Box X2 Phono Preamp, Mini Stereo Audio Hi-Fi Preamplifier with Gain Gear, Pre-Amplifier for MM Turntable Phonograph and Record Player, with DC 12V Power Supply

Let's jump right to the most glaring bit of misinformation floating around the reviews here. Several reviewers here are stating this pre-amp is for moving magnet type phono cartridges only. NOW I can't speak for ALL "moving coil" carts, but my, Denon DL 103, moving coil, has no apparent (audible) issues with this amp. None. Sounds perfect. I've been transferring my Vinyl to bits and my disk recorder (records like a tape deck but to a CD) was getting really low levels. I could correct this after the fact with SW with no quality issues, but it was awkward. This amp was just the boost I needed. (no gain control on the recorder) SO the selectable output level switch is nice. I'm ok at the lowest, better at the middle, and just a showing a flicker of red on the highest. This was first time I'd ever seen level-leds show any red. Bottom line, Great little amp for the $. Works with any modern, quality cartridge/turntable. You'll notice the instructions don't say jack about "only moving magnet", but the input is labeled "MM". perhaps that's where the confusion sprang from. Fosi may have done that simply because moving magnet are typically less expensive and hence are likely to be what most people will have. The other thing the instructions don't say what input on your main amp/receiver to plug the output from the fosi into. It's just says "connect to your amp" for the record it's Line In or Aux, NOT phono. I plugged mine direct into the line in on my recorder and returned to the amp from the recorder. Lastly Packing. Several guys groused loudly about packing. Mine too was shipped in plain thin, bubble wrap-type bag. But that's fine the way the tubes are packed inside the Fosi box, you could drop the box from 5 feet(ish) over and over and not damage anything but the outside of the box. Final tip. Installing the tubes. They go in pretty tight. So once your sure you're lined up correctly don't be afraid to lean into it a bit. UPDATE MM V MC cartridge compatibility. To be clear, at first listen, THIS particular amp, SEEMS to be fine with at least one particular MC cartg, my Denon DL-103 MC-type cart. No distortion, no hum. Output level perfect, (best on the middle gain setting of 3). But after applying a more critical "ear" I'm not convinced I'm getting all of the clarity and or fullness this legendary DL-103 is famous for. NOW there are a couple possible explanations for this that don't involve this "amp v MC cartridge compatibility" issue. Age of the cartridge being first. While it's well under the life-span limit in hours played, it IS 10 years old. Also, I have never checked, let alone adjusted, the turntable vs tone-arm for level, so there's every reason to assume this (aka "VTA") setting is not optimum. I was shocked to learn how big a SOUND difference this, the angle of the stylus to the groove (VTA) can make. (follow up on that to come) What I can say for now is that the combination of this MC cart and this amp 'sounds' correct, if not "super'. and after playing it last night for about 6 or 7 hours it doesn't appear that either the amp nor the cart is being damaged by the other. If you're wondering if your MC cart will be similarly content with this amp, be advised the "Recommended Load Resistance" on my Denon DL-103 is "100 ohm or more, (except when a transformer is provided)" I believe transformer is what some MC type carts refer to a pre-amp as. The manual for the Fosi X2 doesn't give any ohm rating, load/capacitance, resistance rating number of any kind, input or output. Bottom line this could be a viable "budget option" amp for at least some, MC type carts. Since "proper" MC pre-amp/transformers, start about double what this one costs and run as much as 4 or 5 times more expensive.

Very impressive pre-amp that worked right out of the box, but not without a scarey moment or two. A pre-amp was necessitated as my Audio-Technica table does not have one and my Pioneer SX-10AE receiver lacks a Phono Input, only two Line inputs. To eliminate the 'scarey moments' ensure the selector switch on back of the turntable is in the Phono position after adding the pre-amp or horrible distortion will be the result. And, I believe, the vacuum tubes need to be "broken-in" by running for a short while under load. My 1st LP sounded horrible. I considered returning it or the pre-amp! But, the 2nd and 3rd LPs sounded great. I put the 1st LP back on and it too became great. This demonstrated to me that the new tubes needed a little exercise to perform correctly. Many people describe the sound from from tube type pre-amps as being warm and with other positive descriptions. I'm not sophisticated enough to know what they mean. All I can say is that the sound out of my system is absolutely wonderful. The volume control is a step-switch I woukd have prefered a smooth control without the steps, but this is effective too. I highly recommend the Fosi pre-amp. It's available at a small cost for big, pleasing sound.

Amazing little amp. It looks beautiful. Provides incredibly strong signal to my speaker. I connected this little tube amp to my Audio Technica SL-1200MK5 turntable. The original output from the turntable was too low, but after adding this amp, it’s crazy loud now. Even at the lowest setting, I have to adjust my speaker to be at like 5-10% for comfortable volumes. So it definitely works! It LOOKS amazing, when warmed up, the blue lights and the soft warm orange glow of the amp looks so good. It’s small and fits right on my shelf. It comes with a GROUND screw, thank goodness for good design. My turntable has a ground pin and I didn't have a reliable place to connect it too, but glad this little unit had a place for it. The really helps eliminate any additional noise and the tube amps really help warm up the sound. Tube amps provide odd order harmonics which help make your vinyls sound richer and warmer; coming off from a digital amp, I can definitely tell the difference. Had to be a little careful when installing the tube amps, but glad we can replace them over time as needed.

Using this as a preamp for a vintage turntable I had restored. I always get compliments on the looks of this piece of equipment. It sounds great too, nice and warm, smooth and it will get loud if you need more boost. I will warn you it will feedback if you put it on the same bookshelf as your speakers.

Sounds really great. I needed a pre-amp for my record player to play through some powered speakers and this one sounds really really clean imo. it feels heavy and solid, and the tubes look to be good quality USA made ones. easy to use for phono or aux input and its pretty small overall so easy to fit somewhere amongst your sound system. puts out a strong signal too so you can get some good volume out of it.

This sounds great! I decided to upgrade from the Rolls pre-amp I was using and what a difference! I paired it with my Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB and switched out my stylus from AT-VM95C to a AT-VM95E and I’m amazed how much better it sounds. The high end and mid-range are detailed and the lows are punchy but without being harsh. Nice and warm, like a hug from Grandma. I’m currently using it the 42db setting and it’s sitting very balanced with my set up. Seams kind of hard to beat for $70 but I’m still new to the audio file game but sounds great to my ears. If you’re on the fence about getting it, just do it.

It's not one of those cheap Chinese preamps from AliExpress, though it may bear some superficial resemblance. It has actually good components with good layout inside. It has very good sound and very little noise and hum (not audible at all when the volume is set so that the surface noise of a clean, nee record is audible loudly). Much better than the built-in preamp of Pioneer PLX-500, and similar Hanpin products. It's not 100% flat, but in a good way and subtly, it makes the music sound better. The details are much clearer and the soundstage is way better than with the built-in preamp. I grounded mine to the ground pin (not the L or N pins!) of the wall outlet because my turntable does not have a ground connector, and grounding the preamp to the chassis of the amplifier or to the shell of the USB port on the turntable made the hum worse. This is the configuration that has no audible hum for me. But it's whatever works best in your case - it may be amp chassis, it may be the TT ground, or it may be no extra ground. The blue LEDs under the tubes - why they always do it, I have no idea. But at least in this case it is actually dimmer than the tube glow and looks pretty good - it comes out a lot brighter on the camera than in real life. The power cord is a bit short (about 1m, maybe less), so that could require an extension cord or a power strip.

This tube pre-amp is wonderful! Bought it and went straight with the GE5654's from Riverstone Audio. On my latest record player, I was using a simple $40 dollar Audio Technica cartridge for years and that was just fine for me. Last year I was getting into those Blue Note Tone Poet albums, I noticed on a couple that there were some spots that sounded like they were overdriving my system somehow. I read that it could be my cartridge. How was I to know what cartridge WOULD work, but then a light bulb came on and I thought maybe I could take the cartridge out of an old player from my attic and see if it works better. I happened to have a Technics 310mc in my one player that I bought at the thrift store for $8.00 15 years ago. I tried it out in my current player and was amazed at the quality of sound that this had, it changed everything for me, I didn't know records sounded that good, and no overdriven sound happening on any of my albums. The only issue is that the cartridge was not as loud. I was still able to get the volume at a decent level at around 3.5-4, but I was also getting some amplification noise, and anything past 4 simply increased the amplification noise and did not increase the music volume. So for almost a year I was listening to my records at lower volumes, with some the volume worked okay, but with others it was just too low. I thought I'd check out some preamps and I came across this one. I was only considering a tube preamp, as I was well aware of the benefits of tubes from my experience with guitar amps and my hi-fi 78rpm tube record player. Some people did say (including the MFR) that this wouldn't work with an MC cartridge. Well, if you are wise, then you would know that when people on the internet say something won't work, 75% of the time or more they either have never tried it themselves, tried it but didn't know what they were doing, or simply don't know what they are talking about. Even though the mfr and others said it wouldn't work with an MC cartridge, I knew the chances were very high that it WAS going to work, especially since my cartridge has pretty high output for an MC. Dude! My volume used to be not quite loud enough at 3.5-4, now with the Fosi Audio Tube Preamp it is totally jammin' at 1.25. Finally, I was totally jamming out again and now my system is louder and sounds more amazing than it did with just my MM cartridge I used to use. All I did the first day that I got this preamp is play record after record and shake the house and dance around and shout for joy. The tube warmth and tube gain sound is totally there! If I were you, I wouldn't be afraid to try this on a lower output MC cartridge (considering that MC specific preamps generally cost a lot more money.) I am absolutely thrilled with this preamp in combination with my Technics 310MC cartridge! It has brought new life into my home record listening experience. After dinner that evening I simply had to hear the beautiful warm sound of June Christy on my new set-up. It brought tears to my eyes. Peace!