Headphone amplifiers come in a variety of circuit designs, each with its own advantages and drawbacks, but there’s one main determining faction: distortion level. Credited with having the lowest possible distortion, Output Transformer-Less (OTL) headphone amps cut out a key part of conventional amplifier design to eliminate a major cause of audible distortion Read More
Out of the box, it sounded amazingly unimpressive with a variety of headphones. Changed to a Tung-Sol tube and now the well documented "hum" appeared. 2 1/2 days of burn in later, the hum was gone but the DV still did not impress. With more listening time accumulating the DV has begun to show its true qualities as a tube amp. Took a while, but I am really enjoying the experience now. It pairs well with the HD-6XX headphones. (Still running the stock power tube, have a new old stock RCA ready, so hoping for even more improvements.)
I needed to roll the stock driver tube. It had a really bad hiss. I rolled to a Tung-Sol 6x5gt/g driver tube for 20 bucks on ebay. I paired this AMP with HD 6XX's and HarmonicDyne Zeus and felt like it was the best fit. I would recommend this AMP if you like tube rolling and wanted to have a cool looking AMP. I compared it to a Schiit Magnius and both connected to a Modius DAC. To be honest, I can't hear a huge difference. The DV might give a bit more of an open sound stage to my ear.
Preferred Tubes:
Preamp:
1. GE 6SN7GTB Side Getter Glow Domes
2. RCA 6SN7GTB Tubes Bottom Getter; Black Plates
Power Tube:
1970 RCA 6080
Sound absolutely fantastic with anything I have heard them on. Hard to explain the tube sound. But for the price of the amp and the tubes I got for it. It is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences I have heard yet.
I recommend for the price of $200, and $100 worth of tubes, really makes it the most enjoyable amp below $500 I have heard.
when I game or type on my computer it feels like I am driving down the road getting a driver tan on my arm :D
ok being real it was a future investment for when I purchase a ZMF Auteur
I would have thought this would be more tubbish sounding than my V281 but it looks to be just like my V281. I couldn't tell their sound apart. It has loads of power just like my V281. For the price, it is a great value. Maybe I should start to tube roll in future but for now the default tubes is fine by me. This is rated at 220V but my voltage is almost always around 239V so I am not sure how long this can last given the over voltage of daily use. I hope this is covered by Drop's warranty.