I looked at this Nobsound unit after watching your video a couple of weeks ago... I am playing around with these little Chinese amps that are suddenly all of the "rave"... I found that the TI amp chimp in these amps, the Fosi V3, ZA3 and Aiyima A07 Max need a line level boost to get the most out of them. Without the boost, they sound like cheap little amps to my ear. Douk Audio makes a line level booster, or preamp, that will add up to 20dB of gain and that did the trick, in fact it blew me away. This really opened up these little amplifiers, and the Douk unit is also dead silent. I'm running a pair of Zu DW6 Supreme speakers. Just thought I would throw this out here for folks that are interested in these little preamps.
I also have the SYS and it has a very slight channel imbalance, but you can measure it yourself with an inexpensive volt meter and measure the impedance of the pot for both channels. I use mine to adjust the input to my SDHC recorders from my tape out. At the price of the SYS you can't expect perfection. Passive devices so there should be no variation in freq. response. I cannot tell any loss.
Wow, I was not aware of that. I learn something new in this industry every day. As far as I could tell with regard to the SYS, I have been unable to detect any audible differences but the fact that they can be measured indicates it isn't perfectly the same in both channels. I was not aware of this.
I would never expect perfect channel balance in a control at this price point. I sure if Schiit had used an Alps blue it would be much more money. this is idea to use after a Cd player and into you amp that might not have input controls. @@drde4010
My SYS measures 8,820 ohms (left) and 9,110 ohms (right channel) in the other channel, just down from the 10,000 ref or 10k ohms pot in the off position; about a 3 % variation. (300 ohms). As a ref I had an old NAD 1020 preamp that had a much great output variation between channels...long time ago. I did not keep it long as it was mated to a 2155 amp. I would be curious as how the Nob measures. Home depot has a Vevor digital meter for $26.00 Measurements taken with nothing connected. The Nob should start in the off position very close to 100,000 ohms 100K ohms. @@drde4010
I just got the SYS. Thanks. I'll check mine. All.of my amps in a tri amped system using six mono amps have volume controls so I should be able to solve any issues with balance between channels.
What is mentioned about passive preamps is that they can be dull, or better said, they can take away some dynamics. Having a high quality source is helpful. Looks like the Nob does the job.
hi thank you very much for the very interesting video I think that the main issue with cheap active preamps is often the pot quality usually they are all quite low in thd and noise but for economic reason they save on pots Wrong ! With a little diy one could gut a preamp like one of the cheapest from Schiit Audio put in in a bigger box replace the pot with a better one add some panel rcas and have a really fantastic preamp
Would be interesting to have a version with also one set balanced inputs and a motor remote at this build quality. I know it would bring the cost up, but seems Nobsound has figured out the low cost solutions 👍🏼
If you come a used Adcom GFP 750, it has everything you're asking for including an active mode that can be turned on if you need it. Its not a regular Adcom product. Nelson Pass designed an amp and preamp for them. This is the preamp.
Thanks for sharing your experience on this product. I'm always looking at preamp options out there and good to even learn about Nobsound.. One question, you only compared the Nobsound to schiit in terms of build quality but never mentioned how they compared soundwise. Can you expand on your experience between the two? Or for that mater gain aside, compared to your active pre, did you notice any loss in Bass? Etc?
So following up on sound, I am unable to pass a blind test between the Nobsound and the SYS, but I prefer the Nobsound due to the way the volume control feels solid. The build quality is super solid too and I just absolutely love its simplicity.
I've really not come across impedance issues mating passive preamps with tube amps. However, mating a passive preamp to a solid state amp can sometimes be an issue if there is a significant enough mismatch between the output impedance of the passive preamp and the input impedance of the solid state amp. I'd like to know what the impedance specs are on the Nobsound, but I'll bet they probably aren't published.
I don’t have that information. All I can suggest is if you try it if it doesn’t work, return it. I see no reason why it should work any differently with the tube versus a solid state amp that all boils down to impedance issues which vary all over the map.
A preamp is a high gain amplifier that feeds a power amplifier, it doesn't mean that it's just before the power amp, it's PREAMPLIFICATION. It's impossible to have a passive preamp, you can not amplify passively, it's not possible! If you took your isolated pot out of its box and put it in a power amplifier would you call it a preamplifier? Of course not! The reason we have preamplification is to boost low level signals to a level that the power amp can utilize. If we leave out the preamp then the only gain is from the power amp but power amps are not high gain devices so they may not be able to reach their full output power without preamplification. This is why you have to crank up your Nob, your omitting an amplification stage and things like dynamics can suffer. Listen to the dynamic range of your music with and without the a preamplifier, if the power amp doesn't have enough internal gain the dynamic range will suffer. We can measure this with instruments and most people can hear it but not everyone. An alps, or any other potentiometer, in a box is purely resistive. Yes, it can not change the impedance of a circuit BUT it can load a circuit and change it's characteristics just like a pot within a circuit, the only difference is it's in its own box. The only way to stop it from affecting the circuit is with a buffer within the main amplifier or after the pot, your pot in a box IS affecting your circuit regardless whether it's a Shiit or a Nob unless there's a buffer circuit in the line. This is just basic engineering, it doesn't change regardless whether we're talking about amplifiers or oscilloscopes.
@@drde4010 Only by your definition, not by any industry standard. Again, it's preamplification, would you call a CD player a "preamplifier"? It comes before the amplifier. There's a reason they call it a preamplifier, it preamplifies the signal to a level that the power amplifier can utilize to achieve it's maximum output from. Can a power amp play directly from a record if you add an RIAA stage? No, you need preamplification along with equalization. They call it a power amplifier for a reason, it converts low current to high current that is capable of driving speakers. A preamplifier is a low current device, it's a gain amplifier and in order to have gain, or any amplification for that matter, you need a power source. What you're calling a "preamplifier" the industry calls a line stage. The reason you can get away with bypassing the preamp in some cases like a CD player is because CD players have have high output ~2V. A CD transport requires a DAC, would you call a DAC a preamplifier? It comes before the amplifier, of course not.
@@mosfet500 thank you for sharing all the details. You raised valid points. I’ll consider all this in my next review I’ll be including with this volume control.
A passive pre amp is also great if your power amp is too powerfull for tour speakers. Put this between you pre and power and set it to the max power you want your speakers to get if you fully open your pre and then hide this passive. No chance the kids are going to blow up the speakers by "accident" 😂 Also very useful with active speakers 😊
Those ALPS pots are much counterfeited so you have to wonder. That said, I guess Nobsound are now well enough known you'd think they wouldn't use fake ones.
Noob question - how do you set the base volume so to speak on this? I’m using on a DENON receiver to control my sub volume. When I plug it in, is full volume on the knob equal to full power from the amp? So if I want to go louder, I need to up the signal from my receiver and then dial back the volume knob to give me more room?
This is just a volume that goes in between a source, like a CD player, and a power amp. It eliminates the need for a preamp. Its not a powered device, just a volume control with no gain. As for your subwoofer, there's a far better way to do it. Most good subs have speaker cable inputs. You connect a 2nd pair of speaker cables to the back of your amp, and run them to your subs. It has no effect on your amp and speakers. You're just tapping off the amp for your signal. Doing it this way is considered the best way to connect a sub, even if you have pre-outs. The integration is much better. But, just to be clear, this is for a music only system. If you have a home theater, connect your subs to the low frequency output on the back of your processor or preamp.
How funny, I got the black "HiFi" version in this video just last week. Replaced the knob as mine didn't have any indicator of volume level. I think if you're really enjoying these passives, the next logical step would be to contact Luminous Audio and get their Axiom passive preamp with Walker Mod. That should be a significant step up in clarity over even the well regarded Alps RK27 in this Nobsound.
I looked at the Axiom's but they require that you enter the information about the existing amp you will be using it with and the truth is that I use mine with different devices, so not sure it's worth doing. So far with the Nobsound, I've had no impedance issues with any of my existing gear and it sounds incredible in fact it's my favorite passive preamp thus far.
@@CulinaryGod if you have FU money and you've already spent tens of thousands on your system and can afford to keep chasing improvement in smaller and smaller and smaller increments, then yeah, I suppose $500 for a passive preamp would seem "relatively" inexpensive to you. But for me it would be just exactly like throwing away $500.
@@drde4010 Perhaps you'd be more comfortable with something like the Tisbury passive or the Goldpoint. Neither of those require you to enter your system information. In any case, glad you're enjoying the little passive. I'm enjoying mine as well even. There's better out there if you're ever curious enough to explore further. Peace
Those RCA Cords gave me" PURE HELL " I got triggered just see them in the video brought 12 packs on Amazon everyone was BAD ( Gray Braided RCA) but thanks for the PreAmp review goog knowledge passed on!!
I have blue jean cables and i simply compare each braided RCA with them. If there's no audible difference in which case there hasn't been in my experience, then the braided models are far easier to work with.
@@drde4010 I typically make my own, but definitely brought 12 all 12 are bad it happens!!! (Your mileage varied ) I'm good just triggered!! I ended up connecting my 600 watt Mono blocks with XLR ( should have done it right the first time)
But these will mess with your impedance right.... I hear you say, there, is not messing, but the way an alps potentiometer works will impact impedance - that is they way they make the gain less by design!
In case others ask. There's some on Ebay by a few sellers. www.ebay.com/itm/274867023359?hash=item3fff59edff:g:P9YAAOSwwRRdxVjU&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4JbWozXsEjr6wEIUGCGeqGrIqvpvpIP%2B79xEED7IMZ0olWph98bmRj6KOI3bJB%2FyuibP7KBiU1jMqsIMc8q091xFFZgnIXhBy79f5uBT7A6%2FDKLLcyIDfi3bReNuXD5g3fReLuOvooKe8rpyCEU8sfXh9iNHqWJKuegDz5nA7YB0FV8DYCDtLHfNKER79%2Bg2JMdEwSVSo9b3FwmqVHT5ocLB9i74kw8IzkclzlLGuqHzns0NxYZ%2BoZnW0onOh4kqAdFLs7Iftnsf668Tg9z3y7F%2BT6Krtjap8kBy%2FcEutpfv%7Ctkp%3ABFBM1o7WrKxj
Your referenced definition says: "The preamp always includes the volume control." Since it does not include anything further, it is indeed not a preamp. Read this definition, instead: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preamplifier Have that volume control as well btw. and like it.
I looked at this Nobsound unit after watching your video a couple of weeks ago... I am playing around with these little Chinese amps that are suddenly all of the "rave"... I found that the TI amp chimp in these amps, the Fosi V3, ZA3 and Aiyima A07 Max need a line level boost to get the most out of them. Without the boost, they sound like cheap little amps to my ear. Douk Audio makes a line level booster, or preamp, that will add up to 20dB of gain and that did the trick, in fact it blew me away. This really opened up these little amplifiers, and the Douk unit is also dead silent. I'm running a pair of Zu DW6 Supreme speakers. Just thought I would throw this out here for folks that are interested in these little preamps.
Thanks for another simply explained & excellent review!
I also have the SYS and it has a very slight channel imbalance, but you can measure it yourself with an inexpensive volt meter and measure the impedance of the pot for both channels. I use mine to adjust the input to my SDHC recorders from my tape out. At the price of the SYS you can't expect perfection. Passive devices so there should be no variation in freq. response. I cannot tell any loss.
Wow, I was not aware of that. I learn something new in this industry every day. As far as I could tell with regard to the SYS, I have been unable to detect any audible differences but the fact that they can be measured indicates it isn't perfectly the same in both channels. I was not aware of this.
I would never expect perfect channel balance in a control at this price point. I sure if Schiit had used an Alps blue it would be much more money. this is idea to use after a Cd player and into you amp that might not have input controls. @@drde4010
My SYS measures 8,820 ohms (left) and 9,110 ohms (right channel) in the other channel, just down from the 10,000 ref or 10k ohms pot in the off position; about a 3 % variation. (300 ohms). As a ref I had an old NAD 1020 preamp that had a much great output variation between channels...long time ago. I did not keep it long as it was mated to a 2155 amp. I would be curious as how the Nob measures. Home depot has a Vevor digital meter for $26.00 Measurements taken with nothing connected. The Nob should start in the off position very close to 100,000 ohms 100K ohms. @@drde4010
I just got the SYS. Thanks. I'll check mine. All.of my amps in a tri amped system using six mono amps have volume controls so I should be able to solve any issues with balance between channels.
Ordered a Nobsound today and will be here Friday and can't wait to measure. Ordered black.
I'd really like to hear your feedback after you measure it to the SYS!
Really glad to hear you ordered one.
What is mentioned about passive preamps is that they can be dull, or better said, they can take away some dynamics. Having a high quality source is helpful. Looks like the Nob does the job.
hi thank you very much for the very interesting video
I think that the main issue with cheap active preamps is often the pot quality
usually they are all quite low in thd and noise but for economic reason they save on pots Wrong !
With a little diy one could gut a preamp like one of the cheapest from Schiit Audio put in in a bigger box replace the pot with a better one add some panel rcas and have a really fantastic preamp
Would be interesting to have a version with also one set balanced inputs and a motor remote at this build quality. I know it would bring the cost up, but seems Nobsound has figured out the low cost solutions 👍🏼
Luminos Axiom offers all those options.
@@drde4010 Kozmo too. Just wondering how far cheaper Nobsound could go there while still narrowing that delta 🙏🏼
@@riccitone I honestly don’t think it would sound much of any different.
If you come a used Adcom GFP 750, it has everything you're asking for including an active mode that can be turned on if you need it. Its not a regular Adcom product. Nelson Pass designed an amp and preamp for them. This is the preamp.
Thanks for sharing your experience on this product. I'm always looking at preamp options out there and good to even learn about Nobsound.. One question, you only compared the Nobsound to schiit in terms of build quality but never mentioned how they compared soundwise. Can you expand on your experience between the two? Or for that mater gain aside, compared to your active pre, did you notice any loss in Bass? Etc?
I'm gonna post an updated video as my next video with all my preamps just because you mentioned this.
So following up on sound, I am unable to pass a blind test between the Nobsound and the SYS, but I prefer the Nobsound due to the way the volume control feels solid. The build quality is super solid too and I just absolutely love its simplicity.
@@drde4010 thanks for doing the test.. how do there passive compare to your active on high efficiency speakers and low power amps?
I'll have a comparison done and posted by morning @@HoomanR17
I've really not come across impedance issues mating passive preamps with tube amps. However, mating a passive preamp to a solid state amp can sometimes be an issue if there is a significant enough mismatch between the output impedance of the passive preamp and the input impedance of the solid state amp. I'd like to know what the impedance specs are on the Nobsound, but I'll bet they probably aren't published.
I don’t have that information. All I can suggest is if you try it if it doesn’t work, return it. I see no reason why it should work any differently with the tube versus a solid state amp that all boils down to impedance issues which vary all over the map.
A preamp is a high gain amplifier that feeds a power amplifier, it doesn't mean that it's just before the power amp, it's PREAMPLIFICATION. It's impossible to have a passive preamp, you can not amplify passively, it's not possible! If you took your isolated pot out of its box and put it in a power amplifier would you call it a preamplifier? Of course not!
The reason we have preamplification is to boost low level signals to a level that the power amp can utilize. If we leave out the preamp then the only gain is from the power amp but power amps are not high gain devices so they may not be able to reach their full output power without preamplification. This is why you have to crank up your Nob, your omitting an amplification stage and things like dynamics can suffer. Listen to the dynamic range of your music with and without the a preamplifier, if the power amp doesn't have enough internal gain the dynamic range will suffer. We can measure this with instruments and most people can hear it but not everyone.
An alps, or any other potentiometer, in a box is purely resistive. Yes, it can not change the impedance of a circuit BUT it can load a circuit and change it's characteristics just like a pot within a circuit, the only difference is it's in its own box. The only way to stop it from affecting the circuit is with a buffer within the main amplifier or after the pot, your pot in a box IS affecting your circuit regardless whether it's a Shiit or a Nob unless there's a buffer circuit in the line.
This is just basic engineering, it doesn't change regardless whether we're talking about amplifiers or oscilloscopes.
@@mosfet500 according to the definition, it simply means “before the amp”. I also called it a volume control.
@@drde4010 Only by your definition, not by any industry standard.
Again, it's preamplification, would you call a CD player a "preamplifier"? It comes before the amplifier.
There's a reason they call it a preamplifier, it preamplifies the signal to a level that the power amplifier can utilize to achieve it's maximum output from. Can a power amp play directly from a record if you add an RIAA stage? No, you need preamplification along with equalization. They call it a power amplifier for a reason, it converts low current to high current that is capable of driving speakers. A preamplifier is a low current device, it's a gain amplifier and in order to have gain, or any amplification for that matter, you need a power source.
What you're calling a "preamplifier" the industry calls a line stage. The reason you can get away with bypassing the preamp in some cases like a CD player is because CD players have have high output ~2V. A CD transport requires a DAC, would you call a DAC a preamplifier? It comes before the amplifier, of course not.
@@mosfet500 thank you for sharing all the details. You raised valid points. I’ll consider all this in my next review I’ll be including with this volume control.
A passive pre amp is also great if your power amp is too powerfull for tour speakers. Put this between you pre and power and set it to the max power you want your speakers to get if you fully open your pre and then hide this passive. No chance the kids are going to blow up the speakers by "accident" 😂
Also very useful with active speakers 😊
Is there a balanced cable version available?
Only if you get the Axiom Luminos models, but they are much more expensive.
Those ALPS pots are much counterfeited so you have to wonder. That said, I guess Nobsound are now well enough known you'd think they wouldn't use fake ones.
I don't know anything about counterfeiting but if they are, then they did a damn good job fooling me because this preamp sounds amazing.
Made in China.........it's a fake Alps pot - no question!!
With tube amps a passive pre gets out of the way and like you said all you hear is the tubes. I do prefer a powered relay step passive pre.
I have it, black color
Noob question - how do you set the base volume so to speak on this? I’m using on a DENON receiver to control my sub volume. When I plug it in, is full volume on the knob equal to full power from the amp? So if I want to go louder, I need to up the signal from my receiver and then dial back the volume knob to give me more room?
This is just a volume that goes in between a source, like a CD player, and a power amp. It eliminates the need for a preamp. Its not a powered device, just a volume control with no gain. As for your subwoofer, there's a far better way to do it. Most good subs have speaker cable inputs. You connect a 2nd pair of speaker cables to the back of your amp, and run them to your subs. It has no effect on your amp and speakers. You're just tapping off the amp for your signal. Doing it this way is considered the best way to connect a sub, even if you have pre-outs. The integration is much better. But, just to be clear, this is for a music only system. If you have a home theater, connect your subs to the low frequency output on the back of your processor or preamp.
I think there was an opportunity missed to say "the Schiit was just Schittier ..." 😂
2:42 where can you get it for $40? I can't even find it in silver for sale from a North American shipper online.
Amazon is $46 but eBay is less and you can select any color.
@@drde4010 many thanks
@@AndyBHome www.ebay.com/itm/314086582401?hash=item492104e881:g:hlwAAOSw8OtdxVjh&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8AFnvUvEKoebMfDgpcdY5pYM6FiHF23WuOs2HSG6GXhZr6r%2BaqBiVorB%2FUqigjOUbCHXO4HRd0p%2FUDMo1LURgqZFQE0MFDJCTkrOH7rVPUgzGsP88lRqLiMrDlPAX3j%2FqKP155Wi5sjMm%2BkTUkYJXWscKb5A0qLLzE%2Fs%2FAbxcPj9wGIep4obKnlYzzJG4IyrPKXQCzZIZlFSO%2Fs7PMUNQTm3StXVC4V4FTyDCVBvWl08MMWG3%2B2HxTAQvalih%2BnMNcC2zEDdN3qTiiJy9kHjLj7odvnV6ZnuLcBumcrjwTrxBvUiYwRIdSN2judFYfmRlw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6Kr4qGsYw
How funny, I got the black "HiFi" version in this video just last week. Replaced the knob as mine didn't have any indicator of volume level. I think if you're really enjoying these passives, the next logical step would be to contact Luminous Audio and get their Axiom passive preamp with Walker Mod. That should be a significant step up in clarity over even the well regarded Alps RK27 in this Nobsound.
$500 for a passive preamp? No thank you.
@@zounds13 It's all relative.
I looked at the Axiom's but they require that you enter the information about the existing amp you will be using it with and the truth is that I use mine with different devices, so not sure it's worth doing. So far with the Nobsound, I've had no impedance issues with any of my existing gear and it sounds incredible in fact it's my favorite passive preamp thus far.
@@CulinaryGod if you have FU money and you've already spent tens of thousands on your system and can afford to keep chasing improvement in smaller and smaller and smaller increments, then yeah, I suppose $500 for a passive preamp would seem "relatively" inexpensive to you.
But for me it would be just exactly like throwing away $500.
@@drde4010 Perhaps you'd be more comfortable with something like the Tisbury passive or the Goldpoint. Neither of those require you to enter your system information. In any case, glad you're enjoying the little passive. I'm enjoying mine as well even. There's better out there if you're ever curious enough to explore further. Peace
i switcht the pod with a 10k log one to get a better bass-response
Dear James Tavegia,
Thank you for your email.
We consulted our technicians.
It is 50K for each channel.
Best Regards
Yours Douk Audio
Those RCA Cords gave me" PURE HELL " I got triggered just see them in the video brought 12 packs on Amazon everyone was BAD ( Gray Braided RCA) but thanks for the PreAmp review goog knowledge passed on!!
I have blue jean cables and i simply compare each braided RCA with them. If there's no audible difference in which case there hasn't been in my experience, then the braided models are far easier to work with.
@@drde4010 I typically make my own, but definitely brought 12 all 12 are bad it happens!!! (Your mileage varied ) I'm good just triggered!! I ended up connecting my 600 watt Mono blocks with XLR ( should have done it right the first time)
@@thinkIndependent2024 I’m glad you got it worked out at least. 👍
But these will mess with your impedance right.... I hear you say, there, is not messing, but the way an alps potentiometer works will impact impedance - that is they way they make the gain less by design!
I have one of these in black and to me it's a class A preamp.
In case others ask. There's some on Ebay by a few sellers.
www.ebay.com/itm/274867023359?hash=item3fff59edff:g:P9YAAOSwwRRdxVjU&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4JbWozXsEjr6wEIUGCGeqGrIqvpvpIP%2B79xEED7IMZ0olWph98bmRj6KOI3bJB%2FyuibP7KBiU1jMqsIMc8q091xFFZgnIXhBy79f5uBT7A6%2FDKLLcyIDfi3bReNuXD5g3fReLuOvooKe8rpyCEU8sfXh9iNHqWJKuegDz5nA7YB0FV8DYCDtLHfNKER79%2Bg2JMdEwSVSo9b3FwmqVHT5ocLB9i74kw8IzkclzlLGuqHzns0NxYZ%2BoZnW0onOh4kqAdFLs7Iftnsf668Tg9z3y7F%2BT6Krtjap8kBy%2FcEutpfv%7Ctkp%3ABFBM1o7WrKxj
this is NOT a preamp, it's a passive attenuator. Pre - before, amp short for amplifier.
It's a beat'n horse in the comments.
It's a pre but it's not an amp
Preamp means before the amp. Read the definition. www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/preamp
Your referenced definition says: "The preamp always includes the volume control."
Since it does not include anything further, it is indeed not a preamp.
Read this definition, instead:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preamplifier
Have that volume control as well btw. and like it.
It is an attenuator.
That's why they call it a "passive" preamp. @@phonatic
How can it be a preamp when it does no amplification. It is a passive attentuator. Not an amplifier. Audiofools. smh.