Sgr, a Dude owner named Huy (who lives in Dallas) A+B'd the Dude with the AR reference anniversary pre-amp. I will let you talk to him about his findings. I heard about them second hand and do not want to speak amiss. Paul Weitzel at TRL can give you his contact data if you so desire.
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
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
312 responses Add your response
Sgr, I have only heard the LS26 vs. the Dude. Two things struck me in this comparison in the same system. The LS26 sounded pretty small compared to the Dude. The LS26 had nice detail and tone, but the music seemed small and distant compared to the Dude. Bass response of the LS26 was muted compared to the Dude. The Ref 3 or 5 would be better then the 26 to be sure. At least I would assume. |
I see some of you Audiogoners are waiting on your new Dudes and Samson amps etc... Let me share one finishing touch that I have found to be very important. I use Paul's power cords on all my gear - including my Velodyne DD15 sub. He offers them out at very attractive prices for his TRL owners so we can get the most out of his gear. They really work so well with the Dude and Samson amps. Please know they are very, very stiff to work with, but magic in terms of sound. I also use his power cord on my TRL modified Sony SACD and it turned out to be a revelation. I am very happy for you new Dude owners and know the Dude will please you. The Dude has never looked better as the pics I have seen are impressive indeed. |
The new price is supposed to be $4k. I came it at the transition time. He did not charge extra for the blue anodizing and the pseudo balanced connections. There are many updates they have done to the Dude that will be reflected in this unit like a "lighted" selector knob to let you know it is on. Pete |
Paul said he will never go back to a silver or black unit now that he has the blue in front of him. I am afraid to try and match Samson colors and have anodizer delays all over again so am thinking just plain black, which Paul says he has in stock (panels). I just sold my BAT amp and cannot be without an amp for very long - else you guys will be hounding me to evaluate and I will not be able to do so! |
Bug, I saw a photographic preview of your pre-amp minus only the top, and it looks spectacular. Bravo. As for amps, I would snag a pair of Samsons. The synergy is glorious, and the two become more than the sum of their parts. Bill/Grannyring can attest to this phenomenon. Prior to owning the Samsons, I had Intuitive Design Coordinate monoblocks. Many philes consider Dale's SS creations some of the best in the world (at least during his Essence days). The Coordinate amps did some things better, but in terms of an organic, tube-like presentation with the speed and scale of high current SS, the Samsons are very hard to beat, particularly for the price point and the presence of the Dude. |
I now have 6SN7 tubes in my source, preamp, and power amp. Beside my TRL modded Marantz SA11 CDP, I also have a ModWright Transporter, which uses a pair of 6SN7s in the signal path. Then the Dude preamp also uses a pair of 6SN7s in the signal path. My power amp is a hybrid power amp, a rebuilt Counterpoint NP100 by Mike Elliot. It, again, uses a pair of 6SN7s in the signal path. I found tube rolling is quite interesting in this setup. For example, a pair of Russian 6H8Cs (metal base, round hole plates) may sound aggressive in the MWTP. But they make the NP100 more lively when used there. For the Dude, I now use GE 6SN7GTBs. I have found that they are fast, neutral, and have nice harmonics in the Dude. |
King: Are these supposed to be exact copies of the Mullard CV-181's? I don't think so. Checkout the end of excerpt from Grant Fidelity website below. CV181-Z (pair)This tube is a true 6SN7 equivalent and you can use it in place of 6SN7 tubes of various brands. It has identical specification as RCA 6SN7. Do not use it to replace NOS CV181 tube. King, question: when tube rolling the Transporter, was this eval done with the LSA in the chair or your tubed pre-amp? Active preamp ... LSA is only use for background music. |
Grannyring, Grant Fidelity sells them. Grant Fidelity Occasionally you can find them on Agon ... search for Shuguang. They require at least 200 hours of breakin. My MW Transporter runs in class A so I just use my stock rectifier tube and leave it on for ~200 hours before any serious listening. Even if broken in, if remove and use again, it takes several days to settle ... I know, it's crazy. I think if you like the TRL house sound, you will love these. These ended my MW Transporter 6sn7 tube rolling :-) |
Bill: I'm not sure if they are able to run at the Dude's operating voltage or not. You'd better call Paul and ask him if they are compatible before trying. I own 6 NOS Mullard CV-181's and didn't care for them in my Tube Research GTP-3 preamp. Then again, so much has changed since the GTP-3. The tubes that I'd hadn't liked in the GTP-3, I now like in the Dude. King: Are these supposed to be exact copies of the Mullard CV-181's? |
Glory, If I'm not mistaken these are the Marconis made in Europe and I read somewhere these were the best Marconis ever made. I found a guy once who asked about $600.00 US for a mint pair. Not the kind of money I wanted to spend on tubes. I think they come up on eBay once in a while for crazy money too. The Marconis I tried were made in Canada and I think I still have the email address to the guy who sold them to me, he's from Quebec and often sells here on agon. I don't see myself going back to Marconis now.....maybe in the future. Cheers |
That is kool Gallant. I am still searching for the optimal tube. The Marconis are good but not perfect. Dale Pitcher at Intuitive Design has some cryo'd tubes that I am going to try. When I owned a Granite Audio 657, I used his treated 6922s and they were significantly better than anything else I tried.... |
Hello dudes, I mean the owners of the Dude, hope you are enjoying your Dude and sharing your thoughts with other dudes. There are so many duded who do not even know how good the Dude is. But, hey dude, that is life, so who cares. After several months of tube rolling, what i discovered is the following: nothing.... except that you need to find your own tube that matches your system. Wow, is that a surprise? Nope, but it is also logical. Every system is different with different synergy between components. The Dude with stock tubes sounds great but if you want your it better *in your system* then you need your own tube rolling. I followed Paul's advice and some of the suggestions posted here but they did not work for me. For me the best tube is 5691. It gives my across the board frequency response that works great in my system, especially the highs. |
Bug, If TRL says 3 weeks then 3x3 and you are almost there LOL but the wait will be worth it. My Dude is going to be together with the Little Lebowski stereo amp. 175W SS to drive my 101dB Zu speakers. I will hold on to the Atma Sphere S30 to make sure the LL kicks the living snot out of the AS. I am doing the LL amp because you Samson owners rave about how great it is. You were right on the Dude and I hope your are right on the SS amps from TRL. |
