You can go either way. If you put it between the preamp and power amp, then ALL of your sources will take on the tube sound. If you put it between source and preamp, then just that source will take on the tube sound.
Edit: This of course assumes you have more than one source and you use your preamp as a switcher.
I have an emotiva pre and power amp. What’s this buffer gonna do for the sound?
Yea I was kinda wondering if it would better to get a phono tube pre and then also this buffer to hook up to a dac. Or just use the buffer for both
If you want to tuberize (that’s a made up word 
) all of your music, then yeah stick it between the preamp and amp. Then you don’t need to buy both a tube phono preamp AND a buffer, you can get this buffer and then any phono preamp. But if you want the option of solid state sounds for some sources and tube for others, connect as @M0N suggests.
Assuming this buffer is just a more expensive version of the same basic thing I was testing, I hope I answered this question in the OP.
This would most likely add a bit of warmth, reduce a bit of harshness, add longer decay and the illusion of a bit more space. Not massive but def noticeable
@Bmn1251 be careful with that buffer, it looks like it’s now being sold as Aimpire so it might be a worse clone (Aimpire has taken over some topping and little bear products and are sending worse clones under that name)
Aimpire cloning Yaqin? Augh. AFAIK they “clone” 100$-or-less stuff from Topping… I hope they don’t start cloning D50S and D1s and whatever (and other brands)… Maybe they’ll just get kicked out of Amazon too because too many returns.
I hope that’s just temporary.
That’s not the chi-fi takeover we want. 
Yeah it’s kinda pissing me off lol
The Aimpire Strikes Back
(it had to be done)
Probably. I don’t directly know to give a definite ‘yes’, but it’s most likely they’re all made in the same factory in Shenzhen. The different brand names (FX, Douk/Nobsound, Fosi, etc.) are probably all companies that buy them, slap their name on it, and sell it. I emphasize I can’t say this with certainty, but it is quite likely.
Thanks. I might try this on my Atom. 
Cool. Don’t forget cables!
As long as you’re not treble-sensitive you’ll have no problems.
I just feel like, whatever I do, my Tube-03 is pushing 10khz+ by a few dB’s.
My Atom is at another place right now (paired with a DAC without much treble – synergy, yay!) and I have a SMSL sAp-1 amp for my tube-03 (wayyy smoother).
Little guy arrived today and I’ve been having a blast playing around with it. Really makes the Tygrs come alive. I feel whatever mid range shortcomings it had are corrected by this setup. Abbey Road never sounded better. I keep going back and forth on the bass and treble knobs from 3 o’ clock to full in some songs. Delicious tubey distortion.
Update: After realizing full volume on the buffer was making songs muddy and bloated; I want to add that it took me a week to find out the sweet spot with the volume pot at 12 o’clock, and tone controls at around 12 to 2 o’clock in some songs with the A3 on high gain. It’s kinda mindblowing how tubes resonate and I finally get that holographic quality. I’m afraid I can’t go back now and I’m fine with that!
Anyone know if this would work with the LCX SDAC? The only dynamics I’ve got are the 60ohm Koss so it doesn’t seem worth getting anything bigger.
So can I take the SDAC 3.5mm out to the tube preamp and then back into the RCA input of the LCX or would the DAC shut off when I switch input?
Wow tube buffer and my dt770 600 ohm is doing some nice things. Dt770 with mids that arent so recessed. Everything I’ve wanted for this pair from the start.
Hey @WaveTheory, great write up.
I have a little SMSL SP100 I want to use as a Tube Buffer / Preamp. Will that tubey-ness / coloration occur if the device is on and the signal is actively passing through and out the RCA outputs to my amp? And then when it’s turned off will that coloration be gone and the signal will passively go through the buffer?
That’s really what I’m looking for: the ability to turn it on and get some “tubey-ness” but not if the device is off. I’m just not sure if it works that way lol, a little new to this.
This probably belongs here:
Circuit basics from what I saw are the same between the device in the video and these cheap tube pre-amps.
My biggest gripe and reason I don’t own one of these is the lack of a bypass.
