Take a shot every time I say "tubby" - I promise you will have a great time by the end of the review. 😂 for more info on our Reviewer info, patreon, and personal interest in our reviews: nbtsmedia.com/about-us/ You can get Soundartist PRE-1 from: (lowest price directly from seller) www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/soundartist-amplifier-speaker-c-78/soundartist-pre-1-pre-amp-vacuum-tube-hifi-preamplifier-with-remote-p-2304 (Easier amazon returns or customer service) USA: amzn.to/3mF2xhW

That is a lot of tubes, and a lot of parts *especially* for $319. My long-time preamp is the Audible Illusions Modulus 2c, which I bought about 32 years ago, for $850 if I remember correctly. I think you would agree that a Modulus (they are still making them - now a 3b - but they are about $3500) is anything but "tubby". It has deep, powerful, taut and tuneful bass. It has clear and dynamic midrange, with incredible texture and drive. The highs are extended, and airy and clean, but with no excess. I just replaced the four 6DJ8 / 6922 tubes (for about the 4th time?) and it is demanding, so you really need to get low noise and very low microphonic tubes; I got Electro-Harmonix 6922 EH for about $20 each, shipped. I also just replaced the 11 largest capacitors, because they were wearing out - these cost me about $42 total, shipped.

I gambled and purchased a phono preamp using a well known all analog tube circuit for $300 shipped. Well, after replacing the cheap tubes, it sounds excellent. Parts used are pretty good and it looks hand made in a good way. I really like it.

Probably preaching to the choir here, but for a budget preamp that doesn't suck, I highly recommend Schiit. I've got the Freya S myself, but even the Saga+ and especially the Freya+ get raving reviews and it's all Made In USA.

Hey Jay , Me myself i am a pre/amp guy i have been for years ! One important feature for me with a preamp is being 'gained match' I just reviewed the audiolab 8300xp. and my 6000a integtated amp also has pure PreAmp mode that turns off the power amp inside the cabneit for lower noise in preamp mode but audiolab gear is all 'gained match' so i paired the 6000a with 8300xp and i was like Wow very good Synergy ! Then i used the Burson Composer 3xp as a preamp and Burson gets it with their low/high gain match feature ! Some amps like a stronger input signal than others , But getting the gain match between Pre/amps is a must for the best balanced sound if the Pre doesn't gain match with the amp than there will be all kinds of problems ! Thats why its always good to check with your dedicated amps required input signal to make sure it matches the preamp if not than yeah the sound just won't be correct . . The hometheater guys figured this one out quickly when their HTR preouts were actually starving their dedicated amps from not enough input signal 😆 Thanks for the Video Jay

I bought the (inexpensive) SUCA tube preamp. It has added a level of enjoyment I didnt know was accessible. EVERYTHING has been sonically improved. I will probably invest in something better in a couple years. Im hooked on the tube sound and the amazing improvement it offers.

I understand the sound color you mention now. Had a friend his dad had a fifty something car with a tube radio in it. It had that sound.

Thanks Jay. Exactly what we were looking/ listening for & loving it until today. Bought the unit & loving it with the wonderful strong vocal. By the way, got to burn-in for a week.

What about the Musical Paradise MP-701 Mk2? Still well under $1,000, accommodate a wide variety of tubes, and have capacitor rolling feature. Lots of talk in forums but I am not aware of professional reviews so far.

A good preamp is very unappreciated. Been thru many preamps of all types for almost 40 years. Keep coming back to my modified Acurus RL11. Early Acurus and Aragon amps & preamps are incredible bargains in the used market.

Ask Schiit for a Freya+ to review. I LOVE mine. Definitely no “tubbyness”. Just clear and open. As much as Thomas liked the original Freya, the + is much better. It does take a bit of time to burn in as well, sounds a bit soft initially, but livens up after a few days or so of use.

Preamps are very important. I too thought the money was better used on power amps. I upgraded a well known USA high-end company stereo amp to German high end monos. ,Very expensive but worth every penny. I then upgraded the pre. The option to return was agreed as I didn't think it would make much difference. The improvement was incredible, but I am talking about a pre in excess of 10k UK pounds.

More budget preamps please! Not many people review them

I’ve been waiting for a good review of these. I own several preamps which I believe is necessary in audiophile systems. It’s interesting that this preamp is so cheap...

What?!?! It seems to me that conventional wisdom is that the pre-amp has a much greater influence on your rig than an amplifier and I've never encountered this idea of paying more attention to amplifiers than pre-amps. It's why basic 2-channel pre-amps fetch so much money. Despite the fact that the componentry is usually simpler and cheaper than the contents of an amp, pre-amps don't get a proportional discount. Anyone looking for the "tube sound" usually buys a tube pre-amp to use with a solid state amp and then decides whether to get a tube amp. Most people can get all they want out of a tube pre-amp.

You got to change the tubes and you will see the difference. Thise tube amp is built at a price point and the tubes must be average at best!!

Various tube pre's have gave me my fave' sound for over 2 decades, so far. I found 15" Tannoy M.Golds sounded a little 'loose' & 'flabby' (maybe tubby?) in the lower frequencies with Quad II valve mono power amps but not so & far better all-round when i found a simple =/< 40'ish watts/ch ...(I guessed after a look) ...'Crimson Electrik' s/state power-amp (plain p/p 2 transistors per ch., one 100va tranny & bog standard old RCA circuit & clearly v.cheap to make) I tried a few alternatives to the Quads but that 80's(?) smallish Crimson amp was a match made in heaven to my ears with my Tannoys, i still recall near- magical moments of musical bliss & recall exactly what tracks were playing when the music was so very emotionally lifting, perfect synergy or something & esp' so with blues & smaller scale classical & wotnots. It died 15'ish yrs ago, but now 1 of my Tannoy M.G. drivers totally gave up months ago ...& after only 52'years from new! (according to the cab's rear faded signed & dated cardboard test-pass labels) so i'll not bother getting crimson repaired.

Just watched Audio Excellence giving a rave review on the McIntosh C8 Vacuum Tube Preamp...hope to get your take on that...thks

Try changing the stock tubes , it might surprise you.

Off the subject/ I connected my Sound Artist LS/35a speakers you a vintage Pioneer SX 750 and holy crap. I had them on a flea watt amp for a couple months and it was ok but then BAM! These speakers are bad ass. I digress

Very good explanation mate!Could you make a review of Schiit Freya Plus and compare it to some other more expensive stuff 😊☺️?Thanks!!!

Hey, nice to see a preamp review, I've been looking at the Audio-gd Vacuum 1 XLR preamp, it looks well built, but I can't hardly find any information about it, so if you'd find it interesting I'd love to see you review it.

How long are you going to tease us with those Dali speakers? 😋

Interesting review, but I believe you missed the mark on something rather crucial when reviewing Chinese Hifi: the tubes! When you reviewed the preamplifier, you mated it with other amplifiers, tube and SS to get a better idea of the sound it provided, but you didn't bother to roll the tubes to see if that yielded different results. I say this because I have only heard the SoundArtist Pre-1 with NOS tubes and I find it hard to believe we are listening to the same unit. While the Pre-1 is not the end of all of preamplifiers by any stretch, I do believe it is a great value and offers an affordable entry into tube sound. I am unfamiliar with the term "tubby" in the sense that you use it, and after looking for "tubbiness" in the sound, I am still confused. I would say that this unit offers quite a bit to be honest! Of note would be very solid control over the bass, neutral-sounding mids and a pleasing top-end. It definitely provides a "tube" sound in terms of a "holographic" presentation, which I find more pronounced in the higher frequencies. I personally find this pleasing to my ear, but I would say that some may not agree and do not like this form of "coloration", which is totally fair as it is a matter of preference. The instrument separation is also very noticeable as well. The remote sucks, period. I even swapped the stock "USA made" 8532w with a pair of NOS Amperex tubes and this further improved the sound of the Pre-1. I am not a car guy, but I imagine that you purchased a Mustang expecting a Shelby. I am not attacking your review, quite the opposite actually! Great review, just perhaps incomplete without tube-rolling the Chi-Fi to see what you really have under the hood 😉.

Try something in the Spl range! Like the Spl Phonitor x! They kicks some ass!!! Big thanx for your channel

I would just get a Schiit Freya +!

The rule is one vowel at the end of a syllable says it’s name : Tu-by. Rhythms with ruby the red gemstone.

Thanks for the review Jay. Will you be reviewing anything from Axiom Audio? I figured since you went to the factory, we might hear about one of their speaker lines.

Let's be honest- the sound of anything will start to sound better if you keep listening to it long enough. It has WAY more to do with your ears becoming familiar with the sound than it does with any 'burn in' or 'warming up'- especially with a $319 amp. You lost me at the word 'sh*t'.

next time when you review a pre-amp/integrated amp/dac with volume control ,, show the vol. pot or at least say what model ,,, this is a very important information not a lot of reviewers mention it.

Great review, as always. This is a tough subject, 'small tube' pre-amps like this won't really do much to get 'better' sound; unfortunately good tube pre-amps aren't cheap, something like the Schiit Freya with 6SN7 tubes will be vastly superior to any of these 'small tube' pre-amps. When buying a tube pre-amp, it's best to stick with a 'proven' design; the build quality on the Soundartist PRE-1 looks good though, given the limitations.

Thank for this review realy liked it, looking forward for next tube preamp maybe little bit higher tier maybe balanced :) good day ;)

Hi Jay THANKS for a great review, really considering getting one ☝️ By the way… what is the music on the video?, sounds great with deep bass. Thanks a lot in advance 👍 JO 🇩🇰

Hi Jay, that’s a very interesting pick and review. The Xiangsheng tube pre is scarcely but quite favorably reviewed, have been curiously eyeing it, it’s in the same price bracket

I have the emotiva xsp-1 preamp , very transparent, not the cheapest but compares to way more its cost.

Ever hear of Bankert Labs? They only make pre-amps (w/ tubes) aaaaannnd they only make 3 models. Affordable is relative term - I just ordered their Rhumba extreme (mid level model). Fingers crossed.

vincent uses these tubes in their preamps

Can you adjust the gain output you didn't say and what is its settings? this will make a difference if you are pairing it with a solid state amp or valve Poweramp

Would this amp help tame a bright setup? Running a Yamaha A-S1100 with a SMSL SU-8 dac...it's a bit too forward with my Monitor Audio Silver6's. And I'm a guy who loves a forward midrange, just not harsh levels. Cheers. (Love to see a video on this topic or recommendations)

thx jay love you r channel

Hi 👋 dear , I watched your video now, Is this one is suitable for my Parasound power amplifier A21+ and Beo lab 9 active speakers I wanted to buy a good brand pre amplifier, It must be 17 “ length same size off my other music systems. Four input , two output with remote black color. Good quality Sound tone, midrange and good bass Where it’s made ??? My budget is 400$ maximum I can offered. Please advise me waiting for your reply.

Could you review the Yamaha integrated S3200? Luxman and Accuphase would also be nice to see a review about... 🎉🎉

Please consider a video to explain the practical difference between single ended inputs in the preamps vs XLR. What really we are missing it from one to another.

This is like a Super Trooper gag; let's get Jay to say "tubby" in his videos. New Game: Shots for every time he says tubby and chugging for any variations of tubby.

microphonic tube ? tubby sound come from maybe ?

Hi, nice video. What preamp would you suggest for airy sound, at good price? My money is small these days, i was thinking for this preamo, but yoi descrobe it as tubby, i m looking for adjective airy 😄, if you could recomend one please

Hi just discovered this great channel Quick question, How would this Pre amp go with the SMSL DA 9 . Found that review today and going to pair with B&W 707S2 but may need to tone down the treble. Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks, since i am searching for an affordable preamp - nice coincidence. What about a review of the audio-ng R-28? Looks like an interesting preamp to me but am still hesitating...

how did it sound with tubes vs solid amp?

Any suggestions for those of use who need balanced inputs (2 or more)?

My question is : why do all these tube-amps being either pre or integrated have no REC-OUT connections ???? I see the latest Denon-Marantz-Yamaha integrated transistor amps of around 2500 euro , and they all have a REC-OUT connection , so I can hook up my ReVox B77 and record from my vinyl . However I can't do that with any of those tube-amps ......so anyone with a solution ? or anyone knows a recent tube-amp that does have a REC-OUT ?

Preamps are the least appreciated because they are the least understood component.

I use a Schiit Saga + preamp with a PSVane blue bulb tube. End game for me.

Considering this amp is likely a clone of a far more expensive commercial design....I'm surprised by comments . . Perhaps the tubes aren't a good set

Why most of pre are without the Phono stage? Can you compare it to LITE LS-10 (cone of Audio Note M7)?

What about colour on vmv ds1?????? Would it be a better choice of preamp+dac? Thxs. Greetings from Argentina

The strangest thing...but the tonal characteristics of your videos has shifted to "tubby" over the last few months on my gear. Much deeper, fuller sounding vocal presentation. Have you changed microphones... or is it just me?

Tubby, ah yes....my first wife was/is tubby.

So what your saying is my body type is TUBE-like. Good thin my wife's an audiophile.

Where did you get the record player in back from?

What integrated amp would you pair with the LS50?

Parasound P6 Vs Emotiva XSP-1 Review ?

Does this channel still exist? There hasn't been any content for quite a while.

best tube pre-amp (but it's not cheap at $14,000) is the McIntosh C1100... its all down hill after that.

Not “tubby”. As in the 🛁 bath tub! OMG! I was shocked when I heard that. You mean “tuby”. That’s pronounced ”

what is name of female vocal music in this video ? 1:33

Do the Emotiva XSP1

Tubby or Tubey?

People don’t know LOL

What about tubby Girls? You like it?

Pre-Amp...Parasound

Preamp with no remote? 😳

Did it get better or was it that your ears and mind got used to it 🤔

Literally no one calls it tubby

Man for that much I'll just get a s*** preamp

Jay, I enjoy your work and I realize you can only review the product sent to you but I really hope you don't wallow in cheap Chinese made products. China is a global bad actor and shouldn't be rewarded for being so. Boycott China!

You seemed a little tongue tied today. You getting enough rest between reviews?