DB Tube Preamp - Product Photos

Very cool!😎

They will be $2,500 with just a $1,000 down payment to start. Not ready to sell quite yet, but I'll buy an ad on the site when I am.

That Locomotive preamp looks really cool. First I have heard of it.

The designs are a bit different though. They're saving some money using Cinemag transformers and new production tubes.

But that's pretty sweet.

Yes, price doesn't always equate to being better, but I've tested and selected the componets based on tonality. I'm using NOS GE and Telefunken tubes after trying Electro Harmonix, Mazda, RCA, and cheaper varients of GE. I may be offering a cheaper option with the 12au7, because the Telefunken ($100 each) and RCA ($25 each) both sound very good in different ways.

The Jensen input transformer ($90 after shipping) is critical to the tone. The Edcor output ($10) is less critical, so I can save some money there.

At any rate, I'm not going into business with these. I just want to sell a handful so others can enjoy the tone it adds to their recordings. That will justify the year of design put into it and help me fund my hobby.

Yeah I was interested in your product and trying to learn more 😀. The basis or circuit and what it’s designed/ aimed for and what type of tonality is it based around?

Thanks so much for the link regarding the line to mic level transformers!
Glad we can agree that price is not relative to quality 😀

I found that the locomotive does not use new tubes it uses NOS tubes like your product..
quote from builder Eric Strouth:
“ How did you keep its noise floor so quiet?”
A lot of trial and error! The EF86 input tube was a great place to start. I’ve tried all the new EF86 tubes available, and I have to say that I’ve found their quality control lacking. Lately, we’ve been sourcing “New Old Stock” tubes that are actually cheaper and way better in terms of reliability and noise floor. It is important that we run all tubes for several days at high voltages before making the final decision as to whether or not they will make it out the door “

Reichenbach/ Jensen / Cinemag history: ( if anyone cares lol )

From Jensen site ( www.jensen-transformers.com/full-history/) even more history and info on cinemag’s site ( cinemag.biz/about-us/about-us.php ) Reichenbach’s son Is the head of Cinemag...

Jensen transformers were made by Reichenbach ( Cinemag ) originally ...
Ed Reichenbach, who supplied transformers to Quad-Eight, had been building made-to-order transformers since the 1940s for Altec, Langevin, Electrodyne, and others, and Deane used these designs as his starting point. He became obsessed with how audio transformers interacted with system electronics, and began research to solve the “bad sounding” problems.

Now Jensen are made by Radial Eng...

Cinemag Transformers are very high-quality transformers made by a very high-quality company. Nobody is skimping nothing by using Cinemag transformers. Warm Audio made their product seems more 'legit' because they advertised that they used cinemag everywhere on every package, hoping customers would consider their products hi-end to be using such high-quality transformers. You have it backwards.
I remember when you were working on this preamp and how excited you were when you finished it. Amongst the geniuses over at Groupdiy who create incredible hi quality and clever designs your excitement was refreshing. I remember when I built my first tube preamp and how excited I was too. I wanted to show the world. There's something very satisfying about looking at a schematic and creating a piece of hi quality and engineering art from it.
I have sold a couple of pieces (mostly Helios stuff) which without the help of Ian Thompson Bell and other GDIY dudes never would have been done. I never sold any of my tube preamps as it just didn't seem worth it considering all the products out there that could offer extra features I couldn't afford for less than it took me to build.
Locomotive Audio makes good products and they are nice guys and there is A LOT to be learned from them. I actually bought some of their extra components they were selling (they bought a lot of stuff in bulk) for my own projects.
Using the search engine over at GDIY there is a ton to be learned by those guys. More than a few of them are the owners and designers and engineers of some of most respected and highest quality recording equipment products available, and they have consistently dropped gems of information over the years that is worth reading and rereading.
At any rate good luck with your product. Looks nice and I remember it sounded pretty good too.