When I implemented this pre-amp into my system I turned it on and I was amazed. It boosted the sound clearly and dramatically, just as advertised. BUT... the unit gets VERY HOT, so much so I'm concerned. In my opinion, it's not engineered properly.
don't listen to that last review. is is by far one of the best eqs i have ever had. its sounds super clear and the bass hits hard and deep. it sounds like nothing i have ever heard before.
Well to start off the EQ does its job by warming up the sound and improving the way natural instruments are reproduced, but it does lose a big of digital music clarity. The build quality on this thing is bad the little purple light in the window burnt out after a few hours of use (doesn't affect sound, its just a show light you can still see the tube glow) and the face place was horrible, the knobs rubbed against the plate when trying to adjust making a scratching noise and the push buttons pushed all the way in. I'd like to see notches in the knobs with lights behind them to show where the placement of the adjustments are at night. Other than that this was an OK product, warmed up the music but build quality was some of the worse I've seen.
this unit uses 6dj8 tubes the tubes that it comes with new russian i changed to new old stock 6dj8 mullards made in england you can find these tubes on e-bay be prepared to pay the mullard 6dj8 tubes i put in mine have matched sections these were matched on a western/electric cardomatic ks-15874-l2 state of the art tube checker the sound was open on the top end warm symbols were real very well defined midrange was excellent and open bass was tight and clean this unit will rock your world i use a pioneer elite home unit cd player with a power inverter in my van with this unit power amps xtant old school speakers focal i am blown away every time i drive my van this is a big boy toy well worth the money and then some
First of all, I already have a really good system consisting of JL Audio, Image Dynamics, and Premier equipment. I added the Mtube8 not expecting much, just maybe a warmer sound. It actually improved things better than I thought. The imaging on the front stage improved, midbass upfront improved, and instruments seemed to take on a life of their own instead of being bunched up in a big ball of sound. For some reason, violins and flutes stand out instead of being lost in the background. I like that! IMO: The tubes do their job. And there is an audible difference. So yes... this product is well worth its price. Cons: The lights in this unit are way too bright. I wish a dimmer was worked into it somehow. Also, the input configuration can be confusing. There are no colors or left/right markings on RCA jacks. I dont get that. Overall tho, I like this product and am very happy with it. High end sound at a low end price. What more do u want?
My favorite piece! Like everyone here basically said about the warm fuzzy's, it's right on for that. The thought of losing some clarity for me was kept by using the stock head unit to drive some dash and back speakers. I also installed a center dash speaker not far from the MTube to work with it and used the MTube to drive the rest speakers and subs. Quality is a bit grim on how its made and lit up and the power input is a real bad idea for randomly falling off. But sound quality is amazing. The real scary part is how Soundstream appears to be gone now. No web site or working direct phone lines. I had hopped it was temporary but its been awhile now and I really wanted to get another one for another car but now I'm not sure.
Need to get me one of these..love it
