[rollo]

  Check this company out.  We liked the Passive Pre. Lots of interesting amps, phono, preamp for under $100 & $200. Tubed, chip, class "D" you name it they got it.


charles

[artur9]

I am very tempted by their Gold 1969 Hood amplifier. 

I bought another Chinese amp and it died after 3w or so.  How sturdy are the Nobsound products?

[Letitroll98]

As near as I can figure out these are made by various factories in China and branded as Nobsound, Douk, SMSL, Sabaj and other fronts that promote and sell worldwide.  The designs are copies of other products both new and vintage with varying levels of competency.  So rather than judging by brand, which doesn't really matter here, you need feedback on the exact product you're looking at. 

[maplegrovemusic]

I got my knob sound volume pot a few weeks ago . Been great so far . Detailed , zero distortion , black back round , nice drive . I own a anthem P2 statement amplifier . I brought home a Anthem Statement d2 processor that matches my amp , circa 2008  $7500 retail . I had huge expectations as I have heard this combo driving Paradigm Signature s8 in a system . Listened to this new combo for about an hour , thats all I could take before I had to put in the Knobsound again . What a relief to my ears . So detailed and relaxed sound again .
Anyone want to buy a Anthem Statement d2?

[OzarkTom]

I have found that even the cheap passives will beat most of the expensive active preamps. I would love to find a good one with remote.There are some. but usually about $1000 or so. Above my budget at the moment.

[MttBsh]

I'm probably going to pick up $350 Schitt Saga, it comes with a remote and many have claimed that with a good tube it handily beats $1,000 -$2,000 passives including the Tortuga that I currently own.

[fredgarvin]

it's pretty much amp dependent, but it seems that with today's sources and dac's there is plenty of output for most amps. I picked up a Nobsound relay switcher and it's the best sounding pre I have now. The transparency is top notch and I get plenty of volume at 9:00. Perhaps harder to drive speakers might appreciate a gain stage instead.

[Tomy2Tone]

I'm probably going to pick up $350 Schitt Saga, it comes with a remote and many have claimed that with a good tube it handily beats $1,000 -$2,000 passives including the Tortuga that I currently own.

Look forward to the Tortuga/Saga comparison you got coming. Rolling tubes in the Saga is a subtle but noticeable difference. I’ve tried Shuguang Black Treasure cv-181-z and a Sylvania vt-231 and both are excellent with the vt-231 being the preference so far in my system. I just ordered a Sophia Electric blue glass 6sn7 so hope it brings the magic the way their aqua 274b rectifier does.

[OzarkTom]

Here is another look at all the Nobsound products.

https://it.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20190224074200&SearchText=nobsound+

[MttBsh]

Look forward to the Tortuga/Saga comparison you got coming. Rolling tubes in the Saga is a subtle but noticeable difference. I’ve tried Shuguang Black Treasure cv-181-z and a Sylvania vt-231 and both are excellent with the vt-231 being the preference so far in my system. I just ordered a Sophia Electric blue glass 6sn7 so hope it brings the magic the way their aqua 274b rectifier does.

Here's the comment that got me thinking seriously about the Saga:

"I auditioned the latest version of the Tortuga passive preamp, the $1195 LDR3.V25 and had a Schiit Saga to compare with at the same time. The Schiit Saga was more transparent than the Tortuga, which sounded coloured to me and after extended listening even somewhat fatiguing.

 Tortuga Audio does not list distortion figures for their preamps on their website but the distortion of the Tortuda LDR3 has been measured: at normal listening levels THD is about 1.0% and IMD is also high at 4%. These are unacceptable distortion levels for a modern preamplifier. In comparison the $349 Schiit Saga THD and IMD both measure less than 0.002%. Recommend you try the Saga first, it even has remote control.

I prefer to buy tubes made from 1940 to 1970 when tubes were king and the manufacturers had their processes and secret sauces down pat. The new Tung Sol 6SN7GTB offered as a $25 option for the Saga is OK, nothing to get excited about, very warm sounding. Trying a handful of NOS tubes my favorite lower cost option is the 1951-1953 Sylvania 6SN7GT Bad Boy, if you are patient you can get a three rivet hole for about $70 on eBay. Nothing I have tried sounds better than a 1940s Tung Sol 6SN7GT though. I managed to grab a few before the prices shot up. The Saga is great value I have compared it to preamps costing four times as much and preferred the Saga. I use mine between a Yggy A2 and a Kenzie tube amp"