AIYIMA T1PRO Tube Preamp Amplifier Home Audio Preamplifier Mini Vacuum Pre Amp Receiver Bluetooth 5.1 QCC3040 APTX-HD With Bass Treble Tone Controls &12V Trigger Output

I have a pretty simple audio setup connected to my PC, consisting of a 6.1 creative surround sound speaker system for gaming, but also have the output connected to a cheap D class amplifier from Nobsound that cost me all of about £25 and hooked up to that are a pair of Mission M71 bookshelf speakers. For the price I paid, I have been well impressed with that little amplifier, but it doesn’t have any tone controls, so when offered the chance to test this little tube pre-amp, I was keen to give it a go.The T1 Pro is nice and compact at just 13cm x 11.5cm x 3.5cm (WxDxH) and with it’s all metal exterior, it feels really nice and solid.At the front you have 2 metal switches, with one being used to swap between power off, Bluetooth or RCA mode. The other lets you turn on the tone controls or to bypass them completely.You have 3 metal rotary knobs that are used to control bass, treble and volume – these all feel really nice to use with a smooth action that clicks into place as you turn them.On the top are 2 sockets for connecting the included tubes. These simply push into place and when powered on give off a nice blue glow.Around the back is where all of the connections are made, with an RF aerial socket, a reset hole for the Bluetooth connection, a pair of RCA inputs and RCA output, a 3.5mm AUX output, a 3.5mm 12v trigger to automatically switch on an amplifier and a 12v DC power socket.Finally, at the bottom are 4 nice silicone feet to stop the device from skating around your desk.***** In The Box *****1 x T1 Pro2 x 6186 Vacuum tubes1 x BT Antennae1 x 12v Mains Adapter1 x User Manual1 x AIYIMA Sticker***** Conclusion *****I will start off by saying that this is my first experience of using a tube pre-amp and the AIYIMA brand, so I have nothing to compare it against, but so far I am really impressed.The quality of the T1 Pro seems really good and I love that they have made the product customisable, by allowing the quick replacement of the OP amp chip and tubes.Having Bluetooth connectivity is a nice bonus, as you can quickly pair a smartphone for playback and I like that it supports the more efficient BT5.1 standard, along with support for AptX HD.Connecting the T1 Pro to my existing setup was really straight forward – I just needed to use a 3.5mm to RCA cable between the input ports and my PC and then an RCA to 3.5mm between the outputs and my Nobsound amp. This has given me the ability to adjust the bass and treble and has also given the sound a nicer, warmer tone. I have only used the pre-amp for around 15 hours so far, but I believe the sound will change as the time goes on and usually gets even better.I think the £79.99 asking price is pretty reasonable for what seems to be a good quality product and I shall look into swapping the cheap little Nobsound amp for the AIYIMA A70 to take advantage of the useful 12v trigger function.

A nice addition to my home cinema. Connects really well, with no issues at all. Smooth operation and a wonderful retro design. Amazing.