Cheap Amazon Chinese tube pre amps

Update. I ordered an IFi micro tube 2 for 280$ Will review it when broken in. Likely run it just as a buffer. the reviews were all positive and from some trusted sources imo anyway.

i loved my appj. finally sold it awhile back. never a problem so there is that. sold my musical paradise tube amp as well $400 new?. it was a giant killer for the money imo.

I've used an APPJ mini2013 every day for the last 6 years in my bedroom system with my Zus.  Love it, and it holds its own when I've hooked up much more expensive amps against it.

Vero:  Check this out.  I recently contacted a US dealer about a certain chinese integrated I've been eyeing.  The thing was a grand off.  So I asked questions.  The dealer carries several well-known Chinese brands, but carries other stuff as well, not just Chinese.  The answer I got from him was, and I need to paraphrase here:  "don't even bother. buy American, Japanese and European. "  I think he's trying to dump some of the bad inventory, thus the huge discounts.   This is the dealer saying this to me, not voicing my opinion. 

'It's just a "meh" piece of equipment, made with very cheap parts'. thanks. I think i got my answer. a tube buffer maybe but a no on the pre amp.

I bought one a while back. Xiang Shen or something like that. I replaced the tubes in it with some Electro Harmonix, then some Gold Lions.

It's not a good pre-amp.

Does it work? Yeah, it works......
Would I recommend one? No, I don't think I would.

It's just a "meh" piece of equipment, made with very cheap parts. 

@mozartfan is correct. even with chinese cheap labor, you still get what you get for a hundred bucks. I tried a few of the more expensive models (300-600 range). They are much better, but still not a 16K preamp.

waste of money,. Good tube preamps start at $700  like the jadis clone I bought off ebay yrs ago,, sold it...then my pick is Cayin's preamp at $1400

Yes, I bought a cheap tube buffer. Swapped the tubes out for better ones, replaced the power supply with an ultra low-noise power supply, and replaced the volume pot with a resistor-based voltage divider. I ended up with two of these for dual mono preamps. How does it sound? Ridiculously good actually. I attribute that to the simplicity of the circuit, the power supply and the tubes. If you end up trying something like this, I recommend buying something simple, like a tube buffer not something fancy with tone controls, etc. Simple is good. Complex can work, but the designer better know what they are doing and I’m not sure you’re getting a good designer when dealing with cheapo components like this.

Save your money for a made-in-USA Bellari!

I have a cheap (but well made) tube preamp. It was less than $150. The darn thing sounds very good. I've had for years now. It's going to depend on the individual unit but they are not all junk. 

Returns are free and easy on Amazon.  Give one a try and report back to us.

cheap amp, cheap box of tweeters, and the difference ?

lol. have you tried one tho?  stupid question number 2?....

Just Say No.