Greeting from Toronto ☕️on a rainy afternoon ..I’m still running the MT 604 from Xduoo…this looks interesting. I run the Denafrips Ares 12-1 DAC …so this seems like a nice match . Thanks for this very interesting video.
absolutely right , one do not need to spend $500 for a tube AMP , and I would say to start with tube AMP ( at least for Headphone users ) one can try xDuoo's own TA-26s and TA66 which are both cheaper and easier to get doing tube rolling
But those are otl amps. The ta20 plus is a class a hybrid. So they behave differently. The ta 20 plus wouldn't care if you plugged a 32ohm headphone into it. But the ta66 wouldn't like it. The better option for cheaper xduoo than this is the Mt series. They are also hybrids
I’d be interested in seeing a cable management tour and how all the gear is actually powered, looks like a lot to contend with and it would be helpful to see how you handle it. Good video.
First of all, great review, as usual, brother. Secondly, there are two dac/amp combos for around $500 that I would love to see you review and compare: Fiio K9 AKM SMSL DO400 I'm looking for a reference-like dac/amp combo for around $500 and I'd appreciate your recommendation.
I have the original ta-20. So far I hadn't seen anyone do a comparison in side by side between the ta-20 with the ta-20 plus. What's the actual sound difference? Can we actual hear a difference between the two. For now I'm just keeping my original. I use the 12bh7 tubes in mine. Some really good NOS tubes out there. The real problem with the Ta-20/plus is the tubes are on the output. The tubes should be on the input. But for $400 it works for a inexpensive desktop headphone amp.
@NoThemeReviews of course. That would be the point of a side by side comparison between the original Ta-20 and the Ta-20 plus. To see if there is a noticeable difference in sound given the the addition of the power tube. Would it be worth up dating to the newer model. I can't see updating if there isn't a noticeable improvement in sound quality. I'm using NOS 12bh7 tubes in my Ta-20 because it has a much better sound than the 12au7 tubes. I have about 10 different matched sets of NOS tubes I've tried and found a set that matches my listening and music preferences.
Hey 👋 I'm tempted to add the WA7 Fireflies 3rd Gen to my rme adi-2 Pro SE, but I read a comment from someone saying they A/B'd it blind and couldn't hear a difference between the balanced rme amp... Do you think it would provide a distinct audio flavor worthy of the perchase? 🤷🏼♂️
It really depends on the tubes. Woo Audio does a good job matching tubes with lower harmonic distortion, so it is possible someone might not really hear an appreciable difference. Then again, it’s not like tube amps change the sound dramatically. In my experience, even a good OTL amp with well-matched tubes only do a few things: add some bass emphasis, decrease clarity by some amount, and marginally affect treble. The “warmth” of a tube amp is simply the harmonic distortion and decrease in clarity. Actually…now that I think about it, I found a cheap DAP many years ago that replicated a tube amp sound. I still have it. I think I will do a quick review since it’s always interested me. The funny thing about that DAP is that it is clearly not operating properly-there’s too much audible hiss through the 3.5mm, the THD is actually in the audible spectrum, and so when I listen to music, those imperfections kind of replicate the “tubeyness” of an OTL. Soooo…yes, I think it’s possible you might enjoy the WA7, but it’s also likely you might not think there’s much difference with it in your chain. Honestly, I don’t see the reason to buy the latest WA7. If you can afford and find the WA7 2nd gen (at a much lower price than the 3rd gen) then I’d suggest going that route. It’ll be cheaper obviously but then you’d also have money left over to do some tube swapping.
@@NoThemeReviews I ask because here in the UK there is a mint 3rd Gen being sold with 3 sets of tubes for £1,000 on a popular auction site... I'm tempted but as you say it's all down to cost vs performance.
@@DeadEyeBeaky If performance is what you are after I don't think the Wa7 is going to interesting, considering the price. It simply looks great on a desktop, and if I was being honest it is really just another hybrid tube amp adding a hint of warmth and rolled off smother treble than my ADI-2. If I was better at EQ, I might be able to replicate it the sound, hard to say. My HD800s likes it better than my ADI-2 though, though it depends on the genre; some genres of music, I didn't hear much differance, some I did.
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Greeting from Toronto ☕️on a rainy afternoon ..I’m still running the MT 604 from Xduoo…this looks interesting.
I run the Denafrips Ares 12-1 DAC …so this seems like a nice match .
Thanks for this very interesting video.
absolutely right , one do not need to spend $500 for a tube AMP , and I would say to start with tube AMP ( at least for Headphone users ) one can try xDuoo's own TA-26s and TA66 which are both cheaper and easier to get doing tube rolling
But those are otl amps. The ta20 plus is a class a hybrid. So they behave differently. The ta 20 plus wouldn't care if you plugged a 32ohm headphone into it. But the ta66 wouldn't like it.
The better option for cheaper xduoo than this is the Mt series. They are also hybrids
I’d be interested in seeing a cable management tour and how all the gear is actually powered, looks like a lot to contend with and it would be helpful to see how you handle it. Good video.
Thank you very much for the great review.☺
Good advice, Thanks!
First of all, great review, as usual, brother.
Secondly, there are two dac/amp combos for around $500 that I would love to see you review and compare:
Fiio K9 AKM
SMSL DO400
I'm looking for a reference-like dac/amp combo for around $500 and I'd appreciate your recommendation.
I have the original ta-20. So far I hadn't seen anyone do a comparison in side by side between the ta-20 with the ta-20 plus. What's the actual sound difference? Can we actual hear a difference between the two. For now I'm just keeping my original. I use the 12bh7 tubes in mine. Some really good NOS tubes out there.
The real problem with the Ta-20/plus is the tubes are on the output. The tubes should be on the input. But for $400 it works for a inexpensive desktop headphone amp.
Any difference would be due to the tubes.
@NoThemeReviews of course. That would be the point of a side by side comparison between the original Ta-20 and the Ta-20 plus. To see if there is a noticeable difference in sound given the the addition of the power tube. Would it be worth up dating to the newer model. I can't see updating if there isn't a noticeable improvement in sound quality. I'm using NOS 12bh7 tubes in my Ta-20 because it has a much better sound than the 12au7 tubes. I have about 10 different matched sets of NOS tubes I've tried and found a set that matches my listening and music preferences.
Hey 👋 I'm tempted to add the WA7 Fireflies 3rd Gen to my rme adi-2 Pro SE, but I read a comment from someone saying they A/B'd it blind and couldn't hear a difference between the balanced rme amp... Do you think it would provide a distinct audio flavor worthy of the perchase? 🤷🏼♂️
It really depends on the tubes. Woo Audio does a good job matching tubes with lower harmonic distortion, so it is possible someone might not really hear an appreciable difference. Then again, it’s not like tube amps change the sound dramatically. In my experience, even a good OTL amp with well-matched tubes only do a few things: add some bass emphasis, decrease clarity by some amount, and marginally affect treble. The “warmth” of a tube amp is simply the harmonic distortion and decrease in clarity. Actually…now that I think about it, I found a cheap DAP many years ago that replicated a tube amp sound. I still have it. I think I will do a quick review since it’s always interested me. The funny thing about that DAP is that it is clearly not operating properly-there’s too much audible hiss through the 3.5mm, the THD is actually in the audible spectrum, and so when I listen to music, those imperfections kind of replicate the “tubeyness” of an OTL. Soooo…yes, I think it’s possible you might enjoy the WA7, but it’s also likely you might not think there’s much difference with it in your chain. Honestly, I don’t see the reason to buy the latest WA7. If you can afford and find the WA7 2nd gen (at a much lower price than the 3rd gen) then I’d suggest going that route. It’ll be cheaper obviously but then you’d also have money left over to do some tube swapping.
@@NoThemeReviews I ask because here in the UK there is a mint 3rd Gen being sold with 3 sets of tubes for £1,000 on a popular auction site... I'm tempted but as you say it's all down to cost vs performance.
@@DeadEyeBeaky If performance is what you are after I don't think the Wa7 is going to interesting, considering the price. It simply looks great on a desktop, and if I was being honest it is really just another hybrid tube amp adding a hint of warmth and rolled off smother treble than my ADI-2. If I was better at EQ, I might be able to replicate it the sound, hard to say. My HD800s likes it better than my ADI-2 though, though it depends on the genre; some genres of music, I didn't hear much differance, some I did.
@@NoThemeReviews Dude please tell us or do the review of the DAP you were talking of, that sounds so interesting!
xDuoo just too many models that confuse consumers...most probably it will take ages for you to review all their amps :P
That’s how it is with ChiFi. More models than necessary.