muffsy

1,093 orders since Mar 15, 2015

Malmö, Skåne County, Sweden

Ships from Sweden.

Custom Work Available

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Free Muffsy Back Panel with the Phono Preamp in November. Save $29! My store will be closed between December 3rd and January 15th. Please order before December 3rd for holiday delivery.

Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.94)

Documentation: (4.89)

Shipping: (4.86)

Communication: (4.93)

All Reviews

Paul | April 16, 2024

Simple to build and sounds great.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Shipping was very fast to Canada.

Sounds great.

Well designed boards, nicely laid out.

Post a gainclone or similar design and I will be back to buy it!

Thanks for your work.

Timm | March 15, 2024

Wonderful DIY Phono-Preamp, perfectly documented.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I see why there is a waiting time for this preamp - it is superb sounding, way beyond its price may suggest. The build guide is easy to follow and crystal clear. I built the PP-4 with the Muffsy PSU and it worked perfect from the beginning.
Shipping was blazing fast, I only can recommend the PP-4 and the matching PSU.

Eric | Aug. 3, 2023

Purchased Muffsy Relay Input Selector Kit with Great Support

For Muffsy Relay Input Selector - Kit

I recently purchased another Muffsy Relay Input Selector kit on Tindie as I'm building another stereo amplifier. The Muffsy kit by Skrodahl is great as it provides 4 relays and a mute function and additionally has remote control functionality that is highly configurable...perfect for my projects. Since my first purchase a few years ago, the IRremote code applications have been developed under Arduino IDE as expected. I had some difficulty in navigating these changes, and contacted Skrodahl directly for help. I'm really pleased to say his support of his products was highly responsive, and solved all my issues.....He continued to follow up through to completion I'm really impressed not only with the quality of this Muffsy Relay Kit but also the great product support after purchase. Highly recommended to all considering a high end amplifier build with great features!!! Eric

Kevin | Aug. 22, 2022

Excellent preamp and the service is fantastic.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Built the preamp with the power supply. Works first time no problems. Sounds great on standard settings but will adjust input impedance and gain for fun. The service from Skrodahl
was excellent and very generous. I highly recommend buying from him. It was great fun building the kit and very rewarding listening to my records through something I built.
Thanks for a great experience.
Kevin.

Kaylyn | June 21, 2022

Well organized kit.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Kit is very well organized. I appreciate the resistors being labeled and sorted. Simple and thorough instructions. Would be a good project for a beginner. Component selection and quality is fantastic.

I cannot comment on audio quality objectively, and I do not have equipment to accurately measure output, but it is subjectively much better to my ears than any of my previous phono preamps. OPA2134PA + LM4562 w/ Ortofon 2M Red.

John | April 18, 2021

brilliant

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Really good
fun to make
very nicely designed
sounds superb
they said i had to use 100 characters

well brilliant is brilliant
the lost art of the use of english.......sigh

Ulf | April 17, 2021

Great MC step-up amp

For Muffsy MC Head Amp - Kit

Easy build, due to the most excellent instructions I've ever seen. Very good performance too. I have an AT33PTG/II MC cartridge. The MC Head Amp is connected to the MM phono input of a Marantz Pm8006 amplifier. I'm very satisfied. Even considering building the Muffsy Phono Amp.

Thank you,
Ulf

Geoffrey | Feb. 22, 2021

When it arrived the quality looked good

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Yes an excellent product. Easy to build, even though iam 76 years old. Works fine and matches my Ortofon cartridge 2M Blue.

Spencer | Jan. 19, 2021

Excellent kit! Looks great, sounds awesome!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I bought this kit just over 5 years ago, so my review is for an older version of this kit, and as such my comments might be out of date.

Delivery was quick, with top quality components and excellent online documentation. Unfortunately I skim-read this, so assumed i knew what I was doing, particularly with regard to the screw terminals, which I fitted backwards. I deliberated over removing them and resoldering them for over 4 years, but eventually decided to see if it would fit anyway. It does. But it's tight!

Most importantly, though, it works, and it sounds fantastic! I'm running a JVC L-A31 with Ortofon VMS10E cartridge through a Arcam AVR1000 amp and Mission 734 speakers, and it sounds.wonderful!

Tldr; Great kit. Read the instructions. Sounds awesome.

Peter | Jan. 16, 2021

Easy, clean, good neutral sounding build

For Muffsy MC Head Amp - Kit

Used in conjunction with an OC9XSH and Muffsy MM stage built some years ago. Good frequency balance, good output volume and good value for money. Some of the best build instructions on the web. Only had some slight confusion with the AC power routing going through the MC board, but worked out I didn't need it to do that as I was making a custom case and not using the recommended case. Still in the end it was easy enough to work out.

Albert | Oct. 13, 2020

Great Product and Service . . .

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

The quality of the pcb and components is what you would expect from a highend brand but in reality not always is what they deliver’. This makes the Muffsy Phono Preamp a worthy solution if you want to upgrade your gear.
Unfortunately some components got damaged during transportation, but Håvard reacted instantly and offered me his compensation.

Avelino | Oct. 1, 2020

Muffsy Relay Input Selector Kit

For Muffsy Relay Input Selector - Kit

Ordered the kit and received it within reasonable time considering the current shipping conditions worldwide (from Sweden to California USA). Kit contains exactly what you see on the website. Assembly was very easy and the instructions provided on the website is so easy to follow.
Programming the ESP32, by following the steps as described on the instructions, is straightforward. For testing, extra resistors were provided for the LED input indicators but you have to supply the LEDS.
I encountered a minor hiccup. Testing the selector with the remote (included) works perfectly. On, Off, Mute, channel steps (sequence: FWD 1,2,3,4,1... BW 4,3,2,1,4..). But manual operation by adjusting the encoder seems to have a reverse sequence than that of the remote control steps. CW starting from Input 1, it steps to 4, 3, 2, then 1. CCW starting from 1 steps to 2, 3, then 4. I sent an email and Mr. Skrodahl responded immediately. No only that the response was quick, but how to fix the issue was described in detail that any beginner will understand. And most importantly, the solution works. Apparently, I learned from Mr. Skrodahl that "there are two versions of the exact rotational encoder board, and they send opposite signals when turned. To make everything a bit more troublesome, there's nothing identifying either board".
Operating the Input selector is easy. Power is supplied by an IRM -02-5 supply. PCB for mounting the IRM-02-5 is included in the kit when it arrived. The selector works as expected. The only feature that I have not tried is the SSR relay trigger. Everything else woks fine and I did not notice any degradation in sound. In fact, I think it is a big improvement compared to the traditional selector switch that I am using, not to mention it cleans up the wiring layout inside the preamp.
I am very happy with the purchase and will recommend it to my friends.
Abe R.

Trond | Sept. 21, 2020

Excellent input selector for my preamplifier project

For Muffsy Relay Input Selector - Kit

When planning my preamplifier project I searched for a nice input selector and found the Muffsy Relay Input Selector. It meets all my requirements: four inputs, mute, standby function with SSR and controllable with a remote or a rotary encoder. And the Arduino code can be modified, which made it possible for me to add support for a motorised ALPS volume potentionmeter. Build instructions are excellent and it was very easy to build!

Carl | Sept. 17, 2020

Best Phono Preamp I've heard

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

This phono preamp is amazing and I could not be more happy with it.
Compared to my built nn MM-stage in my vintage Technics SU-8600 and my external Pro-Ject Phono Box this truly plays in a different league.
I went for the the OPA2134PA + LM4562 combo and Im currently running the preamp through a small tube amp, Musical Paradise MP-3 with some nice tubes and a pair of Klipsch RP-600M.
I would happily recommend this phono preamp to any one.

Sander | Aug. 19, 2020

Excellent product and excellent service!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

The kit arrived within a week to The Netherlands and was a joy to assemble with the detailed and very clear documentation. Spend just a few hours on the entire assembly, including power supply and backpanel, having only limited soldering experience.
There was only one issue though, one of the film caps had a wrong value resulting in a wrong RIAA correction. Unfortunately I discovered this AFTER buying a new opamp (thinking this was the issue). But, Havard completely reimbursed me for the extra expenses I made and even offered a full refund. Excellent, excellent service.
If you want a fun project and an excellent sounding phono stage at the end, look no further. Highly recommended.

Vesa | Aug. 9, 2020

Amazing little thing

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I found this almost by accident, when I was surfing around web looking for resonable costed phono stage. Delivery was fast and kit itself is good quality and instructions are simple to follow. For me, it took two nights to built it up. I have only listened couple of records so far, but the sound quality is amazing for the money! I'm much pleased to this phono stage and I'm going to carry on listening more records and enjoy the sound it produces. Worth of recomendation to all who can't spend mega bucks to their stereo set.

Jithesh | July 20, 2020

Superb quality DIY phono preamp

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I bought this kit because I have very good assembled transistor power amplifier which doesn't have a phono preamp. Integrated into this existing amplifier, so that I can connect my turntable directly to this amplifier.
Assembly: 5/5
Very good documentation provided by the author. Even a newbie can solder it easily. Powered with a 15 volt dual power supply from the existing power amplifier.
Sound: 5/5
I connect this phono preamp to Audio Technica AT-LP5X with AT-VM95E cartridge. Compared to the in-built preamp(3/5), Muffsy is light years ahead. Circuit itself does not have any additional noise. I do have a Denon power amp with phono preamp PMA-520AE. I can give Denon 3.5/5.
With Muffsy, bass tones are very tight and powerful and trebles are very smooth. Vocals sound great as well. I compared with a CD player with an external DAC.
Configuration: 5/5
You can play around with the gain, load impedance etc. Even you can modify the parameters. The suggested DIP switch positions are very useful and works as intended. I opted for 47k input impedance and gain to 43db. 43db gain matches with my DAC output voltage. So my CDs and Records sounds same.

I can highly recommend this product. I guess with the similar sound quality and configuration options, one have to spend another 50-70€ for a finished product.

Tim | May 28, 2020

Exceeds my expectations. Absolute quality for the money.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp Back Panel

Even with international shipping and all the headaches of mercantile during a pandemic, my kit arrived neatly packed and with quality components that made me very happy to give this a go. Add to that a responsive (given a 9 hour time difference) seller willing to step in when it looked like the package was stuck in transit. I will have no hesitation purchasing from Havald or tindie in the future. Cheers.

Nate | May 16, 2020

Great sounding, versatile preamp; satisfying to build

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

First, the purchasing and building experience:
Purchasing through tindie was a breeze. I was a bit concerned about shipping time, and Havard responded with a helpful message almost immediately. (Using the least expensive shipping option without tracking, it took about a month to be delivered in the US from Sweden - not bad for the height of the pandemic, and I'm sure much quicker under more typical circumstances.) I am a novice builder having only completed one soldering kit previously, but was immediately impressed by the quality of the components. Everything was well packed in an organized fashion, and the online documentation was extremely clear and easy to follow when building. It took me about 5 hours to complete (including the power supply), working at a very relaxed pace and being very picky about my solder joins. One of those hours is because I stupidly mounted two of the voltage regulators backwards despite the clear instructions and markings on the PCB - they're a real pain to get out, but I managed to do so without destroying anything.) Overall, it was a fun and satisfying experience that I'd absolutely do again.

most importantly, the sound:
I noticed an immediately discernible improvement from my previous preamp. Running a Shure v15-III cartridge on a Dual 1215 TT (using a Heathkit ar-1500a reciever and Genesis Physics Model II speakers), there was a significant improvement to midrange frequencies, resulting in improved balance overall. Clarity is wonderful, with each instrument being clearly differentiated within the mix - all sorts of subtleties that were previously muddied are now audible, and this clarity does not come with the detriments of harshness or fatigue (bright treble but it's not a brittle sound in the slightest). I am using the default impedance and gain settings and have not felt the need to change them, but it's nice to know that the option is there for different cartridges.

tl;dr: This is a great piece of equipment that was fun to build and resulted in a significant upgrade to my mid-fi 70's-era system. Thanks, Havard!

Response from muffsy | May 19, 2020

Congratulations on your new phono stage Nate,
I've edited the instructions and added an extra tip on top of the original tip to double-check the power supply voltage regulators' placement and orientation before soldering them in place.

Evert | March 31, 2020

Excellent sound, easy to build, versatile

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

In the process of building a new amplifier to replace my existing integrated amplifier I needed a phono amplifier. After doing some internet research I decided to buy the Muffsy Phono Preamp kit, not only because it's DIY (and relatively low cost), but it was reported to sound excellent as well.
Delivery of the package took more time than expected (Corona, anyone?) but contact with Havard about the shipment was very good, and eventually it arrived.
I ordered the power supply along with the preamp, and it took me a few hours per PCB to build. Al parts were labelled correctly and building instructions were clear.
After listening to only a few records I can say the sound is very good, with plenty of detail and very quiet (noise wise). I haven't played around with the input impedance and gain yet (they are at the standard setting which on paper suit my cartridge fine), so that's something to try in the future. But first I have to listen to all my other records :-)

Lawrence | March 3, 2020

Very good product. Good quality board.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Have not assembled it yet, but the part and board quality are excellent.

I would recommend this product.

Thomas | March 1, 2020

Extremly good product for the money.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

The sound from this phono amp easily beats a lot of very expensive ready made products!
The sound is dynamic with solid transitens.
Very good midrange esp. voices.
Very low background noice.
The build instruktions is the best I have ever sen!
Highly recommended!

B | Feb. 27, 2020

Excellent!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I am looking forward to building the Muffsy! The quality of the board, components, and documentation are all first-rate. It’s clear that this project was designed with a lot of thought towards the builders’ learning, fun, and success. I’m pretty confident that, once it is built, Muffsy will sound great, too. Thanks, Havard!

(One month later). The build process was smooth and presented no problems. Although I expected the Muffsy to sound better than the in-built stage on my amp, I was *not* expecting it to sound as good as it does! Me, my wife, and 8 year old kid all noticed that the Muffsy had a much wider soundstage, and just generally rocked it!

N | Feb. 3, 2020

A review of the Muffsy DIY phono pre-amp kit.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Firstly, I must say a big thank you to Harvard Skrodahl for his generous support to me with this project, he genuinely wants you to succeed in getting things to work. His service is exemplary.
I purchased the full kit, phono amp, power supply, back panel, the recommended case, and an 18V AC power supply from Amazon. The parts from Harvard arrived within a week, and the Chinese case arrived much later!
The documentation provided on line for this project is full and detailed, including circuit diagrams and modifications that can be made to the overall gain, cartridge loading, and DC supply voltage.
The parts are all of high quality and are easily identified, making assembly a breeze – just follow the assembly instructions.
In my time I have done many Veroboard projects and thought I was reasonably good at soldering but I must be honest I did have a few problems with the printed circuit board and the plated through holes. I found some of the pads around the plated through holes to be on the small side and consequently struggled with my chisel tip soldering iron to get the solder to flow as well as I would like. I’m not sure if a chisel tip is the ideal one to use to get the heat into the pcb pad and component leg at the same time. This caused me a few issues with getting the thing to work correctly, but Harvard was very helpful and eventually I found a couple of places where I had not made a good connection.
Another minor problem I had was I always strip, twist, and tin my wires prior to fitting to a board, unfortunately doing this made it hard to fit them through the holes.
Once working it was a pleasure to connect it up and listen to it. The finished case and back panel make a tidy and good looking unit.
The output noise is virtually non-existent and sounds appear out of an inky blackness to produce a wide and stable soundstage with plenty of detail – very nice. I only have an old musical fidelity X-LP phono stage to compare this with but I would say this is easily as good and better sounding than that, there is definitely more detail available. I think for the money this is a very respectable phono pre-amp and will not embarrass itself in front of other more costly units. 5 stars.
N.Gledhill

Response from muffsy | Feb. 6, 2020

Thanks for the great review N, I'm really glad that you're happy with your Muffsy Phono Preamp.

Regarding soldering with a chisel tip (same shape as a flat-blade screwdriver). I only use chisel tips, and I would hesitate to recommend anything else.

Sonia | Jan. 8, 2020

Great Kit, perfect instructions, Spectacular Build

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Most importantly, this thing sounds spectacular. My wife gave me this as a Christmas Present to upgrade the very cheap phono preamp i have between my turntable and my hand built DIY amp. The phono stage was the last piece to the puzzle and since my amp was home built from scratch i didn't want to "just buy a phono stage." I'd have preferred to have build my own from a schematic, but due to the sensitivity of a phono stage I decided on a kit. After researching I found the muffsy. .. and asked "Santa" for it. ... he brought it! The build was easy. Instructions perfect. I plugged it in and BAM 110% improvement on my phono sound quality. My ONLY critique, the boards were of such good quality that they required a little bit more heat from my soldering iron making some joins harder (but that's me being used to cheap boards nothing to do with the muffsy) ... in the end this things is really great A+++ Thanks Muffsy, and Santa

Rene | Nov. 21, 2019

Flawless build, very rewarding!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I bought this kit initially to check out and repair various record players lying about with family members. I've read a lot beforehand about the design philosophy and really appreciated the smart board layout, the chosen components and customizable gain and impedance.

I did have some difficulty finding a suitable AC-AC adapter; the author's suggested sites were either out of stock or asked too high a price in my view. Ultimately, I found that numerous vendors on AliExpress sell 18VAC "video doorbell" adapters which work perfectly. As a matter of fact, I found that sourcing all other pieces (adapter, enclosure, LED power-on light and other bits and bobs) were easier to find and cheaper on AliExpress than on eBay.

As for the build itself, it was clear, enjoyable and worked instantly. It sounds and looks great, and I am now in the process of buying myself a new nice turntable to hook up to my Muffsy permanently.

Steven | Oct. 9, 2019

Easy to assemble. Nice sound when finished.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I built it in an afternoon, along with the Muffsy power supply. I've had some experience with soldering components to a circuit board and, frankly, it was a breeze. The instructions on the Muffsy site are comprehensive and there are sections on fault finding and customising what you've built.

For those for whom this is a new experience, all the components are easily identified, all resistors are on a tapes with the values printed, the circuit boards are all clearly printed (pay attention to the 0's and 8's though) just take things slowly, follow the order of the instructions and double check component orientations. You'd be advised to have a digital multimeter to hand so you can make sure the power supply is working properly and to double check resistor values if you think you might have put any in the wrong place.

If you do have questions or problems, Håvard is quick to respond to email and always helpful.

Ultimately, it's how it sounds that counts, and it sounds really good, I actually prefer it to the phono on my (elderly) Naim preamp or the Schiit (yes, really, Google them) phono preamp I've been using until now.

Response from muffsy | Oct. 10, 2019

Thanks for the great review, Steven.

I've added a high resolution picture of the PCB to the instructions, to make sure there are no doubts about the resistor values:
https://www.muffsy.com/files/pp4-pcb-hr.png

Nicolas | Oct. 8, 2019

Easy to build and awesome result!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

First, unpacking: hight quality components (nichicon, wima), board looks very nice and solid (way better that what you would have at you local electronic shop, front panel part looks very nice too!

Now, building: It took me 3 hours, no difficulties, step by step explanations are really well done, resistors are labeled with they value (thanks for this, big time saver!).

This is not my first DIY project, but even with little knowledge it should be possible to achieve this :)

To finish, the sound: I am running an old Marantz 1072, with Marantz imperial G5 speakers and a vintage Toshiba turnable with an Ortofon 5m red cardridge.

And… wow, it's just amazing, at the first second I could see the difference, sound is way more clear, with better definition, better dynamic and better clarity! For the price I would recomand that for everyone looking for a nice phono preamp. It's way better that the entry level preamp you can found for the same price!

Some small things that can be noted: The enclosure is not that easy to found (need to order it from China), as well as the AC transformer (AC/AC is not that common).

Eimantas | Sept. 22, 2019

Generally - excellent

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Product very good for the price. I upgraded it little bit using few higher grade condensers. Sound quality really good. I am comparing it with my integrated phono stage in the vintage Yamaha A-720 amp which is really good as well. Improvement has a place, not a sort „night/day“ , but still better. Delivery, docs and communication with seller – excellent.

Martin | May 22, 2019

Great experience

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I bought the Muffsy preamp kit a while back. Shipping was surprisingly fast. Building was very fun, smooth and straightforward, a lot thanks to the pedagogical documentation provided. After a couple of hours I could plug it into my system, and everything worked perfectly. The difference compared to the built in phono stage on my vintage Marantz was chocking - the music really came to life. I never knew that a phono preamp would make such a difference. Now I rediscover my LP collection :-) If I had my Muffsy stolen, lost or broken I wouldn’t hesitate buying a new kit.

Ho | May 19, 2019

Hi

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

Great-sounding sub-USD100 phono stages are rarer than hens' teeth, so it gives us great pleasure to see another entrant in the field. Sure, it's small and fairly basic looking, but every effort has been made on the innards: they give sufficient body to a song's vocals without overloading it with bass. It has a great sense of timing, too.

Anders | April 16, 2019

Easy build. Great sound. Stellar service.

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

When I was 10 years old I owned a radio controlled model car. I recall at some point I had to re-solder a single power cable onto the electric motor. That was more than 30 years ago. Until I ordered the Muffsy Phono Preamp kit, it was my only soldering experience. Having looked at the instructions for the Muffsy Phono Preamp kit I thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did.

The kit arrived only a couple of days after ordering. Everything was packaged well and labeled in detail. Having no experience soldering electronics I found the instructions extremely thorough, detailed and easy to follow. I was at one point inattentive and managed to solder a resistor in the wrong slot. I was able to to correct my mistake, although the circuit board received what seemed like a burn mark (which l later realized was mostly burnt solder flux). Certainly, neither component nor instructions were the weak link. I emailed the seller (Håvard Skrodahl) to ask whether he thought I'd damaged the board. He replied (within minutes!) that it would most likely be okay. Although - to be on the safe side - he generously offered to send me a new circuit board and resistor set with no additional cost! Being a novice I also had a few other minor questions during the process, all of which received fast and detailed replies via email. I am amazed at the level of customer service, far above and beyond what one could reasonably expect for a mail order DIY kit.

The rest of the assembly was a piece of cake thanks to the excellent construction guide. The end result is a hi-fi setup which sounds amazing, using the Muffsy Phono Preamp with a Rega Planar 3 turntable (Elys 2 pickup mounted), a Hegel Röst integrated stereo amplifier and Dynaudio Contour 20 standmount speakers. The Muffsy looks good and performs perfectly. Having assembled it myself certainly also adds another level of satisfaction. Without hesitation, I would recommend the Muffsy Phono Preamp kit to anyone who cares for their record collection, regardless of prior experience in electronics.

Anders | Feb. 4, 2019

A super product!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

The kit arrived a few days after ordering. It was easy too mount, took me 3-4 hours. I made a mistake with the psu and the support was outstandig from Håvard.
The preamp sounds great, makes me wanna listen to records all day and all night. The feature of having the ability to tweak the load for MM cartridges, makes it an even more attractive RIAA.

Guido | Jan. 8, 2019

Perfect!

For Muffsy Phono Preamp - Kit

I'm totally thrilled. The package reached me safely within a few days. There were all (literally all) needed parts, the PCBs make a very professional impression. The assembly took me 3-4 hours (fortunately I had ordered the case in time as recommended). The manual is extremely well written and explained with pictures. Then the big moment when I connected the preamp for the first time: There was absolutely nothing to hear. What was wrong???... Then the needle put on the record and I was released. Everything worked perfectly, but there was no humming or anything like that. Great. I am infinitely satisfied.

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