August 2025

World Premiere Review!
Vintage Warmth Meets Modern Clarity: Pilot Radio Vacuum Tube Stereo Preamplifier Review
Elevating your hi-fi setup with a blast from the past.
Review By Paul Schumann

   My dad passed away last August. This has brought back many fond memories of him. One of my earliest memories was of my dad's sound system in the bedroom beside mine. I only got a few peeks in there since my presence in that chamber was normally strictly verboten. Besides the fantastical sounds that I could hear, I remember the orange glow coming from the Dynaco ST 70 and a mixture of the mingled aromas of solder and fresh vinyl. My dad only had his special music room a couple of years before my brother arrived. I moved into my dad's sanctum, and his audio system, vinyl, and tapes were banished to the basement. Such are the sacrifices of a parent. Even in the basement, that great stuff was behind a locked door to keep it away from my grubby mitts.

My dad spent quite a bit of time down there when I was young, but as the years passed, the basement became the domain for my brother and me. One of my coming-of-age moments was when I was allowed to use his system myself and pursue his extensive record collection. I inherited the Dynaco equipment to start my stereo system during my second year of college. They were with me through undergrad, graduate school, and the early years of my marriage before I moved on. Both the Dynaco PAS preamp and ST70 amp are long gone, but I have many fond memories of the music I listened to with them.

It seems the love of vacuum-state electronics was planted deep in my brain at an early age. By a combination of nature and nurture, I was destined to be a tube lover. Whenever I attend high-end shows, pop into audio salons, or look at gear online, that orange glow always catches my eye. So I didn't have a chance when I walked by Pilot Radio's table at this year's Southwest Audio Fest 2025. Not only did their preamps have those lovely thermionic devices, but they also had that cool retro look that reminded me of the stuff from my dad's era. They had two preamps hooked up to headphone amps, one connected to a moving coil cartridge and one to a moving magnet. I listened to both and was impressed. After my listening sessions, I talked to Barak about his company.

Pilot Radio is the rebirth of the company founded by his great-grandfather, Isidor Goldberg, in 1919. Under the tutelage of Mr. Goldberg, Pilot Radio navigated the changing world of electronics until his passing in 1961. Along the way, they produced vacuum tubes, radios, early televisions, speakers, and hi-fi electronics. Fast forward to the present, and we have the new version of Pilot Radio with Barak at the helm, with the aid of Mr. Goldberg's grandson, Robert Epstein, and engineer Damon Coffman.

Tech Details And Setup
The Pilot Radio Preamp is a bit of a novelty in the world of high-end audio. Not only is it a line-level preamp, but it also has amplification stages for moving magnet and moving coil phono cartridges. To accomplish this, the Preamp utilizes pairs of 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes. To avoid any feedback loops, the RIAA equalization is done passively. Vintage oil-in-paper capacitors are used in the signal path to preserve the tone. 

The signal path uses a combination of circuit boards and point-to-point wiring. The power supply is shielded to reduce noise. Not only does the Preamp have separate MM and MC inputs, but the MM has a selectable gain switch. All of these features show how much thought and care were put into the design of their first product.

Before I delve into the sound, I have to take a moment to compliment Pilot Radio on the look and feel of their preamp. As I said, one of the things that caught my attention at SWAF was the fact that it would be at home in a 1950s hi-fi system. It's a hefty piece of equipment with a solid feel. The old-fashioned knobs and indicator light are perfect. The chassis is a black hammer-tone finish, and the cage has a striking gold finish. The cage sets the whole thing off with a design that was used in Pilot Radio's vintage equipment.

Listening
My first listening sessions were with the Pilot Radio Preamp with the line input. Feeling the need for some Sting, I dropped my disc of ...Nothing Like The Sun [A&M Records CD 6402] into the CD player. This is a brilliantly produced album with densely packed arrangements. On many of the tracks, they used quite a bit of reverb, giving the album a dreamy quality.

The Pilot Radio Preamp highlighted this. In fact, on the track "Be Still My Beating Heart", it sounded like Sting was singing in a hangar for the Hindenburg. I also appreciated how the preamp brought out all the instrumental textures. For the first time, it was obvious to me that Sting was playing a nylon-strung guitar on "Fragile". I've listened to this album many times, but during this listening session, I was able to appreciate it more.

I guess I was in the mood for some old faves, because the next disc I listened to was Annie Lennox's Bare [J Records – 8287652350-2]. This is the album for you if you want to delve into heartbreak. With the Pilot Radio Preamp, this album sounded bigger than ever. On every track, I could feel the power of Annie's voice from my head to my toes. The song "Bitter Pill" just begged me to turn it up and dance to its funky groove. Luckily, no one besides my two dogs was around to watch me, and I've sworn them to silence. The next track, "Loneliness", is a powerful anthem about embracing solitude. I was in aural bliss as this song washed over me.

Grabbing some vinyl to check out the moving magnet stage, I put on Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite [Columbia Masterworks MS 6329]. When the needle dropped, I was forced to sit down and listen to the entire suite. I had grown used to my Pete Millet LR phono preamp, so listening to the Pilot Preamp was a bit of a change. The Millet is awesome at digging the inner detail out of those grooves in the vinyl. Listening to Lenny and the New York Philharmonic with the Pilot Radio Preamp, it was more like a concert hall experience. When you go to the orchestra, it's that sea of sound that you're looking for. This preamp gave me that feeling. But I want to stress that it never sounded muddy. Listening to this platter, the NYP was spread out before me with Mr. Bernstein egging them on, each section clear as a bell. It was just a different Gestalt than my ear had become accustomed to.

For a completely different genre, I put on Phoebe Go's Marmalade [Impressed Recordings IMP031]. This is an indie recording of Phoebe Go and her band. It has a very intimate sound because Phoebe Go's vocals were recorded without all the processing usually associated with modern production. Listening to this album with the Pilot Radio Preamp, she was right there in the living room singing about love and longing. I doubt I'll ever see her live, but listening to her with this preamp was close to the real thing.

I wish I had a moving-coil setup to listen to that part of the Pilot Radio Preamp in my home. I did listen to it at both Southwest Audio Fest 2025 and Lonestar Audio fest 2025, and I was impressed with its clarity and smoothness. They use Cinemag step-up transformers in their MC stage, which are excellent components. From what I heard at the show, the MC stage sounds as great as the rest of the preamp.

Conclusion
I want to congratulate the fine folks at Pilot Radio for their first step in resurrecting a venerable audio brand. The Pilot Radio Preamp is a component that brings out the emotional nuances of the music. It is clear to me that this preamp was a product of love and pride in the Pilot Radio heritage. It has a look and feel that reminds you of the early days of hi-fi, yet it is a thoroughly modern-sounding preamp. The fact that it has both MM and MC stages at this price point makes the Pilot Radio Preamp an incredible bargain.

If you are looking for a full-function preamp that is reasonably priced, this is one for you. I am excited to see what new product Pilot Radio will announce next!

Specifications
Type: Line Level Preamp with MM and MC stages
Tube Complement: Two 12AX7 / ECC83 and two 12AU7 / ECC82
Inputs: Line 1, Line 2, Phono MM, Phono MC (switch selectable at rear inputs)

Gain Stages:
    Line Stage: 17.5 dB (50kOhm input) / 14 dB (10kOhm load) 
    Phono MM: 26dB + Line Stage (~44dB max) 
    Phono MC: Selectable 46dB / 52dB + Line Stage (~64dB / ~70dB max)

RIAA Equalization: Passive: +1dB / -1.5dB from 20Hz to 20KHz 
Phono Rumble Filter: 7Hz, 3dB/octave
Power: 120V / 240V (specified at the time of purchase)
Price: $3390

Company Information
Pilot Radio
166 Express St
Dallas TX 75207

E-mail: barak@pilotradio.com 
Website: PilotRadio.com