When I inserted Jesse's new creation, the Earth Tones SE tube amplifier, into my reference system, I was stunned by its performance. This amplifier which is unbelievably priced at $995 was competing with one of my reference amplifiers, priced at $14,000, across the sonic board regarding clarity/micro-details, beautiful colors/tonality, 3D imaging and immense spatiality in the sound-stage, along with excellent bass control for SET design. 

This was with the stock tubes that Pine Tree Audio ships with. When I put in a pair of NOS RCA Black Plate 6L6 GC and a Sylvania NOS 12AU7 Gold Brand into the Earth Tones SE amplifier the beauty of the music even went to a higher level of enjoyment. Congrats! This is a great amplifier and an unbelievable bargain based on what Jesse sells it for. The Earth Tones SE tube amplifier will be my pick for budget amplifier of the year for Stereo Times "MOST WANTED COMPONENTS" for 2025.

-Terry London, Stereo Times Senior Staff Reviewer 

I’ve had my Pine Tree Audio Earth Tones amp for three weeks, so I thought I’d provide my thoughts about it.  This is a Single-Ended Class A tube amp with two 6L6GC Power Output Tubes and one 12AT7 Driver Tube.  It provides 7W RMS, with a frequency response of 18Hz to 47KHz.

It was delivered with a set of JJ tubes and I currently have a set of PSVANE Horizon tubes installed.  I also ordered a matched set of Preferred Series 6L6GC tubes from The Tube Store and a Ray Select 12AT7 tube from Apos which will be coming in the next few weeks.

The rest of my system is PS Audio PowerPlant 3 power regenerator, PS Audio DirectStream MKI DAC/Preamp, PS Audio AirLens streamer, Shanling ET3 CD Transport, Pine Tree Audio power cables & Hexabraid silver plated copper speaker cables, PS Audio I2S cable and DH Labs Silver Pulse RCA cable.  I also recently purchased an Eversolo T8 to compare to the AirLens.

I have a 10’ x 10’ room that also doubles as my guest bedroom.  I had a Murphy Bed installed along one wall, so my room is essentially 10’ W x 8.5’ D.  I added room treatment to the ceiling,sides, front and rear of the room.  A lot of the treatments aren’t connected to the walls, so I can move it when I convert back to a bedroom.

I switched from a solid state amp (Schiit Ragnarok 2, class A/B) and tube preamp (Schiit Freya+) to a Willsenton 300R tube amp in October of 2025.  I liked the tube sound with my Zu Method speakers and Zen Master open baffle speakers, but I felt that amp was a little too laid back after living with it for a few months.  I had purchased a BOYUUSOUND F5 tube amp for my bedroom, which also uses 6L6GC power tubes, so I decided to try it in place of the Willsenton.  I preferred the dynamic sound it provided.  I ended up ordering the Earth Tones amp after researching 6L6 amps based on reviews, price, size and my extremely positive experiences with Jesse from Pine Tree Audio.  I ordered my Earth Tones with upgraded WBT speaker binding posts and all black, metal chassis vs. the wood sides shown on their site.  The total cost with upgrades, taxes and shipping was $1,570.  The amp is 12” W x 9” D and about 3” H.  It’s the perfect size to fit on the top shelf of my rack, next to the ET3. 

The F5 provided a large soundstage in my treated room, but the Earth Tones soundstage is wider, deeper and taller.  It reproduces instruments and vocals with wonderful realism and is totally transparent, which allows all the details in the image to shine through.  It has excellent dynamics and bass control for a SET, and great air between individual sounds within the soundstage.  The imaging is definitely an upgrade over the F5.  My audiophile friend that has heard my current setup also commented on the darkness of the background.  The stock JJ tubes sounded good, but the PSVANE Horizon have taken the sound up a notch.  The sound of the Earth Tones did improve after initial setup and installation of PSVANE Horizon tubes, so give it some time to burn in and the sound will only get better.  I’m looking forward to comparing the PSVANE Horizon tubes against the new tubes I ordered.  I eventually want to order some Cryotone tubes to try.

The F5 ( Douk or BOYUUSOUND) is only $300 or less depending on discounts available and can be ordered from Amazon, so I highly encourage anyone with efficient speakers to order one to try.   If you like the 6L6 sound from the F5, then you’ll love the sound of the Earth Tones.

-David H.