[r3f3r3e]

I read that about the clear top. I'm not a basshead but that description turned me off a little bit even though I may like it. The bass makes or breaks it with me. I haven't noticed any larger sound stage with the Apos. I actually think the tubes that came with it had very decent sound stage, especially compared to the Gold Lion's after a few hours. I would say the Apos has the same stage as the OEM tubes but the Apos is just very detailed, and balanced while having that little zip of tubey goodness. Very reminiscent of all the best TOTL new tubes. The best new tubes still don't compare imo to the best vintage. I've only hooked up my Focal Clears so far. Still have LCD-3 and LCD-4 to try. Out of the three the gold lion's are the least impressive so far which is bizarre because it's such a well regarded 12AU7. The Gold Lion 6922 is one of my fav tubes of all time. Oh well.

I see. Thanks for the apos tubes description. Appreciate it. Probably I will wait abit till that are some special discounts on them and try it out. Now its so expensive for a pair of matched tubes

 

[stevedlu]

I see. Thanks for the apos tubes description. Appreciate it. Probably I will wait abit till that are some special discounts on them and try it out. Now its so expensive for a pair of matched tubes

Honestly, now that I've had more time with each tube I feel that the stock tubes have the best staging, taller, and are very detailed/balanced. The APOS are insanely detailed in the upper frequencies after proper burn in but I prefer the stock tubes because of the taller sagging....so maybe you aren't missing out since you already have RCA clear tops. If you've slept on the stock tubes I'd give them a listen, they are stupidly good for stock tubes at this price and are my favorite of the three. I've read the stocks are PSVANE. The Gold Lions do not pair well with this amp at all. At least my pair doesn't. Disappointing for an expensive tube.

 

[Just85]

Honestly, now that I've had more time with each tube I feel that the stock tubes have the best staging, taller, and are very detailed/balanced. The APOS are insanely detailed in the upper frequencies after proper burn in but I prefer the stock tubes because of the taller sagging....so maybe you aren't missing out since you already have RCA clear tops. If you've slept on the stock tubes I'd give them a listen, they are stupidly good for stock tubes at this price and are my favorite of the three. I've read the stocks are PSVANE. The Gold Lions do not pair well with this amp at all. At least my pair doesn't. Disappointing for an expensive tube.

Could you tell a bit more about Gold lions? I have Psvane Art Tubes and really like them, but I would like to try some other ones and Gold Lions seem like an option. Have you by any chance tried Shuguang Nature Sound tubes?

 

[stevedlu]

Could you tell a bit more about Gold lions? I have Psvane Art Tubes and really like them, but I would like to try some other ones and Gold Lions seem like an option. Have you by any chance tried Shuguang Nature Sound tubes?

The Gold Lions shrink the soundstage, seems like there are frequencies missing in the midrange, and the detail is lacking. I have about 20hrs burn-in on them and they seem to have gotten worse so it might still need some time to open up....odd for a newly manufactured tube, usually only a few hours is required. The stock PSVANE Red xDuoo re-labels are better in every possible way and the only holographic tube I've heard so far on it. I'm very interested in the PSVANE Arts if they are just a better version of the stock reds. How would you compare the two? I've only tried Gold Lion, APOS Ray, and stock.

 

[Just85]

The Gold Lions shrink the soundstage, seems like there are frequencies missing in the midrange, and the detail is lacking. I have about 20hrs burn-in on them and they seem to have gotten worse so it might still need some time to open up....odd for a newly manufactured tube, usually only a few hours is required. The stock PSVANE Red xDuoo re-labels are better in every possible way and the only holographic tube I've heard so far on it. I'm very interested in the PSVANE Arts if they are just a better version of the stock reds. How would you compare the two? I've only tried Gold Lion, APOS Ray, and stock.

I've just listened to both on a few songs. I would say that Psvane Art are clearer, airier, brighter and the vocals are more forward than stock ones. I prefer them to stock ones.

 

[ICrazyJI]

I just received the Apos Ray Tubes today for my TA-20 and had them burn in all day long.

I didn't think it would make a difference over the stock tubes, but I was wrong. There's more detail than before, the soundstage sounds wider, and it seems that everything is smoother and warmer.

Kudos to Apos for making such a great tube!

 

[S Crowther]

I just received the Apos Ray Tubes today for my TA-20 and had them burn in all day long.

I didn't think it would make a difference over the stock tubes, but I was wrong. There's more detail than before, the soundstage sounds wider, and it seems that everything is smoother and warmer.

Kudos to Apos for making such a great tube!

Sadly they do not ship outside the US/Canada. I don't know why.

 

[stevedlu]

I've just listened to both on a few songs. I would say that Psvane Art are clearer, airier, brighter and the vocals are more forward than stock ones. I prefer them to stock ones.

Thanks for testing them and providing feedback.

 

[Just85]

Thanks for testing them and providing feedback.

No problem! I hope to try Gold Lions too someday!

 

[orbilius]

Hello all. I recently acquired a TA-20 Plus from the classifieds. It's been a few days and I think I have a few initial impressions to share.

I am adding this to a desktop setup that includes a THX-789 and a Eufonika H5 OTL amp. I am running ZMF Atrium open headphones and Audeze LCD-X planars.

I have them connected to a Topping E50 DAC, Balanced to the TA-20 Plus and single ended to the Eufonika. Sub-optimally I have the THX out of the Xduoo.

First off, the THX-789 is still my personal reference for transparency and power. I ran it for years with various headphones seeking maximum fidelity and transparency. It was good at that, but I think I am more focused on musicality and enjoyment at this time.

First the Xduoo - its great. Fun, dynamic with a bit of warmth. The build quality is fantastic and it looks great. I am still tube rolling, but the stock tubes provide good detail and aren't overly tube-like. I love the VU meter, but could live without the tube backlighting - they glow enough.
- LCD-X: They sound damn good on the amp. I get all the dynamics, less micro detail than the THX-789, but I appreciate the tube warmth that is provided in exchange. I could easily use this as my go-to amp for planars.
- ZMF Atriums - They also sound good, unless you have a good OTL amp to A-B them to. For acoustic music, vocals, jazz- the Eufonika is just a step above. I also love this combo for ambient music.
- that said, I am basing this on the experience of the stock tubes while I have several other sets of tubes to try that may have a more tube-like sound (golden lions and some RCAs specifically)

Now the Eufonika
- LCD-X - this isn't a good pairing, as one would expect. Congested and a lack of detail.
- ZMF Atrium - they sound so damn musical, dynamic, and natural. I get it now. ZMF+OTL is great, but not at everything. For Techno or music soundtracks a pure SS amp or the Xduoo hybrid can out resolve the OTL in complicated/dynamic passages.
- Bonkers Hifiman R-9. Stupid bass cannons that can be tamed with EQ. They sound fun, dynamic, and even natural on the OTL. This is my go-to setup for revisiting my 1990s-2000s rap collection.

That's it for now - still have other headphones to try out with the TA-20 plus, but its a good product and won't hold you back from enjoying your music while looking great at the same time. In fact, my wife has invited it to live in the living room system, which is a nice esthetic compliment - she called my eufonika a 1950s science experiment.

 

[grant0317]

Hello all. I recently acquired a TA-20 Plus from the classifieds. It's been a few days and I think I have a few initial impressions to share.

I am adding this to a desktop setup that includes a THX-789 and a Eufonika H5 OTL amp. I am running ZMF Atrium open headphones and Audeze LCD-X planars.

I have them connected to a Topping E50 DAC, Balanced to the TA-20 Plus and single ended to the Eufonika. Sub-optimally I have the THX out of the Xduoo.

First off, the THX-789 is still my personal reference for transparency and power. I ran it for years with various headphones seeking maximum fidelity and transparency. It was good at that, but I think I am more focused on musicality and enjoyment at this time.

First the Xduoo - its great. Fun, dynamic with a bit of warmth. The build quality is fantastic and it looks great. I am still tube rolling, but the stock tubes provide good detail and aren't overly tube-like. I love the VU meter, but could live without the tube backlighting - they glow enough.
- LCD-X: They sound damn good on the amp. I get all the dynamics, less micro detail than the THX-789, but I appreciate the tube warmth that is provided in exchange. I could easily use this as my go-to amp for planars.
- ZMF Atriums - They also sound good, unless you have a good OTL amp to A-B them to. For acoustic music, vocals, jazz- the Eufonika is just a step above. I also love this combo for ambient music.
- that said, I am basing this on the experience of the stock tubes while I have several other sets of tubes to try that may have a more tube-like sound (golden lions and some RCAs specifically)

Now the Eufonika
- LCD-X - this isn't a good pairing, as one would expect. Congested and a lack of detail.
- ZMF Atrium - they sound so damn musical, dynamic, and natural. I get it now. ZMF+OTL is great, but not at everything. For Techno or music soundtracks a pure SS amp or the Xduoo hybrid can out resolve the OTL in complicated/dynamic passages.
- Bonkers Hifiman R-9. Stupid bass cannons that can be tamed with EQ. They sound fun, dynamic, and even natural on the OTL. This is my go-to setup for revisiting my 1990s-2000s rap collection.

That's it for now - still have other headphones to try out with the TA-20 plus, but its a good product and won't hold you back from enjoying your music while looking great at the same time. In fact, my wife has invited it to live in the living room system, which is a nice esthetic compliment - she called my eufonika a 1950s science experiment.

I also thought the ta 20 plus paired really great with LCDs and zmfs (lcd2 and vc in my case). I think it is a really great buy for $500 and only other competition in the price range is the Lyr and s17 pro. Tube rolling to new production mullards or nos brimars really tightened up the bass with the former and really added a smooth and lush sound with the brimars. Compared to the other two, I loved the vu meter display and really nice operation (temps are warm but never hot, and everything works really nicely). Really great intro to world of tubes for me.

 

[Todamm]

Do you have any additional information about this?
XDUOO TA-66

 

[Todamm]

Okay, I got it
TA-66, a new tube amplifier, uses 6N2 tube working for preamp and the 6N5P for buffer, resulting in a higher performance. It's available now at US$249.99!

Shenzhenaudio

 

[preauxtip]

Looks like an OTL Tube amp, the 6N5P is the Chinese designation for the 6AS7G, same power tube (idk that I'd call it a buffer) as Xduoo's other OTL tube amp the TA-26.

 

[Narius]

Xduoo sure does to put out a lot of similar products.... I wonder how the TA-66 compares to the TA-26s