Any thoughts on the new Schiit Buf tube buffer ($99)?

rivinyl

208 posts

05-04-2026 at 05:42pm 

Seems like a great way to see what a tube buffer can do.  Its only 99 dollars and they have a 15 day return policy.  I know it’s not " the pure " thing to do, but in reality our ears did not evolve to hear the vast array of micro- detail being sent our way in this high resolution audio world.  I just ordered one... will let you know how it sounds when it arrives.  And, yet another tube to roll !

Exactly.

Sounds like fun. Sometimes a slight veil of Musical/sonic euphoria gives you exactly what you never knew you needed.

And for $100? Why the F not?

Exactly.

Just plugged it in and I must say its quite nice.  It adds just a touch of warmth, and cuts the digital glare a touch.  Makes voices more human.

Works for my ears and I think at the end of the day, thats what it is all about.  I guess I am harmonically distorted.... so be it.

Thank you, @rivinyl, for your brief review.  The other review I came across over Amerzon is as follows:

I've tried numerous tube preamps and buffers in search of that tube warmth or bloom. If you're trying to do this cheap as I am you may have already tried products from Aiyima, Douk, Xduoo, Yaquin, Bellari and on and on. None of these added "warmth" or if they did they lacked in another areas and I would not recommend any of them. The Schiit Buf Coherence seems engineered specifically to address this shortfall. Most importantly there is a difference in the audio that exits this device compared to the input and for some material I would describe it as pleasant. To my ears the midrange sort of opens a bit and widens the sound stage. It's not dramatic, but subtle. There is no low end roll of to my ears compared to other products like this. The gain switch works well and may add to the subtle effect. It's solidly built for a small inexpensive device, and comes with a beefy linear power supply. ... I do recommend folks try this device as it does what it says unlike every other device I've tried. 

My three main questions, after the usual one of "does it really work like we want / expect a tube buffer to work?" because the majority of the tube buffers out there don't, are:

1. Could they have picked warmer sounding tube option while still keeping the noise floor quite low?
2. Can we leave it on all the time, and if so, what is the expected tube life?
3. If number 2 is a yes, is it more likely to develop some kind of crackle / distortion in one or both channels over time like I've read some of their gear being prone to do so?