AIYIMA T1 Pro Tube Preamp Review

[Cbdb2]

Good 12AX7 tubes for example cost that. Not these used here. 6186 are 3-4 moneys the piece made in USA. End consumer price. Imagine what they cost for a manufacturer like Aiyima getting their hands on some surplus Chinese batch.

There's our explanation for how this is possible for the price

$7 for 1, $2ea for 1000

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Buy 6AG5 / 6186 vacuum tubes online, in stock and ready to ship! Find reviews, data sheets and specs to upgrade your tube amplifier.

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Wish they were used in my Bass amp, the 4 kt88s I need to replace average around $100 each!

 

[Guddu]

That and the small power supply (do we know how many watts?)

It uses 6watts in operation.

 

[Timcognito]

AIYIMA T1 Pro tube preamplifier

 

[Cbdb2]

It uses 6watts in operation.

To run 2 tubes? Is that possible? Do they even get warm?

 

[rank]

Hmm,I wouldn't say atrocious,that's how Audio Research LS28 roughly looks at a couple of levels:

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I think the thread thingie is close but not there as an effect box,it should go deep into 30's of SINAD to be proudly owned as one.
At least the distortion structure is right.

Thanks Amir!

The signal to noise ratio is too low and the distortion is several %.
Added to that of speakers, it can be heard quite quickly if you play loud.
I had a Classic 60 and a Cochet tube preamp. Nothing I regret, except pre's cinch were good quality.

 

[Guddu]

To run 2 tubes? Is that possible? Do they even get warm?

Tubes do get warm, 6watts captured on 20A smart plug.
Pre-amp output is decreased with tubes, more details on what I found:

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[Sokel]

The signal to noise ratio is too low and the distortion is several %.
Added to that of speakers, it can be heard quite quickly if you play loud.
I had a Classic 60 and a Cochet tube preamp. Nothing I regret, except pre's cinch were good quality.

If you're talking about the AR,90dB SNR and 90dB SINAD (highest distortion is H3 at -98dB) at -17dB (where music bangs) is more than good not only for a tube line stage but SS too.
With over 100dB sensitivity speakers is dead silent and I would bet no one would distinguish it even compared to a straight DAC (we tried) .

 

[Ropeburn]

Wish they were used in my Bass amp, the 4 kt88s I need to replace average around $100 each!

No you don't, because then it wouldn't be a power amplifier anymore.

Equivalent EF96 Datasheet

Unless Aiyima is using serious step up conversion to supply the anode (which they simply can't because that would require it to be a Class I or II device), this is its operation condition in the P1, marked in red:

It isn't even a type designed for audio, but radio purposes. Even then it could perform vastly better, if only properly supplied.

It really is nothing more than a deliberate "tube effect".

 

[Cbdb2]

No you don't, because then it wouldn't be a power amplifier anymore.

Equivalent EF96 Datasheet

Unless Aiyima is using serious step up conversion to supply the anode, this is its operation condition in the P1, marked in red:

View attachment 385796

It isn't even a type designed for audio, but radio purposes. Even then it could perform vastly better, if only properly supplied.

It really is nothing more than a deliberate "tube effect".

Obviously, I just don't understand why power tubes are 10x the price of that tube.

 

[beefkabob]

This is like wanting to drive a Stanley Steamer Car? I guess if you have the itch. May as well scratch it for the least amount of Scratch…

I would love to drive a Stanley Steamer.

 

[levimax]

Products like this make me sad. They make a mockery of all the good historical Hi-fi engineering that this hobby is built on. Audibaly transparent tube pre-amps have been mass produced for over 60 years. If tube sound exists it would be tube power amps where the output transformers and high output impeadance may in some case be audible. A product like this has no historical relevance or analog, it is in essence a SS amp with a broken tube stage to purposly degrade the sound in a way that has nothing to do with a properly executed tube circuit. If one wants to try and learn about tubes this is not a cheap way to do so as it really has nothing to do with tubes.

 

[amirm]

To run 2 tubes? Is that possible? Do they even get warm?

Just a hair.

 

[georgehifi]

I'm wondering what the 4 opamps in the 2 NE5532 chips are used for.

Can't be output buffers as it ****'s itself loaded into 600ohms

Cheers George

 

[Sal1950]

FYI I told the company in advance of sending the amplifier that I expect it to not measure well. Company to their credit, still wanted it tested/reviewed so here we go.

At some level, this is the intended function of the product. If you want to see what this type of distortion sounds like, this is a cheap way to test the waters.

Yes, they knew how the device was designed and how things were expected to come out sonic wise.

Those who want this device, they want to Hear a difference, so there you go!

That's the part that leaves me scratching my head. Having tubes in a system has it's own warmth and glow, amusing comment intended. LOL I ran a tube power amp for 20 years, but picked it on the basis that it should have been very hard to identify as such. Proper modern
tube circuit design can approach SS in it's ability to be near completely transparent.
We've come so far in the search for High Fidelity and the design of gear, I have no idea why you would want to intentionally go back to the sounds of 1950 ???

 

[kemmler3D]

Pretty cheap for a hardware tube warmer effect, you can pay more for a software version of this.

 

[pseudoid]

Thank you for the review, @amirm,
They should have included 2 replacement Nixie tubes, so that when the buyer is over the novelty; they can use it as a desktop thermometer.
That would probably increase the price by $10 but the novelty would turn functional. win-win

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Yes, they knew how the device was designed and how things were expected to come out sonic wise.


That's the part that leaves me scratching my head. Having tubes in a system has it's own warmth and glow, amusing comment intended. LOL I ran a tube power amp for 20 years, but picked it on the basis that it should have been very hard to identify as such. Proper modern
tube circuit design can approach SS in it's ability to be near completely transparent.
We've come so far in the search for High Fidelity and the design of gear, I have no idea why you would want to intentionally go back to the sounds of 1950 ???

Not everybody thinks like you, or me for that matter.
I also used, and still have my chunky tube monoblocks. And like you, I used them because they were low distortion.
For every one of me (or you) there are atleast a 100, that want that magical tube warm sound.
For 75 bucks, now they can.
This is an operational device and effects box in one.

 

[Cbdb2]

Pretty cheap for a hardware tube warmer effect, you can pay more for a software version of this.

The problem is the distortion profile will make it sound like a bad SS Amp. Proper tube warmth comes from very low odd order harmonic distortion and audible even order. So if there even using the tubes its a bad design.

 

[tomtoo]

Its perfect! You want a little bit of noise and some thd? Perfect a very gentle effects unit.

 

[rank]

If you're talking about the AR,90dB SNR and 90dB SINAD (highest distortion is H3 at -98dB) at -17dB (where music bangs) is more than good not only for a tube line stage but SS too.
With over 100dB sensitivity speakers is dead silent and I would bet no one would distinguish it even compared to a straight DAC (we tried) .

No my Classic was good to very good (approx 80 dB SNR & a little more than 1,3% distorsion). But I bought a Hafler DH 200* for next to nothing ($150).

Which seemed better in the bass (corroborated by a recording on a Studer 99 II). And so I was able to resell this one for more than I had bought it second-hand (plus it came with a captive cord like a low-end home cinema, shame !) so around $1800.
Certainly due to its reputation: in America it's the Rolls Royce of tubes, only nerds prefer Jadis with its hand-wiring.
My main speakers are 96dB/W/m.

* = I then resold it for more (after changing the original cinch, the speaker jacks and placing the ground with a mains socket) only because the power transistors and others parts were no longer available at all. Which is unfortunately the same with the 7000 series at Fisher (in fact Sanyo) for their amplifier. Sad.