Fosi Audio 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.

Works great! Nice warm sound. I grounded my TT to back ground post on x2. Dead quiet. I did upgrade tubes with a matched set from River Audio. Highly recommend this little pre amp.

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!

Warm sound, connected fine, tubes worked. Phono preamp with 4 settings for db gain. Grounding screw worked to prevent hum and pop from 80s era pioneer turntable.

The praise is well deserved. I paired this with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge installed on a Numark TT-100 turntable. The sound upgrade is noticeable. There is a noticeable increase in volume, wide soundstage and warmth. These are mere words, but the point should be well received by audiophiles and newbies alike. I love the look and gives me system a touch of vintage steam punk. Its truly gorgeous. The three gain settings are great, but to be honest, I don't hear any distortion with any of them. I leave in the middle so i can always go up or down depending on the loudness of the album which can vary tremendously. But usually I leave it there and control my volume through my Onkyo receiver. I have not yet used the miniplug for anything yet. Not sure my tape deck needs this. Check back as I do plan on experimenting. I am looking forward to re-listening to my cherished 800 plus vinyl collection. Next up, maybe upgrade my turntable to the Fluance RT-82. But for now, I am very pleased. I was comparing this one to the ART DJPREII and went with Fosi. Two reasons: cheap audio man on YouTube recommended this one, and secondly, looks do matter, and the idea of the bright blue light and the crude design of the ARTDJ was a turn off. Who wants to spend money to make your set up look cheaper. This is a classy design the delivers on the substance, sound quality.

Using this preamp to connect an old school turntable to powered bookshelf speakers. Don't want an amp for that. At first the sound level was incredibly low, but that was due to using the mini jack input instead of using the RCA input. It comes with an RCA to mini jack cable, but use an RCA to RCA off the bat. Sounds killer now.

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.

This review is based on 3 whole days of use. For this reason, there will be no mentions of it's longevity, only its awesomeness. I have an Audio Technica AT-LP120XUSB table that's connected the a pair of Klipsch R-51PM bookshelf speakers with a 8" reference series subwoofer. I have been running this system for about a year and a half and have really enjoyed it. The only issue is that streaming content and CDs were so much louder that it bummed me out to listen to my vinyl and only get 75-80% of the volume of the other two. I grabbed this up on a whim. I have the bronze table with the copper speakers and it all looks very nice together, so I figured if nothing else, this little dude would look nice on the shelf next to it, and at like $60, I figured it was worth the gamble. Well, it was. This thing not only offers three levels of volume boost, but cleans up the signal so well that I spent the entire weekend listening to all of my albums over again for the first time. The difference is incredible. I'm not a super-duper audiophile nerd or anything, I just always have music playing and I wanted all of my audio sources to be as close to the same quality as possible. This little box made that happen. If you have a turntable - even one with a built-in phono stage like mine - get this thing! Just trust me. Both my turntable AND my powered speakers have phono amplification, and this is better than either of them. Took a few flips of the switch to get it right (phono from TT to Fosi Box, line in to the R-51s) but now the sound is incredible. Can't believe I went a year and a half without one. Do yourself a favor and grab it now. You will not be disappointed. Side note: the packaging is very impressive. They did a fantastic job protecting this thing and making it look like a thing that should cost more than it does. The directions, on the other hand, are a pretty funny read. For actual setup, bail on the instructions and just google search it. It's not hard anyway.

Completamente soddisfatto, fa il suo dovere con la possibilità di gestire il guadagno. Forse uno switch sarebbe stato più comodo per gestire i due ingressi ma va bene anche così

Dei mais pontecia na minha agulha!top

I have a main valve amplifier and needed a phono pre amp to boost signal from an inherited turntable with MM cartridge. Read reviews and got the fosi audio box x2. Being so relatively cheap I thought it would just ok. How wrong i was it's fantastic. Just on the first gain setting is enough for my main amp and tha output is beautiful. I am not a audiophile but I think 10 out of 10 for what I required.

Działa, dźwięk 👍,rodzinka robi kawał dobrej roboty!