FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1
| Tube Amp | Headphone Amp | Speaker Amp |
FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1, a desktop tube amp with a budget friendly price.
The FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 is a tube amp for headphones and speakers with a phono preamp input that can be used with turntables.
The brand is relatively young but is already offering a wide amount of different DAC and amps for every budget and has gained popularity with DACs like the:
The FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 features two 6J1 tubes + two 6P1 tubes, both widely popular vacuum tubes that are seen often on many tube amps.
This tube amp is part of the amps from the brand among other popular models such as the:
You can buy the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 in 2 colors:
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FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 Review
Tests & Scores
A
Accessories & Packaging
The FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 will not earn any memorable mention for their packaging nor for the accessories included, yet the unit is very well-protected inside the packaging – the amp comes with a power supply and the 4 tubes.
3/5
D
Design
On photos, the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 seems much larger than it is in real life. In fact, the amp has an optimal size to be fitted on any desktop, the exact dimensions of the amp are: 184 x 158 x 34 mm and has a nice weighty feel of 1.8kg
In comparison to other tube amps like the xDuoo TA-20, the tubes of the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 are far more “flashy” and visible. This is because of the fully exposed tubes, larger size of the tubes, number of total tubes and, also, by their stronger tubes “glow” that are actually LED lights placed on the base of the tubes.
These LED lights mimic the normal emitting color of vacuum tubes but with a very strong effect that will light up anything nearby.
The housing and general body might not have an unibody styled design like the TOPPING MX3 or xDuoo TA-10 and, despite the visible screws through out the surface of the device, the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 looks quite nice – fair to point out that, if looked closely, the cabling at the base of the protruding transformers can be seen.
4/5
OC
Operation & Control
The FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 is the kind of amplifiers that cannot get any easier to operate and use. This is due to a design that uses a single button and a volume knob without any hard learning curve involved.
The button works as the power button and as the mode switch; to turn the unit on or off, the button needs to be pressed and hold for 2 seconds, instead with any single press the amp will switch the input from RCA to PHONO.
The volume knob has a clicky feedback for each volume step and is able to rotate 340 degrees (approx.) with a total of 50 steps (more or less)
5/5
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CB
Construction & Build
The unit is rugged and built like a tank with an all-metal construction quality that results in a tactile feel much more premium than the price suggests.
Through out the device there will be no flimsy parts found while the front and rear plugs will offer secure and firm connections. Moreover, the knob rotates without wobbling at all – indeed, the knobs on the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, xDuoo TA-10 and TOPPING MX3 wobbled more than on the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1.
The only section that contrasts with the metal, rugged build is the white plastic base connectors for the tubes that can be seen at plain sight.
4.5/5
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C
Connectivity
The front panel of the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 offers a single 6.35mm headphone output connector while the remaining I/O connectors will be found on the back panel, including:
- RCA input
- PHONO RCA (MM)
- Ground for turntables
- Left speaker + (4 ohm)
- Left speaker – (4 ohm)
- Right speaker + (4 ohm)
- Right speaker – (4 ohm)
- Left speaker + (8 ohm)
- Left speaker – (8 ohm)
- Right speaker + (8 ohm)
- Right speaker – (8 ohm)
4/5
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Sound
As this is exclusively an amplifier without DAC capabilities, the quality of the audio and the amplification capabilities will be directly related to the signal received from the DAC or turntable being used along with the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1.
When connected to a DAC with the ability to provide a clean and quality signal, the FX-AUDIO amp can preserve most of the DAC’s sound capabilities.
The brand informs a driving capability for headphones ranging from 16 ohm to 300 ohm. Indeed, through out our tests it was capable of easily driving most commercial headphones and performed sufficiently well to drive higher impedance headphones such as the beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm)
When used with easier to drive headphones and earphones, the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 was able to provide plenty power and far more volume output than anybody would need.
For speakers, this tube amp has independent 4 ohm and 8 ohm connectors on the rear panel. Our soundtests showed better efficiency and output for speakers than for headphones.
Different to nearly every other Amp, DAC/Amp and DAP/DAC that we have tested so far, the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 showed a roll-off tendency on the lower end of the frequencies range – check our measurement curves below on this article.
On real life and daily listening, this rolled-off sub-bass will translate in some loss of overall deepness on bass but that will be mainly felt on sub-bass heavy tracks. Through out casual listening sessions and “less-deep” tracks, the bass roll-off of the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 did not become too noticeable nor perturbing and did not show any drastic lack of fullness on bass, mids nor vocals – it could even be said that headphones with over-boosted lower bass and sub-bass will benefit from a less bloated response.
A peculiarity to highlight is the fact that the volume steps of the knob are not equally distributed through out the whole range. What we mean is that the last quarter of the rotational end does not show as much output increment per step as on the first 3/4.
On the other hand, this tube amp does not suffer from hiss nor channel imbalance and offers a clean output without neither exhibiting a screeching potentiometer.
Sound Technical Specifications
Some of main sound-related tech specs of the FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 are:
- SNR: 95dB
- Max output: 2W+2W
- THD: 0.8%
- Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz
4/5
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ScoresFX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 Scores
- Accessories - 6/106/10
- Design - 8/108/10
- Operation & Control - 10/1010/10
- Construction & Build - 9/109/10
- Compatibility - 7.75/107.8/10
- Connectivity - 7.75/107.8/10
- Sound - 7.75/107.8/10
- Value for Money - 8/108/10
Summary
✅ Extremely easy to use
✅ Affordable price, for a similar spec’ed tube amp
✅ Universal RCA inputs
✅ Headphone + Speaker amp
✅ Tube rolling
✅ MM turntable RCA input
✅ 2 pair of L+R speaker outputs (4 ohm and 8 ohm)
✅ No channel imbalance
✅ Rugged metal build
✅ No screeching noises when changing volume
❌ Gets much hotter than other tube amps tested by our team (the tubes, the body and the power supply)
❌ The last quarter of the max volume end does not show as much output increment per step as on the first 3/4
❌ Bare converters and cabling might make it look less fancy
❌ Not as many I/O as more expensive competitors like the xDuoo TA-20 (yet, the xDuoo is more than 2 times more expensive)
The FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 showed excellent build and good performance, making it able to provide a very good value for money for users wanting a tube amp on a tight budget.
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FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 Frequency Response Curve
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FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 Volume Precision Control
FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 Technical Specifications
| Type | Amp |
|---|---|
| DAC | No |
| Max output | 2W*2 |
| Bluetooth | No |
| SNR | 95dB |
| THD | 0.8% |
| Frequency response | 20-20,000Hz |
| IR remote | No |
| Weight | Approx. 1.8kg |
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FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1 Photos
FX-AUDIO TUBE-P1
