Review on FX AUDIO Tube-06 HiFi Home Audio Stereo Vacuum Tube Preamp with Bass Treble Control - 6N3 Tube Preamplifier for Home Theater Audio Player System CM6653 with Sound Card - RCA/USB/AUX Input (Black) by Robert Lee

Why bother? This Tube-06 uses 6N3 tubes. My other preamp uses a different tube size (6J1) which sounds different. I bought this second preamp to be able to compare the tubes myself - this is an opportunity to play with the nuances of the sound by swapping preamps (and swapping the tubes each time, which can give different nuances of sound). Reliable? Yes. Look at the photos ie the packing box - that tells me the shipping company knows how to pack and respects the business (relationship/relationship building) and all that - they get an A+ for all those details, reliability (protection )! The product (and many associated connectors) arrived as promised - the order was placed Saturday afternoon and the product received in Florida 2 days later! In the meantime, I've received two polite professional emails from them regarding order receipt and shipping notification. How does it look and feel? When you hold the Tube-06 in your hands, it has its rightful weight. The handles appear to be correct. Check out the photos in the article which show front and back views of the preamp all wired up and ready to be wrecked lol. How it works? Oh damn! Introducing tube preamps into my entry-level audio system adds richness, clarity and uniqueness. And now I can tweak the preamp controls while listening to music, and maybe even pretend to be MSG's live engineer. "Coloring" the music adding beauty ie sometimes I'm surprised by Tom Petty's guitar sound layered with even more unique (thanks, lamps) colors and subtleties. You can even experiment with plugging amplifiers out of phase on purpose - it can be so incredibly interesting that a song or two at a live GNR concert sound out of phase. Or the classic Zeppelin. Billy Joel's 2008 farewell tour at Shea Stadium, aka the fiasco. $500 per ticket actually sounds better playing out of phase through my system in 2021 than playing it live 14 years ago.] Not shown in photos. : I am using an audio system running from my laptop as a source; from there I use a Dac key (Hidizs S9 Pro); From here I use a Y-cable to split the audio in two directions, allowing me to connect two amps - one for the mids and treble and another amp for the bass. Speakers (3 - all passive): 2 x Elac DBR62 (6 ohms) driving the highs and mids and 1 Dayton Audio subwoofer (6 ohms). Amplifiers: 2 Aiyima amplifiers (A07 and A3001 subwoofer amplifier). I run them with their own dedicated power supplies (each gets a dedicated 32v5a power supply sold separately). The AUDIO FX Tube-06 preamplifier comes with its own power supply, a 12v1a adapter (US compatible). My conclusion: today 6N3>6J1 This victory is of course only short-lived, because tomorrow is a new day (and a new competition). The FX AUDIO Tube-06 preamp fits my system perfectly and does SIMPLE things INCREDIBLY GOOD. (and it looks really nice and gives my amp a clean signal). Thank you FX Audio, this is a love letter to you! Congratulations on developing and offering a reliable and interesting product. Notably, as of September 2021, most of these items are selling well under $100. wire! This creates a perfect left/right setup.)