Doge 8

About the Doge 8

The Doge 8 is a vacuum tube stereo preamplifier that uses 4 12AX7 tubes for the phono stage and 4 12AT7 tubes in the line stage. It features 5 single-ended line inputs and a built-in phono preamp switchable between moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) cartridges. The unit includes a pair of XLR balanced preamp outputs (though it is not a fully balanced preamp) and single-ended outputs for connecting to power amplifiers or subwoofers. It comes with a machined-metal remote control and weighs approximately 35 lbs. The Doge 8 is built with high-quality audiophile components such as gas contact relays with gold-plated contacts, tightly matched ALPS potentiometers with channel balance under 0.3 dB, 1% metal film resistors, and WIMA MKP 10 polypropylene capacitors with 1% tolerance in the phono stage. It has a very low distortion specification of THD+N ≤ 0.0009% at 1V. The preamp is praised for its dynamic range, transparency, and musicality, competing with much higher-priced models. However, it does not have a headphone output. The Doge 8 Clarity 2022/2023 editions include 100% tube phono stages and upgraded components such as Clarity capacitors and NOS tubes. Doge ceased general public manufacturing recently, focusing on OEM production for other brands.