Little Bear T8-1 MC step-up preamplifier

[Barry]

For sale Little Bear T8-1 MC step up preamplifier

Bought out of curiosity, I’m selling this pre-amplifier, as it is now surplus to requirements.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy88/barrydhunt/008_zpsfotykr4e.jpg

Comes complete with the wall-wart power supply and American 2-blade plug to BS1363 3-pin adaptor.

I did a review here: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?39447-‘Little-Bear’-Moving-Coil-Step-Up-Preamplifier-T8-1, and have to say that for such a small outlay this little pre has no right to sound as good as it does.

It would be ideal for someone who wants to try a moving-coil cartridge. And it is a prime candidate for a bit of DIY ‘fettling’.

Specification:

Step up ratio: 1:10 (i.e. 20dB)
MC input support: Moving Coil cartridges 0.3 – 0.8mV, impedance 20 – 100 Ohm
Output: 3 – 8mV, impedance 47kOhm
Frequency Range: 20 –20,000 Hz +/- 0.5dB
Power: 12 – 18 VAC, 100mA

I don’t have the original packaging, but it will be well wrapped and packed.

Asking £12, delivered.

[Wakefield Turntables]

This is a really good bit of kit, had one myself and this is probably the cheapest way your going to get an MC working on your integrated amp with MM only phono stage.

[Barry]

This needs to go, so I'm giving it away for the cost of the parcel post (£4). Otherwise it's destined for the skip.

So any takers?

[walpurgis]

WOW! Bargain!!

[Firebottle]

Yes please Barry.

[Doctor Fuse]

What the..?

Based almost solely on what you chaps have written above, I bought one of these Little Bear T8 humming machines/radio receivers :steam:

Since going all-tube signal path, I wanted to see how noisy my EAR 834 clone would be with a LOMC, before I splurge on a SUT. So I bought a used T8 for $20 CAD (that's probably around $0.25 Aussie dollars *jk* I usually use that one on Yankees!).

What a bargain! If I was looking to have a MASSIVE HUM GENERATOR! Or an ultra-lo-fi, one-channel local radio station receiver!

How could you guys, in good faith, give this Little POS anything but a total thumbs-down negative review? How could you not mention that in stock form, it is utterly unusable?

Are you guys selling these units, or getting paid in any form by Douk or any other distributing company?

Very disappointed here. I thought this was a forum of honest blokes...

[walpurgis]

I thought this was a forum of honest blokes...

Charming.

User views given here by members would have been sincere. Not sure why you find it necessary to insult people.

[Lawrence001]

Actually I get paid 2 cents for each sale that can be traced back to the forum, and I've done a deal with Barry to split our ill gotten and dishonest takings.

That's 1c each so far, I can't wait for the rest of the cash to come rolling in. I'm hoping to have saved up enough for a Cadbury's Cream Egg to share with the kids by next Easter.

[mik_rik]

I have had mine for a good few years and I have no complaints, could it be you have bought a faulty one? (if so ,i hope you get it sorted)


Mick

[Barry]

What the..?

Based almost solely on what you chaps have written above, I bought one of these Little Bear T8 humming machines/radio receivers :steam:

Since going all-tube signal path, I wanted to see how noisy my EAR 834 clone would be with a LOMC, before I splurge on a SUT. So I bought a used T8 for $20 CAD (that's probably around $0.25 Aussie dollars *jk* I usually use that one on Yankees!).

What a bargain! If I was looking to have a MASSIVE HUM GENERATOR! Or an ultra-lo-fi, one-channel local radio station receiver!

How could you guys, in good faith, give this Little POS anything but a total thumbs-down negative review? How could you not mention that in stock form, it is utterly unusable?

Are you guys selling these units, or getting paid in any form by Douk or any other distributing company?

Very disappointed here. I thought this was a forum of honest blokes...


Hello Kenji,

My review was made in good faith, and the general findings were confirmed by several other Members here. At no stage did I say it was better than the Levinson of Linn LINNK phonostages I normally use.

At no time did I experience any hum problems, which suggest that you could well have an earthing (grounding) problem with your system. Nor did I have probles with RFI.

The Little Bear is not a panacea; it is an inexpensive head amp offering a performance that punches well above it's weight. It is an ideal device for someone to try out first, before going on to spend considerably more on a better product.

[struth]

i found placement made a big difference to hum levels with mine, which i still have somewhere i think

[walpurgis]

One should bear in mind that the original post is nearly four years old. I'm assuming the complainant's was a recent purchase, things may have changed with the product.

I should point out that I bought a passive stepped attenuator pre-amp from Douk Mall who was mentioned as a seller and it arrived with a defect, Douk Mall were very helpful and immediately sent me replacement parts to fix it that worked just fine.

I'm not sure why we are being blamed for an unsatisfactory cheap second hand item, that for all we know, may not even be implemented correctly or may have been bought defective. This is nonsense, move on!

[Lawrence001]

Actually this has reminded me of an issue I had with a pair of B&W DM2a's that I bought several years ago. I was shocked when I got home to find that one of the Coles supertweeters was not making any sound.

It didn't occur to me at the time, but I'm sure one of the reasons I bought them was a positive mention on this forum. I can't believe how blind I've been, it's obvious now that this was a case of blatant shilling of a substandard product. After all, for a delicate tweeter to fail after only 30 odd years of potential heavy misuse is just not acceptable.

I can only assume that someone here must have entered into a forward agreement with B&W to talk up the secondary market many years after they were discontinued to somehow support their speaker sales in a way I couldn't possibly begin to understand. I'm now actually wondering if the whole forum is just a big scam to talk up products and get us to part with our hard earned money. I'll have to treat recommendations on here with much more caution now - lesson learnt.

[Barry]

:lol:

[Jac Hawk]

What the..?

Based almost solely on what you chaps have written above, I bought one of these Little Bear T8 humming machines/radio receivers :steam:

Since going all-tube signal path, I wanted to see how noisy my EAR 834 clone would be with a LOMC, before I splurge on a SUT. So I bought a used T8 for $20 CAD (that's probably around $0.25 Aussie dollars *jk* I usually use that one on Yankees!).

What a bargain! If I was looking to have a MASSIVE HUM GENERATOR! Or an ultra-lo-fi, one-channel local radio station receiver!

How could you guys, in good faith, give this Little POS anything but a total thumbs-down negative review? How could you not mention that in stock form, it is utterly unusable?

Are you guys selling these units, or getting paid in any form by Douk or any other distributing company?

Very disappointed here. I thought this was a forum of honest blokes...


Absolutely no need to go off the deep end like that dude, i've found Barry to be both knowledgeable and honest, could it be that you simply got a faulty one or perhaps you have an earthing problem.

[Doctor Fuse]

Hey, Barry, apologies for my outburst back whenever. I hope this is better-late-than-never.

[Barry]

:lol:

Apologies accepted, not that I was expecting any - but as you say "better late than never". :)

Did you find out why your sample sounded so poor?