Looks great and sounds good… if you are trying to incorporate this preamp into your $10,000 stereo system, just don’t. For the rest of us, it’s a good buy. I’m not an audiophile by any means, but I can say this little amp on phono does round out the sound when playing vinyl.

まず、この商品はイコライザーです。フォノ機能を持たないLPプレイヤーなどを増幅するものだと、購入時勘違いしたために、接続時少し戸惑いました。さて、このお値段でこの音はかなりお買い得だと思います。意外性と言えば、クラシックの弦楽器用に購入したのですが、ジャズの特にサックスとの相性バッチリで、見違えるような音色を出しています。あとは、アンプを入れずにヘッドフォンを直接接続して聴けるので、妻が寝ている早朝には便利です。真空管画の耐久性が気になるところで、真空管だけ交換できるのでしょうか？

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!😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

I don't know how I wasn't aware of phono pre amps until now. I've had a record player for about 8 years and never had a phono pre amp, or even heard of one. This really is a game changer. My speakers and amp are on the brighter end of the spectrum and I've always had to just about max out the bass to get the results I wanted. The pre amp arrived around 10pm so, I couldn't turn up the volume very loud, but could hear instantly that something magical had occurred! The soul train had arrived! All aboard! This thing pulls it all together and regurgitates pure gold. Like a chocolate and hot caramel fountain, spewing with the finest and sweetest of milk and honey. Carried out from a land of ignorance and brought directly into the sight of the Lord! The King had returned! Yeah, for real though. Japanese engineered and designed (they are the best at this worldwide) case closed, take my money!

Oggetto perfetto, arrivato in tempi brevi.È un buon preamplificatore, molto sensibile.Perfetto per chi si avvicina al mondo del "valvolare" e anche accattivante da vedere, cosa che non guasta mai.

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.

Wir haben das handliche Gerät Ampapa A1 vor zwei Monaten gekauft und seitdem regelmäßig im Einsatz. Hauptfunktion: Phono Preamp über Cinchkabel für einen Dual Plattenspieler mit MM Tonabnehmer, in unserem Fall das Ortofon MM Blue. (Für MC Systeme ist der Verstärker NICHT geeignet.) Zudem hat es einen analogen Cinch  Hochpegeleingang für CD-Player, DAC, Smartphones , Tablets und andere Geräte mit analogem Hochpegelausgang. Diese Signale werden regelbar über "Cinch Out" an Vorverstärker oder Endverstärker geleitet. Am Gerät selber können neben der Lautstärke auch Bass und Höhen moderat geregelt werden. Ferner kann man es auch als reinen Kopfhörerverstärker nutzen, ohne sonstigen Verstärker. Kopfhörer Ausgang über eine 3,5 mm Klinkenbuchse. Anschluss eines Adapters auf 6,5 mm ist möglich.Das kleine Gerät ist im "Retro Style" sehr solide gebaut. Gehäuse und Bedienknöpfe aus eloxiertem, hochwertigen Aluminium. Mattschwarz. Beschriftung übersichtlich und gut lesbar in weiß. Kein Plastik verbaut. Wir kennen viele Verstärker. Der Klang des handlichen Amps aus China (entwickelt in den USA) ist mit den beiden amerikanischen General Electrics Röhren GE5654 (keine chinesischen Röhren!) ) sensationell gut . Trotz des moderaten Preises von ca. 150 € braucht sich der Verstärker in Bezug auf Klang nicht vor Geräten in der Klasse um 1.000 € zu verstecken. Funktionelles Netzteil ist dabei. Das mitgelieferte Cinchkabel haben wir nicht verwendet, sondern gleich hochwertige Cinchkabel von ProJect (Phono) und Kimber Select (Hochpegel) angeschlossen. Die beiden mitgelieferten Röhren GE5654 müssen mit einer gewissen Sorgfalt in die Röhrensockel eingesetzt werden. Wenn richtig gemacht, wackeln sie nicht. Die Röhren sind durch einen Kippschalter von unten beleuchtbar, wahlweise grün oder orange. Das ist ein schöner, optischer Effekt, hat aber keinen Einfluss auf den Klang. Wir haben als Ersatz und Reserve für später gleich 2 Röhren GE5654 nachbestellt. Auch diese wurden schnell und zuverlässig geliefert. Hervorzuheben ist noch die wertige, durchdachte und ästhetische Originalverpackung für Gerät, Röhren und Netzteil. "High End" zum" Low End" Preis.Fazit: Solide und ästhetisch gebauter kleiner Phonoverstärker, sehr guter Klang, preiswert. 5 Sterne.

I like this preamplifier it sounds great and it looks very nice also. Great product!

Drives the phono channel well to powered speakers. Was worried the tubes were a gimmick, but as a guitarist I had to start there. I am pleased to report they are not and there is a lovely warmth that comes with this pre-amplifier. The addition of the individual bass and trouble controls is helpful to tweak between speaker and headphones settings. The integrated headphone out is well done and incredibly needed for me and my situation. The kids love the color changing and it does add a pretty cool vibe to the whole set up. The fact that it’s a local Washington State company that I could support was just the icing on the cake.

I just started my Turntable journey this year and I chose my first purchase to be the Fluance RT85 based on many positive feedback reviews and competitive price point. When selecting a preamp, I figured I might as well get the Fluance PA10 model that also has great reviews. Upon receiving the products, I was impressed with the quality and look of the RT85 but not actually blown away by the sound output. So I went back and starting digging deeper into similar price preamps and I stumbled past this bad boy. It had everything I needed with the volume, treble and bass controls, and I loved the tube look with the LED backlights so I decided to give it a try and boy am I glad that I did!I immediately noticed the sound difference coming from the RT85 after hooking this up. The volume output was louder, the sound was more vibrant, and the ability to control the bass was really the game changer for me. I love the fact that you get more freedom to tweak the sound settings more to your individual preference instead of settling for defaults of the PA10. To me this amp is better hands down and I'm glad that I did a little more research before settling based on Brand name.My advice is to not hesitate and buy this! The ability to customize your sound is great and the LED's make it even nice to put on display. Night and day difference and I look forward to many years of great use and quality turntable sound when listening to my vinyl collection.