Douk Audio 6J4+6P6P VacuumTube Pre-Amplifier Stereo HiFi Class A

[donmarrese]

I'm thinking of putting together a modest hifi setup for a friend, of which either the pre of power has to be valve based...
On a budget here, so was considering

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 282183028724

As a pre...
Any thoughts/ reviews/background/upgrades ?

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[Lawrence001]

Was listening to one in a system on Sunday, for the money you can't go wrong. It also looks similar to one I had last year that was based on the Marantz 7 and sounded very nice.

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[Columbo]

Looks like it's probably a line level preamp. If you're planning on getting a turntable you'd need a phono preamp as well.

For the cost, it looks to be quite well made, and says to be suitable for 240V

[donmarrese]

based on the Marantz 7
Cheers guys, thought so re. the Marantz 7 had heard some whispers aboout that fact...I will forward my findings to the committee..lets see what happens...thanks all.

[simon g]

A few points to consider on that amp:

Although listing states 220-240V, I would imagine that it is in fact 220V and they're trusting to the transformer tolerance of, say, +/- 10% to enable it to be 'OK' at 240V. That may be OK, but I doubt you're going to get much in the way of a quality transformer at this price. Plus many domestic supplies in the UK are at 245V or more. Extreme caution required; do not leave on unattended.

The CE mark is probably 'China Export', not proper CE conformity

Don't forget VAT, tariffs and processing charges by the delivering courier company. It'll probably be around £200 by the time it has been delivered.

Although new, this is effectively without warranty as it would be uneconomical to return for repair.

To be honest, looking for decent performance from a valve pre at this price level is a big ask. I don't know what your budget is, but a passive pre with something like a Leak 20 (depending on speakers' of course), will produce a superb sound and will be readily repairable.

[simon g]

^^

Just as a further; if the budget allows then something like this will give you excellent performance from an established, quality manufacturer:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unison-Research-Unico-Valve-Amp/293103996185?hash=item443e5c0d19:g:o5UAAOSw15pc67N U