ELEKIT TU-8500 PREAMP KIT Part 1 of X Unboxing & First Look

Here's another Japanese ELEKIT that I can't wait to get to. Many kudos to Tube Depot. For one thing, they inserted English instructions into the kit for me. This preamp is designed to work well with the TU-8200 amp. I'm pretty excited to own this. For a fraction of the cost to own a comparable pre-assembled unit, I can put this together and take satisfaction in knowing the details of its assembly. The quality of these kits is second to none!

[@fastfreddy782]

These are great fun to assemble. I put one together when they first came out. If you have not assembled it yet, I may suggest upgrading the output capacitors C11 and C12 (which are for the RIAA EQ AMP STAGE), and C15 and C16 (which are for the LINE FLAT AMP STAGE). I have seen some DIY sites suggest Mundorf Oil caps. There are plenty of others of course if you already have your own preference. I might also note I have found the 12at7 tubes to sound the best in this preamp. Cheers

[@thattubesound2214]

Freddy, Thank you for the tip. I'll follow up on that. I don't mind buying something a little more exotic, just to see. I am really eager to give this a shot. If I like it a bunch, I'll buy another one and build a little wood cabinet for it.

[@Wizardofgosz]

You don't need to upgrade those caps. The caps that came with it sound fine. I ended up changing out the tube sockets for proper Beltons, and mine didn't come with NOS tubes, so I went with a matched pair of JJs. I bought the tubes and sockets (and kit) from Tube Depot. They're fantastic.

[@Wizardofgosz]

I didn't see any follow up videos to this.

[@dkerlee]

Just started my own kit. I'd love to see follow up videos. Thanks!

[@frankpearce2544]

Hello, Any progress on the preamp?

[@and1424]

Hello. Does this come with a complete schematic? THanks!

[@jpphelps3663]

Mine works perfectly but sounds muffled when I engage the mm/mc switch, I gotta figure out why!

[@Wizardofgosz]

When you're listening to a turntable? Did you read the manual to learn what that button does?

[@Darryl603]

Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me!

[@constantbuzz]

But it does not have any equalization controls- how could could that sound good in many circumstances...

[@Wizardofgosz]

Why do you think you need tone controls? I ran a Carver system for years and never used any EQ. If your system is flat and your speakers are flat, why wouldn't you just want to listen to what the record producer and artist thought sounded best? But if you want tone controls there are a ton of aftermarket EQs you can buy/build for this.