This is my first venture into tubes after reading many reviews and I am not disappointed. I give it a 4 because I feel it is slightly over priced, the connectors are in front and sound quality based on the factory tubes having slight distortion at full volume. However, the factory tubes look better than their Russian equivalents and have the best glow of all the tubes I've tried.
The packaging it came in was no frills but got the unit from China in perfect condition. The fit and finish is excellent as expected for this price point - you will not be ashamed to have it sitting next to a upper midrange turntable. Internally, most of the wiring is accomplished on a printed circuit board, making it a cleaner look, but there are no transistors. For me this is not an issue but for those who like to tweek their equipment, this makes that harder.
For now, I have settled on a Russian 6C4P-EV rectifier tube and 3 matched PSVANE Art series 12AX7 amplifier tubes. With this setup, I can turn the volume knob all the way up without distortion and they run cooler than the factory tubes.
Since this is an RIAA phono preamp, it boosts the bass frequencies from a moving magnet phono cartridge per RIAA specifications so don't take the output of this preamp to the phono input of your reciever or it will double the bass levels. The output of this preamp is considered line level.
I am very happy with this little amp and if you are looking for an entry level tube phono preamp, I heartily recommend it.
Compare with similar items
 | Ampapa A1 Vacuum Tube Phono Preamp, Headphone Amp, Hi-Fi Audiophile Preamplifier for MM Turntable Record Player with Tone Control for Home Stereo Audio System | BoyuuRange REISONG A50 MKIII 300B HiFi Intergrated Tube Amplifier Single-end Class A Valve Amp with Tube Cage | ART DJPREII Phono Preamplifier | Cambridge Audio Alva Duo | Phono Preamp for Moving Magnet & Moving Coil Turntables | AIYIMA Tube T7 Audio 6N3 Tube Preamp Bluetooth 5.0 Warm Vacuum Buffer Preamplifier with Treble Bass Tone for Home Theater System | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | (62) | (106) | (105) | (1841) | (116) | (100) |
| Price | Unavailable | $139.99 | $849.68 | $65.99 | $349.00 | $72.99 |
| Sold By | — | Ampapa | TubeAmplifierStore | pixelproaudio | ListenUp | Yima Top |
| Are batteries included? | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Item Weight | 5.89 lbs | 0.84 lbs | 39.68 lbs | 1.10 lbs | 2.65 lbs | 1.21 lbs |
From the brand
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Estabilshed in 2013, Douk Audio & Nobsound is created by a group of enthusiastic music fans and professional audio experts.
We design and make various audio equipments including amplifier, phono preamp, headphone amp, DAC, audio switch and so on.
Our aim is "Make Hi-Fi Affordable" !
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Basic All-tube, Non-solidstate, Phono Preamp
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022
This is my first venture into tubes after reading many reviews and I am not disappointed. I give it a 4 because I feel it is slightly over priced, the connectors are in front and sound quality based on the factory tubes having slight distortion at full volume. However, the factory tubes look better than their Russian equivalents and have the best glow of all the tubes I've tried.The packaging it came in was no frills but got the unit from China in perfect condition. The fit and finish is excellent as expected for this price point - you will not be ashamed to have it sitting next to a upper midrange turntable. Internally, most of the wiring is accomplished on a printed circuit board, making it a cleaner look, but there are no transistors. For me this is not an issue but for those who like to tweek their equipment, this makes that harder.For now, I have settled on a Russian 6C4P-EV rectifier tube and 3 matched PSVANE Art series 12AX7 amplifier tubes. With this setup, I can turn the volume knob all the way up without distortion and they run cooler than the factory tubes.Since this is an RIAA phono preamp, it boosts the bass frequencies from a moving magnet phono cartridge per RIAA specifications so don't take the output of this preamp to the phono input of your reciever or it will double the bass levels. The output of this preamp is considered line level.I am very happy with this little amp and if you are looking for an entry level tube phono preamp, I heartily recommend it.
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 2, 2022
The packaging it came in was no frills but got the unit from China in perfect condition. The fit and finish is excellent as expected for this price point - you will not be ashamed to have it sitting next to a upper midrange turntable. Internally, most of the wiring is accomplished on a printed circuit board, making it a cleaner look, but there are no transistors. For me this is not an issue but for those who like to tweek their equipment, this makes that harder.
For now, I have settled on a Russian 6C4P-EV rectifier tube and 3 matched PSVANE Art series 12AX7 amplifier tubes. With this setup, I can turn the volume knob all the way up without distortion and they run cooler than the factory tubes.
Since this is an RIAA phono preamp, it boosts the bass frequencies from a moving magnet phono cartridge per RIAA specifications so don't take the output of this preamp to the phono input of your reciever or it will double the bass levels. The output of this preamp is considered line level.
I am very happy with this little amp and if you are looking for an entry level tube phono preamp, I heartily recommend it.
Basic All-tube, Non-solidstate, Phono Preamp
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 2, 2022
This is my first venture into tubes after reading many reviews and I am not disappointed. I give it a 4 because I feel it is slightly over priced, the connectors are in front and sound quality based on the factory tubes having slight distortion at full volume. However, the factory tubes look better than their Russian equivalents and have the best glow of all the tubes I've tried.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 2, 2022
The packaging it came in was no frills but got the unit from China in perfect condition. The fit and finish is excellent as expected for this price point - you will not be ashamed to have it sitting next to a upper midrange turntable. Internally, most of the wiring is accomplished on a printed circuit board, making it a cleaner look, but there are no transistors. For me this is not an issue but for those who like to tweek their equipment, this makes that harder.
For now, I have settled on a Russian 6C4P-EV rectifier tube and 3 matched PSVANE Art series 12AX7 amplifier tubes. With this setup, I can turn the volume knob all the way up without distortion and they run cooler than the factory tubes.
Since this is an RIAA phono preamp, it boosts the bass frequencies from a moving magnet phono cartridge per RIAA specifications so don't take the output of this preamp to the phono input of your reciever or it will double the bass levels. The output of this preamp is considered line level.
I am very happy with this little amp and if you are looking for an entry level tube phono preamp, I heartily recommend it.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2022
Straight out of the box I had awful hum and crackling with the stock 6N2 tubes. I knew going in they were not going to be great so I swapped them out immediately for a triplet of JJ tubes. Hum and crackling gone like that, no need for the silly extra grounding wire in the box. I've got a couple others to try some tube rolling with but if you have humming issues I'd say go right for some new tubes. The power tube in the rear seems to have very little effect on sound as the uplift didn't require a replacement. I still use the metal tube covers on the front but I don't notice any difference with them.
The only other issue with this thing is the overall design of the product - as a whole the case is pretty nicely finished though the footprint is massive compared to the Mani it replaced and more importantly all the phono jacks are inexplicably on the front. I'm going to have to cable manage it properly to keep it from looking too ugly, but I knew this shortcoming coming in.
I had originally considered the pro-ject tube box S2 but at double the price and not being pure tube driven like this one, I decided to give the little bear a go. For the price it's proven to be a solid choice. Sound quality is crystal clear with that faint tube "warmth" to boot.
Would overall recommend as long as you know going in that the design works for you and there's some budget for new tubes.
Overall quite good with some tweaks
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2022
I bought this little bear t11 with a pro-ject debut carbon evo as an upgrade to my schiit Mani preamp and side grade from an older pro-ject debut carbon. I've got tubes in all my other audio equipment and enjoy the slight distortion and warmth they add so I figured why not here too. Temporarily set up on my coffee table to test in the photosReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2022
Straight out of the box I had awful hum and crackling with the stock 6N2 tubes. I knew going in they were not going to be great so I swapped them out immediately for a triplet of JJ tubes. Hum and crackling gone like that, no need for the silly extra grounding wire in the box. I've got a couple others to try some tube rolling with but if you have humming issues I'd say go right for some new tubes. The power tube in the rear seems to have very little effect on sound as the uplift didn't require a replacement. I still use the metal tube covers on the front but I don't notice any difference with them.
The only other issue with this thing is the overall design of the product - as a whole the case is pretty nicely finished though the footprint is massive compared to the Mani it replaced and more importantly all the phono jacks are inexplicably on the front. I'm going to have to cable manage it properly to keep it from looking too ugly, but I knew this shortcoming coming in.
I had originally considered the pro-ject tube box S2 but at double the price and not being pure tube driven like this one, I decided to give the little bear a go. For the price it's proven to be a solid choice. Sound quality is crystal clear with that faint tube "warmth" to boot.
Would overall recommend as long as you know going in that the design works for you and there's some budget for new tubes.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 27, 2021
