The route I went was to try an inexpensive tube amp to see if tubes were something I enjoyed before spending money on a more expensive tube amp.
I went with the loxjie P20 at first then upgraded to the xduoo ta20.
The TA-26 is OTL (output transformer less) all-tube. The TA-20 is a hybrid: tube preamplifier followed by solid-state output stage. Because of the high input impedance (300 ohms) of the Sennheisers that you have / will have, I feel that the TA-26 will be a better match.
The TA-26 is OTL (output transformer less) all-tube. The TA-20 is a hybrid: tube preamplifier followed by solid-state output stage. Because of the high input impedance (300 ohms) of the Sennheisers that you have / will have, I feel that the TA-26 will be a better match.
150 ohms is still high enough to use with a typical OTL headphone amplifier. In the TA-20 vs TA-26 showdown, the first is likely to sound ‘crisper’ / more solid-state; the second, more ‘tubey’ - especially depending on the tubes used.
If you don't mind a little DIY the bottlehead crack pairs fantastic with the higher impedance sennheiser headphones. Match made in heaven. I've had the chance to compare the crack with a darkvoice 366se, which I also enjoy very much, and for the hd800 the crack was much more pleasant to listen to.
I’m confused about HP tube amps. In a typical home tube amp, you will have something like a : rectifier tube, preamp tube (driver tube), and output tubes. So, in a Single ended stereo amp, you will see 1) rectifier, 1) driver (sometimes two), and 2) output tubes as a standard config.
why do I see people using 6SN7 type tubes only? Aren’t they typically driver tubes? Are no output tubes needed? BTW, I’m not an engineer, so, I don’t understand design; however, I can follow along…
If you only are seeing driver tubes, it's probably a hybrid amp - replacing the output tubes with a solid-state doodle (I am not an engineer either). I've not seen a lot of HP tube amps with rectifier tubes - although my Ampsandsound Mogwai SE has one - but most pure tube HP amps will have an output and a driver tube (the Darkvoice uses 6AS7/6080 for the output and 6SN7 as the driver).
The Schiit Vali 2 being mentioned here is a hybrid amp. Their moderately-priced non-hybrid tube amp offering is the Valhalla, which uses 6N1P and 6N6P tubes. Similarly, the Monoprice Liquid Platinum that's been mentioned is a hybrid amp.
If you don't mind a little DIY the bottlehead crack pairs fantastic with the higher impedance sennheiser headphones. Match made in heaven. I've had the chance to compare the crack with a darkvoice 366se, which I also enjoy very much, and for the hd800 the crack was much more pleasant to listen to.
Oh the crack is by far and away better than the Darkvoice, even if you've modded the DV to hell and back. Absolutely magnificent way to cut your teeth on some soldering/amp building as well. It's impossible IMO to beat the Crack without going way out of its price range, although that does come with the requirement of actually building it.
If you only are seeing driver tubes, it's probably a hybrid amp - replacing the output tubes with a solid-state doodle (I am not an engineer either). I've not seen a lot of HP tube amps with rectifier tubes - although my Ampsandsound Mogwai SE has one - but most pure tube HP amps will have an output and a driver tube (the Darkvoice uses 6AS7/6080 for the output and 6SN7 as the driver).
The Schiit Vali 2 being mentioned here is a hybrid amp. Their moderately-priced non-hybrid tube amp offering is the Valhalla, which uses 6N1P and 6N6P tubes. Similarly, the Monoprice Liquid Platinum that's been mentioned is a hybrid amp.
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