[hmscott]

Thanx for answer , so i realy like HF580 sound and dont want to sell it and also i really like my TA 26

So what can you say about Sennheiser HD 6XX for TA-26?

Well, I wouldn't sell your HF580 as I really enjoy my Sendyaudio Aiva headphones with impedance 32 ohm on my TA-20, and I've read the HF580 planar has the same/similar drivers as my Sendyaudio AIVA, so yeah, I would keep them!

My 600 ohm Beyerdynamics sound best on the TA-26, along with my 150 ohm Sennheiser HD660s.

I've not heard Sennheiser HD600/HD650 300 ohm headphones on the TA-26, so I cannot say for certain they would be better sounding in comparison to my 150 ohm Sennheiser HD660s, but if the Sennheiser HD600/HD650 300 ohm headphones sounded better on the TA-26, I wouldn't be surprised.

If you do get Sennheiser HD600/HD650 300 ohm headphones for your TA-26, please let us know how you like them!

 

[kibot]

Well, I wouldn't sell your HF580 as I really enjoy my Sendy Aiva headphones with impedance 32 ohm on my TA-20, and I've read the HF580 planar has the same/similar drivers as my Sendyaudio AIVA, so yeah, I would keep them!

My 600 ohm Beyerdynamics sound best on the TA-26, along with my 150 ohm Sennheiser HD660s.

I've not heard Sennheiser HD600/HD650 300 ohm headphones on the TA-26, so I cannot say for certain they would be better sounding in comparison to my 150 ohm Sennheiser HD660s, but if the Sennheiser HD600/HD650 300 ohm headphones sounded better on the TA-26, I wouldn't be surprised.

If you do get Sennheiser HD600/HD650 300 ohm headphones for your TA-26, please let us know how you like them!

Yeah HF 580 have the same one and it sounds absolutely awesome and i thought that this model and other planars need powerfull amplification regardless of its impedance
Maybe i need do something with volume lavel in Windows , DAC and TA26 ?

 

[hmscott]

Yeah HF 580 have the same one and it sounds absolutely awesome and i thought that this model and other planars need powerfull amplification regardless of its impedance
Maybe i need do something with volume lavel in Windows , DAC and TA26 ?

You can optimize the source chain fidelity by running them at the fixed output of 100%. Just like a fixed output DAC/CD/Tuner/etc you want to run the Windows output at 100% too. As you drop the volume the S/N ratio drops.

And, on a DAC if it has a digital volume variable output you lose bits of resolution as you drop the volume output. At first it doesn't matter much @ 24 or 32 bit resolution if your source is 16 bit, but as you further drop the volume or listen to a higher bit rate recording it can cut into the fidelity.

The TA-26 with full D90 2V output with my 150 ohm Sennheiser headphones limits the volume dial range, so I do drop the output of the D90 by -10dB or -15dB or up to -20dB to get the volume dial range I want, but if I leave it on -15dB I don't need to play with it. Then the TA-26 volume dial can be adjusted above 9 oclock to 12 oclock - it does get loud

With the 600 ohm headphones I can run the full D90 2V 100% 0.0dB full output and the volume dial has plenty of travel.

I always run 100% output on my Windows 10 PC. I've found Tidal and other apps occasionally reset their output below 100%, so I check to make sure they are also at 100% output.

That is another reason I want to try the Sennheiser HD600 / HD650 300 ohm impedance headphones, 300 ohm should be a good place to be on the TA-26 Volume as well.

 

[kibot]

You can optimize the source chain fidelity by running them at the fixed output of 100%. Just like a fixed output DAC/CD/Tuner/etc you want to run the Windows output at 100% too. As you drop the volume the S/N ratio drops.

And, on a DAC if it has a digital volume variable output you lose bits of resolution as you drop the volume output. At first it doesn't matter much @ 24 or 32 bit resolution if your source is 16 bit, but as you further drop the volume or listen to a higher bit rate recording it can cut into the fidelity.

The TA-26 with full D90 2V output with my 150 ohm Sennheiser headphones limits the volume dial range, so I do drop the output of the D90 by -10dB or -15dB or up to -20dB to get the volume dial range I want, but if I leave it on -15dB I don't need to play with it. Then the TA-26 volume dial can be adjusted above 9 oclock to 12 oclock - it does get loud

With the 600 ohm headphones I can run the full D90 2V 100% 0.0dB full output and the volume dial has plenty of travel.

I always run 100% output on my Windows 10 PC. I've found Tidal and other apps occasionally reset their output below 100%, so I check to make sure they are also at 100% output.

That is another reason I want to try the Sennheiser HD600 / HD650 300 ohm impedance headphones, 300 ohm should be a good place to be on the TA-26 Volume as well.

Grat thnx for advice ✌- as i understand i need use Win. and Dacmagic level on max(100%) and regulate volume on TA 26 right?

 

[kibot]

Ah i forget to say that i use APO EQ with Peace plugin in Win and it have -9dB level of gain

 

[PetFju]

MT-603 has arrived and has been tested very briefly.
First impressions; This thing is tiny! I don't know what i expected, but it has a very small footprint. It is very light as well, so heavy cables almost makes it topple over.
As far as sound goes; Stock tube installed first few listens gives the tubeish sound i was expecting, but with too much muddiness. The natural sibilance of "Sh" sounds and "th" sounds as well as high pitch guitar plucking is muted and veiled. So much so that it lacks significantly in detail.
I know the tube obviously isn't close to being burnt in or sounding the way it probably will after some hours of listening, but as i couldn't bear it i had to swap it. I installed a clear top RCA tube, which i have previously used in the TA-20, so it has some hours of runtime. That sure changed things. The sound is still tubeish, but now the treble and detail is back Very amusing.
As i said these are the very very first impressions (talking less than two hours of playtime) and as such should not be taken as gospel. What i can say is that it does something, but then again as it is a tube-buffer it really should
I will continue listening with it installed the chain between the ADI-2 and the Atrox V2 as well as between the Sennheiser GSX1000 and the Atrox V2, and give it some hours and then try to compare it to using the TA-26 as a pre, as well as with it removed. This will all be a while though, as i am quite busy these days and don't really have time to sit down and listen closely and analyze everything.

But there you go, those are my first impressions. Have a great week

 

[kibot]

MT-603 has arrived and has been tested very briefly.
First impressions; This thing is tiny! I don't know what i expected, but it has a very small footprint. It is very light as well, so heavy cables almost makes it topple over.
As far as sound goes; Stock tube installed first few listens gives the tubeish sound i was expecting, but with too much muddiness. The natural sibilance of "Sh" sounds and "th" sounds as well as high pitch guitar plucking is muted and veiled. So much so that it lacks significantly in detail.
I know the tube obviously isn't close to being burnt in or sounding the way it probably will after some hours of listening, but as i couldn't bear it i had to swap it. I installed a clear top RCA tube, which i have previously used in the TA-20, so it has some hours of runtime. That sure changed things. The sound is still tubeish, but now the treble and detail is back Very amusing.
As i said these are the very very first impressions (talking less than two hours of playtime) and as such should not be taken as gospel. What i can say is that it does something, but then again as it is a tube-buffer it really should
I will continue listening with it installed the chain between the ADI-2 and the Atrox V2 as well as between the Sennheiser GSX1000 and the Atrox V2, and give it some hours and then try to compare it to using the TA-26 as a pre, as well as with it removed. This will all be a while though, as i am quite busy these days and don't really have time to sit down and listen closely and analyze everything.

But there you go, those are my first impressions. Have a great week

Spasibo for review - i want it or mt 602(or 601) for use as tube buffer between DACmagic plus and Audionet AMP 3

 

[-Darkstar-]

Ok, I've had my TA-30 for over a month now and I thought I'd share some thoughts. After a couple of weeks of owning my Ananda's, I decided they were good enough to warrant a better DAC/Amp than the Apogee Groove, I had been using with my computer. I looked at a number all-in-one dac/amps, but I was intrigued by a tube rectified hybrid at this price point, so after reading a couple reviews, I decided to give it a shot, it was also 10% off on Amazon.

It was nicely packed, with bubble wrap covering the outside. The package looked in great condition so thanks, DHL. The build quality is solid but not premium, which is fine for this price, no complaints. The first 20 hours it ran quite hot, like I had read in reviews, but it settled down a bit and is fine, but I do wonder if this heat will affect the non-amp functions over time. Break-in took around 90 hours and sounded quite closed in, with very loose bass until then.

Like every other hybrid I've heard, I can hear a bit of bloom from the tubes, but nothing like all tube designs. With the stock tubes, the sound is quite silky in the highs and the bass is pretty powerful, with nice impact and bit of extra thickness. Staging seems wider with all my headphones and it definitely sounds like a powerful amp in dynamics. It has paired well with the Ananda's, with a thickening in the highs and more impact in bass. They don't need much power to get loud, but they definitely have responded to the extra power.

With my TH900mk2's, it's a mixed bag. On well recorded material, with tight bass, it can sound amazing, especially with electronica. The pairing can be unforgiving with compressed recordings and looser bass in some live recordings. It never gets bright in the highs, but this amp doesn't have the midrange bloom that my HP8 has, so I end up playing it at a louder level which can be good or bad in the bass department. The TA-30 is less resolving than the HP8 but is more impactful in the bass and I can tell it has a lot more power.

All in all, I am very pleased with it and with some better tubes that give more treble extension, I think it could be even better. I will say that I wish it had a gain switch because I can only use a small amount of the volume nob.

 

[albertmuc]

Found it in the mailbox today…

 

[Shane D]

This amp has made quite an impression on me, good and bad.

First, the bad: I don’t find it at all “tubey”, much like every other hybrid tube amp I have ever bought. You’d think that eventually, I would learn.

On the upside, this is one impressive little amp! I ran the HE6se V2’s at 1:00. I ran the T60 Argon’s at 10:00 and am now running the Elex’s at 8:30-9:00. I am also running the Schiit Loki with it.
The sound is really good! It does not match my big amps, but they cost ten times more. It feels a little less detailed and a little thinner, but it punches WAY out of its range! I am now on the second set of tubes (Voshkods) and will get to the JAN 5654W’s next week.
Because it does not give me the “tubey” component that I was looking for, I will likely end up selling the whole package on. But if you are short on money or just starting out, this is one hell of an amp. Of course it can get complicated with really efficient headphones and probably useless with IEM’s (Very high built-in gain).

Quite the little power house. Today it is giving my Violectric V220 a good run for it’s money. Not quite as full or detailed but, with the Loki, they seem pretty close.

 

[hmscott]

Grat thnx for advice ✌- as i understand i need use Win. and Dacmagic level on max(100%) and regulate volume on TA 26 right?

Ah i forget to say that i use APO EQ with Peace plugin in Win and it have -9dB level of gain

Ahhhh, well if you are using the APO EQ of -9dB of gain in Windows, that is the same as reducing the volume below 100% - you might try 90% volume in Windows with the APO EQ disabled or set to 0.0 on the gain. That way you can gauge what the -dB in APO EQ equals in Windows volume reduction numbers.

Again, it is best to keep the signal to noise ratio such that your source is at 100% output, Windows volume at 100.

For example, I have my D90 driving my TA-20 with the XLR output of my D90, and the RCA output of my D90 driving the TA-26.

When I reduce the output of the D90 by -20dB so the TA-26 can get more range on the Volume dial, I then need to increase the volume on the TA-20 by about 20 count, say from 55 to 75, and if I set the D90 to -10dB for the TA-26 I then need to run the TA-20 at 65. All along I have Windows and Application volume set to 100%.

Are you able to attenuate the output of your DAC and run Windows / APO at 100% source output? Perhaps compare the sound quality of reducing volume using Windows / APO EQ controls vs running Windows/source at 100% and attenuating output at the DAC.

There are fixed attenuation RCA inline devices you could insert between your DAC and the TA-26 as well. Or add attenuataion at the Headphone by inserting an iFi ieMatch+.

Or, get higher impedance headphones to reduce the need. 120 ohm, or better yet 300 ohm or even 600 ohm headphones work great on the TA-26

Because I have the HD660s I will also consider getting the 300 ohm HD800 or 300 ohm HD820.

There are so many possibilities

 

[albertmuc]

Due to my lack of experience with tubes, I am not able to compare the sound of the xDuoo AT-20 with other tube amps, therefore, I limit myself to the following:
With the "RTF ecc82 12au7 foil getter" the freshness in the sound is retained, added is a welcome warmth and physicality, which positively complements the RME.
The "Gold Lion 12AU7 / ECC82 Genalex" sound, after 30 hours of break-in, comparatively smooth and less exciting.

 

[kibot]

Ahhhh, well if you are using the APO EQ of -9dB of gain in Windows, that is the same as reducing the volume below 100% - you might try 90% volume in Windows with the APO EQ disabled or set to 0.0 on the gain. That way you can gauge what the -dB in APO EQ equals in Windows volume reduction numbers.

Again, it is best to keep the signal to noise ratio such that your source is at 100% output, Windows volume at 100.

For example, I have my D90 driving my TA-20 with the XLR output of my D90, and the RCA output of my D90 driving the TA-26.

When I reduce the output of the D90 by -20dB so the TA-26 can get more range on the Volume dial, I then need to increase the volume on the TA-20 by about 20 count, say from 55 to 75, and if I set the D90 to -10dB for the TA-26 I then need to run the TA-20 at 65. All along I have Windows and Application volume set to 100%.

Are you able to attenuate the output of your DAC and run Windows / APO at 100% source output? Perhaps compare the sound quality of reducing volume using Windows / APO EQ controls vs running Windows/source at 100% and attenuating output at the DAC.

There are fixed attenuation RCA inline devices you could insert between your DAC and the TA-26 as well. Or add attenuataion at the Headphone by inserting an iFi ieMatch+.

Or, get higher impedance headphones to reduce the need. 150 ohm, or better yet 300 ohm or even 600 ohm headphones.

Because I have the HD660s I will also consider getting the 300 ohm HD800 or 300 ohm HD820.

There are so many possibilities

Thank you i will try it
So i dont understand why clippng take place not in all songs ? (many songs sounds awsome)

 

[kibot]

Soo it works - i used 100% of volume in Dac and Wn but -11.5 dB in APO EQ and now all songs sounds better - greatest SPASIBO ,hmscott !!!!!

And now look at my pretty boi

 

[hmscott]

Edit: The seller described the tubes as "new nos" and illustrated them as such, so I'm a bit surprised at the heat discolored legs. What must be considered when buying to get really unused old goods? Or is only the delivery of used tubes to be expected and I think too much?

Yes, that is a bit of a raw look, but I've seen it before on new tubes. It is part of the manufacturing process. There are several steps when heat is applied to the tube envelope and depending on the sophistication of the process - machinary or hand done - the pins can show the effects of the heating.

Also, I noticed you are from Germany, and thought I would mention there are awesome locally made RFT tubes - made in Germany - you might have easy access to by local dealers. Also, some of the top tubes for audio were made in Germany: Telefunken. Siemans, RFT, Amperex, AEG, Lorenz, Philips and Philips Mini Watt, Cerberus, Tungsram, Valvo, RCA, Sylvania, and more.

Due to my lack of experience with tubes, I am not able to compare the sound of the xDuoo AT-20 with other tube amps, therefore, I limit myself to the following:
With the "RTF ecc82 12au7 foil getter" the freshness in the sound is retained, added is a welcome warmth and physicality, which positively complements the RME.
The "Gold Lion 12AU7 / ECC82 Genalex" sound, after 30 hours of break-in, comparatively smooth and less exciting.
Changing tubes is, also because of the submerged location on AT-20, a bit of a hassle, making comparisons unpleasant.

That was a very good explanation, "less exciting" says it all.

You will gain your words to explain details as you read others reviews and comments, but really it is always best in ones own simplest terms. In the end it comes down to a few simple words to explain the sound. And, whether you enjoy it or not.

I use a microfiber cloth on cold tubes to insert and pull them out. For hot tubes - turn off the amp before pulling them out or inserting new tubes! - I use a medium thick kitchen dishes glove, not a used one, and it is much easier to grab onto the tube without much pressure and to rock it a little to the sides to loosen it and it pops right out. It doesn't matter what size the glove is, I don't put it on, I simply wrap the wrist of the glove over the top of the tube and use my fingers to hold up the slack and direct the tube into the tube socket with the correct orientation and then click into the key slot and push down. I use the Glove like the Microfiber cloth to get leverage and a better grip on the cold or hot tube than my hand provides alone.

Right now I have had the Mullard Holland E180CC tubes in mostly, as I need to return a couple of the newer tubes I've gotten due to IEM HISS and Static Noise, 2 sets on my TA-20 and one Tube on the TA-26.

One set I can only return, another I am sending back to swap for another pair - he's going to screen them for noise, and another tube for my TA-26 also had the static crashes. and he is also going to screen for a noise free tube.

I hadn't had a problem with noisy tubes for quite a while - since I only started buying tubes with measurements 100+/100%+, and then this last batch I ran into 3 sets with HISS and random noise problems. Fortunately I was able to return them all. It is important to only buy from sellers that allow returns, and even better those that will work with you to help you find what you need.

I should also mention that I don't usually hear such noise in my headphones, even with old used tubes, it is when I switch to IEMs that I will hear HISS on used tubes that have been "used up" to the point they start emitting high frequency hash noise, or HISS.

This time the static crashes of noise I was hearing were coming through on my headphones too, it was very unusual. But, for all 3 pair/single the noise was only heard with those tubes, not with any other of my NIB (new in box) tubes, or used tubes measuring greater than 100%+/100%+.

I'm happy you are enjoying your Xduoo TA-20, Rock on!