Review on 🎶 Enhanced Sound Experience with MUZISHARE X7 KT88 x4 Push-Pull Vacuum Tube Integrated Amp Power Amplifier MM Phono amp Remote Upgrade by Alex Pollard

***UPDATE*** It's a bit annoying and you don't have to do it, but taking the device apart and spraying some CorrosionX (red can) in the volume pot has significantly improved the loudness volume control. CorrosionX is safe for electronics, it's sprayed onto circuit boards so I don't think it should be a problem, but it's worth doing your own research. Also, the more I listened to the amp, the less I liked the sound. This is common with Hi-Fi, over time your ears can pick up more of the sonic characteristics of the equipment you are listening to. I removed all series tubes except for the rectifier tube. I replaced them all with a Genelex Gold Lion except for the 12AX7 which I replaced with a long JJ plate I had on hand in other gear. This significantly improved the sound quality. More spacious and less cramped, less throaty, more open highs with a touch of sparkle and much more powerful lows, although you'll have to crank the volume up a bit to get the same levels. This combination of aftermarket tubes resulted in a slight mid-bass clipping, and that's the only real downside. The bottom line is, if you want really good sound, plan on getting rid of the stock tubes and spending a few hundred bucks on upgrades. ***UPDATE*** After just a few weeks and only a few hours of play, my volume knob started getting static when I turned it, which gradually got worse over the course of a day or so. I found this remarkable due to another customer's complaint about the same issue. ***UPDATE*** After the volume knob started to squeak and become static after less than a week of use, I ordered a replacement amp from Revane. The second amp had the exact same problem from the start, a noisy volume control on the right channel. I'm deducting one star for issues with multiple devices. *** UPDATE 2 *** The gradation on the volume meter for the offset setting is different on my device than shown in the instructions because the meter manufacturer has changed and the labeling is different. . First I set the offset to 40mA as recommended in the manual. But in the instructions it corresponds to a different position on the dB scale than my meters. So there's no way of knowing if I'm really biased against recommendations without opening up the amp and taking measurements at the tube terminals. After several hours of critical listening with many different speakers, including a pair of Martin Logan Motion 4i speakers, I became increasingly dissatisfied with the sound of the amp to the point of frustration. Just kind of reserved and sometimes hoarse, like a caricature of tubular features. But then I decided to shift the output tubes 10mA higher. This resulted in a noticeable improvement in sound quality. I also replaced the stock JJ 12AX7 preamp tube with a JJ long plate I had in another unit. It's also improved the sound, with slightly more detail and clarity on top and more solid on the bottom. The processing quality is really impeccable. The brushed aluminum front screen, controls, remote control and blue finish are premium. It's nice to look at, especially when it's backlit in the dark with the lamp compartment off. I think the sound is good, but not outstanding. The upper high frequencies have a very smooth response, typical of tube or MOSFET output devices. There is no sharpness characteristic of many semiconductor amplifiers. The mid-bass is competent, tight for a tube amp and relatively powerful under effective load at low volumes, yet there is a slight tube rounding in this area too. depends on the pair of speakers, maybe a little more than usual. I've found that there's separation of multiple harmonic vocals that smaller amps can't reproduce, and on some records there's a soundstage width that's tasty but not as good as other (solid state) amps I own and which can be bought at that price or less. Despite its power rating, and despite the beneficial performance of tubes when pushed to their limits, this amp does not perform well at moderately high volume levels, especially on heavily compressed recordings. Mid-range distortion is noticeable even when using smaller speakers like 5.25-inch bookshelf models. However, if you don't allow the meters to exceed 0dB then it's not a problem (I'm not sure if volume meters are calibrated to say 0dB is the rated output power or not, but I found it a good meter). Despite what the seller states in response to a question, this amp is NOT designed to run Martin Logan electrostatics. I have a pair of Aerius i ML headphones and have tried this amp with them. The amplifier sounded extremely nasal and reserved at 8 ohm terminals. In the 4 ohm setting, it opened up a bit and sounded good at low volumes, such as B. Background music, good. (ML is nominally 8 ohms but drops below 1 ohm at high frequencies so the amp sounded more open when using the 4 ohm connections.) Mid-range distortion when switched on above background level. Bad combination for ESD. Several different pairs of speakers, including the Infinity bookshelf models, can exhibit bass distortion at relatively low levels in ultra-linear mode. Interestingly, bass distortion was not noticeable on speakers with a rolled bottom. Interestingly, the best pair I found for this amp was a pair of vintage Optimus bookshelf speakers with Linaeum tweeters rotated 180 degrees at the top. Some lousy speakers, except for the tweeter, mainly due to the mid-bass being too warm and colorful. But the directivity of the Linaeum tweeters really lets the amp sing in terms of soundstage and holography. I think with the right combination, for example an efficient speaker with great imaging and smooth mids and highs, this amp could sound really good. paired with a speaker that most closely matches the characteristics of this amp and listening at low to mid levels, I think higher fidelity can be achieved with a wider speaker range at a fraction of the cost of a good solid state amp. One final note, I have several amps that sound so great that you can plug the amp into a crappy pair of cheap speakers, and the amp makes the speakers sound significantly better. It's not that amp. But if you can experiment with the combination until you find the right combination, you can taste that sweet aroma in a tube with this product at smaller amounts. And I suspect it can be improved with pipe rolling if you have the time and funds to go that route.