Preamplifiers — Octave Audio Jubilee Preamp

The Jubilee Preamp is a valve preamplifier made by Octave Audio, a German manufacturer with more than three decades of experience in tube circuits for preamplifiers, integrated amplifiers and power amplifiers. It belongs to Octave's top Jubilee range, where it is the standard version, built in a single chassis with its power supply inside the same case.

Key specs that matter

Connectivity is generous, with a pair of XLR inputs and six RCA inputs, and there are two outputs on XLR and another two on RCA. Gain is 10dB through the RCA path and 16dB through XLR, the difference coming from the balanced and single-ended circuit topologies. Frequency response extends from 3Hz to 100,000Hz within plus or minus 3dB, a very wide bandwidth for a tube preamplifier. Noise sits 90dB below the signal, unweighted, and THD plus noise measures 0.1%. The chassis measures 435 x 152 x 480mm and weighs 17.2kg.

Engineering and use context

All eight inputs are line level, so a system with several digital and analogue sources can be connected without an external switcher. Having balanced and single-ended outputs side by side makes the preamplifier usable with power amplifiers of either input type.

Pairing

With two pairs of outputs, the Jubilee Preamp can feed two separate power amplifiers at once, for a bi-amped loudspeaker or a two-zone setup. Octave's own Jubilee 300 B and Jubilee Mono Ultimate mono power amplifiers belong to the same range.

Alternatives

Octave's Jubilee Preamp SE is the same preamplifier with its power supply moved into a second box and a lower noise figure.