[Mr Trev]

Because they sound amazing, just like headphones, maybe it's a new guy thing - I'm 62. Plugged in my first tubes - correction - unplugged my first tubes in 1968, while I was repairing the neighborhood TV's.

First time back into tubes in 50+ years, wanted more power for my 600 ohm headphones, IEM's are a bonus - besides I have 3x as many IEM's as headphones, so whatever I get needs to pull weight on both piles.

Like I said, the PSVANE 12AU7-T MKII's - new and themselves breaking in - I just got the Xduoo TA-20 on Dec 27th and the tubes just before that. So I'm in discovery mode.

No problem about the joking, I need to sync up first on the details I'm trying to ascertain with help from others... the Moose with Antlers didn't look like an Audiophile

I've alerted my NOS tube suppliers (yeah I've jumped in with both feet) of my need to use IEM's too, so low noise tubes are a priority moving forward - whatever they supply needs to be tested for noise with a sensitive IEM to make sure there is no Cloud of Electrons Hissing around inside.

The TA-20 stock tubes I think are also PSVANE, or JJ or EH tubes, just the lower end of the product line, but they don't HISS either.

I may be stuck with new tubes of our current generation, but a couple suppliers think they can find NOS tubes that will work, a third isn't talking to me anymore... or she's just thinking.

So suggestions for NOS or new tubes that have no HISS would be appreciated, besides the PSVANE, JJ, EH, and maybe NOS Telefunken, any ideas?

I've also got a Topping D90 MQA and Topping A90 paired up that play IEM's and headphones well, along with a FiiO M15 for portable use.

The TA-20 is to get a bit more power to the 600 ohm headphones and enjoy some "tubular" sound on all the headphones and IEM's.

I agree that IEMs can sound great with tubes - I was really surprised at how well my Vali2 works for IEMS.
BUT, I think you might be fighting an uphill battle using the DV. From what I gather, it's pretty much made for high impedance phones, and typically IEMs are the exact opposite. There's probably no way to guarantee a tube will be hiss free without actually trying it yourself. You might be better off just getting one of those ifi IEMatch thingies.

 

[DeweyCH]

So this combo sounds amazeballs:

Just mindnumbing how deep it digs in the bass without any loss of detail. Daft Punk's Random Access Memories is so nice here.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

So this combo sounds amazeballs:



Just mindnumbing how deep it digs in the bass without any loss of detail. Daft Punk's Random Access Memories is so nice here.

My damn CV just broke, was taking it out gently and the glass just quit....live n learn I guess!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Wishing you all a happy N' healthy new year! Here's to many new tube adventures with the DV! Cheers!!!

 

[DeweyCH]

Damn. "Touch" just gave me a practically religious experience.

 

[JKDJedi]

Damn. "Touch" just gave me a practically religious experience.

Touch? Ok.. I only had two glasses of wine too.. and this is my first night not going anywhere for New Years (in a long time.. I can't remember the last time I was home).. I thought I was gonna be sitting near the fireplace watching a movie.. Headphones it is ..and another glass of wine..

 

[bcowen]

Touch? Ok.. I only had two glasses of wine too.. and this is my first night not going anywhere for New Years (in a long time.. I can't remember the last time I was home).. I thought I was gonna be sitting near the fireplace watching a movie.. Headphones it is ..and another glass of wine..

You guys are losers. We're partying here like it's 1999. Big rig turned up to 11 spinning some Def Lep on LP, breaking out the Ouzo, house full -- me, the wife, 2 cats and a dog...I mean, that's full, right? My son escaped to his girlfriend's house. I'm pretty sure it was excitement overload for him, so he's forgiven. Happy New Year to all!!

 

[Slade01]

You guys are losers. We're partying here like it's 1999. Big rig turned up to 11 spinning some Def Lep on LP, breaking out the Ouzo, house full -- me, the wife, 2 cats and a dog...I mean, that's full, right? My son escaped to his girlfriend's house. I'm pretty sure it was excitement overload for him, so he's forgiven. Happy New Year to all!!

Its not a party without Ouzo! Happy New Year everyone!

 

[JKDJedi]

You guys are losers. We're partying here like it's 1999. Big rig turned up to 11 spinning some Def Lep on LP, breaking out the Ouzo, house full -- me, the wife, 2 cats and a dog...I mean, that's full, right? My son escaped to his girlfriend's house. I'm pretty sure it was excitement overload for him, so he's forgiven. Happy New Year to all!!

L M F A O.. HAH!

 

[bcowen]

L M F A O.. HAH!

 

[hmscott]

I agree that IEMs can sound great with tubes - I was really surprised at how well my Vali2 works for IEMS.
BUT, I think you might be fighting an uphill battle using the DV. From what I gather, it's pretty much made for high impedance phones, and typically IEMs are the exact opposite. There's probably no way to guarantee a tube will be hiss free without actually trying it yourself. You might be better off just getting one of those ifi IEMatch thingies.

I didn't find too much activity for TA-20 tube rolling, I hope you guys don't mind if I hang out here a bit.

The TA-20 has 2 12AU7's + SS output stage and supports 8-ohm to 600-ohm headphones. My KZ ZAX is 28-ohm impedance, my DT770 16-ohm has even less impedance than my IEM's, in general.

With non-hissy tubes, the TA-20 is whisper-quiet, from 0-95 indicated volume

Spoiler: xDuoo TA-20 specs

Go to read xDuoo TA-20 product manual
xDuoo TA-20 Balanced Tube Amp-xDuoo Official Store

Spec. of xDuoo TA-20

• Anti-interference aluminum alloy shell
• Removable aluminum alloy tube guardrail
• Dual 12AU7 tube
• Class-A transistor expansion
• Customized hi-fi capacitor
• Professional volume IC
• Balanced input and output
• 2 sets of aux input interfaces
• Power supply: External electricity (AC100–240V)
• Output power: Phone: 2,000 mW (32 ohms); XLR: 2,000 mW (32 ohms)
• Frequency response: 10 Hz–100 kHz (+/- 1 dB)
• Gain: +18 dB
• Distortion: ≤ 0.01% (1 kHz, 32-ohm load)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: 115 dB
• Headphone impedance: 8–600 ohms
• Footprint: 5.8 x 8.3 in (14.8 x 21 cm)
• Weight: 3.4 lbs (1.55 kg)

I'm still considering a traditional tube only headphone amp down the road, but for now, I can dip my toes back in to "tube sound" while being able to drive most of my IEM's / Headphones.

 

[bcowen]

I didn't find too much activity for TA-20 tube rolling, I hope you guys don't mind if I hang out here a bit.

The TA-20 has 2 12AU7's + SS output stage and supports 8-ohm to 600-ohm headphones. My KZ ZAX is 28-ohm impedance, my DT770 16-ohm has even less impedance than my IEM's, in general.

With non-hissy tubes, the TA-20 is whisper-quiet, from 0-95 indicated volume

Spoiler: xDuoo TA-20 specs

Go to read xDuoo TA-20 product manual
xDuoo TA-20 Balanced Tube Amp-xDuoo Official Store

Spec. of xDuoo TA-20

• Anti-interference aluminum alloy shell
• Removable aluminum alloy tube guardrail
• Dual 12AU7 tube
• Class-A transistor expansion
• Customized hi-fi capacitor
• Professional volume IC
• Balanced input and output
• 2 sets of aux input interfaces
• Power supply: External electricity (AC100–240V)
• Output power: Phone: 2,000 mW (32 ohms); XLR: 2,000 mW (32 ohms)
• Frequency response: 10 Hz–100 kHz (+/- 1 dB)
• Gain: +18 dB
• Distortion: ≤ 0.01% (1 kHz, 32-ohm load)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: 115 dB
• Headphone impedance: 8–600 ohms
• Footprint: 5.8 x 8.3 in (14.8 x 21 cm)
• Weight: 3.4 lbs (1.55 kg)

I'm still considering a traditional tube only headphone amp down the road, but for now, I can dip my toes back in to "tube sound" while being able to drive most of my IEM's / Headphones.

You might look for some Holland-made Amperex 7316's. They're a 'higher spec' direct sub for a 12AU7, so you may have fewer issues finding quiet ones. The long plate variety is better than the short plate, and the Holland made versions better than the US made ones IME, but all sound quite nice. Not sure if the long plates were ever even made in the US -- they preceded the short plate versions so may have only been produced in Holland.

 

[bcowen]

I didn't find too much activity for TA-20 tube rolling, I hope you guys don't mind if I hang out here a bit.

The TA-20 has 2 12AU7's + SS output stage and supports 8-ohm to 600-ohm headphones. My KZ ZAX is 28-ohm impedance, my DT770 16-ohm has even less impedance than my IEM's, in general.

With non-hissy tubes, the TA-20 is whisper-quiet, from 0-95 indicated volume

Spoiler: xDuoo TA-20 specs

Go to read xDuoo TA-20 product manual
xDuoo TA-20 Balanced Tube Amp-xDuoo Official Store

Spec. of xDuoo TA-20

• Anti-interference aluminum alloy shell
• Removable aluminum alloy tube guardrail
• Dual 12AU7 tube
• Class-A transistor expansion
• Customized hi-fi capacitor
• Professional volume IC
• Balanced input and output
• 2 sets of aux input interfaces
• Power supply: External electricity (AC100–240V)
• Output power: Phone: 2,000 mW (32 ohms); XLR: 2,000 mW (32 ohms)
• Frequency response: 10 Hz–100 kHz (+/- 1 dB)
• Gain: +18 dB
• Distortion: ≤ 0.01% (1 kHz, 32-ohm load)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: 115 dB
• Headphone impedance: 8–600 ohms
• Footprint: 5.8 x 8.3 in (14.8 x 21 cm)
• Weight: 3.4 lbs (1.55 kg)

I'm still considering a traditional tube only headphone amp down the road, but for now, I can dip my toes back in to "tube sound" while being able to drive most of my IEM's / Headphones.

Note too that there are many 12AU7 variants that have the same pinout and are electrically close enough to a 12AU7 that they can be substituted easily (and safely) -- you're not limited specifically to a NOS or new manufacture 12AU7 itself. 5814**, 5963, 6189, CV4003, just to name a few.

** Stay FAR away from a Philips ECG branded 5814. You'll see those for sale and (comparatively) cheap usually. They are probably the worst sounding tube (of any type) I've ever heard in my entire audio life. Yes, even worse than GE. And that's saying something...coming from me.

 

[hmscott]

Note too that there are many 12AU7 variants that have the same pinout and are electrically close enough to a 12AU7 that they can be substituted easily (and safely) -- you're not limited specifically to a NOS or new manufacture 12AU7 itself. 5814**, 5963, 6189, CV4003, just to name a few.

** Stay FAR away from a Philips ECG branded 5814. You'll see those for sale and (comparatively) cheap usually. They are probably the worst sounding tube (of any type) I've ever heard in my entire audio life. Yes, even worse than GE. And that's saying something...coming from me.

You might look for some Holland-made Amperex 7316's. They're a 'higher spec' direct sub for a 12AU7, so you may have fewer issues finding quiet ones. The long plate variety is better than the short plate, and the Holland made versions better than the US made ones IME, but all sound quite nice. Not sure if the long plates were ever even made in the US -- they preceded the short plate versions so may have only been produced in Holland.

Very helpful, thank you. Holland and Amperex have come up many times in my searches, which helps me focus my (long!) list

I think the Baldwin's I have that are so noisy are Long Plate's, but might be played out - near the end of their life span. They have particularly dark "burn marks" I recall being part of the problem with running in Baldwin organs - tight spaces and near obstructions - they sounded great back then though - 70's, when I heard them live, when we had actual large Mall Stores selling Electric Organ's for the whole family.

I've heard the medical, laboratory, aerospace spec NOS's are good for low noise, I haven't ordered any yet, they are not inexpensive.

The NOS RCA Clear Top Baldwin's were $60 gain matched pair shipped here in the US. The PSVANE 12AU7-T MKII's factory gain matched boxed pair - $75, the 12AU7-S Art Series $95 from here in the US - Amazon too.

Any suggestions on where to get NOS tubes here in the US / Canada? Or outside the US that will ship to the US too.

Happy New Year!

 

[Galapac]

Very helpful, thank you. Holland and Amperex have come up many times in my searches, which helps me focus my (long!) list

I think the Baldwin's I have that are so noisy are Long Plate's, but might be played out - near the end of their life span. They have particularly dark "burn marks" I recall being part of the problem with running in Baldwin organs - tight spaces and near obstructions - they sounded great back then though - 70's, when I heard them live, when we had actual large Mall Stores selling Electric Organ's for the whole family.

I've heard the medical, laboratory, aerospace spec NOS's are good for low noise, I haven't ordered any yet, they are not inexpensive.

The NOS RCA Clear Top Baldwin's were $60 gain matched pair shipped here in the US. The PSVANE 12AU7-T MKII's factory gain matched boxed pair - $75, the 12AU7-S Art Series $95 from here in the US - Amazon too.

Any suggestions on where to get NOS tubes here in the US / Canada? Or outside the US that will ship to the US too.

Happy New Year!

Try these guys...one of the best in the U.S. and they will not rip you off like some on eBay. Roy & Dale are great guys and are always fair and honest. Heck, you can even call them and that is rare these days. Check em out.
https://vacuumtubes.net/