Douk Audio X1

[Edit 7/23/23: 1 star removed because Bluetooth stopped working today, and upon reading other forums including Douk's own, this appears to be a common issue with this unit. However, Douk Audio support is great, and I would expect they will send out a replacement Bluetooth board to put into the unit (easy install, no soldering). Will update this review with a 5 star rating again assuming this is what happens. EDIT a couple months later: yes, this is what happened, thank you Douk Audio!) This little integrated amp does so many things and does them well: Phono preamp, power amp, vacuum tube stage, EQ controls, LFE sub out (game changer for my sub), Bluetooth 5.0 w/ APTX, and to top it off, a beautiful aesthetic design. Most importantly, it sounds downright amazing for its size and power. I switched from a Topping TP22 amp and Nobsound Hifi 6J Bluetooth tube preamp, and the change is unmistakable. Way punchier and tighter bass with the LFE out, cleaner mids and highs, much stronger dynamics in general, and no matter my audio source - vinyl, CD, tape, or BT - it all sounds great. Two caveats - 1) when using a sub via the LFE output, the bass control becomes more of a speaker crossover than an actual EQ, adjusting the mid-bass frequencies in your speakers (like 200-400Hz) and nothing in the sub. This is a little unfortunate as it means separately controlling the sub volume, but not a huge deal. 2) I had to return a unit due to a buzzing sound in the right speaker outs when in Bluetooth mode. The replacement unit had the same issue as well, but I realized by disconnecting the antenna, the noise went away. I suppose this might be BT/RF/wireless "noise" in the environment, combined with the very aggressive 320W amp powering the signal. If you get this same issue in your unit, just disconnect the antenna, it's not super necessary anyway. All said, I cannot believe this amp is the price that it is. If you have a similar setup with multiple sources and want strong, punchy, clear yet warm sound, and don't want to spend big money get the X1. Finito. - Teac TN300 TT w/ Nagaoka MP-110 - Onkyo C-7030 CD - Technics M33 cassette - Audioengine P4N Bamboo speakers - Definitive Technology ProSub 1000

I'm impressed. This little receiver/amp was a good buy for me; and worth the money. I have it hooked to a turntable and some floor-standing speakers built in the 1970s (with 10" woofers) and I was a little worried it wouldn't have the power to make them sound good. I was wrong. I'm not sure it's 160 watts per channel (not quite as much bass depth as a larger amp at lower volumes) but it does sound really good/rich/clean at mid to high volume. Somehow it does this with the included 32vdc power supply. The directions say you can upgrade the power supply to a 35v one for more power but I'm satisfied. I love the clean aesthetic and physical switches/knobs. Came with genuine GE tubes. Bluetooth tunes sound super clean and amazing and I love that it connects quickly and silently (no confirmation beeps or whatever). The amp takes a few minutes to warm up and the audio sounds a little hollow until it does warm up but that's expected with a tube/hybrid amp. Overall, I'm very happy with this amp and would definitely buy other Douk Audio products.

I love tube amplifier sounds. While it worked it was great - warm sound and surprisingly robust . The first one lasted just a few hours and popped, shut off, and was dead. I was sent a replacement, which lasted a little over a month. The ground wire came loose from the back somehow. Not a big deal, normally you can just turn everything off and reattach, right? The short few seconds of un-grounded buzz/hum was apparently too much for this amp and it shorted out and now is dead. I never had an amplifier so delicate and sensitive. Apparently it is lacking in the design if it fries when the ground wire comes loose. I have never seen anything this fragile in all my years working with home stereo equipment, tubes and solid state alike. I would not waste money on this one and look for a more solid alternative.

I had a large and bulky vintage power amp for my system and was never satisfied with it. I decided to give this tube amp a go and was very impressed by the volume and tone of such a small amp. Vinyl sounds warm and natural and the Bluetooth function allows for seamless streaming, making it incredibly versatile. Only issue I had (and why it’s not 5 stars) is it didn’t come with the blue tooth antenna (had to buy a separate one) and the range of Bluetooth connectivity is not very wide. I tested it by leaving the room with my phone. I walked maybe 40-50 feet from it and it crapped out. Otherwise, I recommend it if you want big sound in a smaller package at a great price, check it out.

I bought this not knowing what to expect and it has left me speechless. I have it paired with the WiiM Ultra and it is nothing short of amazing. I have a pair of Klipsch RB81ii bookshelf speakers and a powered 8" Klipsch sub and the sound is unreal and unbelievable. I would definitely recommend this amp.... I've had it for a few weeks and no problems with it yet and have been running it every day.... If you're looking to put a 2.1 hifi system together with some bookshelf speakers and a sub, this will definitely make you happy 😊.... Not being endorsed by WiiM but I would definitely recommend the WiiM ULTRA to pair with it as I use Amazon music and it rocks..... Planning on hooking my record player up to it soon and see how it sounds.....

I bought this to replace a tiring Denon from the 90's. I liked the phono input with ground, bluetooth and sub out, as I do run a Yorkville powered sub to complement the power hungry Heresy 2 Klipsch's that I use. It arrived nicely packaged, was easy to wire in and powered right up. I do like vacuum tubes.....this thing is tube on the preamp side only, which is fine by me as the long term maintenance should be less costly than an amp with output tubes. It's compact, well built and sounds great. Bluetooth was as good as could be expected, but the phono input is really quite surprising. Vinyl sounds incredible. I don't think I could find better for the dollar spent than this.

I had low expectations, purchasing this while my Rotel is being repaired but I’m very impressed with it. Adequate punch and tonally quite good. Easy Bluetooth connectivity; Unbeatable for the price

Perfecto y sin ningún tipo de fallo, muy bien empacado y luce muchísimo.

A lovely little amp doing a great job on Bluetooth and turntable.

Been using it for a few months now and I’m loving it. It came well packed and I had no trouble installing the tubes. I connected my vinyl record player, my Technics CD player, my AR10 speakers and the my cell phone via Bluetooth. All work amazing. The sound is warm and the bass and treble adjustments provide great amplitude. I’m no sound guru, but I love music and for the price this little thing rocks.