[sheiku]

Hi to all, and i am glad to be here. ( sorry for my english)
I bought as a step over another the following devices, and i have some "problems" with them:

akg k601 - headfoned ( about 7 years ago)
DAC SMSL sanskrit 1 year ago
headphone amplifier xduoo TA-26 ( 6 months - with stock tubes)

My problem is that with , or without using the TA26 in the chain , the sound is 95% the same:

var 1) Computer ( optical/ usb) > DAC smsl > AKG
var 2 ) Computer ( optical/ usb) > DAC smsl > Xduoo amplifier > AKG
both cases the sound is in blind identical. Maybe directly from dac is a littlle more crisp on highs, but i canot tell for shure. And maybe the bass is 10% stronger directly fron dac !.

Of course on the xduoo i can rise the volume to impossible levels..But on the Dac i stay at 80% for normal listening

initialy I thougt that this type of sound is OK , regarding the mids, voices, bas untill i put my akg directy on my old amplifiers:
Sansui AU9900 and Sansui AU x-701
I had an revelations. on AU9900 was a little bit more bass , but the AKG on the sansui au x701 vas an wooow.
The sound is fuller, and the bass i feel in in my had like a slam, not only the sound. ( but i loose some soundstage)

So what it is happening ? the xduoo , highly prised in forums as able to drive hard headphones is not good?
Before i bought it i readed that it was able to output about 1W at 150 ohm, and the AKG ask about 0.2W at 112ohm or so.

I was wrong?
what to do now? i need an good amp , but i hardly can sell in my country the xduoo and i have no budget for a new amp. i bught the xduoo for 300 usd. On cheaper chinese amp i afford i canot see the output in specs, and also i canot trust them anymore.

Thank you all

 

[ProtegeManiac]

So what it is happening ? the xduoo , highly prised in forums as able to drive hard headphones is not good?

Highly praised for what, exactly? Because according this it's for transparency and power.

In image terms, it'd be like if camera sensors look like some old films but Film Simulation on Fuji cameras isn't a thing, so you might be looking for digital camera that makes everything look like it was taken with Velvia but you bought the camera highly praised for producing images that look like they were taken using Provia.

 

[sheiku]

Prised for power and transparecy I was in need for power and that is the reasons we buy an amplifier. but it is not delivering the power . And if i have a touch from the tube world i will be better..
Regarding the image situations, even i own fullframe dslr and prime lens..i do not understand your analogy
Thank you
Dan

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Prised for power and transparecy I was in need for power and that is the reasons we buy an amplifier. but it is not delivering the power . And if i have a touch from the tube world i will be better..

AKG K601 is 120ohms. Your first problem there is that amp is an OTL amplifier, which makes power through voltage but as a way to make a lot of voltage cheap, it does so at the expense of current. That means it will have peak power delivery into a 300ohm load. When people praise an OTL amp for power, it's because for the same money, you can get a lot more power into 300ohms compared to most other amps with a totally different circuit design.

The other problem is that its sensitivity is 101dB/1V, which, given a 120ohm impedance, translates to around 91dB/1mW. That's very low - I wouldn't use less than somewhere around 900mW on that. By contrast, the HD600 is something like 97dB/1mW and would do fine with just 256mW, just that it being 300ohms means you need an amp that produces a lot of voltage so you can get that 256mW into that 300ohm load.

Regarding the image situations, even i own fullframe dslr and prime lens..i do not understand your analogy

Because you need to think about the before times. Before that "D" in DSLR. I'm talking about this...

..and this...

...and heck, let's toss in this one too...

...making for very different images, like this one...

But in your case since you're listening to digital music, so it's kind of like using something like this...

...or this...

...which has a digital sensor instead of using film, but can simulate those film stock, like on this newer one advertising all the film it can simulate...

...but regarding film stock/film simulations, it's possible that what in your mind might sound good is more like what is labeled "Velvia" in both of those sample sets as opposed to what is labeled "Provia" (let alone "Astia").