Little Bear T7

[jeremey]

I think you'll find that the 5654 tubes will help some with not only the sound quality but also the balance in the L & R channels. But please report back here with your findings; I'm curious if they are similar to mine.

 

[spleenandcig]

That would be great. Thanks, Spleenandcig.

I *feel* like the NOS GE JAN 5654W tubes I purchased did help even out the unbalance from left to right - but like I keep saying, I'm judging this by my ear and not by any scientific measurement.

I look forward to your discoveries. I realize most people don't "waste their time" discussing this type of equipment because they feel it is too cheap (or beneath them) and immediately disregard it but that's part of the fun with all this to me. Maybe you / I / we figure out or find some nice piece of gear that delivers performance well above it's price tag...never know. If not, it was a fun experiment and there wasn't much money wasted.

Well, i'm not even nearly rich, so either i'll fix it or be stuck with it

I think you'll find that the 5654 tubes will help some with not only the sound quality but also the balance in the L & R channels. But please report back here with your findings; I'm curious if they are similar to mine.

I'm considering the M8100 CV4010 5654 Mullard - ring getter and then i'll post a reply, but that'd probably take a month or two. If that doesn't work, i'll try to get some help from a friend and identify the circuit and components and maybe if something could change. Everything after some hella good cables, of course.

 

[jeffpaletz]

Just want to update my post above. I received the 5654 tubes and they did not improve the poor sound of this pre-amp. I returned the pre-amp and tubes back to Amazon. I recommend that nobody should buy this unit.

 

[spleenandcig]

Just want to update my post above. I received the 5654 tubes and they did not improve the poor sound of this pre-amp. I returned the pre-amp and tubes back to Amazon. I recommend that nobody should buy this unit.

Did it gave a ending to the channel unbalance?

 

[jeffpaletz]

I didn't have a channel imbalance problem. It was lacking in treble and low bass.

 

[revox-b77]

Lots of different troubles from one model. As you will recall mine has low output. I did swap the tubes and my imbalance went away. Now it is that the output needs to come up about 20db to match my pre's built in phono section.

 

[jeffpaletz]

But it's lacking in high frequency reproduction. I'd guess it starts to roll off highs around 5000hz. Why would anyone here want to use one of these mid fi pre-amps?

 

[spleenandcig]

But it's lacking in high frequency reproduction. I'd guess it starts to roll off highs around 5000hz. Why would anyone here want to use one of these mid fi pre-amps?

I didn't felt it, maybe it's because of the tubes?

I didn't have a channel imbalance problem. It was lacking in treble and low bass.

Lots of different troubles from one model. As you will recall mine has low output. I did swap the tubes and my imbalance went away. Now it is that the output needs to come up about 20db to match my pre's built in phono section.

I swap again the valves and the imbalance was gone! That was nice. My bass and treble are OK in aux input, but in phono it's horrible.

 

[jeffpaletz]

Tubes won't cause a lack of high frequencies. I have other tube devices which sound fine. This pre-amp is a hunk of junk. It's like the tweeters on my speakers stop working when I used this pre-amp.

 

[63pontiacgp]

I didn't felt it, maybe it's because of the tubes?



I swap again the valves and the imbalance was gone! That was nice. My bass and treble are OK in aux input, but in phono it's horrible.

You would not want to plug this into the phono inputs.

 

[63pontiacgp]

Like I said in previous posts, it's more of a novelty than anything. It has no place in a decent system. For the 50 bucks there are some decent solid state preamps available.

Mike

 

[Bob Ashford]

I got one yesterday and have been running it for about 6 hours. I am using a Dual 1219 turntable loaded with a Shure V15 ii going into the T7. The signal goes to AUX on my Yamaha AX 596 . For speakers I use JBL LC310's and 62T's. I noticed the volume knob has to come up about 15% to get the same volume as I would had I sent the signal from the table straight into phono. The spaces between songs is much quieter and the drums seem to have a bit more pop. The music seems more detailed. Soundstage seems to have improved too.

Now I am thinking about getting a really high end tube preamp.

Interesting, I just received mine and output was high and a bit noisy so I open up the case and clicked the little white switch inside. this seemed to lower the gain (allows me to use more of my integrated Amps volume knob) also the sound was cleaner and sweeter.

 

[Bob Ashford]

I didn't felt it, maybe it's because of the tubes?



I swap again the valves and the imbalance was gone! That was nice. My bass and treble are OK in aux input, but in phono it's horrible.

Yes you need to feed the T7 into the AUX channel, if you feed it into the PHONO channel you amplifying the signal twice

 

[icenine]

Listening to mine right now, for which I paid $47.
I pushed the little black switch forward after removing the faceplate.

RX-1500 (Realistic branded AT which I really like)>Technics 1200 Mk 2>Little Bear T7 phono preamp>Jolida 102b>B&W 201i speakers.

Stock tubes. I have equal channel sound and no distortion. Treble and bass sound normal. Listening to the recent Grateful Dead American Beauty LP. Sounds pretty good to me although I may still like the Realistic Phono pre I was using before (cat #42-2109) a bit better. Will have to get the GE 5654 tubes. Can hear the bells and bass on Till The Morning Comes with great detail. Voices sound a bit forward with a bit of glare perhaps.

Just will have to wait and see.

 

[MarkJosh]

Got one of these and am puzzled by the complaints of low volume from a TT and muddy sound. Mine is just the opposite of both. It sounds better than the preamp built in to my TT. And rolling tubes makes a difference. I replaced the stock 6J1's with equivalent GE tubes and there was a noticeable improvement. Yes the tubes only serve as a buffer but there's nothing wrong with that. Its a common design. For $50 I don't think its a ripoff. Also the gain switch is now accessible from the top.

 

[MarkJosh]

Just got a T7 and its a tube buffer design. Nothing wrong with that. For $50 you are probably not going to get a full tube phono preamp. It has plenty of level and tube rolling makes a difference. Sounds good to me. Sparkly highs. Forward sound stage. Sometimes people pile on a project because its inexpensive and from China. We used to say that about stuff made in Japan but we don't do that now. The Chinese are upping their game and they learn fast. As a guitar player I can tell you the quality of their guitars has gotten very good.

 

[Hajidub]

Got one of these and am puzzled by the complaints of low volume from a TT and muddy sound. Mine is just the opposite of both. It sounds better than the preamp built in to my TT. And rolling tubes makes a difference. I replaced the stock 6J1's with equivalent GE tubes and there was a noticeable improvement. Yes the tubes only serve as a buffer but there's nothing wrong with that. Its a common design. For $50 I don't think its a ripoff. Also the gain switch is now accessible from the top.

Comparing to a built in pre on a TT isn't much of a benchmark, but HEY if it satisfies your expectations then more power to you!

 

[biscuithead]

I'm in the market for a new phono pre. I will keep my eye on this and wait to hear some reviews.

Does anyone know if this is a "true" tube preamp or are the tubes really just a buffer? I've read that about several other cheap tube phono preamps.

Just a buffer. I bought one... I don’t use it anymore.

I have played with other Little bear preamps though with success.

 

[T68]

Got a Little Bear T10 phono preamp a couple of weeks ago. It keeps putting a smile on my ugly face!
Rocking some ZZ Top right now. Sounds great! A steal for the $90 I paid.

 

[DavidTT]

Little Bear T11 user here. I've swapped in other, much more highly thought-of phono pres in my system, but the T11 has won its place in my main system every time so far. I believe it to be an amazing bargain at ~$200.