Dared MP-5BT HiFi Vacuum Tube Amplifier, Professional Stereo Integrated Amplifier, USB DAC/Line Input, 25W x 2 Output, with 6N1,6N2,6E2 Tubes

As someone who has gotten used to separates, this little amp/pre/DAC offers quite a lot in a small, well-built, attractive package. It's an easy 5 stars just for the value - it helps that I paid half price for a "Used-acceptable" unit which seems to have absolutely nothing wrong with it. Even at full price, if you're just getting into audio and don't have any of these components yet, just buy it, assuming your speakers are sensitive enough. I can't imagine doing better for the price. Your mileage might vary though depending on how you want to use it. First of all, the amplifier. It's good. The soundstage is impressively wide. Compared to my much more expensive vintage Yamaha amp, it sounds a little muddled and lacks refinement. But I actually had to A/B test. My first thought was "this sounds pretty good." No perceptable line noise. So it's a success on that front. The headphone amp is - decent? There was some line noise at medium-high volumes. Sound quality was comparable to my inexpensive USB DAC/amp, but I'm not much of a headphone user so take my comments with a grain of salt. Okay, on to the digital playback. This is what really surprised me. It's excellent. Very smooth and analogue-sounding. Undoubtedly, there's synergy here between the DAC and pre-amp section, and I can't say which deserves the credit, but this is the best digital audio has sounded on my system. One note: Bluetooth connectivity has worked flawlessly, but the bass output is oddly exagerrated. I have to turn my subwoofer gain from 1 o' clock to 11 o'clock. Doesn't happen via USB. Edit: I'm no longer encountering low sound quality when running a phono preamp into the Dared, seems there was some other issue that's now resolved. So I can unreservedly recommend this unit.

Power for my Sennheiser HD 600s is incredible. I do have some higher upgrade tubes coming. Once in awhile I hear clicking and popping. Not sure if it is the source material or if it is the Amp.. May return it . Overall it is a very tube good amp. UPDATE Jan 6th 2024 Downgrading my review to two stars. The clicking and popping is still there and getting annoying. Almost 400 amp should not be misbehaving. I now own a pair of HiFiman HE-4xx that should be easier to drive than my HD600s but are not. This Dared amp runs out of steam trying to power my He-4xxs. Would like the manufacturer to reach out to me for a solution. A 400 Dollar headphone amp should not have the issues I mentioned. I changed my score from a four to a two. Do not recommend purchase until the clicking and popping issues are fixed. Also more headroom is needed for magnar planar headphones please. I want to love this amp but cannot justify its cost to performance ratio at all. Sorry,. John EDIT DEC 4 2023 AMP still has a pop now and then but since it rally makes my HD600's wake up I have decided to keep it. No regrets here. Since this Dared is my first tube amp I am not sure if it is entry level or mid level range. Edit Jan 18th 2024 Sill have the popping and crackling noises. Dangit. Trying a different set of valves 6N1 Tube Equivalent 6N1P, 6N2 Tube Equivalent 6N2P, Dared Audio MP-5BT Professional Valve Amplifier, Magic Eye Volume Indicator Tubes from AudioZamba and hopefully the noises will go away, Will keep the feedback going, John John

I really into this dared so far. It’s a great amplifier and also a truly amazing preamp as well. The build quality is excellent as always with dared. It’s a well balanced tube amp. The sound is pristine and clear. It’s very warm and natural sounding. I think it’s a bit underrated for wattage. It has plenty of power. I can push bigger 8ohm speakers with no problem. The value is high. I’d say it’s more like a amp in the 1,200 dollar range. I’m extremely pleased.

I have a SMSL SP200 Amp but my planar headphones sounded lean on them so I decided to get this amp after finding online reviews for it. It came in two boxes fully assembled and you only needed to plug the power cable and connect it to your external DAC or use the built in DAC. What greats you when you open the box is a pair of white gloves. They gave this amp some serious attention to detail and it shows. It sounds warm on planar headphones and good dynamics. at the 9 o'clock position its already pretty loud. It's a finger print magnet because of the shiny surfaces and the magic key tube is a nice touch. I removed the tube cover by the way which are just heard by two screws and easily removed with a screw driver. Sitting on a desk this thing is a conversation starter. It has BT also which is great for phones with no headphone jacks.