AIYIMA T8 6N3 Digital Tube Preamplifier QCC3031 Bluetooth 5.0 Vacuum Tube Preamp USB DAC Headphone Amplifier Coaxial Optical Stereo Audio Decode Support APTX with Remote Control

Before going into details below, I will say right away; this is the best price/performance value preamp&DAC I ever used considering the sound quality and so much functionality in a nicely built device. I don't claim to be an audiophile with many many years of experience but I do care about audio quality and I love trying different devices within a reasonable price range. I have tried several budget preamp/DACs/Amp/Integrated Amp combinations to this date and I will write my review based on my personal experience and comparisons. What is included in the box? - USB audio cable - A remote controller with tone controls - Bluetooth antenna to attach at the back - Power adapter (though the cable is not very long, more like a cell phone charger length) - 6N3 Tube for headphone amp (more on this later) - A USB thumb to install drivers and a software for controlling bitrate output though I don't exactly know what it does. - A quick set up guide along with specifications and descriptions of interfaces What is not included? - An RCA cable to connect to an amp if you wanted to use this as a DAC for a hi-fi setup - Optical sound cable - Batteries for the remote (Requires 2xAAA) Build quality - It looks and feels very solid. - I really like the looks of it, it has an industrial look with a bit of a retro feeling especially with the tube and also the wooden pieces on top. - The volume know is the main thing you use and it feels very solid and clicking sound is strong and satisfactory. - Digital display is simple to use and it has useful information with incoming sound bitrate, volume and active input selected. When you change tone controls from the remote you also see those values. - Remote looks cheaper but it does the work and you have to cut costs somewhere. Setting up - It's very straightforward. You plug the power adapter and connect to your PC with the provided USB cable or your own optical cable and that's it. Be very careful when plugging the tube on top, tube pins can be very sensitive and you don't want to bend or break them. This has nothing to do with T8, just be careful in general :) In order to use different inputs, you need to press the volume button to change the input and you can see it on the interface. USB, RCA, BT etc When you switch to BT for bluetooth, it goes into pairing mode and it's immediately discoverable on your mobile device. You pair it right away and it's ready to use. The USB thumb drive includes drivers and a software. I think, you don't need this and manual guide doesn't tell you to install them. It's already plug and play and you can control USB bitrate output from Windows. What is my setup? - Aiyima A07 amp - A pair of Q Acoustics 3020i speakers - Windows 10 PC with USB & Digital out - Mobile phone with bluetooth - Several audio streaming services with ultra quality/MQA output. Sound quality I tried the device 2 different ways: 1- Using with digital inputs (Bluetooth, optical, USB) and connecting it to an amp with RCA cables at the back so it functioned as a DAC 2- Connecting the headphone out headphone out at the front so it functioned as a headphone preamp 1- Using as a DAC With the USB interface it sounds very good. It depends on your personal taste but I thought it felt rich and warm. It sounded very similar to more expensive DAC only devices I used. It supports up to 24bit 192KHz. Make sure to change those settings on Windows for getting the maximum output. It sounded very clear and spacious (though could have been more spacious for my taste) All the instruments and vocals felt very clean and lively to my ears. Optical was similar but somehow I felt USB output produced better sound quality. Which is manageable anyway as you already have a USB cable included and you don't need to shell out extra cash for digital output. It has no benefit over USB anyway. The fact that you have tone controls on the remote control is actually very convenient and adds to the overall value of the device. Changing the settings helps you improve the sound output to match your expectations better. Bluetooth connection gave very clear and lively sound as well but do not expect it to match USB or optical interface. Bluetooth can't match the bandwidth of those inputs. For what you need as setting up a convenient wireless streaming from your phone, laptop etc, this one does the trick and it sounds pretty good for that setup. 2- Using as a headphone preamp Now this is what surprised me. As I said it sounds very nice as a DAC but in fact when you connect a good quality headphone, this thing sounds even better. It provides more clarity and more spaciousness. The reason for that is that when you use headphone out, it actually uses the tube on top. So keep that in mind. People use different types of tubes from different brands. I'm not an expert but I guess it could be effective here as you see the immediate difference of using a tube. So depending on your taste / preference you might actually get a headphone - RCA Y-cable and use headphone out to connect to an amp instead of RCA out at the back. This might change the experience as a DAC too. Conclusion The main point here is the incredible value you get as I said at the very beginning. You can get more expensive DACs or preamps and they could sound better. I'm saying "they could sound better" because it depends on your taste and if you have been investing time and money in training your ears to perceive differences. To me that's not even very noticeable. Those devices would not offer you so much connectivity/functionality. For anything like that with a premium sound you'd normally have to pay A LOT more money. Also don't forget, this thing has a remote controller with tone controls which is very convenient. With this much functionality and such beautiful sound, T8 is easily the best budget headphone preamp & DAC combo I have seen out there.

Just to mention I'm running the line out into a valve (not expensive) headphone amp.optical in from a cd transport works well been streaming music on a PC using the usb out.brilliant quality but the better the source the better the result.on well recorded older 1960s recordings its truly a breath of fresh air with detail timing and nuances I've never heard until now and I'm not a young man.it doesn't suffer fools however if its an indifferent recording you'll know about it....I'm looking at you home studios, not an insult as I use such facilities but you'll appreciate the studio craft of your predecessors and the talent of " proper musicians and singers "

For me this DAC / preamp makes my desktop audio experience much smoother and better quality than I had before. It looks rather neat and quirky on my desk, although the red knob looks a bit out of place. And of course the look of the valve is alluring to some. My previous setup was a USB soundcard to my amp/speakers, and for headphone use I had a separate USB headphone DAC/amp. This was a bit of a pain to manage in the hardware and software. This unit however replaced both of those components, given that plugging in headphones will cut the RCA level output to the amp. I was surprised to see a USB stick included; I am always suspicious of USB sticks that come with hardware, but luckily I can just plug it into my PC with Windows 10 and it will work just fine without using the stick. Also, plugging into a Raspberry Pi works just fine. So it's safe to say it will work for 99% of those who buy this. Bluetooth audio quality is superb and better than any Bluetooth audio receiver I've owned, but not as good as the USB or optical/coax inputs. A great feature is that when you select a source other than Bluetooth, any paired Bluetooth device is disconnected; I was actually concerned this wouldn't be the case. The garish display does show useful information such as the input, volume, and the current bitrate of the input source, in bright blue. The display can be switched off with the remote, but annoyingly, should you operate the remote or volume knob, the display comes back on and stays on until you switch it off. They have no problem driving my 250 ohm headphones (Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro) to more than adequate volume levels. The valve helps give the headphone output that lovely warm sound. I would say this sounds better than my Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS, but I still miss my Asus Xonar Essence STX, which in my opinion is quite a bit better. The RCA output I have connected to a A07 power amp and it makes for a great combination. They produce a detailed and mostly neutral sound. Paired up with Cambridge Audio Minx XL speakers I have plenty of sound that sounds way "bigger" than their size suggests, including the size of the preamp and power amp. I bought it on a sale, I think it is worth it for that price (about £70). Can't fault it except for the poor build quality of the remote control, the choice of blue OLED display, and shiny red knob. It would look so much more slick with a white OLED and black knob.

Bought Douk ST1 and really impressed and was using it every day. Now with this and Ayima AO7 and sound is even better so this is now my go to HiFi every day.

Let's get the good out of the way, plenty of inputs including decent Bluetooth functionality. As it's effectively only a pre amp don't expect to power speakers with this, they will work fairly well with powered speakers though. I couldn't say it is anything special sound wise though, the dynamism in music is almost lost when connected to this, you can tell it's a small unit trying to be a big boy and failing. The headphone tube amp does have that warmish vibe that most tubes do, it's up to your personal tastes as to whether that sound profile is for you. I have better smaller amps than this, I'd say the fosi K5 beats this for sound quality. I would go for that if your in the market for a small amp. This albeit having a quirky tall and wooden enclosure for the tube is a difficult aesthetic to love and it will look out of place in most set-ups. So you'll be thinking why did you buy it? Well I'm a self confessed audio nutjob I'm one of these schmucks who watches cheap audio man and the like and imagines I'm missing out, I wasn't. This is a cheap amp, that serves a very niche budget market, in that it serves as a pre amp and a headphone tube amp and for that it has to get plaudits but the corners cut mean your getting a very middle of the road sound signature.

Have the T9 set up with the A8 Pro and the combination creates fantastic sound at even more fantastic value.

great value

Clever little device, well finished, used it to feed a fosi audio class d power amp. It sounds better through the head phone output. The Bluetooth stopped working after a year or so, but that's the risk you take with chi-fi. I gave this and the amp to a friend who is very pleased with it.

Este preamplificador con amplificador de auriculares lo pude probar de un compañero de trabajo y la verdad que quedé encantado, se escucha genial con auriculares con baja sensibilidad (para los IEMs tiene un problema, puesto que son auriculares con alta sensibilidad y se escucha ruido de fondo, pero es normal teniendo en cuenta de que tiene una válvula). El sonido es muy bueno, las conexiones de bluetooth se hacen con APTX-HD, lo que le da una de las mejores calidades de sonido que ahora mismo existen para BT y el mando a distancia para controlar el preamplificador es genial para colocarlo al lado de la tele junto a un amplificador de altavoces.

perfect for adding a remote controll. to otherwiste remoteless vintage hifi. it has a nice warm sound

J’ai acheté le Aiyima T8 voici quelques jours maintenant. Ce petit pré ampli ne paie pas de mine, et pourtant, il fait des merveilles ! Il est à peine plus gros qu’un livre de poche , mais il est capable de délivrer un son puissant et riche. L’amplification par lampe 6N3 donne un son chaud et extrêmement agréable. Sa qualité de fabriquation est impressionnante, tout de métal avec deux petites barres de bois. On aime ou pas, moi j'adore. Contrairement à ce qui m’avait été dit, il est tout à fait possible de brancher une platine vinyle pré-amplifiée dessus, comme vous pouvez le voir dans ma vidéo. C’est important de le noter, car cela peut-être important pour certains, d’autant que le vinyle revient en force ces dernières années. Il fonctionne aussi très bien en DAC, j’ai testé avec du metal sur mon ordinateur, le son gagne en profondeur de scène par rapport au même casque (le Philips Fidelio L1) branché en direct sur le PC. Je compte l’utiliser comme pré ampli doté d’une prise casque couplé avec mon tangent ampster BT2 qui lui, n’avait pas de prise casque, honte à lui. Ce qui me fait penser que la connectique est également un des points forts de ce petit pré-ampli / DAC. Une entrée RCA, une toslink, une coaxiale et une USB, c’est parfait. Je vais pouvoir brancher facilement toute ma hi-fi dessus. La télécommande n'est pas très jolie, mais elle permet de régler les aigus et les basses, ce qui n'est pas possible en passant par le seul bouton de l'appareil. Le seul point négatif qui me vient, c’est qu’on ne peut pas lui adjoindre d’enceintes passives sans passer par un ampli de puissance, mais pour ce prix, c’est bien normal. Le rapport qualité/prix est excellent ! Si ce commentaire vous a été utile, n’hésitez pas à cliquer sur le bouton.

Nachdem ich für meinen Aiyima A07 Pro Verstärker noch einen passenden Pre-Amp brauchte, kamen der T8 und T10 aus dem gleichen Haus in die engere Auswahl. Nachdem beide technisch und preislich sehr ähnlich sind, habe ich mein Bauchgefühl entscheiden lassen und den T8 genommen. Ausschlaggebend war das ansprechende Design und die schlanke Bauform, die Platz spart. Wer es möglichst platzsparend will, kann den T8 auch mit dem A08 Pro kombinieren und den T8 in die dafür vorgesehene Aussparung im Gehäuse des A08 Pro stellen. Da ich auch für beide Geräte nebeneinander genug Platz habe (sind ja beide erfreulich klein), habe ich mich aber für den A07 Pro entschieden, der von der Leistung und vom Klang dem A08 Pro kaum (oder gar nicht) nachsteht. Für den Verzicht auf das hübsche Design und den VU Meter spart man so nochmal einiges, ohne beim Klang nennenswerte Absriche machen zu müssen. Ich muss sagen, dass der T8 für mich die goldrichtige Entscheidung war. Die Mischung aus schlanker Bauform, schönen Farbkontrasten zwischen dem roten Encoder und dem matt schwarzen Gehäuse, den Holzteilen und der altmodisch vor sich hin glimmenden Röhre gefällt mir einfach gut. Aber der T8 sieht nicht nur gut aus. Die Ausstattung des Pre-Amps ist mit RCA, Bluetooth, beiden digitalen Ins (optisch und Co-Ax) und sogar USB vollständig. Und an allen Eingängen klingt der T8 richtig gut. In Kombination mit dem A07 Pro als Amp hat man erstaunlich großen Sound für erfreulich kleines Geld. Man sollte nur daran denken, dass beide Geräte über eine 2-Band Klangregelung verfügen. Ich stelle den T8 daher gerne auf neutral und regle den Klang, falls nötig, dann am A07 Pro, da dessen analoge Encoder mir feinfühliger erscheinen. Das heißt aber nicht, dass man am T8 den Klang nicht ebenfalls sehr gut regeln könnte. Mit jeweils +/- 10 Stufen sind auch am T8 Raumprobleme oder ähnliches schnell ausgeglichen. Schade nur, dass man den Klang nicht auch direkt am Gerät regeln kann. Dies ist nur mit der Fernbedienung möglich, die aber leider China typisch keinen sehr hochwertigen Eindruck macht. Für den Fall, dass die Fernbedienung ausfallen sollte, lasse ich daher die Klangregelung am T8 auf neutral und regle denn den Sound am Verstärker. Die Umschaltung der Eingangquelle am T8 verläuft geräuschlos. Am USB Anschluss lässt sich im (Windows-)Treiber die Übertragungsqualität einstellen (bis 192k / 24bit) und alle Modi funktionieren bei mir auch problemlos. Die Verarbeitung lässt keine Kritik aufkommen. Das Gehäuse besteht aus sauber verarbeitetem Stahlblech, der einzelne Drehregler funktioniert gut und fühlt sich wertig an. Zusätzlich kann man den Regler noch drücken, um die Klangquelle zu wechseln. Hier fehlt mir nur (wie bereits erwähnt) noch die Möglichkeit, auch den EQ direkt am T8 zu regeln. Das OLED ist schön hell und gut ablesbar. Einzig das Kabel des Netzteils dürfte für meinen Geschmack gerne ein gutes Stück länger sein. Nicht jeder hat die Steckdosenleiste in unmittelbarer Nähe der Amps stehen. Hier wäre ein Netzteil zu bevorzugen, das einen Kaltgeräteanschluss hat, so dass man ein Kabel in Wunschlänge dazu kaufen könnte. Von den genannten Kleinigkeiten abgesehen hat Aiyima beim T8 aber fast alles richtig gemacht, was die Verarbeitung und die Bedienung betrifft. Auch beim Klang enttäuscht der T8 nicht. Zusammen mit dem A07 Pro zaubert der T8 eine eindrucksvolle Klangkulisse, die man für den Preis der beiden Geräte so gar nicht erwarten würde. Dabei ist der T8 nicht auf eine oder wenige Musikrichtungen beschränkt. Ich hatte sowohl mit anspruchsvollem Material wie filigranen Beckenklängen bei Live-Aufnahmen als auch mit Techno Musik (2 Unlimited lassen grüßen) und so ziemlich allem dazwischen einfach jede Menge Spaß. Obwohl auch Feinheiten schön heraus gearbeitet wurden, klang es nie anstrengend oder überbetont. Stimmen und Naturinstrumente kommen in den Mitten und Höhen schön zur Geltung und gleichzeitig wirkt der Bass niemals zurückhaltend, obwohl die Mischung aus T8 und A07 Pro hier eher neutral abgestimmt wirkte. Andere Geräte schummeln da gerne mit überhöhtem Bass, was viele Hörer mögen. Aber dafür gibt es ja die Klangregelung an beiden Geräten, mit der solche persönlichen Dinge schnell geregelt sind. Ich bin mit dem T8 insgessamt rundum zufrieden. Zusammen mit dem A07 Pro habe ich eine sehr erschwingliche und vielseitige Kombo, die für den aufgerufenen Preis erstaunlich gut klingt und Leistung satt bietet. Ich kann den T8 als flexiblen und gut klingenden Pre-Amp nur empfehlen. Dass er dazu auch noch schick aussieht, wird vieleicht für den Einen oder Anderen noch zusätzlich freuen. Ich würde das Gerät jederzeit wieder kaufen.

Super tube preamplifier. Liked it lot