Ocean Mini Valve Class A Tube Headphone Amplifier

To start off, this is my first tube amp and headphone amp at that. I own what i like to think is a decent ($2-300 range) set of headphones. I've also only been using the amp for 2 days now. It only has about 4 hours of good sound through it at this point. I enjoy loud clean music from anything between Blues to Electronica. Cons: Just to get this out of the way. The red (power) light is kinda bright. I have it sitting on my desk(attached photo) and in the dark it's just TOO bright. I don't mind a small little LED letting me know it's on, but really, i can see that the switch is in the "on" position if i really need to know. I've noticed a few "pops" while listening, nothing that is a big deal, maybe once ever 2 or 3 hours. Just worth noting. Pros: It sounds good. I have nothing to compare it to, really. It sounds better than it did before i had it. It is also louder. It actually drives my headphones. I feel it as much as i can hear it. The sound certainly is more "warm" as most people are describing. The build quality is exceptional, i'm most impressed about this. This thing is built and finished very well. The knob, switch, and input/output ports are high quality. The tube guard is also a nice feature. I love the form factor, i was thinking big huge bulky monstrosity, but it fits well on my relatively small desk. Other thoughts: Bad quality music/sound will still sound bad, simple as that. It gets hot (see picture*Edit, i guess i was only allowed one photo). I've taken temperature readings of the case(which i've read acts as a heatsink made from extruded aluminum) at 110F regularly and i've seen the tube reach above 130F. I guess when talking about electronics, this isn't nothing to be worried about. Nothing i'm worried about at least, i have computer components that reach 160F+ regularly. If you have the headphones on and you flip the power switch on you'll get a bit of noise through the speakers. Caught me off guard the first time it happened. I'll probably use it for a good 250+ hours before thinking about switching out the tube as most people say it's a common modification and actually pretty highly recommended. I can see the itty bitty glow of the tube, but the bright annoying red light shines into the case and "kills the charm" as someone else said. This amp is running off of my PC with an old Soundblaster 5.1 sound card of some sort into the amp via 3mm.

I purchased this unit to add just a little more "power" to my music. I say power only in a headphone environment. I am not trying to drive a set of 12" woofers along with a mass of mid range and tweeter speakers, just a good set of headphones. The manufacture quality of this unit is excellent. I removed the lid to replace the shipped tube with a Gold Lion Custom Tube. This gave me a chance to peek inside and as a former circuit board manufacturer, I can say the build quality is excellent. Just a note on the protection loop over the top of the tube, while i had the lid off, I removed that bar for future ease of swapping out tubes. I know why the bar is there, and I promise not to hurt myself Bravo Audio. Once i had the Gold Lion in place, this little guy tamed my V-Moda M-100 cans to a nearly reference headset. All the frequency range became neutral all across the spectrum. It took away some those strong low frequencies these cans are noted for. It did not reduce the lows, it just smoothed out the soundstage from top to bottom. The sound is very sharp, all instruments can be heard just like they should, The reverb in the music now becomes part of the background allowing it to blend with the soundstage. Voices and midrange become part of the total volume of the music. I have no problems hearing all the mids which smooth in with the other frequencies. This is a well made unit. I had to purchase a single 3.5mm connection to RCA analog cable which was no big deal. The unit does become warm but remember, this is an amp. I remember the days when you could nearly heat your house with some of the tube amps out there at the time. This was a excellent purchase for me. It added another dimension to the sound of my M-100's. Now if I can only find the best volume setting between my computer output and the Ocean Mini. My setup was a set of V-Moda M-100's, an Audioengine D3 DAC and my home Dell all-in-one computer.

Great first tube amp for desktop use. Currently use it with my computer and my Shure SE535's, and the sound is clean and slightly warmer then a straight pass through to the computer audio output. The unit is small, well built, and the volume knob and power switch both have a solid feeling to them. The downsides are limited, but apparent. Firstly, the tube that came with the amp was poorly constructed, the internal components were all askew, and looked cheap. The sound it produced was also a bit too cold, not particularly accurate. However, I also bought the Tungsol 12AU7 tube and swapped that in (this unit is really simple to take apart with a Philips head screwdriver). The sound produced by a better tube is like night and day. Since I have really nice headphones, it was easy to detect the differences immediately. The blue color is ugly. I wish it came in straight gunmetal or black. The blue makes it look cheap and makes the unit look as though it's made of plastic rather than metal. The power light is red, and it is extremely bright. I recommend cutting a small swatch of duct tape to cover it up since I don't want to completely cut the connection. If you have this on in a dark room, its like a lighthouse. The protective bar over the tube is a great idea, however, to replace tubes, you do need to open the whole unit, they should have made the protective bar swivel, but I guess that would add major cost to the unit. Also, make sure you use a grounded outlet, otherwise you get a humming noise which will drive you mad. All those problems aside, this is a $130~ tube amp (add another $15-$35 for a better tube) and that is and incredible deal. The sound is warm but clean. The unit is well constructed, and feels like it'll last for years to come. Only other recommendation would be to make sure you have some nice headphones, otherwise you won't really get the full benefit of this tube amp. I'm personally picking up some B&W P7's to further enjoy this amp.

I like quatilty of the sound, so agree with all positive feedbacks here. It improves backstage nuances, clears bass and highs, noticable better stereo effect. I compare this against direct connection of SoundBlaster output to my solid state amp (in my case it's 22W single IC TA8220H amp). Though, in couple weeks I assembled pure vacuum tube amp TU-8200 (diy kit, also class A) and was stunned about its performance. This kit it uses same tube in pre-amp phase as Ocean Mini has. Comparing to solid-state amp sound became much more detailed, clear separations of instruments' sound, and bright holographic picture of the scene. I'm very pleased with overall improvement of my acoustic system at home. So, I want to share my exprience with you guys, if you are still working on your Hi-Fi setups (it maybe lifelong hobby for us): 1) For solid state amp - better if you pass source signal via vacuum tube. It will make your sound more realistic and warmed up by tube. You'll get brighter percention of the sound, improved stereo image of the scene. Your ears and brain will enjoy the completness of the sound waves. 2) If you go with pure vacuum amp - even better. It doesn't need preamp like this, but it's costy. If your budget allows I'd recommend TU-8600 (DIY kit) which is improved version of TU-8200 (1300 $ vs 680 $). Though, TU-8200 is also super-cool (I love mine). 3) DAC - make sure you have True Hi-Fi DAC, check reviews. Hi quality DAC defines if you can get solid holographic picture of the soundstage. That's more fun and enjoyment. 4) Bluetooth - if the source of signal is your Mobile phone, ensure that your Bluetooth adapter supports high-density stream, so you don't lose quality. It should support loselessly 24-bit / 192 KHz traffic. I have BlueMe which is excellent, True HiFi Bluetooth receiver and DAC in under one hood (170 $). 5) Get High Quality sound / video files (or magnetic tape if you have one). It's a law, othewise investement in all above sonic-path nodes is not worthy. 6) Speakers - they should be at least from Hi-Fi class, 20-25W per channel for appartment is more than enough (unless you neighbors don't care, or are of the same type like you). I'd recommend some 3-way speakers for solid preception of sonic waves. If you have vintage speakers (30+ years), they likely would need some service (check that by listening and comparing to other systems). 7) How to listen - maybe it's personal, but I enjoy listening to HiFi files sitting on the sofa. The loud-speakers are located on the same height as my head and body, so I'm percepting clear non-reflected sound right from the source (so, Hi-/Mid-/Low waves reach my ears simultaneously without phase shift). I close the eyes for much better focus on music, its soundstage. 8) You can also listen from files from computer / TV, just buy external DAC (with USB, Optical inputs. You can check such vendros like Schiit or Cambridge audio - which provides solid quality of analog signal, for reasonable price (150-350 $).

I used it for maybe a year and something in it fried, as it started to have a serious crackle and buzz. It wasn't the vacuum tube either I checked that. The thing gets really hot to the touch too after a while so I don't suggest it if you plan on using it for long periods without breaks.

I consider myself a music enthusiast, meaning I am someone who appreciates the efforts of those that really know their stuff. I have invested in and surveyed enough music and music equipment to know there is a difference in the music that satisfies 98% of the public and those that have the knowledge to identify and discern the details of quality music. I'm a 50+ year old, freshman learner. Living in a modest house, and with other people, does not allow me to listen to my audio equipment through my speakers as often as I wish. Historically, I do not like the inconvenience and limitations of headphones, but I still miss listening to many music tracks because of the time of day (my walls are not soundproof) or acknowledging the sound "bleed" of my music to the rest of the house. The result has been a fairly recent turn to the dreaded headphones. My headphone experiences were from decades ago as a broke college student, which I now know is not fair reflection of current technology. My initial step was the purchase of semi-decent headphones. I selected the Audio Technica ATHESW9A because one of my headphone nightmares was the heat generated by the large "earmuffs" that surrounded my ears. The Audio Technica ATHESW9A are on-ear style headphones that are relatively small, lightweight, closed-back, and are fairly low power cans. I like them. After some reading, I decided the use of a headphone amplifier was the next step. I tried a couple other amplifiers, that were solid-state and I have since returned, before ordering the Bravo Ocean. The Bravo Ocean is a tube amp that I consider a budget amplifier. Others are much more qualified to provide a technical review of the sound quality, however I can provide you with a definite recommendation stating that the sound quality is absolutely better with this amplifier. There is much better definition of the instrumentation and vocals with almost every recording I have listen to date. As stated above, I will not comment on the details of this amplifier, but I am eager to learn more about the available tube options and how they may affect the sound output. Since this is my first tube component, I am curious about the life of the tube and whether the input power quality is critical. I'm still learning. Another reviewer mentioned he changed his tube to a Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7, which I read is an audiophile quality tube. This is a $50 tube, but it may be worth the additional investment. The two negatives associated with the Bravo Ocean is the heat, mentioned by other reviewers, and the very bright, red, power LED light. I prefer to listen to my music in subdued lighting, so when I use the amplifier, it's power indicator light is like a laser through the room. I now turn the amplifier face towards the wall. I'll need to find a way to shade the intensity of the light. Bottom line . . . I do not regret this purchase and do recommend this to my friends. It would be very hard for me to believe that there is another product in this price range that compares to the results I have heard through the Bravo Ocean. This discovery will now allow me to explore additional headphone options.

This is the headphone amp I ordered. I received the the Bravo V2, it sounds alright but not what I ordered, and not the same price either. I was charged for the Ocean. The amp itself is pretty easy to use, I had ordered a nice tube to use, and there are no directions on to use the amp let alone change the tube. I hope I will get at least the difference of the amps refunded.

I'm a tube hound when it comes to my guitar amps so thought I'd give this a whirl, plus i have a whole bag of vintage 50-60-70's 12au7 tubes from a estate sale. Great right out of box, headphone amp can drive good sized cans. But driving tube to hard just adds distortion if you push it, just like we try to do with tube guitar amps to get overdrive/distortion sounds. This items best use is as a line level preamp, then feed that into your headphone amp or stereo/computer speakers. Feed your source into it then use the knob to set the tube output to unity gain, about a hair or 2 past the LED, don't use it as a volume, any further and you start adding distortion. A 12au7 at unity will give you a nice bump in authority/push to whatever you feed it into. Plus the definition the tube adds to the sound is remarkable. And the tube, toss that china made piece of junk in trash and hit ebay for some NOS stuff. It sounds OK and a is improvement over the non-tube sound but it's nothing like old american or western european glass. # 3 choice would be a RCA Cleartop 12au7, you pick one of these up for about $3-4 more than you'd pay for the current new russian made high end stuff. But the top 2 tubes that sent me to heaven with this preamp was a late 50's Westinghouse or a Lansdale JAN-CBRZ (military) 12au7. The detail, harmonics and 3 dimensional sound thats come flying out of everything i attach this little preamp to has my jaw dropping. Fleetwood Mac > preamp > Genius $70 computer speakers, it almost sounded better than my Bose 301 with my old old school Denon stereo integrated amp in my listening/guitar room. Even better is when i set it in my tape loop of that old Denon amp, thats where i like that Lansdale tube. I can cut the tube in and out using tape switch and it is breathtaking how much air and detail/depth the tube adds. Even hooked up my iPad, cranked up the AniMoog synth SW. Here is where you want to turn that tube up a bit to actually start distorting a bit, the most drop dead gorgeous synth sounds i have ever heard. Think DJ's would love this thing also i believe. Plop that RCA Cleartop in it with it's big fat bottom and upper detail and THE. HOUSE. WILL. ROCK. I'm buying another for sure to put on my sound system at work.