[Ultrainferno]

Today we look at the Xduoo HK TA-20 tube headphone amp. A first look, now on Headfonia!

https://www.headfonia.com/xduoo-ta-20-picture-sunday/

Full review soon of course

And here it is: https://www.headfonia.com/xduoo-ta-20-review/

 

[Naughtnaps25]

I'm looking for an extremely powerful amp to run my argons off of, any recommendations?

I sold the THX AAA portable to get the Fiio K5 pro because I have no use for portability. The K5 pro is rated at 1.5W into 32ohms and I think I really notice the extra power and now I want more... The K5 pros small form factor is a big plus. The unit sits on my desk and there is not much space.

 

[Baten]

I'm looking for an extremely powerful amp to run my argons off of, any recommendations?

I sold the THX AAA portable to get the Fiio K5 pro because I have no use for portability. The K5 pro is rated at 1.5W into 32ohms and I think I really notice the extra power and now I want more... The K5 pros small form factor is a big plus. The unit sits on my desk and there is not much space.

Extremely powerful portable amp? Or not necessarily portable?...

Anyway the E1DA PowerDACv2 or E1DA 9038s drive my hifiman ananda at 20% volume output, the power is literally insane on this, but they only have 2.5mm balanced output both of them. Are your argons balanced?

 

[kukkurovaca]

I'm looking for an extremely powerful amp to run my argons off of, any recommendations?

I sold the THX AAA portable to get the Fiio K5 pro because I have no use for portability. The K5 pro is rated at 1.5W into 32ohms and I think I really notice the extra power and now I want more... The K5 pros small form factor is a big plus. The unit sits on my desk and there is not much space.

If extreme power is your primary requirement, Emotiva Bas-X A-100 with the jumpers in is probably going to be the most MOAR POWER for your buck. 8.5W @ 47ohm.

If you need something more desk friendly, maybe Schiit Asgard?

(Note: I have not heard either of those myself.)

 

[Naughtnaps25]

Extremely powerful portable amp? Or not necessarily portable?...

Anyway the E1DA PowerDACv2 or E1DA 9038s drive my hifiman ananda at 20% volume output, the power is literally insane on this, but they only have 2.5mm balanced output both of them. Are your argons balanced?

Unfortunately I didn't go with balanced as most people say its not necessary. I have heard some of the extra power is bs and ive heard the balanced can provide alot of power in other cases... Not portable as in doesn't need to have a battery in the amp. The fiio k5 pro would be a monster of a portable amp lmao. Something like the ifi micro idsd black label would work but is out of my price range at $600. I am hoping that their is a cheap open board chinese amp out there that provides an insane amount of watts.

Sending my argons back to get them balanced is an option.

If extreme power is your primary requirement, Emotiva Bas-X A-100 with the jumpers in is probably going to be the most MOAR POWER for your buck. 8.5W @ 47ohm.

If you need something more desk friendly, maybe Schiit Asgard?

(Note: I have not heard either of those myself.)

(Note: I have not heard either of those myself.)[/QUOTE]

That is what I have been hearing. Only downside is that thing is a tank and I have heard it is not as clear as other amps and really only works for insanely hard to drive headphones. Schiit asgard would be great... I may look into getting my argons balanced.

I am new to hifi world and come from a practicality setup standpoint so hate the idea of a seperate amp and dace sitting on my desk.

 

[Baten]

Honestly the K5 Pro seems fine for what you need. It's got 3 gain levels but is far cheaper than the iFi black label DSD.

The E1DA gear would be plenty powerful and cheap, but your argons are not balanced. Sending them back seems not worth the hassle.

Imo, just get the K5 Pro and call it quits. I've heard not a single bad review of 'em yet.

 

[kukkurovaca]

I am new to hifi world and come from a practicality setup standpoint so hate the idea of a seperate amp and dace sitting on my desk.

FWIW I'm happy using my Argons with amps that deliver a lot less power than your K5 (Ray Samuels SR-71, Phatlab Phantasy, Walnut F1). And even the iFi Micro BL would only be a little bit more powerful.

Small DAC/amp combo units with mulit-watt power output aren't that common; the Asgard might be hard to beat. But you could also get a very small DAC (doesn't need to be a big stack), there are well-regarded DACs that are USB dongle-sized.

Oh! Another interesting option is the Garage1217 Polaris. (http://www.garage1217.com/POWERSPECS/Polaris.png) More compact than the Asgard, and about as powerful at the Argons' impedance level. No DAC option though.

 

[Naughtnaps25]

Honestly the K5 Pro seems fine for what you need. It's got 3 gain levels but is far cheaper than the iFi black label DSD.

The E1DA gear would be plenty powerful and cheap, but your argons are not balanced. Sending them back seems not worth the hassle.

Imo, just get the K5 Pro and call it quits. I've heard not a single bad review of 'em yet.

FWIW I'm happy using my Argons with amps that deliver a lot less power than your K5 (Ray Samuels SR-71, Phatlab Phantasy, Walnut F1). And even the iFi Micro BL would only be a little bit more powerful.

Small DAC/amp combo units with mulit-watt power output aren't that common; the Asgard might be hard to beat. But you could also get a very small DAC (doesn't need to be a big stack), there are well-regarded DACs that are USB dongle-sized.



Oh! Another interesting option is the Garage1217 Polaris. (http://www.garage1217.com/POWERSPECS/Polaris.png) More compact than the Asgard, and about as powerful at the Argons' impedance level. No DAC option though.

Thanks for the sensible words. I am going to stick with the k5 pro for now until I make more money or the next small form factor power amp/dac comes out. Maybe then too send my argons back to get balanced. The k5 pro does sound great, but that polaris amp looks sweet! Would love to hear some reviews on it...

Thanks

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Any other XDUOO XD-05PLUS owner here?

Excellent and quite powerfull.

BIG improvment over the already nice XD-05!

 

[Shaddonai]

Hi everyone, I´m thinking on buying an SHP9500. I thought of pairing it with this DAC (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/328...&terminal_id=b5528224b30b421694d7fb75b9d6383f) . Could someone please recommend me a chinese amp to pair this with (Doesn´t need to be powerful, I just don´t want to degrade the DAC sound). If it can be below $25, better. Thanks in advance

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I still adore my Xduoo XD-05PLUS, wich stole for good the place of XD-05 older model.

You can give a look at my review on headfi or my NO BS AUDIOPHILE review blog!

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Hi everyone, I´m thinking on buying an SHP9500. I thought of pairing it with this DAC (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32880513465.html?dp=2e6726e3e6914b1d64d0f8668d31eae3&af=240682&cv=47843&afref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.head-fi.org%2Fthreads%2Fimpressions-thread-about-obscure-budget-chinese-dac-amp-best-finds-reference-list.853311%2Fpage-8&mall_affr=pr3&dp=2e6726e3e6914b1d64d0f8668d31eae3&af=240682&cv=47843&afref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.head-fi.org%2Fthreads%2Fimpressions-thread-about-obscure-budget-chinese-dac-amp-best-finds-reference-list.853311%2Fpage-8&mall_affr=pr3&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1571950115479&sk=VnYZvQVf&aff_trace_key=6b4b37d3fbf5449b9a08246644356405-1571950115479-01336-VnYZvQVf&terminal_id=b5528224b30b421694d7fb75b9d6383f) . Could someone please recommend me a chinese amp to pair this with (Doesn´t need to be powerful, I just don´t want to degrade the DAC sound). If it can be below $25, better. Thanks in advance

MAn, you make a great choice, I have this dac and love it!
But perhaps your life would be easier with something like that:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32963229276.html

 

[Shaddonai]

Thank you for your response. Since I'm about to start school holidays, I think I might tackle on a little project and build the amp myself (I know about electronic, have basis on Altium Designer and OPAMP theory, and I can print the PCB with ferric chloride) . The thing is, the 4xTDA1543 DAC says in it's description that it can output 2Vrms. Using this explanation (https://forum.psaudio.com/t/designing-headphone-amplifier-circuit-need-help/4378/3), I calculated that I would need 7,5 mW to push 110dB, so the amp should be able to give 0,5V. So there are two things: 1)If I only need 7,5 mW to push 110dB, why the headphones specs says that it can take up to 220 or 240 mW. 2)What can I do, since the voltage I need is lower than the output of the DAC itself without an amp (I thought of putting a resistor in serie, but forums says it ruins the frecuency response).

 

[Dobrescu George]

This one goes here?

 

[chennaxin95]

Wondering how the Fiio Q5s is doing with the THX amp module, is it worth the upgrade?