20SE. The amp again sounded a little flat and un-dynamic most days. It hardly got warm to touch no matter the load or levels so it made me believe it was very under-biased, under driven and capable of much more. I think this could be a good amp in the right system and just a shame I did not have a service manual to tweak or modify it.
I am sure Duusun could make some minor changes to the design to improve dynamics and maybe add a little warmth and soul to the sound. As it stands I would only recommend this amp if you can pick it up for a very low price and are a regular box swapper meaning you can find a good combination of speaker and source to match it and bring out its best.