Absolutely amazing Japanese tube preamp from the golden age of Japanese
audio, early 1980's, overall excellent condition and totally original. Fantastic build quality and to-die-for sound
quality: Tango transformer, Tango power supply choke, super
high quality parts throughout, beautiful layout, heck, even the balance
control is a big beautiful Alps Black and the stepped volume control is
way above that. If you want that ultra-high-end Japanese tube preamp
sound but don't want to pay a fortune for a Shindo or a genuine Audio
Note, this is the one you want.
Uses 6 tubes total, two for phono input, two for line stage, and two for output drivers. Tubes included: Genuine NOS Siemens matched phono stage and line stage
tubes (E83CC and E81CC). Two sets of output
drivers: Genuine RCA 12BH7A matched gray long-plates, plus genuine NOS
CBS (Sylvania) 1950's 12BH7A curved black plates (these have a mellower
sound than the RCA's). Fantastic tube set that this preamp deserves.
Has TWO phono inputs (high quality MM stage, you will want to get a good
classic Japanese SUT to match with it if you want to run MC). But the
ability to run two cartridges into one all-in-one preamp, with the phono
quality this thing has, and merely switch between them, is almost
priceless. Other inputs are labeled Tuner and Aux. Has tape In/Out
switching as well, typical of classic preamps, plus Mono switch and
Attenuator switch for higher-level inputs such as CD/DAC.
No remote or manual but very high quality and likely will run for a very long time, and easy for any tube tech to work on or repair as both the bottom and top covers are removable.
This is the real deal, a truly classic Japanese
tube preamp that is as rare as hen's teeth in the US. Includes a very
high quality Japanese bucking transformer that MUST be used with the
preamp if you are running from 120VAC-- this preamp takes 100VAC input
ONLY and cannot be modified internally for 120VAC.
The transformer is rated a full 1000VA, so it could easily supply power to 100VAC Japanese amplifiers as well if you wanted a true vintage Japanese system.
Some very small dings/scratches from age, but overall in exceptional
condition for its age. Rated 7/10 to be conservative but really better
than that. Will be exceptionally well packed for shipping. Do not pass
on this one if you are a collector of ultra-rare and ultra-high-quality
audio pieces, because chances are you'll never see another one for sale
in the US.