A1 Vacuum Tube Phono Preamp, Headphone Amp, Hi-Fi Audiophile Preamplifier for MM Turntable Record Player with Tone Control for Home Stereo Audio System

I bought this to power dual mono block fosi V3s from my old Kenwood turntable into large Advent bullnose speakers. It sounded horrible. I only listen to vinyl, so I hoped this would be a very clean and direct method for improved sound quality. The mid range was too boosted and the entire sound was tinny...horrible!I plugged the Ampapa A1 into my Kenwood KA-7100 integrated amp and I couldn't believe how good it sounded. The bass response is a gigantic improvement, sound stage is wide and sometimes unbelievably amazing (Pink Floyd DSOTM), and is a huge boost in clarity. I send the mono blocks back and kept the Ampapa. I am listening to my entire catalog again as it is so improved.I love the LED function. It adds a bit of zest to my vintage look without overpowering it. The bass, treble and volume controls are very high quality with noticable effect. The whole package is perfect!! If you are in a similarw situation of wanting an improved phono preamp, do yourself a favor and buy this. My previous phono stage in the Kenwood was very good, by the way, but this blows it away.

Making my old turntable play into my new HomePod 2’s has been quite the project. I did a lot of experimenting and ended up getting the audio in through the HDMI eARC on my TV using a cheap Pyle preamp and RCA to HDMI adapter. The concept worked and it sounded good, but not great.It didn’t take long before I knew I needed a better preamp and figured I’d try the Ampapa. I wanted something affordable with some basic tone controls and vacuum tubes and it fit the bill. The HomePods have no way to shape the tone at all and that’s a little frustrating. They sound amazing, but sometimes they need just a little tweak to my ear. With the ampapa I’ve greatly improved my vinyl’s sound and can do my little tweak with the bass and treble to get it as near perfection as I require. My vinyl now sounds as good/better than my digital lossless versions. Both versions are great, but the tubes do add a little magic. It now makes my records compete with the Atmos Apple Music versions and I love hearing the difference in the mixes.It’s built solid and looks great in my media console. For me, it was the right product at a great price. Makes me happy to listen to my vinyl with such good sound.

Hooked up this awesome piece to a Juson JTA 35, which is a very good tube hybrid integrated amp which just, for me, wasn't QUITE there yet. One thing that was holding it back was the phono stage which was just too quiet, I instrument separation was somewhat poor, as well as a hard to discern center image.. iI decided it was time to try it out with a good phone stage / line level preamp.The Ampapa A1 was just a the medicine it needed. It now has a WIDE soundstage and imaging and clarity and is absolutely astoundin!g! The Ampapa added much needed clarity and detail. Rich and deep bass, well defined highs and natural sounding mids. With tone controls to attenuate the sound to my liking. It took my Juson from sounding like a $180 amp to something that can compete with a $500+ amp. I would give it six stars if only it were possible to! I LOVE this thing!😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

Let's start by admitting we are all shopping for Cheap Phono Preamps. Second, I don't even need one. So why bother and why do I love this one?My cheap audio sound system consists of a Fluance turntable running into Klipsch The Fives powered speakers, both of which already have built-in preamps. The Fives preamp is the better of the two, extremely clean, accurate and full sound. However, this system lacks tone controls and a headphone out, both of which Ampapa A1 provides. As a bonus there is a switchable RCA input, which is perfect for adding a CD player, as the inputs on the speakers are all in use from my TV (HDMI), an Amazon Alexa puck (Aux in) and Wiim Mini streamer (Optical in). Plus let's face it, those funky glowing tubes are just cool!But what about the sound you ask? Decent, but not perfect. The first thing I noticed was when switching to the A1 is that the overall volume is lower than with either the Fluance or Klipsch built-in pre-amps. However the speakers have sufficient power to overcome this minor quibble, just crank 'em up. The background noise is zilch, so you lose nothing, unless you need max volume at 11, I don't, this system cranks plenty loud enough to rattle the room.The second thing I noticed is the sound quality is very different. The Fives have a very broad, detailed and airy soundstage. The Ampapa sound is more intimate, less airy, and adds a richness in the bottom to mid range, curtailing the highs. For example symbols and snares are very muted, but the rest of the drum kit has more visceral punch. The tone controls are very sensitive, give me some nice options for tailoring to my tastes, but those highs and airiness are just gone. On day one I didn't really like it. I don't know if the A1 needed burn-in time, or my ears just needed to adjust, but I stuck with it for a few days and have to say I really do like the sound. Imperfect? Yes, but still very enjoyable. It's staying in my system because, well it make vinyl sound more like vinyl, and the loss of those highs actually help a bit to dampen the flaws of less than perfect records. Oh, did I mention the glowing tubes look cool?The headphone output is just okay, definitely not high quality. My Meze 99 Classics have adequate volume, but the A1 is not even close to the detail and quality I get when using the 99s with an Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt streaming Apple Music from my iPhone or iPad). Plugging in the headphones also do not cut off the RCA outputs, so you can play DJ if you want. For me the headphone out sound quality was a real let down, but at least now I have an option for late night vinyl listening.Lastly, the build quality for this Amp is impressive, the switches all have nice tactile feel. The retro cool tubes and LED lighting options, all add a nice retro vibe.The cheesy Designed in Washington marketing is kind of funny, if not disingenuous, as the lousy English translations on Amazon and in the directions make it all too obvious that this comes from China. Not even sure why they bother with the Ampapa brand, as the product ships from Douk Audio Direct, so I suspect that's the real manufacturer. But who cares really? We're all shopping the cheap Chinese preamps and I do think this is one of the best. My recommendation is buy one while you can, preferably before the tariff threat boosts the price.