Review: Tube Research Labs Dude Tube preamp


Category: Preamps

This review is on the Dude tube preamp made by Paul and Brian Weitzel of Tube Research Labs (TRL). I purchased this preamp some 7 months ago direct from TRL which is how they market and sell them. The price is $3500. The unit has 5 tubes total with one 6sn7 tube per channel.

I am not a technical person and can only comment that the unit is very heavy, all point to point wired and contains a forest of caps the size of Red Bull and Coke cans!

The Dude also benefits from TRL’s newly designed power supply which is something very special indeed. It comes with two sets of outputs and three inputs – all RCA. I think Paul can work out XLR’s if you desire, but you would have to ask him. My unit has special wooden knobs which I prefer over his high quality gold ones.

The unit is turned on by a breaker switch on the back on the unit. The Dude does not incorporate any fuses, simply the breaker, for improved sound. The chassis is well built and solid in terms of fit and finish. While it is not eye candy, the Dude offers a simple attractiveness.

I must have over 700 hours on my unit by now and it is fully burned it. I have found this preamp responds very well to tube rolling. This review is based on the use of RCA 6sn7 GT’s ,VT231 with smoked glass. I picked up 6 of these for $130 on Ebay and just love them in the Dude. Paul likes Raytheon NOS’s, but I have not tried them as yet.

I like female vocals, Christian contemporary, jazz, piano and acoustic guitar instrumentals as well as some small ensemble Classical. You can also read my review of the TRL Samson amps for more information of my musical tastes.

As you have noticed I have owned and heard many great preamps over the years. The Dude has far outclassed each of them in virtually every important performance area. I particularly liked the Audio Horizons and Tube Distinctions preamps on my list. The Dude simply recreates real music in my home well beyond these other fine units.

The level of transparency is utterly shocking. Details and musical lines previously hidden now come alive and my music sounds brand new to me. I was amazed at all the instruments and notes I was missing in my recordings. What a revelation and joy to me as one into this hobby for 30 years.

Right now I am listening to solo acoustic guitar by Phil Keaggy and am consistently astounded with the additional pic, string and guitar body sounds completely hidden before. The sting plucks are so much more distinctive with every molecule of nuance presented to my senses. This is true at even the lowest of volumes on my system. Magic my friends and I mean magic!

I have never known any preamp to dig as deep, taunt and powerful in the bass region as the Dude. Bass has incredible impact, drive and articulation. Easily the best bass I have yet to encounter in a preamp. This tube preamp will shatter your preconceptions of tube preamp bass performance. Bass is no longer this vague sort of deep running tone, but rather a distinct and articulate portion of the whole performance.

Tonality is so beautiful and right. Not a hint of listener fatigue to be found. The massive amount of detail is delivered with exquisite beauty, body and soul. Don’t we all want that? The Dude does both in a way I felt was not even attainable. Tonality is vitally important to me. Voices have weight when they should. Like the guitar work nuances mentioned above the human voice is rendered absolutely and completely naked before you. You will hear aspects of your favorite vocalist you have never heard before. More air, more texture, more nuance, more personality – just amazing.

The Dude sets the stage big, wide and deep. First time I have heard stage depth so profoundly obvious. I now get a sense of what some reviewers mean by 3D! Life sized performance is a consistent attribute of the music flowing from this preamp.

I like to listen to very loud music at times. I like the live scale it gives the recording. The Dude is always in control and supremely poised. Nothing, no part of the audio spectrum is ever out of balance or forced. I hear a new standard of performance in terms of effortless, uncompressed music.

My system seems to have infinite room filling abilities. This is very, very important to me. Even at very loud settings music must flow not attack! The Dude is a complete gentleman in this regard.

Highs seem to have no ceiling or cap as they extend smoothly and without any hint of hardness. I am very sensitive to bright or hard highs and will quickly box up a unit if I hear a trace of it. Yikes! The Dude is a smooth operator and does so without robbing music of the precious detail and air we desire.

Well, I could go on much longer as the Dude is a revelation to me. It is the heart and soul of my current system and really makes everything sound so real and right.

I hope my words were able to convey what I experience with The Dude.

Have fun!



Associated gear
Please see my member system.

PBN Montana EPX custom speakers
TRL Modified Sony CD player/battery
TRL Samson amps
Audio Horizons cable
TRL Cables
Star Sound Sistrum stands
Echo Buster room treatments
SVS PB 12 Plus/2

Similar products
I have owned or had these preamps in my home system.

Audio Horizons TP2.1 fully loaded
Joule LA100 MKIII
Conrad Johnson LS16 V2
Thor 1000 MK2
Tom Evans Vibe
Supratek Cortese
Supratek Syrah
Audio Note m5
Wavac PR-X1
Rowland Concerto
Cary SLP98
Aesthetix Calypso
Tube Distinctions SoulMate
Placette passive
Wright Sound WLA 12A
Aloia 11.01
Belles 21A
Rogue 99
128x128grannyring
I went looking for their website yesterday (Element cable) and it wasn't available. Are they definately still in business?
I am now using some very sweet Marconi 6sn7 tubes and the Dude is singing sweeter then ever.

I highly recommend this tube if you crave rich, buttery midrange magic. Make no mistake the details, transparency and balance to from top to bottom are all there with this tube. It however is the best I have heard in the highs and all important midrange.

What a great find. I paid $65 for the NOS set.
Which plate Marconi are you using, Bill? Paul says that Marconi had many sub-contractors and so perhaps many different plates.

Are they rectangular, triangular, round, etc.?

I ask because I remember trying a pair of triangular plates in my old GTP-3 preamp a number of years ago.
I don't know but will look at them. I am not a tube expert so I will show you a picture!

I know they sound amazing with my new TRL IC !

Bill
Can you post a photo here, so that we all know which Marconi version that you are using?

I know what you mean about Paul's cables. Want to guess what I use? :)
Sorry Bob, there isn't enough room under the hood to fit a phono in addition to the Dude circuitry.
What 6SN7 tubes have you guys tried in the Dude? So far, I can tell you that there are various grades of Raytheon 6SN7's. Some are very good, others are pretty bad. Stay away from the tall glass labeled "Uniline". I like the short glass version that is like the VT-231, without the smoked glass. I also like the RCA stagger plate.

It's all about integration and preference. I'm just curious as to what you are using.
I have been using Marconi black base 6sn7 tubes and they are amazing in the Dude. They do mids like no other tube I have heard. The Marconi is balanced from top to bottom and has great tone.

I had not heard of them until I saw an ad here on the Gon and purchased a set. I'm glad I did. Warm, great mids and perfect tone to my ears.
I ordered a matched pair of black base Marconi's, should arrive
next week.
I tried to source good Raytheons on Ebay and was not successful, so I have not heard what those tubes can truly do.

I am using the stagger plate RCAs and those are sweet.

Some folks have recently tried the Russian NOS tubes to good effect. A lot of folks also clammer for the red label RCAs, but I have heard they are uber pricey.
Get a set of the Marconi's and don't look back. A 100% no brainer folks. In the Dude they are magic. They can be had for $45 a set here on the Gon.

Better then any other tube by a wide margin in the Dude that I have tried.

My Dude and Samson's are still pure joy to me!!!

Andrew, what about your Samsons?
My Dude with additional mods and optimization has been back. I am still comapring it with Charlie's X-2 and it seems like the improved Dude is having an edge...... more later.

But I dare say that the Dude as a product must be declared "Find of the Decade" This pre-amp is damn good. Its soundstage is just marvellous. On orchestral music, all instrumenst are precisely placed in a 3D holographic space. And vocals? The singer is right there to be touched. It is gloriously spectacular and breath taking sound. The challenge is really where can one find its faults? In bass? Nay. In midrange? Nay. In highs? Nay. In imaging? Nay. In toonal balance? Nay. In transparency? Nay. There just isn't any!

I pitty those who reject it without listening to it. They will never learn and will go in cycles of trying same expensive brand name crap over and over and will remain deprived of the good sound. What a pity.
Gallant Diva,

I am happy for you and so enjoy my Dude. You really need to try these Marconi tubes also as they have helped my Dude be all it can be. Ha!

I never look,read or think about preamps anymore. I am still looking at speakers however:-)

Look forward to hearing more on your Dude soon.
had the dude preamp for a couple of months now. wonderful imaging and soundstage. plenty of detail. i am using sylvania vt-231 and they sound very nice to me -- they add a bit of sweetness compared to the more neutral tubes that it came with. got some brimar nos but have not tried yet -- will update once i have a chance to break them in. this preamp provides great value and great joy
Great to hear from yet another owner.

I look forward to hearing more from you.

Enjoy
How long to build the dude?

The first sound presence mk3 is on my short list with the dude. I have the atma sphere s30 amp.
Hi. sorry -- was out of town. whole thing was less than a month i think -- and it would have been shorter but they had some weather issues during the winter that slowed things down a bit. but i was not in any hurry really so i did not think much of it
The dude is the king. My Dude, with all upgrades (additional tubes, more robust power supply and other tweaks) now outperforms the X-2. It is amazingly good. What a product!!!!!

Dude is the undisputed kind and the name of the pre-amp King is Dude,without question.
The Dude is amazing and I am so happy to see others now enjoying it as I do!

Gallant,

I now own Soundlab speakers, basically the M3, and the Dude is great on this speaker.

Bill,

Congratulations on your new speakers. How do they compare with the Boleros?
The SL play more as one voice with more transparency. They throw a larger and deeper stage also. The Boleros go deeper in the bass, play much louder and have more body and warmth.

I will so miss the Boleros. I am going to mod with SL's with some premium crossover perts to se if I can improve on body, weight and high frequency smoothness. The Boleros are so smooth!
I am considering buying the Dude for a second system. Has anyone compared the Dude to the Electra Joule 300ME that I have in my current system?
I have owned the 100 MKII and heard the 150. I have never heard the 300ME. Based on my history of Joule preamps I know the Dude will greatly please you and I would completely and utterly be shocked if the Dude did not outclass the 300ME. The Dude is that good Bob.

Love for you to compare the Dude to any preamp you have in your #1 system. Paul can make it with balanced inputs/outputs if you need. I think you will be shocked. I know the price is low compared to the $10,000 - $14,000 preamps we are talking about from the likes of Joule and others, but the Dude is up to the task.

Paul's Samson amps are very good, but in my mind and experience the Dude is really so good that it can compete head to head with ANY preamp regardless of price.

My 2 cents Bob
Actually, my opnion of the Dude is not for a certain price range but at any price. Comapre it to a hypothetical $100k preamp and I would safely bet my money on the Dude.
Gallant_diva, well said. Some guys with SOTA gear suffer from price bias and think that the Dude's too cheap to outperform things costing 3x the price. There is only one way to find out....
Paul recommends a lot of break-in for a new Dude before it sounds good. I agree with that but what I discover is that even if shut it down for a log time, it takes 2-3 days to fully break-in again. It is quite amazing.

Another things I noticed is that while the Dude is an all-rounder pre-amp excelling in every audio aspect, its base is simply awesome and by that I do not mean more bass, but the quality as well as the right quantity. It is not a "bass-heavy" pre-amp but its bass is something that I have not heard in any pre-amp. Simply outstanding would be right word to describe it.
Gallant, those are good observations. Those monster caps seem to take time to warm up. I have experienced the same phenomenon with my intuitive design speakers. Furthermore, the bass is very "present" and tuneful without being bloated.
Well the Dude went head to head today in my friends nice reference system against the Audio Research LS26.

The Dude won in all areas, but I still found the LS26 to be a very nice preamp.

The biggest area for me was how small or closed in the 26 sounded compared to the Dude.

It was fun and I do which the Dude had remote control volume;-)
That's great to hear, not a day goes by that I don't listen to music now, the sound is just too addictive.

For some reason I'm ok without the remote and I thought it would be a problem.
Hi Glory

Yes he did. Pretty easy to hear this in our a/b comparisons. He also had the Audio Valve Eclipse preamp with NOS's. This is also a very nice preamp with great drive, power and scale.

I found the Dude more refined overall with instruments sounding more like themselves. The Audio Valve was a little to forward sounding for me also.

If I had to live with the 26 or Audio Valve I would choose the Audio valve. However the Dude was the best of the three and just did it all right.
For those DUDE owners that want to take the pre amp to another level of accuracy, bypass the input selector switch and have a straight feed. The selector only degrades the signal.
Bill, no surprises with that shootout. Most Dude owners sound like shills due to our level of enthusiasm. A friend of mine did a shootout with his older generation trl pre-amp and a concert fidelity (20K) pre-amp that many consider SOTA, and it was no contest. The Dude abides....
Ya, I agree. I still like to compare with preamps I have not had the chance to A/B. It's fun for me and I'm always open minded enough to want to hear better. I have yet to hear as good as the Dude. Yes, the Dude does abide.
The only preamp that I'd like to A/B at the moment would be Steve's VRE-1 of SMC Audio. heard a lot of good things about it, could be interesting. In the meen time I'm waiting on my Marconi 12SN7s, time for some tube rolling.
Waiting for the Marconis? Sounds like you and Bill spoke. Good deal. Enjoy....
Yes, those Marconi tubes will sound great. How much is the VRE-1 and is it tube? Not read much on it. I know of one owner here on the Gon.
Any comments or observations from anyone on why folks may have moved away from a Dude? I'm overly cautious since I have to order one to hear one and want to be sure it will be quiet and reliable. I am digging around here and seeing that perhaps some have given up the Dude due to noise issues.

I can understand moving up and I have considered the Eklipse and Joule units. I'm presently auditioning a Rogue Athena and would also like to try a BAT VK51SE or 52SE.
I'm just starting to play around with tube rolling and this is the first set to try, Bill said a lot of great things about Marconis and I found a set for around $45 and should be in my system early next week, RCA, Raytheon, Olson are next on my list.
The VRE-1 is a SS and around 9K if I'm not mistaken.
Well that is quite expensive for the Vre-1. Love to do an a/b with the Dude.

Bugredmachine,

I have owned the Joule 100 and 150 and can say quite confidently the Dude will best these preamps by a good margin. I love the Joule sound and really enjoyed the preamps, but the Dude is really in a different leauge of musicality and control. Far more dynamic and in control is the Dude. The Dude does bass like no other preamp I have heard. The Dude let's you see more into the music and instruments.

I have never owned BAT so cannot comment here.
Thanks Granny - so you still own it? And is it quiet w/o hum? I'd like to purchase one and would do so based solely on reviews here.
Nice system Bugred. 99.9% of people who buy Dudes keep them. I know of one owner who had a noise issue (that turned out to be a capacitor gone bad), but he had that fixed and is uber happy....

Where do you live? If you are in Charlotte, NC, you are welcome to hear my rig...
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Agear is right Bugredmachine. Yes, your system is very nice indeed. I see you just updated it and yes the Dude would be a great fit in your system.
I recently purchased some OTL amps from Atma-sphere - the MA1's. They mate very well with the Dude as do the TRL Samson SS monoblock amps. The Dude matches the wonderful life and live sound the MA1's have and the Dude's body and texture really make for a great combo.

Ralph at Atma is now upgrading my MA1's to his very latest standard - 3.1 with V-Caps etc. They aleady have every other option possible. I am looking forward to hearing them in my system again with the Dude and Soundlab speakers.

My Dude has a slight mechanical hum from a transformer. Not heard through the speakers at all, but rather it's mechanical in nature and heard with my ear a couple of feet away only. Unfortunately I have heard this on many pieces of gear through the years. Even one of my Atma-sphere MA1 transformers hums a tad mechanically.

No other Dude owner has heard this that I know of. It may be related to the power at my home? Who knows.