I've had a Doge 8 for about a month now. I would agree with the posters above that it's pretty hard to beat for the price, based on features alone: It's a tube preamp with built-in MM/MC phono stage, balanced outputs, nice remote control; heavy, with very high build quality. If this were not a mysterious Chinese brand it would retail for 2X-3X the price. I agree that there is frustratingly little information available on the web, so I'll try to give a few general impressions here.
First of all: I would buy it from Pacific Valve as opposed to a direct Chinese source, mainly due to the QC that they do on each unit, and because they warrant the product in the event of difficulties. I also think that some Chinese gear can have different parts and specifications depending on the source the PV gear will be consistently high quality.
I am currently using the Doge 8 with a Cary 120S (used mostly in UL mode), powering Magnepan MMGs (soon to be modded). Im using the balanced outputs (although I couldnt hear much difference between them and the RCAs). The preamp features two single-ended outputs; one Chinese website says that they have different gain levels, but I cannot hear any difference.
I am also using a Cary SLP98F1 with the 120S, which gives me an opportunity to compare the Doge with the 98. I wont say that one is better than the other; they both have different sound signatures. The Doge is more transparent and less tubey-sounding; as one reviewer says, it sounds like a smooth solid-state preamp (whereas the SLP98 sounds like the tube preamp that it is). The Doge has a slightly stronger overall presentation in this system due to its clarity and lack of coloration across the spectrum, but the Cary has slightly richer bass and a more accentuated midrange. I vacillate in terms of which I prefer with the 120S/Maggies combo; they are different experiences. The Doge retails for less than a third the price of the Cary, however. At some point Ill sell one or the other (I buy and sell gear a lot); Im not sure yet which one it will be.
The phono section comes with two switches, one for MM/MC and the other LR/HR (low resistance, high resistance? Presumably). The manual is no help in determining what these settings correspond to in terms of gain, load settings, etc. In fact, the manual actually advises users to not worry about the measurements, use the settings that sound best advise that might be great for some but not for a nervous-nellie audio hobbyist like me. I found the MM setting to be too low-gain with the cartridge I am using (an Ortofon 4mv moving-magnet cartridge). The JFET-driven MC setting is too high-gain, and I assume the load settings are wrong on MC for my moving-magnet cart, but there is no way of knowing, and it sounds great extremely dynamic. The LR/HR switch sounds terrible on LR with all the carts I tried, so I use the other setting. Verdict on the phono stage: It works especially well with a high-output MC cart and/or if you dont mind not knowing at exactly what settings you are operating; otherwise you might prefer using an outboard phono stage. The line stage sounds so wonderful that the phono stage can be considered a bonus.
Bottom line: I absolutely would recommend the Doge 8.
First of all: I would buy it from Pacific Valve as opposed to a direct Chinese source, mainly due to the QC that they do on each unit, and because they warrant the product in the event of difficulties. I also think that some Chinese gear can have different parts and specifications depending on the source the PV gear will be consistently high quality.
I am currently using the Doge 8 with a Cary 120S (used mostly in UL mode), powering Magnepan MMGs (soon to be modded). Im using the balanced outputs (although I couldnt hear much difference between them and the RCAs). The preamp features two single-ended outputs; one Chinese website says that they have different gain levels, but I cannot hear any difference.
I am also using a Cary SLP98F1 with the 120S, which gives me an opportunity to compare the Doge with the 98. I wont say that one is better than the other; they both have different sound signatures. The Doge is more transparent and less tubey-sounding; as one reviewer says, it sounds like a smooth solid-state preamp (whereas the SLP98 sounds like the tube preamp that it is). The Doge has a slightly stronger overall presentation in this system due to its clarity and lack of coloration across the spectrum, but the Cary has slightly richer bass and a more accentuated midrange. I vacillate in terms of which I prefer with the 120S/Maggies combo; they are different experiences. The Doge retails for less than a third the price of the Cary, however. At some point Ill sell one or the other (I buy and sell gear a lot); Im not sure yet which one it will be.
The phono section comes with two switches, one for MM/MC and the other LR/HR (low resistance, high resistance? Presumably). The manual is no help in determining what these settings correspond to in terms of gain, load settings, etc. In fact, the manual actually advises users to not worry about the measurements, use the settings that sound best advise that might be great for some but not for a nervous-nellie audio hobbyist like me. I found the MM setting to be too low-gain with the cartridge I am using (an Ortofon 4mv moving-magnet cartridge). The JFET-driven MC setting is too high-gain, and I assume the load settings are wrong on MC for my moving-magnet cart, but there is no way of knowing, and it sounds great extremely dynamic. The LR/HR switch sounds terrible on LR with all the carts I tried, so I use the other setting. Verdict on the phono stage: It works especially well with a high-output MC cart and/or if you dont mind not knowing at exactly what settings you are operating; otherwise you might prefer using an outboard phono stage. The line stage sounds so wonderful that the phono stage can be considered a bonus.
Bottom line: I absolutely would recommend the Doge 8.