Nobsound® MS-10D MKII Hybird Tube Amplifier with Bluetooth/USB/Headphone for Hi-Fi (Black)

I've had this hybrid tube/solid state integrated amp for about 2 weeks now. I have the genuine Nobsound MS-10D MKII black version (holo-sticker on back) with USB and bluetooth, from DoukAudio Nobsound MS-10D MKII Hybird Tube Amplifier with Bluetooth/USB/Headphone for Hi-Fi (Black) . I am using it with a TEAC PD301 CD/FM Teac PD 301 CD Player with FM Tuner USB as my primary sound source, and an older iPad via AUX in (or actually using DVD in) and a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 as a bluetooth source. I use Klipsch R-24F speakers Klipsch R-24F Reference Floorstanding Speaker - Each (Cherry) and a Polk PSW10 subwoofer Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black) hooked to the audio out. I like this amp quite well, and it produces great, balanced, warm sound. I had read mixed reviews, and have not encountered any of the major issues reported. It does get warm to the touch, but not hot by any means, even after hours of operation. No issue there. The knobs are well attached and appear to be metal and not plastic. They do not get warm at all, and they work well. The tube guard towers appear to be aluminum as well, and not plastic as suggested by some. One cosmetic issue pointed out by others is that the yellow LED below the source switch is excessively bright. Otehrwise the unit looks and appears well built and is very attractive. Of note, and easy to oversee, is the fact that there is no balancing knob (L/R). Not a problem for me, but buyers should realize this. CD source: with the TEAC sound source the MS10 works exceptionally well. Input sensitivity is well matched to the source, the VU meter swings to 100%. The sound is exceptionally clear and balanced, with no discernible distortion at any volume. iPod source: using the iPod and Note 2 as a line in device into the CD or DVD input, the signals are mismatched - the input sensitivity is too low, or the audio out from these sources is too low even at near full volume, where distortion from the source begins to appear. VU meter only goes up to about 25-30% at loudest passages, most of time under 10%. Amp volume needs to be cranked up quite a bit. Bluetooth source: I only tried this with my Galaxy Note 2 so far. Pairing was immediate and w/o any effort, and connection is maintained without any drops. As with device line in, input sensitivity is too low for the source levels, VU meter barely moves, and amp volume needs to be cranked up. The spectral response appears to be very different than using a hardwired line in connection from same device (Note 2), and honestly I did not like the sound quality of the bluetooth in. Furthermore, end of song transients were prevalent, though I do not know if they originate from the source device or the bluetooth connection. The one advantage of the bluetooth source is that it is possible to control volume from the source device. Overall, I would rank sound quality from my bluetooth source as lowest and sub-standard, line in from e.g. iPod as next best (and acceptable), and as exceptional from a high quality CD source (the TEAC). I purchased this with the intent to use the TEAC as my primary source, and it works extremely well for that purpose. The line in from a less well matched device (iPod) and bluetooth input are not great, but it is convenient to have them, allowing for example friend to play their music via bluetooth when they come over. I would rate that as a convenient but lower quality feature. Overall, you can't beat this for the price in terms of appearance and especially sound quality from a high quality, well matched sound source. I would highly recommend this little hybrid amp.

sounds ok but blutooth is hard to pair w iPhone, ipad, and i dont know if it can handle more then one device as of yet. yellow "blutooth light" won't stop blinking despite being connected.directions are weak. too bad its kinda cool looking and sound is ok for price and i do sense a warmness about the sound. addendum: i covered blinking light w electrical tape. i have to disconnect blutooth if i want to use another device every time. i think its locked in a pairing mode. maybe company will let me exchange units....or is it worth hassle? UPDATE IM GONNA RETURN IT

It sounded great for about 5 minutes and then would just make a loud humming noise. I returned it.

I mated this amp with a set of Polk TSi 100’s in a new work area. At first I thought I'd made a mistake. But after 6 to 8 hours of continuous running the system started to brighten up and gave a much better sound image to the 8x16 space. There is plenty of power to run these speakers. The Bluetooth on the other hand was very disappointing. While easy to connect the sound was very flat from the iPad2 I’m using to drive this system. I changed it to wired from the 3.5 headphone jack to one of the RCA inputs. This was a great improvement. It would appear that the bt output needs some amplification. I then ordered this bt receiver and used it’s RCA output to feed the system, this worked very well and the iPad2 is not wired to the system. This fact is the reason for the 4 star rating. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016NUTG5K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Based on this I’d order the amp without the bt and add the external bt receiver if I had it to do over. All in all this is a nice warm sounding unit that is a good value at this price point with very serviceable sound qualities.

This is a great amplifier with only one odd flaw. The sound is powerful and the tube front end adds a nice tube sound. (However not everyone may like it) Works as a great headphone amplifier! The bluetooth connects quite easily and works from a decent distance even without a visible antenna. The bass and treble controls seem to be at a good Q point, but would have preferred a point. The USB input from a USB stick works well, however it does not just play from a root directory but seems to play songs randomly from every directory on the stick. Which can make things unpredictable. Also I wish you could fast forward in a song, and it seems like it should let you, but it did not for me.

This is a great value unit with reasonably good sound clarity. So far this unit is performing very well.