Douk Audio Balanced EQ Preamp: 7-Band Equalizer - Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with XLR RCA Inputs & Outputs - for Home Stereo HiFi System, Amplifiers, Active Speakers (T8 PRO Silver)

I bought this in HiYO Silver(!) to use with my heaphone setup here in the Bat-Cave. It is excellent in doing what it says it does and that being allowing me to tailor the music I bought and paid for so that I can hear as I want and not just as so much fAdCopy today claims, "...as the fArteeest intended". The artist intended for you to buy and enjoy their music and this excellent performing (and looking!) EQ does just that.I use it with an Emotiva XDA-2, an S.M.S.L. smurtified THX headphone amp w/balanced and SE in/ouputs and a WONDERFUL Denon HEOS Link for my paid for music services: Pandora, SiriusXM and Amazon UHD Music. They all sound wonderful through this setup and It works superbly across the 5 'phones that to date I have used with it.You will not be disappointed. Well...Unless you enjoy straining to hear bits instead of music. I can't hear a single "bit", 0, 1 or otherwise. What I am hearing is MY soundtrack, beautifully reproduced and tailored to MY tastes by a compact, well built and good looking piece of audio equipment.I may get one for a relative for his headphone use. It is that good! Trust me. I know what I'm doin' when I'm reviewin'.Thanks!TheBatman

Works wonderfully, gave adjustability to an amplifier that had none. No added noise to system. Low cost but excellent quality.

I was torn between this and the Schiit Lokius, but this was less than half the price and did the job just about as well (I already have a Schiit Loki). The main thing I discovered was that the tubes actually colored the sound a little bit, giving all frequencies a warmer sound, which is what I was after. The main reason I got it was the balance adjusting screw ( I guess the design team ran out of space to give it a proper knob) on the far right end of the rank of knobs which I needed for a slight imbalance in my hearing when listening on headphones. This is also a pre-amp, giving it a feature that the Loki and Lokius don't have (and probably don't need). Also, I'm a sucker for fun-fi, Chi-fi gadgets and this unit looks really cool next to my Pro-Ject S2 tube phono pre-amp. It's a plus-value for us budget audiophile wanna-be's who can only afford to buy into tiny-tubeland. Works for me.

What we have here is basically a fun and functional device. The tubes are cool, but they are mostly for show. But what a show! The EQ is very functional and will definitely help you dial in more sparkle or thump, depending on how you set. It’s best when used for a little tweak here or there. Overall, I am pleased with my purchase. Tube rolling is fun!

Let me start with saying I love this product it works perfectly and the tubes light up great but it doesn't work well directly on a record player. This product does work well as a preamp but it's really only works as a EQ for a record player. The reason for this is it can't amplify the signal enough for it to work with a amp well which can be solved with phono preamp before it. Once I had it set up it sounds amazing and the control is perfect it add a warmth to the music I have yet to try the xlr outputs but it will just make it even better. Overall great product well made but just watch out if your buying this for a record player pre amp

excellent and gives you just what you need -- EQ and tubes. Looks great, solid build, and works with any album I throw at it.

It worked okay for about a month, and then it started making a popping sound in my left speaker. I think one of the vacuum tubes is bad. I can get the popping sound to stop when I swap out the tubes for a pair of Mullard tubes that I have. It’s disappointing that the tube only lasted a month. The loud popping could have damaged my speaker. I have it hooked up through the external loop on my receiver, and it decreased my volume by quite a bit. The balance adjustment is mounted turned off axis by about 220 degrees. It seems to favor the right side.

My stereo tube power amp had no tone controls. It sounded great 90% of the time, but sometimes an lp needed a bit of sculpting for my listening room. Especially the vintage records. The tone control is very useful. What I wasn’t expecting is that when the unit is at unity gain with all tone settings neutral, or at pass through, the thing acts as a transparent magical buffer. I can’t explain it in a few words, but I can hear that it makes my vinyl and even digital recordings sound better. My signal path from the turntable preamp through the power amp is all vacuum tube.