OSD Audio Pre-1 High Definition Preamplifier – Multi Source Select Phono Ready

5 reviews for OSD Audio Pre-1 High Definition Preamplifier – Multi Source Select Phono Ready

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – March 1, 2024 Dr. Ivy Boyer

   ORIGINAL REVIEW Feb 2019, was 5 stars, titled “Huge improvement vs. my basic flat phono-only preamp:”Mine is new so I can’t comment on longevity, but this absolutely blows away its predecessor. I have an entry-level vintage turntable that I fed to an inexpensive Behringer Microphono PP400 phono-only preamp that has no controls – no volume, bass, treble, balance, just a preamp that gooses the cart signal enough to pass along down the wire.In my case, “down the wire” was a Bluetooth transmitter paired to a Bluetooth-capable soundbar with a subwoofer. The soundbar acted as both the end of the (Bluetooth) “wire” and the power amp for the signal produced by the Behringer preamp. It sounded great to me.But I couldn’t leave well enough alone and I swapped the Behringer preamp for the OSD PRE-1 today. Suddenly I had variable bass, treble *and* midrange (!!) adjustments available and the difference isn’t subtle, it’s outright stunning. I didn’t know my soundbar could pump out lows this room-shaking or highs this delightfully crisp. The OSD looks and feels like it costs a lot more too, and is fully-featured…not just a phono preamp by any means.I was (still am) happy with the Behringer for what it is and would recommend it to anyone. It amplifies a phono signal without adding or subtracting anything and does a great job at a crazy low price. However, I love to overdo the bass and/or treble sometimes and so for me the OSD is a massive step up at an even crazier low price. Really happy with this purchase so far (ya think?). Yes, some reviews mention QC issues. If I get a year out of it before it fails, I’ll probably just get another one – at this price it’s almost disposable and I haven’t seen anything that even begins to compete with it.UPDATE Feb 2022: sudden onset of intermittent distortion + volume anomalies – random increases, decreases and complete drop outs. Also, the volume control has developed a delayed response such that if you turn the volume knob up or down quickly, the sound level doesn’t change immediately – there’s a slight lag. The issues affect both my MM phono input and my CD input. So it’s not quite dead but it has changed from a pleasure to unlistenable junk. So I docked my rating from 5 to 4 stars because I think something like this shouldn’t fail after two years. I wouldn’t argue that I should have docked it further.So why did I just order another one? Because in this price range the Pre-1’s feature set has little to no competition. I want a phono-level preamp input + an additional input for a CD deck. I may add a tape deck at some point and the Pre-1 handles that too. I absolutely want bass and treble controls. The Pre-1 includes them and adds a midrange level control and a loudness contour. If there’s a compelling alternative I haven’t been able to find it.So I’m not happy with the longevity, but still happy enough with the bang for the buck to treat this as disposable. If I get another two years out of the new one I’ll be happy enough.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – April 20, 2024 Herta Johnston

   I really just picked this up because my receiver has no preouts, so I bring my signal straight from my pc to this preamp via the 3.5mm aux to rca adapter cable….but as it turns out, I find the bass, mid, treble, and loudness adjustment dials on this unit to be so effective and handy that I’m really not making tuning adjustment anywhere else…..the best part, though, is that I can set all of my volume/gain levels on my amps (running 3 right now) and on the pc where the signal comes from when i turn everything on, and from then on I only use the single volume dial on this preamp to adjust the volume up or down for everything….sounds like a small thing to some, but I listen to a lot of music and it gets to be a big pain if you don’t have an easy way to make volume/gain adjustments on 3 frequency ranges with 2 channels per range…everything I need for the most part is right there on this preamp…I love it and it was more than affordable compared to pretty much anything else you’ll ever buy for your audio system….any time you can spend $100 or less and it makes such a substantial change to how you can operate your many electronic wares, it is a huge win as far as I’m concerned…this unit had great reviews…and that is why i read the reviews religiously on Amazon…get one of these units….totally worth it!

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – June 3, 2024 Zelma Stehr

   This is a quality built product. I have to air my grievances about having the rack ends on the product. I will not remove a star for that aesthetic because I’m sure people use it in the rack. Anyways I was having trouble with my mixer to my avr . Now no issues. Great loud signal for all my sources. Strong metal casing and knows that I now use before any other knows. These are now my main knobs. OSD is a company I trust now . This is a superior product in its class for the price point . And anyone needing a signal boost that’s clean and powerful for under 200. Can’t be beat .

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – September 8, 2024 Georgianna Boyle

   Ordered this preamplifier reluctantly and tested it with Fluance turntable, the audio output was amazing. Bass, Mid and Treble controls are quite responsive. Power LED is little too bright. Build quality is very good except for the power cable. Loudness control is useless.Have connected CD, Vinyl, Cassette deck and phone to it.Loving it.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   – September 27, 2024 Kathlyn Erdman

   Very good preamp at a great price.