Great Review. Bought one too and I fully agree to everything you mentioned. The T9 is a very nice „desktop“ amp and works pretty well. But: the USB is cool, connected the T9 to my Mac, don’t need the remote control…
You could wire the meter in pre volume with a small resistor if needed. At least that way you could monitor the input signal. I have seen these can be purchased without power supply for €15 less if you already have a large supply. Then i saw the same thing i think but with a different case that covers the valves completely but it's a much cheaper vs. Oh that one is just a pre amp or headphone amp but i've just seen they do one pre amp in this style with 2x vu meters on it.
I'm kinda leery of these tube buffer type devices I have several and their all so transparent that I wonder if the signal is even going through them... There's something missing that I clearly hear from my old rebuilt magnavox console amplifier... Now that doesn't mean that this device doesn't sound great, just that, I have a small pile of these type of devices that don't have the vintage sound ambiance and feel I am looking for...
The USB on the unit is just a standard USB A. No need for "special" cables. It is just supplied as a bonus I guess for those who don't already have them
I have been an audiophile for decades. And even I don't hoard usb cables. Maybe because I'm not a "reviewer". Great that they ship one in the box until I can get a better quality one. And as for printers, fyi, they're not audio systems. Also fyi, it's well known the power rating goes up with a 32 watt power supply. With that, it's a proper 37-38 watts of power! I have no idea how you did your power calculation there. Even with 24v 5a power supply, it's a simple 120 watts of power consumption on the input. Which will not show up on any power measuring device on the input unless the amp is cranked to full and playing a track recorded at full db levels, which again btw, is uncommon. Man, maybe you should listen to your viewers, or just get the facts right on your own, before you put out your reviews. That way we can mutually benefit from watching them.
This seems to follow the same formula that a lot of cheap so called tube amplifiers follow. The tubes are really just a buffer, and as such they are really a gimmick as all real amplification is done by op-amps and class D amp chips. If you wanted true tube amplifciation, this is not the amp for you. Not saying it is bad. For the price it is quite reasonable. Just be aware that the tubes are really gimmick and don't provide anything beneficial to the amplifier. Tube rolling won't really make much difference to the sound in these. The sound is controlled by the solid state components, not the tubes. The little screw you turn on the front is a physical zeroing for zeroing the needle when there is no power. It is not electronic at all, it is purely a physical zeroing and you shouldn't mess with that unless the meter doesn't read zero when turned off
*100 x 2. Not 200 x 2. Less talk, more facts. AND you obviously know nothing about meters. LOL! Efficient speakers lows are just fine. Nice rumbles. I adore mine. My ears like it.
My background is in radio. I know plenty about meters. It does work to show VU output and not VU input. I liked the sound of the amp as well. And I have to talk, otherwise the video would have lots of silence. Sorry.
Great Review. Bought one too and I fully agree to everything you mentioned. The T9 is a very nice „desktop“ amp and works pretty well.
But: the USB is cool, connected the T9 to my Mac, don’t need the remote control…
You could wire the meter in pre volume with a small resistor if needed. At least that way you could monitor the input signal. I have seen these can be purchased without power supply for €15 less if you already have a large supply. Then i saw the same thing i think but with a different case that covers the valves completely but it's a much cheaper vs. Oh that one is just a pre amp or headphone amp but i've just seen they do one pre amp in this style with 2x vu meters on it.
What do you expect from a 100 dolllat amp...music nirvana..its great for a starter
System for the audio novice
That it is.
Ever played an instrument on 'serious level'?
What is an audio novice? Seriously?
Is it confirmed somewhere that it ha san ESS Dac?
Yes. ES9018K2M I believe.
How can you tell what the volume level is with no markings on the dial??
By listening? 😆
Just check with the neighbours
I'm kinda leery of these tube buffer type devices I have several and their all so transparent that I wonder if the signal is even going through them...
There's something missing that I clearly hear from my old rebuilt magnavox console amplifier...
Now that doesn't mean that this device doesn't sound great, just that, I have a small pile of these type of devices that don't have the vintage sound ambiance and feel I am looking for...
And that is great!
You do need the USB cable as the USB connector on the unit doesn't match your USB stick. As far as I could see anyway.
I have dozens of USB A to B cables. I just don't need another. Even printers don't come with USB cables.
The USB on the unit is just a standard USB A. No need for "special" cables. It is just supplied as a bonus I guess for those who don't already have them
I have been an audiophile for decades. And even I don't hoard usb cables. Maybe because I'm not a "reviewer". Great that they ship one in the box until I can get a better quality one. And as for printers, fyi, they're not audio systems.
Also fyi, it's well known the power rating goes up with a 32 watt power supply. With that, it's a proper 37-38 watts of power!
I have no idea how you did your power calculation there. Even with 24v 5a power supply, it's a simple 120 watts of power consumption on the input. Which will not show up on any power measuring device on the input unless the amp is cranked to full and playing a track recorded at full db levels, which again btw, is uncommon.
Man, maybe you should listen to your viewers, or just get the facts right on your own, before you put out your reviews. That way we can mutually benefit from watching them.
This seems to follow the same formula that a lot of cheap so called tube amplifiers follow. The tubes are really just a buffer, and as such they are really a gimmick as all real amplification is done by op-amps and class D amp chips. If you wanted true tube amplifciation, this is not the amp for you. Not saying it is bad. For the price it is quite reasonable. Just be aware that the tubes are really gimmick and don't provide anything beneficial to the amplifier. Tube rolling won't really make much difference to the sound in these. The sound is controlled by the solid state components, not the tubes.
The little screw you turn on the front is a physical zeroing for zeroing the needle when there is no power. It is not electronic at all, it is purely a physical zeroing and you shouldn't mess with that unless the meter doesn't read zero when turned off
I am aware of all this. Thanks.
Yeah its because tubes usually need a higher voltage for an amp stage you can get away with lower voltages for a buffer stage.
*100 x 2. Not 200 x 2. Less talk, more facts. AND you obviously know nothing about meters. LOL! Efficient speakers lows are just fine. Nice rumbles.
I adore mine. My ears like it.
My background is in radio. I know plenty about meters. It does work to show VU output and not VU input. I liked the sound of the amp as well. And I have to talk, otherwise the video would have lots of silence. Sorry.
*Love the look except hate valves* 😂🎉😂