I don't have a ha2a to compare with, but compared to my ha3a I still think the ta20+ is an amazing bang-for-buck amp for $500. The ta20+ won't have the technical performance of a transformer coupled cayin, but for what it costs, it is an amazing performer with a nice warm sound and a black...

I know preferences matter but when I listened to the euforia at my local zmf dealer, I was not impressed with it when compared to the ha3a. For an otl tube amp it sounded awfully lean and neutral (of course a preference thing) but considering we mainly go tubes for that warmth and smoothness...

Finally after 3 weeks my ACs have been burnt in. When I first got them the treble was super bright and peaky that my ears physically were hurting, and even after installing the solid titan mesh and pairing with tubes the treble was still uncomfortable. Today it felt like the treble had finally...

Yeah for sure. When I first received my vc, I thought its treble was wayyy too peaky and bright and had to install the solid titan mesh to smooth out the treble. After a month or two I realized the treble sounded too washed out and not enough detail. Took the mesh off and sounded fantastic...

T hey used to have an option on the checkout page but I think you have to email zmf about it now. I made the order through one of their dealers since I live outside the USA.

I'm looking forward to it! I also remember the treble being a bit peaky when I listened to the VC for the first time as well, but after a couple months the treble became very smooth, and hoping for the same for this AC as well.

My AC finally made its way home today after a soul-crushing 5-month wait. Compared to the VC I was kind of surprised at how shouty the upper-mids/treble was. Granted I am sensitive to sibilance + the fact that my ears were used to listening exclusively to the treble-smooth VC for a year surely...

I ordered these babies on June 15th, and after almost 5 months they are finally here! The wait was excruciating.

Did you switch out the white leds for orange? Or did you apply some kind of filter?

More than specs I'm more worried about the ability to replace tubes down the line without needing to solder. I emailed xduoo about it but as usual their customer service is nonexistent. Like the woo tube mini, this seems device seems to have a finite lifespan due to non-replaceable tubes.

You're probably reading into something that's not there. This is a public forum after all, and at the end of the day people can say whatever they want to, positive and negative opinions included. Don't become like that guy from hifiman who got all defensive over simple discussion of products and...

Did you get around to replacing that pc power cord? Did it end up making a difference?

The ares2/15, cyan 2, and r26 are all fantastic dacs.

If you're using pc as your source for the ha3a and you start experiencing noise (also depends on the usb implementation of your dac), I highly recommend you buy a usb isolator like the topping hs02, as this (and some aliexpress power cables) pretty much got rid of 95% of all noise for my desktop...

One of these days the world needs a proper look at your wall of zmf.

hah I remember I was sitting at home I think 5 or 6 years ago when the VC came out. I thought to myself with my hd6xx, "no way am I paying 4 digit prices for headphones". Fast forward to today, I am deep in the zmf addiction with my vc and soon-to-be delivered AC (4 month wait is almost...

I definitely would recommend the denon d5200 or a used zmf bokeh.

Congrats on the wait man. As someone in a similar position, I've also heard from the Korean dealer that my stabilized AC I ordered mid-June is finally about to be shipped. Seems like the international orders were sent out all at once haha. The 4 month wait has been soul crushing but it seems the...

If you email zmf, they will take care of it for you. It was the same with ordering caldera thick top perf only pads.

You know I actually did briefly consider that, and then I remembered how much of a lazy ass I am lol. Logically the usb isolator probably had the most effect followed by the cables? Even if replacing the power cable on the pc doesn't have much of an impact, at least it's cheap and gives some...

Recently I was dealing with some noise generated from my PC (gpu and/or usb connection is probably the source as there is no such noise with optical connection) that was only audible with the ha3a and not with other SS or tube hybrid amps. Currently connected my pc to my dac via straight usb...

Why don't you just buy a headphone tube amp?

I started off 2024 with topping e70/L70 + Neumann ndh-30. After replacing the entire setup with the ha3a+r26+vc throughout the year, I felt that replacing headphones had the greatest impact on sound, followed by getting a nice tube amp, and then the dac. I honestly was still sort of skeptical...

Very much so! I honestly was not that impressed with "chi-fi" based on products from topping, smsl, fiio etc but once I moved onto higher end chinese brands like Cayin, Holo, Gustard, I was blown away at the quality and musicality of these higher end chi-fi products.

Xduoo ta-20+ is a very solid hybrid amp for $500, along with the schiit lyr for $600.