Xduoo Amplifiers
Feb 11, 2014 at 10:04 AM Post #16 of 1,987
I am curious about this and the similar priced, new "Hifi RACOON SG300".
Old Thread here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/550692/impression-ber-muzik-tiny-tube-dac/0_20
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 2:08 PM Post #18 of 1,987
I just got the TA-02, might try and get the TA-03 once ive review the TA-02.
Stock i found the TA-02 underwhelming, lots of power but quite hot up top, little body, sucked out mids. Also one of the chinese tubes failed on me, lost it's vacuum (white mist at the bottom of the tube), so i got a pair of Mullard's off ebay (1964, mitcham factory) and this amp is tons better.
 
I love the look of it, the build is good, the pot is nice and smooth and the sound is lush and smooth as is expected of tubes, no more sucked out mids like the stock tube. The mullard may not have the best top end, but pair it with slighty brighter headphones and it is great. With the new tubes, I am very happy with it. A great buy if you have extra tubes lying around or if you buy some different tubes pretty much straight away.
 
Pics sooon
 
Feb 23, 2014 at 3:22 PM Post #21 of 1,987
I left the top tube protectors off of mine, looks better
 
Mar 22, 2014 at 8:56 AM Post #22 of 1,987
Bump in case anyone has pulled the trigger on this guy!
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/xDuoo-xt-3-tube-headphone-amplifier-USB-DAC-24Bit-192KHz-2014-export-verision-/141225587675?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item20e1b373db
 
Mar 24, 2014 at 9:22 AM Post #23 of 1,987




While it looks excellent, it does not state output impedance which, based on its design, should be higher since it is a transformer-less tube output.
Not sure if it has an impedance selector. Seems like slightly below the little dot 3 I used to own, but the little dot 3 had no DAC so this could be a sweet solution.
 
Mar 25, 2014 at 12:08 AM Post #25 of 1,987
You only worry about output impedance if you have headphones or IEMs that are low impedance because the ideal ratio is ten to one, with the amp output impedance being ten times less than the headphones impedance.
So the sound is better.
OTL amps (output transformer less) naturally have a higher output impedance, so they sound better with headphones of higher impedance.
They may still sound OK, but low impedance headphones and IEMs can pick up him and noise floor more easily, so you would need better amp.
Transistor/op amp based amps don't have these problems as they can have very low impedance.
So my suggestion would be to go for a hybrid tube amp which uses solid state for output,
OR
If you can afford the best, a tube with transformer out is probably best if you like tube sound...
The only drawback with these designs are the expense of the output transformers and the lower power output which some cans like the Hifiman HE6 need a lot..
So to sum up.
This amp is nice for a higher impedance cans in the range that the specs actually state, in its power output Specs they state the usable impedance and that would be the ideal range.
 
Mar 25, 2014 at 12:10 AM Post #26 of 1,987
You only worry about output impedance if you have headphones or IEMs that are low impedance because the ideal ratio is ten to one, with the amp output impedance being ten times less than the headphones impedance.
So the sound is better.
OTL amps (output transformer less) naturally have a higher output impedance, so they sound better with headphones of higher impedance.
They may still sound OK, but low impedance headphones and IEMs can pick up him and noise floor more easily, so you would need better amp.
Transistor/op amp based amps don't have these problems as they can have very low impedance.
So my suggestion would be to go for a hybrid tube amp which uses solid state for output,
OR
If you can afford the best, a tube with transformer out is probably best if you like tube sound...
The only drawback with these designs are the expense of the output transformers and the lower power output which some cans like the Hifiman HE6 need a lot..
So to sum up.
This amp is nice for a higher impedance cans in the range that the specs actually state, in its power output Specs they state the usable impedance and that would be the ideal range.

Wow. I actually understood most of that. Thanks maxx. Since I'm mostly a Grado guy, looks like I'll hang on to my LD1 instead of letting upgraditis get the best of me...
 
Jul 25, 2014 at 10:40 AM Post #27 of 1,987
  Wow. I actually understood most of that. Thanks maxx. Since I'm mostly a Grado guy, looks like I'll hang on to my LD1 instead of letting upgraditis get the best of me...

+1 Nicely explained.  I love learning stuff from this forum thanks to well worded, thoughtful explanations.
 
Thanks!
 
Aug 14, 2014 at 9:25 PM Post #29 of 1,987
Guys ,
 
Just got a TA-03 locally in Australia from A1Futureshop  . They are the distributor for Australia and New Zealand. 
Haven't got a chance to test it out yet. Do you reckon they will drive the Senn HD700 ? .
 

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