🎧 Sensational Sound: Explore the SMSL T2 Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier for Unmatched Audio Quality Review

Clear sound, not enough power. I bought this to connect my phone or laptop to a pair of Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 (great headphones) at work. The MSR7 is only 35 ohms, but my laptop doesn't put out enough power to get these headphones as loud as I'd like. So, first I'm going to give you good news. The sound quality of the amplifier was really good. The block looks well made. I know some people have complained about the blue LEDs but I think they go well with the glow of the lamp element…

It looks like the tubes in this amp are working, they're on the audio channel and they're actually doing something. However, these are not 6J9 bulbs. I don't know what it actually is, but the 6J9 tube is a 10-pin triple triode, which cannot work in place of the E180F or other suggested replacements. These lamps are 9-pin pentodes. The lamp connector has 9 pins, so you can't even plug in a real 6J9. I have tube extensions and an oscilloscope so I could verify that there was sound at the cathode…

This is my first tube amp other than the one I had for the mic, but it was intended to record vocals, not play them through speakers. My setup and purpose is very different from most buyers as I am using it to match the aux port of my car's DSP amp. Yes, you read that right, an audio device is a tube amp - a DSP car amp. I turned on the RTA and set my aftermarket speakers to time-align with the driver's seat, but I couldn't get rid of this "cold" noise. Thanks to that, I've finally understood…

TL;DR - 4 stars for sound quality for the price, decent build quality and some minor complaints about the overall design. You're probably considering this amp because, like me, you want to test tube tone on a budget. However, I was very surprised by the sound quality in relation to the price. I honestly couldn't be happier with a $60 amp. I currently have this paired with a JDS Labs OL DAC and a Sennheiser HD600. The amplifier is silent. I can fully turn the watch face on with no hum or noise…

Since I'm moving and all my good headphones are still packed (HD 600, HD 598, M50x, V-80, SR225), I ordered the Sennheiser HD 4.30G White Around Ear headphones. They were cheap, had decent reviews, and that's all I need now. I received them in a few days and was very surprised at how good these "cheap" headphones sounded. I thought let me see if there are any cheap little headphone amps out there that can make them even better since my amps/DACs are boxed too. Received this amp 2 days later…