Vacuum Tube Buffer preamp review and tear down
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2017
- Demonstration and tear down of this little vacuum tune preamp.
It sounds absolutely fantastic, and will make give any sound system that warm tube sound that is so sought after by audiophiles.
Here is the link to the unit at banggood.com
www.banggood.com/custlink/v33... - Наука та технологія
Thank you so much for the amazing content. It's so refreshing and reassuring to see that in this age of dumbed-down rubbish that plagues almost every media outlet, there are still some passionate people dedicated to producing interesting, high-quality content. I love your videos and can't wait for more. You make the world a better place with your work, and I wish you all the success you deserve for it
You will see a new one today. A Tascam DA40 digital tape machine that wouldn't record. A tough dog repair.
Wow, this Little guy provides nice air and juiciness to the sound! GREAT REVIEW!
FYI the track played is called Scouting Party by Dale Jacobs from the album Cobra released in 1978. Good luck finding a copy of that one now.
Good album.
I just got one off of eBay $7 shipped.
There are several on ebay including a sealed one for $5. Not exactly rocket science.
ua-cam.com/video/lprvdHi4d9s/v-deo.html
Got one of these amps on my Dish Network to Sony stereo amp. It is connected in between the two units at line level. With the volume all the way up....the tube sound is oh so good! I purchased 1957 black plate Motorola 5670's to replace the Chinese 6n3s.
Still available at other places - it is known as "T5 Matisse 6N3". I bought a black as well as a silver version and upgraded the coupling capacitors (not absolutely necessary but does add value to the sound & it is fun to experiment with). I swapped out the blue LEDs for amber ones and rolled out the supplied 6n3 tubes with some vintage US NOS ones (5670 Haltron). The Russian ones (6N23P) work just as well. Some are being sold with green LEDs and have a cool eerie glow - far better than the blue LEDs. Still, you can't complain for a cheap but good value device like this. Very happy with mine.
FYI I have successfully converted this unit to a full RIAA equalized preamp, but there will not be a video unfortunately. It required extensive modification including relocating some components on the HV converter board, and I felt this was beyond the average persons ability, and due to the high voltages involved in vacuum tube circuitry, I decided not to show the work as it could open me to liability if someone attempted to do this and was injured.
womp womp people need to be socked well may be not with a tube voltage ;]] but still womp womp
Ok I will sign a waver, please show us.
It sounded like all it needed was more capacitance, too bad the mods needed were extensive. Would you be willing to email the mod instructions? I have two of these buffers, one with tone control.
@@Nirky Phono preamps require RIAA equalization - essentially a curve that goes from +20dB at 20Hz, through 0dB at 1kHz to -20dB at 20kHz. It is not straight, but you can do it with a couple of capacitors and resistors (though it usually requires weird values, so you need to connect components in parallel or series to get them).
Release it. Not only is stupid supposed to hurt, it will be bleach we need for the gene pool.
sounds incredible direct from the preamp
Oh that looks very nice! I will buy one for sure next time a get money. Thanks for a new video like always Dave!
I have recently assembled a Vellman RIAA stereo phono pre amp but it lacks that tube polish. What would you recommend in adding this tube preamp to the line from the turntable to the amp. Should it come after the Vellman and before the amp so it amplifies and polishes the low end?
Because of your video I quit my pre amp order because I realized it is not a real tube amp and ordered this one instead. THX!
was it the nobsound from ebay?
Cool "blue" video The LEDs give it a neat look. Thanks for making the video.
i'm glad you mentioned tubes needing high voltage to work correctly, i wondered where the plate voltage was coming from
That’s not actually true, tubes can be run at substantially lower voltages, 20-30volts!
@@billbates7810 really ?alot of schematics i've seen show very high plate voltages
Are there tube upgrades available for this unit? (Mullard Tung Sol etc) Also is there a way to turn off the LEDs that light up the tubes? I would prefer to see the tube filaments light up and not the LEDs.
I ordered one of these based on your review and am having some issues with the unit out of the box. Sounds fades in and out pretty randomly. The RCA's on mine are cheap and could be the problem, but I initially thought maybe the vacuum tubes were faulty. Same problem after replacing. Next I checked the power supply and because I only had an 18v .6 amp wall wart lying around I tried that. This solved the problem, but had the tubes running hot. So I bought a new 12v wall adapter. It's better, but I still have problems for the first 15-20 minutes after I power on. Any thoughts about how I might solve this? I'm new to electronics repair, but not afraid to mess around a little bit.
Nice. What is its voltage gain and output impedance? These specs are necessary to pair it with a power amp.
Thanks, my ampli is from bangood and is AC, but can I conect to a DC source ?
I love these kind of cheap / affordable tube-buffer amps because they really are indeed fantastic entry-level (gateway drug :P) devices for people who want start with tubes in their Audio Systems who otherwise would be scared off too much by the prices of big budget HiFi tube amps. It's nice to see that it allows a lot more people to try out audio amplification beyond the standard DACs of their smartphones and starting to care about audio quality and the listening pleasure instead of just consuming their playlists. And they are also great fun to use when you wanna give all digital recordings some analog warmth when you pass it through these. By the way, you got me in touch with some awesome music now with this video. Really enjoyed that. Well except Monty Python, I already knew and love them :P
Thanks for the demo. Sounds pretty good, and the price is good. I like Banggood, I have ordered a lot of stuff from them in the past.
Is it possible to have a headphone amp like this and also use it connected to line right left inputs of a solid state power amp?
Is it possible to eliminate the "volume" pot and have this act as a unity gain unit? I'm looking for an inexpensive tube buffer to fit into a project and it seems like this would fit the bill... Thanks for the video!
hi dear, is there possible to preamplifier a dynamic mic ou a guitar adapting a plug or respective cable?
Nice video! I need a mono version of this. What happens if I connect the two in as well as the two out?
I learn a few things I didn't know about using tubes in audio circuits.
Does this go before my carver amp or after in my chain?
Thanks for posting! I have the similarly priced ART DJ pre II phono preamp. Just curious to hear how it compares? Your demo of the preamp sounds smoother than mine. My ART DJ PRE II sounds a Lil hard like banging on metal kinda...
Nice! I had to find that record "Dale Jacobs" Just loved the music right away and bought the LP from e-bay. Thanks :)
So your saying these very affordable tube preamplifier are actually quite good for the money. And recommend them ?
I did a sound card capture straight from the magnetic phono cart. It was very very very low ... but I raised the volume using a audio program then used a program that adds the RIAA curve ... in honestly couldn't tell the difference... for those who don't know what the RIAA curve does ... the bass sounds are extremely low in volume and the trebles are extremely tinny ... the vinyl can't handle the bass as it would normally sound .... during the actual lacquer cutting sounds very different no bass and extremely hot trebles then the reverse is done in the preamp ... Google it if you want
Fantastic video. Got me wanting to do some experimenting.
what are tubes? can you share schematic?
@ 11:04 I was hit with a tsunami of nostalgia. The way those old tubes crackled and hissed to life was a way of transporting me back to my childhood.
Pha Q
Yup and for some of us we still live in the past. Only now with a modern tube amp. Still can not beat the warmth of a class a single ended tube. Elekit is bring out a new 300B tube amp kit. I am tempted to build that one. Beautiful unit. Will be a pretty penny for the kit and then tubes on top of that.
The direct recording at 20+ mins was very crisp on my Audiotechnica 50x headphones. Nice.
I think it sounds really good.
I would use this in a bedroom set up or similar to play from my iphone.
Are you getting any noise from all that high voltage switching? If I were rebuilding I would take that whole switching assembly and remove it, put it in it's own box adding more filtering and connect with its own cable. Also add filtering to the 12 V since that can get into the circuitry, especially using it for a magnetic preamp.
I haven't heard any. The boost converter is up in the 100KHz range, so any ripple is going to be way, way beyond the hearing range.
I have a 12 v/. DC source.
Can I conect to the ampli ?
Or is neccesary that be a 12 v. AC. Thanks.
This one uses 12v DC not AC. One of the kits I built requires AC.
Am I right in thinking, that this can be plugged into the phono inputs on an integrated amplifier and a turntable can then be plugged into the vacuum tube buffer? So if I understand it correctly I would not waste the phono inputs on the amp, but I would be getting that tube sound!
A buffer is not a phono preamp. It looks between the pre out and amp in to give everything that tube sound.
Great vid! Thanks to it I bought one of those little gadgets and it's now connected between preamp and power amp in my XTZ Class-A 100D3 amp, my Infinity Kappa 6.2 sounds just great! There's a nice guitar solo in the tune that ends at 09.50 in the vid, can u pls tell what it is!? Cheers!
That track can be found here.
musicbakery.com/royalty-free-music/arena-rock/
I have a headphone amp that uses one 24 volt 3 amp power supply, it has a high voltage section in it. I had to trouble shoot it and I was really careful as I was seeing over 200 volts in that section. I didn't want to get zapped.
I have always loved the sound from a Linear Tracking turntable which seems to sound better than that of a standard turntable.
Do you know of any decent Pure class A headphone AMPs. I'm also not afraid of building one if you know of a site with good directions.
EDIT: also if you know of any directions out there to build a 30 Watt Class A that would also be awesome.
I'm curently building a 7W to use with bookshelf speakers for my PC. But I have A matched set of Yamaha NS-690II I want to power.
have you read the artikel about the amp camp amplifier designed by nelson pass ? or the starving student amp designed by steve millett ? these are very good amps ...
Well now. Listening to this preamp "equalized" straight from turntable to sound card was interesting. To my ears, this test exemplified the limitations of vinyl; limited noise floor, plastic sounding bass/guitars/instruments in general and iffy timing. BTW I listened to this vid though Computer -> Arcam rDac-> CI Audio Headphone Amp-> Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (250 ohm). I've been into Hi-Fi since a teenager and have had some pretty good systems; turntable-based 'till the late 80's. It was good to listen to this as it really did exemplify the limitations of vinyl and how things have moved on. My main system consists of Benchmark DACs ( 1 and 3L)/ Rupert Neve RNHP (for headphones) / Mission amplification (modified: horrible Sprague voicing caps replaced from the feedback circuit - my interpretation of their use in this circuit). The Benchmark DACs are something special and produce tonal colours in a way that I've never heard before using them. The DAC 1 in particular is amazing and a steal used. Why vinyl aficionados still cling to its supposed superiority is beyond me; this video exemplifies its sound quality. Mega expensive turntables will yield incremental benefits on the sound you're producing but ultimately this is the sound of vinyl and it's crap compared to what a good DAC can now produce.
Yes absolutely. No way that vinyl can even compare to a good DAC, but saying that, there is an industry that is still selling turntables to those that believe that they sound better. When at the vintage stereo shop buying a belt for my Thorens there was a fella there plunking down 2,200.00 for a used turntable?
Now I don't know about you but there are many things I would spend 2,200.00 on and a turntable is not one of them. The resurgence of vinyl by the "hipsters" has, mind you helped the record industry, rebound slightly, and I hope it does contunue as a healthy record industry is a good thing, but as far as sound quality goes, I will stick to digital audio.
Really enjoyed this video. Was hoping this product might be the answer to my problem, until I heard you say that it adds no output voltage. I am putting together a multi amp 2.1 bluetooth speaker with a minidsp 2x4. I find that the miniDSP has too little output voltage (.9v) to get my Wondom amp boards to perform beyond modest output. Can you recommend a compact and inexpensive way to bump up the output voltage for three channels between the dsp and the amps? I would think 2v would be sufficient. Anyone looking to use the minidsp 2x4 should consider this limitation. The minidsp HD has 2v. I would return my 2x4 and get an HD, but my return time slipped by before I recognized the problem. If no solution, I will have to plunk down another $180 to get the HD, and I guess sell the 2x4. Cheers!
Two questions: can I use this with a guitar to feed a power amp? Can I use one channel to run into the other channel to get overdrive?
Plus 1
Technically if you replace the tulip plugs with guitar jacks yes, since its a pre amp should work. Not sure about your 2nd question
One tube handles one channel and the other is the second channel so yes in Theory
Were would be the ideal placement ? Before the preamp? Between the preamp amp stage? Just learning this stuff recently
Between preamp and power amp.
Nice video. Are both stages of each tube used? If so are they in parallel or series?
They are in series.
Awesome vid - thanks!
does anyone know if the preamp with the bass and treble is the same as this one ? just wondering if this is better quality or are they the same ...the specs dont show up with the ones that have the treble and bass knobs. def want to buy one but not sure which.... hmmm
This one has a gain control (volume) so it can drive a power amp directly. The sound quality of this amp is fantastic. I converted mine over to a phono preamp.
true! i watched the video. i was just wondering if the units that have treble and bass are the same as this one without it. same type of make or if its done cheaper...thats what i meant! :) but thanks for answering!
what would this work like in a car between the cd player output to the power amplifier? has this been done yet? and how do you regulate the voltage as when the cars running its at 13.8v
There is an internal boost converter internal to boost the incomming 12 volts to about 100 volts for the tubes.
@@12voltvids so do you think this would work in a car audio set up? i'm using a denon z1 head unit into a denon dca760bl amplifier with focal components up front and a 10" focal subwoofer. would love to get that warm valve sound.
@@1979phill
This all depends on the line level your system uses. Some car audio systems use a higher line level voltage. This I believe was fit 1.0 v p-p output.
I have a Behringer ultragain guitar tube preamp that uses a 12ax7. They average about 50$ on epay. Mine has various effects, it's the mic version. Search for BEHRINGER TUBE on ebay, lots of them.
is this thing really make out any cheap amp a tube amp?? and where would i plug it in in the amp . in AUX ?
It goes in your tape loop or from pre out to amp in.
Would I be able to run this unit before my phono preamp and out of my phono preamp into my Yamaha AV receiver? I don’t see why I couldn’t. I’d like to warm up the sound a little bit before the behringer PP400. Nice video. Got me interested in tubes again.
You connect it between your phone preamp and the power amp.
@@12voltvids Hello! I have one of these buffer preamps between my phono and my amp, I’m getting hum from this device. I opened it and noticed that the circuitry is not grounded to the chassis… should I connect a cable for the plane ground to one of the screws and to my phono ground? Thanks!
@@RIKFLOYD81 yes
Hi Aren't the red caps coupling caps??
They are HV DC blocking capacitors to block the HV from the plate circuit from getting into the input, and the output stage, but yes they do couple the audio signal, so you could call them coupling capacitors but their role here is toe block the DC 100v for the plate circuit.
Nice review. Thanks !
Great video, Im curious about the speakers used. What ohms is this preamp rated for if using speakers instead of headphones.
This unit does not drive speakers. It goes between the components. Such as between your CD player and power amplifier.
I am just watching this now as many of this type of pre amp still exist.
I see only one issue with the Phono-Preamp modification as if you go direct. Although it has the gain necessary, it is lacking the RIAA equalisation component. This will affect the tonal balance from a "vinyl" recording. It may be "good enough" for a lot of people, but it is worth noting that records have that equalisation in order to use finer tracks and fit more on each side.
I did put riaa equalization onto it that wasn't that difficult.
Where on the receiver do you plug in these buffer pre amps?
If you have a pre out and main in, you plug it there. If not you use tape out and monitor in, and loop it through a tape monitor.
I do! So if I'm in the market looking for one, anything that is claimed as a stereo tube preamp will work? And do you think a phono preamp would sound better if mainly I'll be playing vinyl anyways?
Wow, I'm surprised you were able to play that record that long and not worry about copyright. Good music nontheless. Sounds dope. :)
Not everything is in the database for content ID. This is an old recording, and the artist only released one album. It is all really good stuff too.
What is the name of the music on the record, it seems to ring a bell to me! Very interesting video!
The record that I played and I can't believe it didn't pull copyright was Dale Jacobs "cobra". He was a jazz fusion artist out of Vancouver bc and reviewed that over 40 years ago using the top studio talent in the area and it shows. They are all studio musicians that made this one. That's why it sounds so good. The top players usually are not in bands, they work in the studio recording for other bands to make them sound great. (Watch the documentary the wrecking crew, which is about the studio players that made pretty muah eveeythjng for everyone in the 60a and 70s.)
Great taste in music. However were hearing loads of distortion. I have a few buffer amps. One has an equalizer on it. I use it with Bluetooth. Yes it is a class a buffer amp.
Do they make these kit tube amps,that are a amp.as well as you the tubes for there sound ,thanks for explaining about pre amps I never had a clear understanding before,I learn much from your videos,thanks
Yes elekit out of Japan makes some very high quality, audiophile quality amp kits..... and you are going to pay for it dearly.
@@12voltvids I thank you for the info ,I older On a fixed budget ,so I guesss thats out for me thank you for your videos ,I learn so much for you,I am sure your fans feel the same way zI look forward to your next videos.
Where do you live 12voltfids? The cover of that Dale Jacobs album was photographed at Palace Pier in Toronto and friends of mine had the exact same view from their unit and lived there at the time the album was produced. I was never aware of Dale Jacobs, so thanks. Jazz Funk genre? Grooovy :)
Dale Jacob's was based out of Vancouver. The cover picture may have been t.o. but the musicians on it all west coast. It's a great album.
Many thanks for sharing best deals and expertise in tuning. . Douk also sells on ebay Audio KONDO AUDIONOTE KSL-M77 Line and Phono AMP Tube , Douk Audio 12AX7 Vacuum Tube Preamp HiFi Stereo Valve Finished Pre-amplifier. Pricer but maybe better. Please keep on doing ! Thierry
Thanks for the video !!!!! Very very useful !!!
Can the buffer also be used with modern source? multimedia?
Liquid music!? ...
marco
yes it is designed for line level applications. line in / line out.
no equalization just the addition of even order harmonics to give the smooth tube sound.
thank you so much!!
Cool unit. :)
wait a minute, what about the monitored testing thru test equipment? no audio transformer?, and with that small invereter, no hum really?no riaa eq to test the audio?
Boost converter is operating around 100khz. Can you hear that high?
@@12voltvids no i cant ( but even without hearing it it can be disturbing in a way and affect sound quality, several audiophiles and studio owners have talked about this, even if i probably couldnt make a difference), but i'm still not conviced, why does audio tube stuff usually use big expensive transformers?. maybe they get away with using that type of inverter circuits because the unit doesnt need that much current. it's really cheap though. but does it really bring something to the listening experience??? I'm not a tube circuit specialist but still, it's hard for me to admit that type of thing can make you music sound "fantastic"...
@@baddriddimworkshop
Tubes add distortion. Even order harmonics. These type of harmonies sound nice. Make sound fuller.
Output tubes need big voltage and that voltage needs to be converted to current. That's what the bug output transformers do. Convert the high voltage low current flowing through the tube plate to low voltage high current to move the speakers.
@@12voltvids oh ok so in teory you dont need them for a preampthen. thx
@@baddriddimworkshop no you don't tube buffers add distortions that make the music more pleasing to the ear. Wait a minute you say distortion how can that sound better? There are two types of distortion odd order and even order. Odd order harmonics are the nasty sounding distortions that an amplifier that is clipping produces. They are hard on the ears. Even order distortion is in phase with the music one active up and make some music sound Fuller and it's actually pleasing to the ear because it's in phase this is what makes acoustic instruments sound as good as they sound. This is why guitarist typically choose a tube amplifier for the guitar because it makes it sound bigger Fuller. Adding a tube preamp to a solid state amplifier brings the tube sound to the sterile sound of a solid state amp. Solid state amps are very clean and too many listeners they prefer that tube sound and that is what this device does.
THAT WAS FANTASTIC SOUND AT 20.00 AT A SPEED I ASSUME OF ONLY 16 AND 2/3 rd RPM
No its 33 1/3.
When you have the best studio musicians in the area recording together you get a masterpiece. That record was laid down "hot" meaning they all played live straight to 2 track tape. It was a direct mix and the sound fantastic.
@@12voltvids SORRY ABOUT MY MISTAKE.YES I HAVE SEEN A FEW OF THESE LIVE STRAIGHT ON TO THE TAPE VIDS.EVEN MY MATE WHO IS CD PUDDLED (NOTHING ELSE DOES) CANT FAULT IT.HAVE YOU SEEN SOME OF MY VIDS ON HERE.
Hi, questions here. Can I connect this device in between my USB Dac and my pre amp (so I could use the remote control function of my pre amp) and if so, will the sound quality be good or will I getthe best sound quality when I connect it directly to my power amp? Second question is the power supply. I don't really understand what power supply would be an improvement. I've read about regulated and linear power supplies. I can't seem to find a power supply with the same specs (DC 12v 1ampere) only i.e. 12v DC 7 ampere. Anyone has a link to a power supply that would be an upgrade over the standard wall wart power supply? Btw I live in the Netherlands so we have 230v AC wall network. Thnx in advace for any answers to my questions
Yes you can. The tube buffer is there to give that tube sound. You would just leave the volume turned up full and control the volume in your preamp. You will still get the even order harmonic rich tube sound.
@@12voltvids thanks for your answer. 😀
@@12voltvids btw all the way up is a bit too much gain here. It's currently at 10 o' clock which seems to be perfect.
@@harryhazelip
That's what the gain control is for. So you can set it to get the best quality. I use mine in conjunction with a phono preamp ic with my turntable and it sounds simply amazing. Well as good as vinyl anyway, and that is open for debate as I generally am not a big vinyl
What is the chip to convert 12v to 95v?
Not so much a chip, it is a boost converter board. A DC-DC converter.
Does this one seem legitimate? i.ebayimg.com/images/g/37QAAOSwf~9ZX44P/s-l1600.jpg
there's B647 and D667 transistors at the rear by the input side, runs on 12V AC.
There's a delay with warmup, works fine as a preamp though.
Sadly the unit isn't available as it is sold out. But after seeing so many "tube pre-amps" opened up to see ic's inside and under 50 volts powering the tubes, this one seems like the real deal. I was a bit surprised that it had enough gain to be used as a phono preamp, but this is before applying the RIAA equalization, which is really needed. That would certainly bring the gain down some. Nevertheless, it is a good starting point. I am wondering if there are other preamps out there like this.
When i modded this one for preamp use i put in an ic preamp with riaa eq ahead of the tube buffer and it sounds fantastic.
@@12voltvids Ahhhh, yeah, I would figure you have to get an RIAA eq in there, otherwise it would sound terrible.
Smashing unit :-D
WOW I never thought I would hear Monty Pythons Contractual Obligation album on a music test video.
At least I think that was the album you used.
Good work sir....
Carry on.
Sorry, I know this vid has been posted for a while now, loved it just the same - - and - - really loved the Jacob's music too - - actually hunted down this album and ordered it - - - THANKS!
I had XM radio in my car for a few months on trial and one day I was listening to real jazz on a tune by Dale Jacobs came on. Haven't ever heard it on the radio till then, about 3 months ago..
thanks for the reply - naturally I had to settle for a used record, but it's supposed to be in "very good" condition - - bet I'll enjoy it if it's at all decent regardless
@@skip1835
You will enjoy it. It is great fusion jazz. He had all the top session men in Vancouver work on the project.
Would a pair of KORG 6P1 not have been better as you can use a 24 pin IC socket would have been nicer to look at as it gives of a blue light rather than a orange light and would make it possible to build two amps instead of using one triode per channel.
Audiophiles like to see the bare tubes.
Can you compare to sound without it?
i was also hoping for a AB test.
Who's the shredder at 9 minutes? I noticed you have good taste in music in other videos. Heard rite of strings the other day and I think some John McLaughlin too
Edit never mind I see that you posted
It is from musicbakery.com. I have no idea who the studio musicians are. Many of them are famous players doing side projects. As you can tell by the playing.
4:42 It's a boost converter, not a buck converter. The latter "steps down" a voltage, while the former boosts it up. In this case, from 12VDC up to about 100VDC. My two questions are
1) how do the filaments get their AC power? Do they just drive the filaments with the incoming 12VDC rather than the traditional 6.3VAC? Can a tube's filament withstand this DC bias?
2) how does the boost ripple voltage avoid being sent out to the audio? It's possible, I suppose, to ensure that the boost load is sufficient to keep the boost running in continuous mode, which would make the circuit operate at a frequency above 20 kHz. The ripple can be attenuated, but it can't be completely eliminated. I'd love to see the voltage on that boost inductor as it would tell you what frequency it's operating at, no doubt in the 100 kHz vicinity. A spectrum analyzer on the output, too. Let's see that even-ordered harmonic distortion in action!
buck/boost converters have always been used interchangeably to describe a dc-dc voltage converter that uses a simple single stage inductor to either boost, or reduce the voltage as opposed to a proper dc-dc converter that uses a chopper circuit to drive a transformer with a separate primary and secondary winding. When I went through training manuals that used a buck style boost converter they referred to it as a buck-boost and in some circuits the same circuit would do double duty.
The filaments are running on DC, in series. The frequency of the converter is around 70khz. Well above the audio frequency, and it is filtered naturally.
Can there be such thing as a clean tube pre? One that is designed to not add an excessive amount of even order harmonics?
Also what would the advantage of a tube pre be over an solid state? In my experience a tube pre has a sort of, dare I say, “cleaner” (perhaps even more transparent???) sound to my ears. Everything doesn’t sound etched like a solid state, but rather perfectly spaced out and natural.
I didn't think there was a such a thing as a super clean tube amp myself. I bought a pair of DeWald hifi mono amps from ebay, looking for that nice warm fuzzy tube sound, one was built in 1957 one in 1958. My bad these things are SUPER clean No warm fuzzy for me, lol. They must have a shit ton of negative feed back I suppose ( I work mostly with tube guitar amps where distortion is king) I don't really know for sure why they are as clear and crisp as they are but I have thought of doing the guitar conversion with them but they are in pristine condition so I hate to. Keep in mind they are if I remember correctly 10 or 12 watts per amp
Nice sound. I thought about looking for a mini tube amp that I can put between a line level device like an iPod and my stereo to "warm" the sound before it goes into my stereo.
I like that nixie tube clock at 23:51. I played portal 2 the other day and there are number displays in the underground area that use nixie tubes.
This is what you need to warm the sound "ok thats a bad pun as tubes run warm!"
Put it between your ipod and amp, and you will forget quickly that you are listening to crappy MP3 sound.
I on the other have a real tube amp, so it really doesn't add anything more, as well I already get the tube sound, BUT the recording I made off that record went through the buffer, so the sound off the record on this video was warmed but it, and it sounds great.
I like Nixie tube clocks too, I built that one, and a 4 digit model that I currently have over my bench.
This one was a relatively expensive one, but the other one was very reasonable, so much that I might just build another. What I really would like to build is a panaplex. I do have a couple of panaplex displays, so if I can figure a way to get them off the board they are on now without breaking them, I may just adapt an existing clock circuit to drive it,
You done your self a faver with the camera
It woulda been nice to see you test voltage going in and out of the unit so we would know if it provided any gain. Or put it on a spectrum analyzer to see what the difference would really be. We can tell difference in sound in your video because of how loud you turn it up.
I can certainly do this if you wish.It has a volume control so that the output can be matched with the input if you don't desire gain, but there is also no claimed gain. It is a tube buffer which suggests that there is not much. It is there just to provide the even order harmonics from the signal going through the tubes. It is hard to tell when I record just with the camera microphone, and these devices are generally pretty transparent anyway. Just subtle changes to the sound which is a characteristic of tube amplification.
If you can PULL A TUBE with the preamp running and the music CONTINUES (about the 28 minute mark), something is very wrong: as in, those tubes are there for decoration. They don't work. The IC is doing the work. The tubes are just a marketing ploy.
Hi.
I bought this tube buffer from link you shared because of your video. There are reviews online, that this tube buffer sounds better with soviet time tubes, so I instantly bought 8 tubes from Ukraine. Chinese tubes worked, but I changed them to soviet after 5 minutes.
I liked "conditioning" effect to sound. Effect is like hair washing with shampoo and using hair conditioner :)
I noticed, that I can turn this preamp volume control till 10 o'clock without distortion. After that nasty distortion appeared. I noticed same distortion in your video. Can I go further with better DC power source? Of course I can leave it at 10 o'clock and enjoy music, adding volume with my NAD 316BEE stereo amp.
Item you have reviewed have changed since. Now it do not have gold plated RCA sockets. It looks like one in recent bangood photos.
I am wondering- would it be worth to tune this one up with some higher grade audiophile components or to buy preamp kit from Elekit. That's because I know, it is possible to get more out of tubes ;)
How would you compensate for the RIAA curve? Great vid
connect it via the tape monitor in/outs on the amp/receiver.
It may produce audio but the RIAA curve is not being taken into account. Bit disappointing to see 12vv not explaining that part properly. Phono preamps have a different eq that inverts the eq of the recorded signal. The recorded signal on vinyl has had the bass de-emphasised so the grooves don't overlap, thus allowing approx 20 minutes playback per side. Buying this pre for your record player and modding it as he described is a bad idea.
Yeah I must admit I was getting quite excited when he started to talk about turning it into a phono pre-amp but then disappointed when he didn't address RIAA. Any device can amplify the sound to line levels...
That said the circuit isn't complex, I might try this myself at some point once I've worked out the passives (or stole them from the internet somewhere).
Hamish Spencer
that would require circuit modification but as you heard in the demo it sounds great as is.
Hamish Spencer
the reason I don't go into that is because this is not a phono preamp. it is a tube buffer designed to be placed between the line out and power amp, or the tape monitor. the job of the unit is to recreate the tube sound. you did notice that I put the unit back to how it arrived after testing it to see how it worked as a phono preamp. it worked and sounded very good indeed.
Love to hear some instrumental modern Jazz through that device in order to hear the potential dynamics.
WE KNOW IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE POINTING TO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wher to buy
Hitesh Dhaigude
Link is in the description.
👍👍👍❤️ the cheapest preamp but the sounds great
Your taking a risk re left hand on metal front plate probably at Ground while probing high voltages around tubes!
These ones are not that high. Around 100v.
I thought that was a headphone amp at first. Looks almost like the modified Millett hybrid headphone amp I built a couple months ago with some old 12AU7s and using fets for the outputs. I love tube sound.
imgur.com/a/x664q Yeah it's not pink... it's more purple. My lighting sucks in my cave.
6N3 ......................same specs as 2C51 and other US tubes as well as industrial type 567O , all are better sounding than the Chinese.......
I forgot to mention the WE 396A..........
Chinese tubes sound pretty good these days and Russian.
Hi and what about 6N3P from Russia ? they come very cheap indeed Regards gino
For some unspeakable reason I opened ebay to look for vintage electronic watches....
nice sound outperform vintage bulky conrad johnson preamp with small price they beat vintage stereo. bye now vintage apparatus.
the one you bought the 6n3, does it have a red or blur l.e.d. on the front face plate? i am trying to figure out if this is still the current version being sold on bang. i seen one very similar on amazon but small differences. there is a blur l.e.d. on the front. as well the capacitor mounting is different. it looks like a modified top board. i cant see all the components to make sure its the same. most of these pre amps are junk but this one seems to be the gem. i am just trying to make sure they are still selling this good one. i would rather buy from amazon but i dont think this version is available there at this price. i saw a few listed at 200.
as far as plate to grid shorts are concerned, hell your old school, don't ever overdrive tubes, take care of them and keep them cool, they can last for decades.
Yes as that old 60 year old radio I recently repaired proved.
My old McIntosh has original tubes from the 60's and my Luxman has the original tubes from 1983 in it. The only one I have blown was an EL34B on my Yaquin, and I drive that one pretty hard.
Distortion is such a crappy term. Harmonics appear in all music and musical instruments. Tubes create a more pleasing musical presentation to the human hearing apparatus exactly because of their emphasis on even order harmonics. I believe that the term is "desolder" not unsolder.
why all the wall wart PS BS? run it direct from 120v main line. This would be an easy home brew, could be done with one dual triode. This preamp should be less than 20$.
Probably the reason for the wall wart is costs. To put a mains transformer costs more for starters, and then they have to have one for each market, but probably the highest cost would be getting it certified for each country they intend to sell in as a line operated device. Using an external adapter allows the unit to be sold without any special certification as only the adapter needs to be certified, and they would use an off the shelf power supply for that.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
discontinued on Banggood..
Still available at other places - it is known as "T5 Matisse 6N3" .
The link came up in Mexican "dollars" (pesos presumably) at first. Immediate response was "HOW FRIGGING MUCH?!?" (around $350) :)
Even £35 is too much tbh though.
It's about 50 CDN
The link will show the price in various countries.
41 CDN, 31 USD today.
people keep paying big bucks to add distortion to their music. I'm guilty of this too though. I have a few tube kits, I just like the novelty of the glowing tubes. They give off some nice heat in the winter. haha
Well, I guess I am guilty of this too, the thing is not all distortion is equal.
If you want a distortion free amp, then solid state is the way to go. They are hundreds of times cleaner than tube amps. A perfect amplifier does just that, amplify or increase the signal level. Nothing added, nothing taken away, it is the opposite of attenuation which reduces the signal. The thing is us humans do not have perfect devices to hear the sound. A ribbon microphone is as close to a perfect device to convert sound waves to electrical signals. In theory a perfect speaker would reproduce the sound exactly as it received the signal, but this is not the case in the real world and our ears are far from perfect. The way we hear sounds, tones that are harmonically in tune with each other has a pleasing sound, and sounds that are harmonically out of tune are irritating. The human ear, is very good at hearing these odd harmonics. Even the smallest amount of inter modulation distortion can be heard. On the other hand it takes a fair bit of even harmonics to become objectionable, around 12%. Most tube amps operate in the 1-2% region, and at this level the distortion, even though it can be measured can not be heard, but what can be heard is the overtones that are a byproduct of this distortion, and these overtones is what makes musical instruments sound fuller. It is what gives the electric guitar it's sound. This is what audiophiles look for, that bug tube sound. It can be easily replicated with digital processing these days, but the old tech approach is the simplest, way to achieve that retro sound..
I like the sound of tubes, I've got a 16 Watt stereo valve amp I've built 10 years ago. I mostly use solid state stuff for convenience. I also enjoy turntables and vinyl records. Where I draw the line is the Audiophile stuff that costs tens of thousands.
We call those people "audiophools"
As they say, a fool and his money are soon separated, and when it comes to this ridicules priced gear. Well, draw your own conclusions. The most expensive amp I have right now is my ELEkit unit that I built. You see it in this video, with the nixie clock in the background.
This amp will run total 16 watts in UL mode (8 per channel) and 6 in triode mode (3 per channel)
It sounds fantastic. My vintage Luxman hybrid also is a fantastic sounding amp.