Tube amps have an added bonus, and changing the tubes can transform the sound signature of your amplifier. Don't expect dramatic changes, but you can tune your sound and get a warmer, clearer, detailed, or more bassy profile. It's important to read about the tubes before investing in new ones, because you can end up with a collection of discarded tubes.
NOS (New Old Stock) are tubes manufactured many years ago and unopened, and it's being said that this kind of tubes are the best to improve stock tubes. With the xDuoo TA-10 I found an excellente Mullard EC882 tube that turn the sound into a richer, smoother and warmer profile, much aligned with my tasting.
With the new xDuoo TA-26 I've decided to swap only the pre-amp tube, because it's where I expect best results. My choice has been a Melody 6SN7GT tube, that you can see here beside the original stock tube. Melody tubes were the choice for the pre-amps of Cary Audio, an excellent brithish manufacturer with a sound profile similar to my liking.
As you can see, the Melody tube is noticeably shorter.
Remember, these tubes are double triods, so we have two separate circuits with a plate, grid and filament. When powered on, tubes are beautiful and ask for darkness, inviting me to search for good music that fit into this mood.
My first selection has been Brazilian duos, a delicate production with the sweet voice of Luciana Souza and the guitars of Romero Lubambo, Marco Pereira and Walter Santos (his father). It's an intimate session, perfect to relax and appreciate the texture of voice reproduction and guitar tone.
https://album.link/es/i/7370428
My first impression with the Melody tube has been excellent, as it adds richness to the sound, producing a tad warmer sound without an impact in clarity. But unfortunately, a few minutes after powered on, a noticeable hum noise appeared and I couldn't get rid of it, so the final result is bad and I switched back to the stock tube.
This is a very common problem with tubes and humming is a recurring issue when you read about tube rolling.
By the way, the stock tube is excellent. It produces a beautiful sound, with a rich bass (if bass is present in the recording), and clear, detailed, very detailed I would say, that can get the most out of good recordings, as this extraordinary
Map to the treasure: Reimaging Laura Nyro by Billy Childs.
The first track of this album,
New York Tendaberry, is a perfect example to check the 3D imaging of your equipment. Opposite to speaker listening, when listening with headphone, you perceive the music in your ears and inside your head, but not coming from the outside. But sometimes you turn your head because a sound comes from the back or the right. In this track, the first notes of the piano sound about 50cm in front of me. Impressive.
@RONJA MESCO you can see that Ledisi is in this album, too.
https://album.link/i/898301895
The sound of this xDuoo TA-26 is much more detailed than one would expect from a tube amp, and I've decided to check how much of it comes from the Topping D10s, so I moved the TA-26 to another place where I have my main rig with the Rega DAC.
I was very interested to see how well the TA-26 would perform with my Rega DAC and I must say that both make a great couple, but not so far from the Topping D10s (remember, modded with a Burson V5i opamp). Sound is a more richer and closer to the classic analog sound from old gear, and I'm more into that.
This Rega DAC is connected to my custom 2019 Mac Pro (built from a Z390 Designare motherboard) running latest macOS Big Sur 11.5.1, the same software than in my 2017 4K iMac, and Audirvana 3.5.46 as player, connected to my FLAC library and TIDAL Hi-Fi streaming service.
My selection to test it is Mark Lanegan's Come to Me, originally from Bubblegum album, but played from an excellent anthology I have that is in Spotify or Deezer, but not in TIDAL.
https://album.link/es/i/1460675467
The dark voice of Mark Lanegan is perfectly reproduced and the harmonies with the voice of PJ Harvey are incredible. If I close my eyes I can see both and the musicians, with the drums and an excellent bass line. This album is a jewel and I let it go on, once you start listening to it you can't stop until the end. Bombed, Mirrored,... all the classics are incredibly well reproduced, and I only need to check my goosebumps as Pill Hill Serenade started.
I swapped the stock tube to check if the humming is present or not in this place, and I came out with exactly the same results, so I cannot say it's due to some EMI interferences. Good to see how well designed is the xDuoo TA-26 as with the original stock tubes I get a completely black background when using my Sennheiser HD 650 or my AudioQuest Nighthawk Carbon headphones. I haven't tried with sensible IEMs, but my guess is that they would easily catch some noise. I'll check and come back to you with the results.
I've also compared the sound with the Rega EAR MK2 and I have to admit that is completely different sound signature. The Rega sound is less detailed, and in a first listen my mind prefers the TA-26, but once I entered this analog-like, old-fashioned sound, I got again captivated and felt like being at home again. TA-26 invites you to crank up the volume and the Rega asks for the opposite, lower the volume and enjoy this beautiful, relaxed sound.
Anyway, both are excellent choices and it would be difficult to choose one over the other because it all depends on the kind of music you want to listen and your own mood. For the moment I will keep both, complementing each other, and only time will tell. If I see that one of them is seldom used, I'll sell it.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying a lot the xDuoo TA-26 with the stock tubes. It's a little wonder that can make your listening experience happier, or joyful, or sad, it all depends on the music you choose.
You can feel joyfullness by listening to Queen's
A Night at the Opera, and the short
Lazing in a Sunday Afternoon. Most of the tracks from this album are greatest hits, but if you carefulluy listen, you can find some less known tracks that are fantastic, like
I'm Love with my car, a track that will recharge you for sure.
https://album.link/es/i/1441458047
Listening to
Eldorado, from the
Electric Light Orchestra is another album that I know very well. Many options to choose from, but if I would get the classic
I Can't Get it Out of My Head.
https://album.link/es/i/1054523537
I can enjoy almost any music genre, but Jazz is something special that connects with my taste, and the tasty sound of the xDuoo TA-26 make my feet unstoppable when listening to Benny Golson's
Gone With Golson and its opening track
Stacatto Swing, full ot PRAT (pace, rhythm and timings).
https://album.link/i/1442960084
And if you mix Jazz and good voices, the combination is a perfect match for this xDuoo TA-26 & Sennheiser HD 650 combo. The usual goddesses are great, but you can try less known stars like
Maxine Sullivan and this
Close as Pages in a Book album, leading the session along with the clarinet of
Bob Wilber, sweet voice and sweet instrument, a joy to listen.
https://album.link/es/i/915726754
Enjoy your music, any music, you choose. Turn off the lights and let the tubes make the magic.
