Douk Audio T4 PRO Vacuum Tube Phono Preamp, MM Turntable Preamplifier, GE5654 Hi-Fi Headphone Amp for Home Theater/Record Player/Stereo Amplifier/Active Speaker

I’ve been collecting records for almost twenty years and using varying degrees of audio set ups, with nothing that ever blew me away completely (other than the first time I replaced a stock Audio Technica cartridge with a Shure M97x), since I usually just purchased cheap equipment that allowed me to simply play with the distinct sound of vinyl. After recently acquiring a Fluance record player (RT82), a pair of beyerdynamic headphones (DT 770 Pro - 250 ohms) and a set of Klipsch bookshelf speakers, my next mission was to dip my toes into the realm of the vacuum tube sound. The headphones were the main reason I was looking for a headphone amp, since I was unsure that my Sony DH190 2.0 phono receiver would be able to drive them properly (it does), and so I then almost purchased a Schiit headphone amp; I kept browsing Amazon to see if anything else caught my eye (and was cheaper) before buying that.Ultimately, I decided to try this little guy first at half the price and hear for myself if it would be worth it to further travel down this vacuum tube glowy path. It has good looks, good reviews and an even more attractive price point, but I obviously wasn't sure if it would be worth it just to hear a difference (if any). My expectations were at the ceiling for this thing, since I read so many people praising it and the excellent sound it processes... Man, you really don’t know what you were missing until those little tubes warm up, plug in your headphones and play your favorite song. That one piece of music you’ve heard a million times before and listen in it, for the first time ever, a wave of detail, preciseness and clarity. That moment was awesome, perfect and brought excitement back to my record collecting. It's almost as if the tubes bring out that detail and fill in the blanks of whatever was missing in voices and instrumentation due to equipment. Is it a placebo effect? Maybe, but it felt so good that it made me spent a few hours listening to different records and it also brought me here to write this review.To say that it blew my mind is an understatement. Fair warning that this review is coming from a budget conscious audiophile that is always trying to find the best bang for my buck, so it’s obvious that there are probably thousands of better (and more expensive) audio listening configurations. I feel that if you're in a similar situation, this is an absolute must (small) investment to your record playing experience. It immediately felt like it was the missing piece to my set up and I am hoping that the beautiful exterior quality build matches the inside and that it will allow me to enjoy it for some years at least. Every component in the preamp feels sturdy, high quality and that it was made to make it better and produce higher quality audio. I was also able to connect my Sony receiver to it and the sound coming out of the speakers sounds unbelievable as well. The only knock down I have for it is that the tubes are a bit hard to install and to remove, it always feels like they are a squeeze away from breaking, but that really has nothing to do with the amp and more generalized vacuum tube issues.In all, I probably would have been fine if I had never purchased this, but I am so glad I did, because now it feels like it's an essential part of my record playing experience. I wonder how I went so many years without something like this. It seems that Douk is doing something special with audio equipment for the budget minded and I am glad that they are doing an awesome job at it.

I have a pair of Audio Technica monitors. Smooth as butter. My computer was not strong enough to maximize the decibel range of the set, nor the quality + depth. I've heard that tube amps provide that warmth that audio enthusiasts have applauded for decades. I pulled the trigger, bought this, and couldn't be happier. An amazingly affordable option, and exactly what I hoped for, this amp is tiny and powerful. You can even get some higher quality tube replacements.I've read that new tubes need to be broken in, while other people seem to say that's not necessary. Just a thought. Tubes do take 10-30 min to warm up for optimal use, however. When it comes to general use, there's always "background noise" like a low rushing of wind, which I assume is standard? It's very quiet. When nothing is playing i can hear the signal switch out and that background noise gets louder. Nifty. Calming. Not sure, nor does it really matter, but that means either the computer or the amp is responding to the output signal generation.When using the direct input from computer to preamp, i set the amp knob indicator to the beginning of the volume gradient, which is about 50% of the available knob range. On the computer, I set to only 2/100 usually, sometimes up to 4. Exceeding this level on the computer seems to warp the information in the signal, making it a garbled mess. Even on the lowest volume on the preamp, the warping effects will be present. This is the balance/dance between devices/sources with which the world of audio engineering eternally struggles.It was a great learning experience. Thank you, Douk Audio, for a great product!

I had tried a couple of low to medium priced solid state phono preams and was very unhappy. Was looking for something MUCH better when I found this Douk Audio T4 PRO phono preamp. Liked the updated and lower profile looks, and was interested in the fact that it come with GE Jan-5654W tubes. What a difference with really great, wider range fidelity than the all solid state preamps I tried. This is probably not totally "audiophile" as it does not have a lot of complicated switches and db settings to contend with. But, on the other hand, they would have a high-priced mid seventies collectible receiver, and wouldn't need this anyway.What this does do is make it really easy to use a good quality turn table from days gone by with newer audio systems that don't have a phono input. I have a semi-ancient Onkyo 5.1 A\V (new enough for no phpno input, but old enough to only have one HDMI (audio, not video) out put.This Douk Audio phono preamp lets me easily enjoy my record collection with great hi-fi and stereo, that you will not get from a fully solid state preamp. For MM cartridges, just set the front mounted volume control for the right level input to your amplifier.

It works very well, low noise floor and very compact. Just a couple of issues I have largely with a lot of these offshore products one being the manuals suck big time and really for as good as they are, could be left out completely. There is no reference to what impedance they are suited for. I have Grado's which are 38 ohms impedance but if I were to get Sennheiser's how well would they match? There is no mention of the RIAA equalization (if there is any) in the unit. Since this goes directly between the turntable and the headphones it would be nice to know. So, in reality, a well written complete listing of specifications would be a major plus in my opinion. Lastly, the interconnects are not very long. Still with all this I have the ability to listen late at night without waking up the entire house! Now for the monetary value, very good entry level component which you would be pleased with.