Description

An astonishing 35W EL34 Push-Pull with the latest Doge technology the “PADC”, our patented Precision Autobias with Dual Class (A/AB). At $1K it is a steal !

If you are lazy to read the following description go to the footer and read directly the review of our first Doge 5 buyer, Mark S. from California an experienced audiophile and already Doge 8 owner.

The first Doge 5 was introduced in 2011 to 2017 and it was the first amplifier worldwide to get a “fix-autobias” managed by a microprocessor. Our customers really loved it, but in 2018 after some years passed we thought its external design was a little bit old style so we discontinued it to reintroduce it in 2019 with some major improvements.

In the same time, we redesigned the chassis with a more appealing appearance and we introduced new features, including the “PADC”, our second generation of autobias which allows our exclusive Dual-Class mode management, with the choice of class A or class AB. That means you have really two amplifiers in one. The reset time to switch between two class is around 50 seconds as our microprocessor recalibrate voltage and anode current.

Actually, DOGE 5 PADC is a significantly improved version of the LUA Sinfonietta we design under OEM partnership, sold 2900€ in Germany ($3,300).

Different classes mean different powers. Class A is more energy-consuming and has 25W whereas class AB has 40W. 

Many of you might think “why not doing only class A if class A is better?” Well, it is not that simple. Depending of your speakers, and your taste class A might be better whereas class AB might sound better in low-efficiency speakers, or for some orchestral performance or live performance. You can also switch of class depending on the music you listen to, as it requires just 50 seconds to recalibrate from one class to another class.

Doge 5 is not an entry-level amp compared to Doge 10. The main difference is its power stage a bit smaller sized which allowed us do to savings in transformer size and electrolytic capacitor size. The output transformers are exactly the same grade as Doge 10, the high-grade Z10 with 6% silicon. Doge 5 comes with:

• our exclusive PAB (Precision Auto Bias)
• our DUAL CLASS mode, a unique new feature to switch from a 100% Class A mode to a 100% class AB mode
• our APM (Auto Protection Mode)
• our new DTI (Dead Tube Indicator)
• a sophisticated Soft-Start
• a comprehensive remote in an elegant single piece aluminum
• a Turn-on, turn-off function on the remote controller. Very convenient

COMPONENTS IMPROVEMENTS

The electrolytic capacitors are Japanese Nippon-Chemicon and we moved on this new Doge 5 to the UK high-end audiophile-grade coupling capacitor Claritycaps that we use for two years in our famous Doge 8 Clarity preamp. As a reference among many, the Italian speakers brand Sonus Farber uses them for their crossover in their $25,000 speakers.

The new Doge 5 PADC comes with the same magic “PAB” (Precision Auto Bias) which is a fully microprocessor-controlled Bias and just needs to press a button on the front panel or the remote controller to set the bias instead of using a voltmeter and a screwdriver.  

It has a warm gorgeous sound, a very neutral, beautiful voices, without lacking of bass. It is very musical and for people who never heard a tube amp before it will be a happiness shock.

If you compare it with more expensive amps, you will never believe it is just $1K !

We offer a protection grid, a very sophisticated removable unit that holds with strong magnets (enough strength for a kid’s hand) so the appearance is beautiful with no visible holes on the chassis and no screws on the cage.

To let you understand, though a very attractive price, Doge 5 is not a low-end amplifier, you can see on this video that Doge 5 has almost the same size as Doge 10.

Doge 5 Review

NOW LET’S MAKE TALK MARK OUR FIRST CUSTOMER TO HAVE RECEIVED THE DOGE 5. MARK OFFERED TO BE A BETA TESTER. I WOULD NEVER IMAGINE HE WOULD MAKE SUCH A DETAILED REVIEW AS HE BOUGHT IT, IT WAS NOT A GIFT. Disclaimer: Mark paid his Doge 5 unit. He just got a very small discount by offering his help to do a comprehensive review. We never excepted such a detailed review! So we just copied and paste here:

“Marc-

Many years ago I had pair of EL-34 based Dynaco monobloc amps.  I remembered their tone fondly, but sold them because their speaker strip was the old technology and it was challenging getting large, modern spade lugs to make contact directly.  I upgraded to an octet 6550 based amp which performed a little bit better on the low end while giving up some in the midrange. I had been looking for an EL-34 based amp and was close to buying a decades old Conrad Johnson. Buying a decades old vintage amp is a bit of a dice-roll, and I was hoping to get more recent technology.  That’s when I happened on the Doge 5 PADC. It was EL-34 based, used great caps and had auto-biasing built-in. I ordered the unit and awaited it’s delivery. I have used a Doge 8 preamp and a Doge 7 DAC for years so I was very familiar with Doge’s great build quality and musical performance.

I received my Doge 5 integrated amplifier a few weeks ago, unpacked it and immediately swapped in my preferred tubes: 2-GE 5751’s, 2-GE 6201’s and 4 matched KT-77 power tubes.  I let the amp burn-in for a week before I sat down for a serious listening session. My associated equipment: Benz Micro LPS, VPI TNT w/12.6 tonearm, Aesthetix IO Signature phono amp, Von Schweikert VR-4 Sr mk lll speakers and solid silver cables all around. Let me dispense with any suspense, this is a great little amp, but for $1,000, this is a STEAL. Over the years I have come to believe two things about stereo systems: 1) It is all about system synergy and 2) there are a lot of compromises and trade-offs.  My regular (speciality) amp is an 845 SET amp ($6k) list.  In my opinion, for acoustic and simple vocals, I haven’t found anything that can touch it.  However, it lacks heft and weight on complex and dynamic passages (hence speciality only for acoustic music) and this is where the Doge 5 really shines.  EL-34 designs do a great job with vocals and the mid-range in general and the Doge 5 is no exception.  Although not quite the equal of the 6 times more expensive SET amp in the mids and highs, it is pretty close.  But the kicker is that it brings the meat-on-the-bone and delivers a wonderfully organic sound across the spectrum, besting the 845 amp.  For rock and roll and large orchestral movements, I would usually substitute a solid-state amp into the mix to give me the slam I was in search of.  But the trade-off there is pretty severe as no solid-state amp I have heard over 40 years equals tubes for the upper half of the audio spectrum.  The closest I got to a great all-around amp was the 1978 Audio Research D-115 or D-70.  Very coherent across the range, but mids and highs were a bit shrill (wonder caps and circuits of the day).  The Doge 5, designed using the EL-34 power tubes, state of the art caps, and a ton of transformer, is warm and coherent across the spectrum, with excellent SLAM and PRAT, a great all-around, day-in and day-out amplifier.

Mark S. California”

TUBES POLICY

Doge is delivered with the following stock tubes:

EL34 : Psvane EL34-C  //  12AT7 and 12AX7 : Psvane ECC81 & Psvane ECC83 Hifi series. 

If you wish to upgrade with other tubes, or you already have your own tubes, you can order without tubes.

PRICE POLICY

Factory-direct price: once you will add the product to the cart, a new window will ask you to fill your country and will see our total price including delivery to your front door,  and a two-year warranty served in your country. If you pay by bank transfer you will get a 5% discount as our bank doesn’t charge us any fees (use coupon code “bank”) and if you use the ultra-secure platform wise.com you will have 5% discount and you can pay by any credit card. Possible taxes in your country are at your charge.

Please note that for safety reasons according to international air freight regulations, remote controllers are not supplied with batteries. Doge 5 remote uses AAA type batteries. Please plan to purchase them prior to the delivery.