FX Audio TUBE-01 JAN 5654W Tube Buffer HiFi Preamplifier (TUBE-01S-SL)

I bought this on an “if,” or several of them.1. “If” it would work to ‘sweeten’ the sound of an old CD player that didn’t have any digital outputs with which to send the signal through any of my (cheap, though sounding good to me) external DACs; the CDP’s sound was a bit dry, a bit thin, on the edge of harsh at times — it just needed a little love, a little smoothing over, a little “something.” It did all that, and a little more. Improved the three dimensionality of the soundstage, by a bit, but enough to where i didn’t think it was my imagination. I had no “listening fatigue” with this this. I was inspired to keep listening. The treble never got harsh, it didn’t blur any detail, in fact like i said it seemed to add some, in terms of depth perception. The first piece that proved that to me was a 1951 recording, in mono, of an opera, and it especially benefitted from whatever the tube buffer did. It was a long opera, and the longer it was on the better it sounded. It was recorded in a particular theater, which has it’s own unique sound signature, and this helped to reproduce that, that sense of being in a particular space, rather than being with sounds coming from your speakers. + I think historical recordings like that, and similar ones, which were recorded with tube equipment, benefit from some tube in the reproduction. Solid state just doesn’t quite get the music ‘there,’ to where it sounds right. If you’ve heard historical recordings on vinyl, then on CD, you probably know what i’m talking about. The addition of this seemed to help them sound a little more like vinyl.2. “If” the automatic ‘upgrade’ in the tubes was worth it. I read the reviews of the cheaper version, several reviewers saying the JAN 5654W tubes helped the sound over the stock tubes. And i watched the price of a matched pair of those creep upwards. So for the money this seemed to be the way to go. Is it better sounding than the $32 version? I haven’t heard that one, but this one i’m completely satisfied with. I read somewhere that tube life can extend to 5,000 hours. That suits me. Might i still decide to try some different ones? Sure, that’s part of the fun with this sort of toy, but it’s not an immediate priority of mine, since it sounds fine. Prior to this i had no experience with tubes since my dad’s Hi-Fi when i was a kid. When i first put it into the chain, turning it on & cold i didn’t hear a difference, but that’s because it’s not a completely solid state device. Tubes take time to warm up to their full potential, and audio equipment — and/or our brains — take time to ‘burn in.’ Even then i won’t say it’s a night and day difference, but one that i like to have in there. If the difference is only in my head, i’m still satisfied, as it’s a relatively cheap placebo. But i think it actually functions, subtle but real. If you don’t believe that then don’t bother, but it doesn’t foul anything up. It’s not super-warm or syrupy sounding, it just sounds right.3. “If” it could function in between a source, and an extra power amp, to control the volume, like my full-sized preamp in my main system (it does). I took that system apart; i had two identical power amps bridged mono, but instead left one there and put together a second system, to test the sound. The power amp is just that, an on/off button. Juice. RCA inputs on the back and speaker terminals. I put this between that CDP i mentioned, and the amp, and it did the trick. CDP->FX tube-01->power amp->speakers. Likewise chromecast audio->DAC->FX tube-01->power amp->speakers. I’m tempted to try the version with the tone controls, though i prefer to keep things simple. For this use the volume control, preamp function, was what i needed; tweaking the sound with improvements a bonus. I also tried it between a different CDP and my preamp/amp. That CDP does have a digital output in addition to its analog connection, and i was able to do an easy A-B comparison between it’s internal DAC and my favorite external one. What impressed me was that it’s own guts sounded just as good as the more modern external DAC (whereas the Chromecast audio sounded better through the external DAC, it’s own, internal one OK) But through the FX tube-01 that CDP sounded slightly better, slightly more realistic, less like listening to a recording. It did something the external DAC didn’t.Those are my experiences with it, “your mileage may vary.”It occurs to me that i have a particular Y-cable that might turn this into a headphone preamp — a stereo RCA male to female stereo mini-jack (plug my HP’s mini into that). But i haven’t tried that yet ... & besides i like it where it is ...

I listen mostly to HQ music. If you love high quality tube sound think of this as a preamp and just leave the volume control at about 10 o'clock to provide plenty of headroom to avoid distortion. At home I run my Maverick Audio D1 DAC through it to my Yamaha A-S500 amp and on to a pair of BW602 and a pair of Panasonic SP-FS52. The result is amazing. In the car it's between a Sansa Clip+ (has a good DAC) and a new Sony car stereo. The car sounds good, The home system sounds Great! It's the biggest bang for a buck that I've ever added to any audio system.

It does what it is supposed to do give a warm natural valve tube sound. I do notice a more natural sound with voice. and imaging appears to give a wider spectrum of sound field . The highs are smoother as well and the base tends to be less boomy. I do doubt that any one would notice this without a comparison of with the Tube-01 and without it.But if your looking for a a real inexpensive way to up grade your current non tube system this is by far the best way to go for the money. I will have to say this is most bang for the buck. I other words I like this product and is well worth it. side note go with the GE tubes JAN 5654W

I've been an audio enthusiast for decades. I bought this as sort of a joke. I did need a preamp stage in front of my Classe Model 70, which powers my ESS-AMT1B's. WOW. I am really so happy with the way this little preamp sounds. It's making me wonder what the rest of the product line can do...

Bought this for my husband because it was on his list. I don’t know electronics but my husband has no complaints! He his very pleased with it.

It was nice to see this sold with the upgraded tubes. This little buffer does make a difference I have my cd and tablet/computer running through this buffer definitely brings my digital music closer to that vinyl sound.