Nobsound Mini Fully-Balanced/Single-Ended Passive Preamp; Hi-Fi Pre-Amplifier; XLR/RCA Volume Controller for Active Monitor Speakers (Black)

I bought the Xduoo MT-604 hybrid amp, which has separate volume controls for right and left ears (annoying). Furthermore, the volume ramp up on this amp was SO FAST for each knob. THEN I hooked up my new Hifiman EF400 as a DAC, which seemed to overdrive and distort the inputs on the MT-604. My Focal Clear and Spirit Torino Radiante sounded too sharp/abrasive.This wee volume knob solved ALL of these problems. I can raise the volume on the hybrid amp way higher (probably getting more out of the amp), and I can control the volume with ONE knob. In addition, the output from the Hifiman DAC no longer runs hot into the amp, so the distortion is gone.IN ADDITION (big suprise), my formerly sharp Focal Clears and Radiante both sound well-tuned and easy to listen to. They sound fantastic now on the same hybrid amp.So, for me, I'm overjoyed by this product.That said, I'm not sure whether an impedance "issue" with this knob may be changing the sound signature of the output in ways that may be problematic for other users, or whether simply tempering the hot DAC output and cranking the amp "balanced" the headphone sound. So there may be a problem lurking for others with different gear, but for my situation I am extremely pleased.Everything sounds and feels excellent. No issues in my very short time with it. The price and value are fantastic relative to most alternatives. I very highly recommend at least trying this product if you have a similar need.

Since I play music from my laptop to DAC, when I went from an integrated stereo to dual ZA3s (mono mode) I had to use my laptop's Windows sys tray for volume control - that got old fast. So I bought this passive preamp and it does the job with no fuss.The volume knob is weighty and smooth when adjusting and the device, as a whole, looks and feels much more premium than its price indicates. My intention was to use it temporarily while I saved for a more expensive preamp but I really like this little thing. It's added a little something in a good way to the sound that I can't quite put my finger on but whatever it is I like it. So, for now, it's apart of my base setup that I have no intentions of replacing it in the near future.

Bought this to put between by pre-amp and speaker amps as limiter. needed something completely passive since all the gain was done through sources (Schiit Bifrost) through EQ (Schiit Lokius) to Preamp/HPamp (Schiit Jotunheim) to speaker amps. I didn't want to cut the gain out of the DAC to limit any drops in bitdepth, and the Jotunheim adds gain, so no need to cut before re-adding again. Putting this after the preamp gave me plenty of headroom on the volume control of the Jotunheim without putting any color on the sound. Windows is also unreliable with the volume settings and there isn't an elegant way in the settings to really level control effectively.Perfect example of an audiophile-grade device, meaning no compromises, that does not have to cost a ton of money.

Does what it says. Passive design doesn't affect sound quality. Knob has smooth feel to it. There's no static when I turn the knob, but at lowest levels the stereo balance is uneven (between 7 o'clock to 8 o'clock positions).Can be used as a mechanical switchbox between balanced -> unbalanced or unbalanced -> balanced components. User selectable input (XLR or RCA). User selectable output (XLR or RCA). This was really nice when I didn't have the appropriate cables handy.And as other reviews mention, the XLR input locks are ... permanent. I cannot get the input XLR cables out again. It appears that the locks are mounted too close to the chassis; there's not enough space to fully release the cable latch. This isn't a big deal for me, but it is undoubtedly important to consider for some.I'm happy.

I was really impressed by this monitor control and it provided me with exactly what I needed. I have a R/W CD player that doesn't have a output volume control and this solved the problem. I needed the RCA IN/OUT connectors. When connected it did not effect the OUTPUT volume at all. There was no noise, so it's clean on the output side. I have full control over a wide range of output now. It also has Balanced XLR IN&OUT. So it could be used for volume control of a Microphone or Monitors with XLR cable connections. It's small and can fit in a small area of your set-up. This Pre-Amp comes with four soft small rubber feet that attach with pre-applied adhesive. You just peel them off a paper and attach them to the bottom of the box. These keep it in place securely when you adjust the volume. I'd recommend this product and I would purchase another one if needed.

Other reviewers have noted that this company fraudulently uses substandard potentiometers in this product while claiming to use high quality components. Though Idid not disassemble the unit to check whether that was true in my case, I did have to return the item as defective because it injected terrible hum on the XLR outputs—bad when using the RCA in but even worse with XLR inputs. Swapping cables and configurations isolated the problem to a defective potentiometer. The unit came with a Chinese “QC passed” sticker but clearly they are not actually performing real QC tests before shipping these from Shenzhen.

Shortly after I got this[about 3 weeks] the right output started to get unstable. Sometimes it would be much softer than the left side and sometimes it would just turn off completely. This was happening on both xlr and rca outputs. Really found exactly what I needed with this product, and I love the aesthetic - unfortunately the quality was not up to par.