Nobsound 6P1 Stereo Tube Amplifier User Experience by Bill Grout
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- This video reviews my experience with the Nobsound 6P1 Stereo Tube Amplifier purchased through Amazon but delivered direct from the manufacture in China. It arrived sooner than expected in perfect shape. I am very satisfied with the quality of this unit both in sound and looks. For more of our work and lifestyle you can check out more here:
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Bill and Rae Grout are full time artists from Corvallis Montana. “We are science geeks to glassblowers”. They both have technical backgrounds in the high tech avionics industry but left the corporate life to live their dream.
Bill became a full time artist and started blowing glass in 1993 and Rae left the corporate world in 2002 to be with Bill and become a glassblower. In 2016 they began incorporating metal working, dragon attire and Steampunk designs into their glass art.
This was perfect review. No pretentious audio talk just: Why I got it, How I use it and why I like it. Subscribed!
Thank you so much! Your feedback is very helpful.
I bought this little amplifier and was very impressed. Then I found Audiokarma and learned of upgrades. After rolling tubes and finishing all upgrades. This thing is a monster. Adding a subwoofer via a passive low level converter brings this thing to a whole new level.
I am looking for more efficient speakers to run it. But can't complain about the Wharfedale D320’s paired with it. I couldn't be happier. Great amplifier!
Link to audiokarma?
This amp is a good tube amp for a newbie. It’s just very low fi. I have it hooked up to some klipsch reference speakers. Sounds pretty decent. But not super great. I’d like to hear the upgrades. I’m assuming it would be better. I just ended up getting a 1100 watt amp. And it sojmds amazing
@@purplerider2362 If you are running 1100 watts, this amp will never be good enough for you. All the mods really do is clean up distortion over about a watt. I had mine hooked up to a set of Klipsch KG 3.5's and it did extremely well. Soundstage is bigger than anything I've heard with much bigger equipment. While it's doesn't have that sparkle my Yaqin has, it has a very rich and warm midrange that can be intoxicating with vocals and guitars. Bass is better on this amplifier than both the Yaqin (barely any weight) and the Reisong A12 (more weighty but less accurate).
In general, it sounds way better with the mods. On my Jensen's that are rated 94db, was reaching 101db which is plenty loud enough for a small 11x15 room. That would put output around 4 wpc.
In my living room 16x20, which is the Yaqin (Now running with my Klipsch KG 3.5's) is the Yaqin and two passive subs I built to thicken the sound up and also raise the sound stage gets to 103db, and that's 7 wpc RMS. I prefer the sound of the Nobsound, but my wife didn't like the look.
I’ve had this amp for almost three years now. After a month I did upgrade all of the tubes, with moderate improvement. I updated the rectifier tube with an electro-harmonix 5U4 tube and now have a nice bottom end. The unit does run on the warm side but I have it in a well ventilated area. I did end up getting a bucking unit and the unit does run slightly cooler but it probably is unneeded. I’ve had no issues with this amp and periodically swap it out with my Marantz 2225.
Thanks for your input! No doubt it does run hot and I never run it for a long session. This basic circuit is very sensitive to line voltage and I believe that has a lot to do with different experiences owners have.
Greetings,
You are a man of few words, but I appreciated what you had to say about the 6P1.
Mine is going on three years and one tube rolling session that really bumped up the sound quality a fully; realizable notch. I had an opportunity of upgrading, but with the tube roll improvement, I decided to keep the 6P1. It suits my needs as my computer audio hi-fi for a 10'x14' den. Besides, I love the esthetics of its appearance and tube arrangement. Didn't have the heart to take it offline.
Thanks for the very nice review!
Thank you for your kind words. I do love the looks of this modest amp on my desk.
Thanks for sharing Bill.
Thanks for stopping by!
I got this unit in 2024. I wanted a valve amp years ago. But couldn't justify £600+ in the 80s. So got a big Kenwood amp. Still pleased with it but showing its age.
I have gone back to my vinyl, restoring Garrard Lab 80s MK2 turntables. So decided to find a cartridge tube preamp, through a mini graphic tube preamp then plugged in to this valve main amplifier with the fan gauges. Lights up the room like fairy lights at night. (Reminds me when I was a kid, and the back of a TV glowed like the front screen! LoL)
And I'm happy with the sound through my book shelf castle speakers. The only item made in the UK! It it wasn't for the Chinese made units I doubt I would be trying out this set up
Fairy lights indeed!
I been really happy with this tube amp. Bought it a little over a year ago, and use it regularly. I have a pair of Klipsch R-41m's hooked up to them and couldn't be more happy with it. I do run a 15 band eq with mine to drop down the bass some and increase the highs more but that's my personal preference. Best sounding system I've heard or had yet. Course I never heard the supper expensive $5,000 plus setups yet either LOL.
I subscribed since you seem to be like how I am with my audio.
Glad to hear you like this little amp! Seems to hit a sweet spot for some of us.
I have a sneaking suspicion these don't actually use the tubes to amplify. If you look at the board the tubes connect to there's a center solder that shouldn't be there (I expect an LED) and people have bridged them and gotten them to play exactly the same without tubes.
Fantastic review, and am ordering this tonight.
Than you and Best Wishes!
Many people trash this amplifier I actually think it sounds fantastic did I do some mods I did the typical tube rolling I change the capacitor in the power supply that everyone recommended be changed of course I didn’t have the exact one needed but I had one close enough I change the rectifier tube I purchased some adapters and put some 6V6 gold lions in. And I changed the decoupling caps All in all mostly just fun stuff to do. And I think it sounds absolutely amazing it got me back into tubes which is a lost art and I am enjoying it
Thank you so much for your input! It is indeed such an old school circuit design than anyone confident with a soldering iron can make some modifications, and of course tube swaps are very easy with many options on the market.
Great video I too am looking for a first affordable tube amp thanks 🙏🏼 for your honesty
Thank you and Best Wishes!
mine is paired with a 92db speaker, the Celestion Ditton 3 and it sounds very fine, until say 1 o'clock, then is a bit redundant on the midrange levels, but half volume is enough to fill the room with very pleasant sound, thanks for the video :)
You are welcome! I like the looks of this tube design with the symmetry and the VU meters. The meters do give a true indication IMHO of how hard it is working. As with any amplifier and speaker combination there is a sweet spot that works best. I still have my vintage Sansui AU717 from the late 70's if I need to crank up the volume but that is not often! This modest tube amp still makes me smile. Cheers
@@WilliamGrout yup, I guess the extra presence with a 104db speaker. Anyway, yes, I like this tiny amp a lot, very warm and rich sound. Me too had a Sansui, the AU11000, just find some images on the web, it was a very big and heavy amp with 110W per channel, very very neutral and clean. :)
I just bought the Nobsound HiFi Hybird Stereo Valve Tube Amplifier Bluetooth 5.0 Audio Receiver COAX / OPT Power Amp USB Player 200W×2 AV-525 also with douk audio P7 tube phono preamp with turntable to play around with!
Thank you for sharing, very interesting and informative, just uploaded a few of my hand crafted tube Amps. I enjoy learning more about the world of tube Audio!
Very cool! I will sub and check out your work!
Dammed good amplifier. I change the 5U4 tube to russians made pair to Klipsch monitor speaker. couldnt ask for more back to those 50"s stereo sound, warm and mellow.
Absolutely! So glad to hear your experience.
Thanks for the informative video 🙏🏻. I’m currently building my first home stereo system so I’m not super knowledgeable, so excuse the (probably) stupid question: how does this compare to a vintage amplifier? Let’s say early 80s Pioneer, something like that.
Well I am no expert, but late 70s early 80s saw some very good solid state gear most commonly designed as an all in one "Receiver" with AM FM radio built in, tone controls, low high filter cuts and inputs for turntable, tape deck and "AUX" while having outputs for main speakers, speakers in another room and headphones. These typically would have much more power like 50 to 100 amps per channel. Some of that gear can still be found in good working condition needing just some TLC but there is also a lot to go wrong, and repairs would not be worth the effort IMHO. Two different worlds really. A low power tube amp like this is minimalist. 80s amp is all bells and whistles. Old gear has it's charm and a tube amp in the Man Cave is fun, but a modern amp with HDMI, Bluetooth, Surround Sound and remote control is what I have in the Livingroom with the TV.
@@WilliamGrout Thank you, I appreciate that perspective! It sure is a jungle out there. I just want something that sounds good and doesn’t break constantly, whilst still being aesthetically pleasing and inspiring. As “mechanical” as possible.
Great review!
Glad if you found it helpful. Was just running it a couple days ago and it continues to put out the good vibes!
Pretty cool Bill!
Hi, i readed what high and medium frequencies of amplifier sound very good, but in deep and powerful bass no work good. That its right? or the amplifier got good deep and powerful bass. Thank for yours commentaries.
These amps are advertised as 20 -20k Hz output but no indication of a db range. My experience is of a reasonably flat response and very satisfying range into the low end. If you like lots of base you might want a powered subwoofer, as with any low power stereo amplifier. This will have more to do with your speakers than anything and since low frequencies require more watts, this amp will max out at a more modest volume than an amp with hundreds of watts obviously. Also, much will depend on the source and or preamp output. This amp will benefit a great deal from a strong preamp.
@@WilliamGrout Thanks!
I’m dying to know if it could power my mono auratone studio monitor. Curious if maybe you’d know. I do mixes in mono and switch around speakers and headphones. Do you think it could power an auratone 5c? Just another option for mixing music. I’d be interested to see what you think.
I am not the best person to ask but the amp of course will power a speaker like that, just not going to be at a high volume. You mention mono and I would point out that this is of course a stereo amplifier and tube amplifiers MUST have speakers or a dummy load attached to the output at all times. I can't say for certain with this particular circuit but in general output tubes can burn out without a proper load on the amp. Interestingly when I look up this speaker on Sweetwater they list the "Maximum Peak SPL" at "90 dB SPL @ 1m" which is not the same thing as sensitivity at 1 watt. I would call Sweetwater and see if they could shed more light on what a 7 watt amp would produce with this speaker. I am thinking it would not be very loud, but that may not be a concern in your application.
Thanks for the info and you are correct about the need to have two speakers connected to a tube amp.... thanks for your thoughts!
Have you tube rolled it of so what tubes have you tried
Sorry but I have not played around with changing tubes. Surprisingly the ones it came with are doing an excellent job in my opinion and continue to impress me. This amp is a just for fun thing for me so I am not ready to mess with it. One look at the small output transformers tells me it has limits that different tubes may not overcome.
no touchy tube'es with oily hands!
It doesn't matter as much for audio tubes
No Oily hands here! A quick wipe with alcohol if you need to.
I respect all good vintage stuff, but there’s better audio components from 80’s.
All that stuff hovering over your gear is stressing me out
No worries. One persons stress is another's comfort I suppose.
Don't touch tubes with grease on hands.always where cotton gloves.
When I worked on flight hardware for rocket engines I wore white cotton gloves and often worked in a clean room environment. I also blow glass for a living and in both situations isopropyl alcohol is your friend! Nothing wrong with wearing gloves but cleaning glass is a good idea also. Unless you prefer the gritty sound of a tube amp covered in dust and smoke residue with a hint of stale beer and whiskey......
@@WilliamGrout all sounds good.....maybe I am just a greasy old man....yes I clean them too...rock on
Blah
Can you run instruments thru it to beef up the sound before the mixer
I do not think so. This is a classic stereo amplifier intended to take a line level input through RCA jacks and drive typical 4 to 8 ohm speakers. It takes a signal from a preamp or mixer or iPhone and runs low impedance speaker loads. I think what you are looking for is a tube pre amp with a balanced instrument input. Cheers!
@@BillRaeShow ok… what about if I ran a turntable thru it and sampled it out the back end with the extra tubiness