xDuoo TA-30 Amplifier Tube Rolling questions and rolls so far...

[ColSaulTigh]

Hello all! Welcome to my first foray into making a post instead of replying to one. I thought I'd spend a few minutes talking about what has been, so far, a very satisfying little amplifier - the xDuoo TA-30 Tube Amplifier. Yes, it's Chi-Fi, but this one is very well made, has quality components, and sounds fantastic. It puts out 3000mw/ch - that 3 WATTS! Plenty of power to be had.

Ditched the factory tubes almost immediately and upgraded to a NOS-5931 JAN Sylvania 5931 / Ruggedized 5U4GB Rectifier (1957) & Matched Pair of Mullard 12AU7. Dramatic improvement in the sound as well as the power. The amp can draw deeper longer and recovers faster with the JAN Sylvania 5931 installed. The Mullard 12AU7's added some much needed cleanness, warmth, depth, and removed a lot of the "scratchiness" the factory tubes were putting out. After some reading today I decided to order a pair of Valvo E80CC 6085 Platinum Matched pair NOS Made by Philips Heerlen Gabl. stamped, which should be here by the middle of the month coming from Germany.

Still searching for more suggestions for that Rectifier - so if anyone has any thoughts, here's the thread to plant them!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Fred

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Fair anyone that's interested, my Valvo E80CC 6085 Platinum Matched pair NOS Made by Philips Heerlen Gabl. stamped, arrived today. Burning them in now, but so far they pack a punch!

 

[jonathan c]

Fair anyone that's interested, my Valvo E80CC 6085 Platinum Matched pair NOS Made by Philips Heerlen Gabl. stamped, arrived today. Burning them in now, but so far they pack a punch!

Valvo E80CCs $ = ? x TA-30 $

 

[ColSaulTigh]

NOS-5931 JAN Sylvania 5931 Rectifier (1) + shipping = $120 from Tube Depot
E80CC Tubes (2) + Shipping = $230 from eBay
xDuoo TA-30: $599 from Drop

Fun of tube rolling this awesome amp? Priceless!

 

[jonathan c]

NOS-5931 JAN Sylvania 5931 Rectifier (1) + shipping = $120 from Tube Depot
E80CC Tubes (2) + Shipping = $230 from eBay
xDuoo TA-30: $599 from Drop

Fun of tube rolling this awesome amp? Priceless!

You didn’t have to itemise……..Oh, ‘rolling’ has no end…like a circle…

 

[jclyle]

Are you still enjoying this amp? I'm tempted to pick one up as I can use some of the rectifiers I have for my WA6.

Did you use it as DAC/AMP, or amp only? I'd probably use it as amp only as I have a superior DAC.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Are you still enjoying this amp? I'm tempted to pick one up as I can use some of the rectifiers I have for my WA6.

Did you use it as DAC/AMP, or amp only? I'd probably use it as amp only as I have a superior DAC.

I use it every night. It's currently on my nightstand. I listen to it as I'm heading off to sleep. Correctly paired with my Sennheiser 8XX. I use it as a DAC/AMP (Bluetooth streaming via LDAC). Works surprisingly well. Tube rolling is a must!

 

[Zbell]

Wow, @ColSaulTigh My man, I noticed we both have the TA-30 and WA6. Have you tried the Sophia Princess as the rectifier in the TA-30? I've recently been running that with some Mullard 12AU7 's and it sounds friggin fantastic! I think I might like it better than the Sylvania 5931 - definitely sounds a little wetter to my ears so far, but haven't gone back and forth too much.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Wow, @ColSaulTigh My man, I noticed we both have the TA-30 and WA6. Have you tried the Sophia Princess as the rectifier in the TA-30? I've recently been running that with some Mullard 12AU7 's and it sounds friggin fantastic! I think I might like it better than the Sylvania 5931 - definitely sounds a little wetter to my ears so far, but haven't gone back and forth too much.

No, I haven't yet. I have 3 Princesses (Princeii?) with a 4th and possibly 5th on the way (don't ask - I have a tube addiction problem). What I will say is there was a HUGE improvement with the Philips E80CC 6085 Platinum Matched pair NOS Made in Holland Heerlen plant Gold Pins! While the price tag on those isn't for everyone, if you're really into tube rolling as a hobby and want to experience some incredible tubes, pick up a pair on eBay and throw them in - you won't regret it.

I'm currently debating about picking up a second Woo WA6SE G2 for the bedroom and bringing the TA-30 to the office. Still debating....hmmm....

 

[jonathan c]

No, I haven't yet. I have 3 Princesses (Princeii?) with a 4th and possibly 5th on the way (don't ask - I have a tube addiction problem). What I will say is there was a HUGE improvement with the Philips E80CC 6085 Platinum Matched pair NOS Made in Holland Heerlen plant Gold Pins! While the price tag on those isn't for everyone, if you're really into tube rolling as a hobby and want to experience some incredible tubes, pick up a pair on eBay and throw them in - you won't regret it.

I'm currently debating about picking up a second Woo WA6SE G2 for the bedroom and bringing the TA-30 to the office. Still debating....hmmm....

There is no debate to be had…you always wanted a silver WA6SE…

 

[Burgerbassist]

Hello all! Welcome to my first foray into making a post instead of replying to one. I thought I'd spend a few minutes talking about what has been, so far, a very satisfying little amplifier - the xDuoo TA-30 Tube Amplifier. Yes, it's Chi-Fi, but this one is very well made, has quality components, and sounds fantastic. It puts out 3000mw/ch - that 3 WATTS! Plenty of power to be had.



Ditched the factory tubes almost immediately and upgraded to a NOS-5931 JAN Sylvania 5931 / Ruggedized 5U4GB Rectifier (1957) & Matched Pair of Mullard 12AU7. Dramatic improvement in the sound as well as the power. The amp can draw deeper longer and recovers faster with the JAN Sylvania 5931 installed. The Mullard 12AU7's added some much needed cleanness, warmth, depth, and removed a lot of the "scratchiness" the factory tubes were putting out. After some reading today I decided to order a pair of Valvo E80CC 6085 Platinum Matched pair NOS Made by Philips Heerlen Gabl. stamped, which should be here by the middle of the month coming from Germany.

Still searching for more suggestions for that Rectifier - so if anyone has any thoughts, here's the thread to plant them!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Fred

I'm looking at picking one of these up. Were the stock preamp tubes JJ ECC82s, or something else? I'm seeing conflicting accounts online.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I'm looking at picking one of these up. Were the stock preamp tubes JJ ECC82s, or something else? I'm seeing conflicting accounts online.

You know, I don't actually remember what came in as stock. I think I had replaced them in 3 days flat. I'll see if I can figure it out later tonight.

 

[Lightspeed12]

I am currently trying to decide between the woo wa6 & T30 xduoo for a desktop amp, I know their is a big price difference between the two & the t30 has way more features.
What one do you suggest out of the two ?
I already have a wa7 fireflies third generation which isn't as good as i expected mainly because it doesn't seem tubey enough for me, maybe a set of Mullard 12au7 might be the go as I have already tried Mazda 12au7 & RCA 12au7. I am treble sensitive so I prefer a warm liquid sound. So far my hifiman ef400 & ef600 sound more tubey.

 

[Zbell]

I have owned both previously, but I sold my TA-30 earlier in the year. Volume control on the TA-30 is horrendous and it is very very loud for most headphones. Fine if you have a digital preamp or if you don't mind lowering volume at source, but if you're trying to use exclusive mode in windows or something, it can be tough without digital preamp volume control. I really liked that I could use inefficient headphones like HE6se with the TA-30. I think the TA-30 is the cleanest and closest to solid state tube amp I've used. In comparison, I have an original WA6 and really love that amp. To me, it sounds like like a SET amp should - clean, but with a focus on mids, a bit of softness and slower roll-off and some euphonic distortion without muddying things up too much. Both are great amps, but if you go with the WA6 I would consider buying used - they're built like tanks and last forever. TA-30 as an all-in-one for a little setup somewhere is awesome, it's a bit smaller than WA6. If you have a dedicated dac and aren't planning to use planars, I would probably go with WA6.

 

[Lightspeed12]

I have owned both previously, but I sold my TA-30 earlier in the year. Volume control on the TA-30 is horrendous and it is very very loud for most headphones. Fine if you have a digital preamp or if you don't mind lowering volume at source, but if you're trying to use exclusive mode in windows or something, it can be tough without digital preamp volume control. I really liked that I could use inefficient headphones like HE6se with the TA-30. I think the TA-30 is the cleanest and closest to solid state tube amp I've used. In comparison, I have an original WA6 and really love that amp. To me, it sounds like like a SET amp should - clean, but with a focus on mids, a bit of softness and slower roll-off and some euphonic distortion without muddying things up too much. Both are great amps, but if you go with the WA6 I would consider buying used - they're built like tanks and last forever. TA-30 as an all-in-one for a little setup somewhere is awesome, it's a bit smaller than WA6. If you have a dedicated dac and aren't planning to use planars, I would probably go with WA6.

Thanks for the in depth response, most of my headphones are plainar he1000v2, arya stealth, Ananda Stealth & audeze lcd-x.
I use astell&kern daps for all my music so I could use the volume switch on them.
Is the xduoo ta-30 a hybrid or like the wa6 2nd gen ? Thanks.