Can anyone comment on the Audio Mirror Pp1 Preamp?


It is being sold here for 799? Is it good?
andy2
Yes. It is a great piece! I have owned one for about a year now. Amazing for the $$$$$!! The phono section is outstanding!! It will even run a medium to low output coil. Highly recommended!!
Definatly incredible phono, the line is as good as it gets for about 5 times the price as well, but beware Good cryo tubes needed for complete dead silent background, and Vladmir sometimes ships very cheap 12AU7's(Ecc82?) in the unit and these have Nowhere near enough gain for phono to be played at "live" levels, So make sure you use very good 12AT7's(ecc81?) in the unit they have 3 TIMES the amount of gain, we found this out when I tested 12AU7's and found that you would have to listen at 3/4 gain on the volume, that would be 3 o'clock on the dial, Now with 12AT7's you can listen with very powerfull and dynamic levels between 1/4 to 1/2 volume, 9 O'clock & 12 O'Clock, and 12AT7's are whats suppose to be in the circuit as that is printed right on the board, but 12AU7's can be substituted in.. This unit replaced a 5500.00 Tube preamp with phono and remote, And I never looked back, its that good if you have the right tubes and equipment mix...Also, the Silver wire, and Auricaps(pretty good capacitors not cheapies) came in my new updated version, very Silent Tube preamp and could be Overly warm if you have a certain component synergy in your system, and of course tubes will dictate this as well. Beyond that for the price nothing will sit on your shelf longer, cause you would probably skip replacing it with something in the 6-10,000.00 range because the sound is not that much better.
Just picked up the Audio Mirror PP1, an incredible value. Makes you wonder if it will ever be necessary to spend more to upgrade it.
If you are using MM you might need 12at7's for more gain, if MC then get 12Au7's they will have plenty of Gain for the output if using a .4 mV or higher MC cart.. MULLARDS NOS are killer in this pre 12au7's.. Super smooth and warm, with tons of bass slam.. For the Phono 12ax7's Get Groove Tube Mullard remakes, Best phono tube made right now. See my system profile for modified Pp1.. The caps cost about as much as the preamp!
Undertow, I did view your system, very nice! When you upgraded the caps, did you do it yourself because it looks like a very fine job? Anyway I checked my PP1 and there are no 12AU7s shipped with it (as Matrix mentioned), just what is printed on the circuit board next to each tube is exactly whats in there. I am also going to look into your tube recommendations. I personally think each of us here sharing the same thoughts have definately walked away with a wonderful tube preamp for a ridiculas price. Vlad has definately out-done himself!
Phd, yeah basically it was an independent job and a fairly Tuff job with such big caps… As for the 12Au7’s, if Mullards they are the most TUBE sounding tube I have heard, I have the 12at7’s which are a bit more forward sounding, but found the extra power of the 12at7’s necessary if running the MM stage from the Pp1.. If using MC the 12 aU7’s are super tube sounding(well mullards are)but would not suggest a cartridge much less than .4 mV, any lower you might need to go with aT7’s like the MM. The Stock AU7’s JJ tesla’s are okay too, but not super impressive. 12At7’s have more Punchy mid-bass sound, Au7’s have a more rumbling and room filling sound in the bass and are of course reduced power making the midrange sweeter and not as intense sounding as the 12at7’s. This will vary I am sure.
Can anyone suggest what type of cables to use with the Audio Mirror PP-1 ?

the chops
Thechops, any good quality interconnects should work well, I was using audio research cables and had some cardas cables on hand to try as well. You will need to experiment with different cables to get the sound you desire.

Anyway congrats on PP-1 preamp purchase, you'd be hard pressed to find a beeter sounding pre without spending an obscene amount of money.
I don.t have the AM pre, but do have Vlad's 45 WATT SET monos fed by an ocatl tube based pre. All connected up with WyWires UCs - terrific stuff.