Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
checkVerified Buyer
Comparison with Loxjie P20 Hybrid Amp -- Little Difference
Not sure what I was expecting with this headphone amp's sound. It is very heavy, well-built and looks extremely cool. It's an OTL type amp so it doesn't have the same full-tilt "toobe sound" as a non-OTL amp that employes expensive output transformers. I'm using it with several hard to drive headphones including the Senn HD650s and HiFiMan 400i. The stock tubes were replaced with a NOS Raytheon 6080 in the power section and a newly made Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB in the preamp section. In doing a careful level matched A/B test with a well made switcher I noticed very little difference between the sound of the DarkVoice (full tube) and the Loxjie P20 (hybrid solid-state + tubes). Try as I might, they both sound extremely similar to each other. The Loxjie P20 -- like the DarkVoice -- had the cheap Chinese tubes replaced with better quality tubes. There was ever so slightly more bass coming from the DarkVoice and the bass decay lingered around for a just a touch longer. Soundstage between the DarkVoice and the Loxjie were identical. Mids and highs, likewise, sounded exactly the same. Unless you do a carefully leveled, instantaneous A/B switch between amps you can be misled as to what is really happening to the sound. I'm not dissatisfied with the DarkVoice. It is well built and cool to look at. It definitely puts out more heat than my Loxjie P20 which only has two small tubes and is mostly solid state. The DarkVoice is also capable of putting out more power. However, I have to wonder if some of the claims regarding wonderful "tube sound" with the DarkVoice are more of a placebo effect. Afterall, it is only an OTL based tube amp without the "tube sound" benefit of output transformers. The hybrid Loxjie P20 gives a slight taste of tube goodness, too, but it is not that far from the sound of a good solid-state amp. Like I said, in my carefully matched testing the hybrid Loxjie P20 and the full tube DarkVoice sounded extremely similar. I hope to do some more A/B testing between the DarkVoice and a full solid state amp at a later date (probably with a Monoprice Liquid Spark). If you keep your "tube sound" expectations in check then the DarkVoice is a very good deal. As others have suggested, I'll probably place a laptop fan system under it to help dissipate the large amount of heat it generates. If you don't like the idea of using a high heat generating amp like the DarkVoice you might consider using the Loxjie P20 hybrid amp instead as the sound is very similar but the P20 puts out far less heat, requires far less power and costs half the price. However, the power supply included with the P20 is total junk and needs to be replaced with a much beefier and better built power supply. Adding a better power supply and putting in better tubes to the P20 lessens the price differential between these two headphone amp units. The Loxjie P20, however, can use balanced XLRs for both the inputs and outputs. The DarkVoice can only use unbalanced inputs and outputs.
Recommends this product? Yes
Ezku
2
Jul 8, 2019
AudiophileHeadCaseInteresting! From what I’ve read I’ve come to understand that since an OTL tube amp is all tubes, the output signature would reflect that as well. I’m reading you as stating the exact opposite. Could you expand on any of that? Why is it the case, any links you could share perhaps?
EzkuEarly tube amps all used output transformers in the audio circuits. Designs using OTL (i.e., no output transformers) took awhile before tube designers perfected the techniques. OTL type tube amps are much easier and less costly to produce than tube amps using output audio transformers. That is because good output audio transformers are expensive to make. Note that we are NOT talking about the big square block on top of the Dark Voice. That is the power supply circuits and transformer for handling the AC input. It's my belief that much of what people remember as "tube sound" is actually from the effects generated by these large output transformers on tube amps from the 1950s and 60s. They are responsible for much of the lush sound profile and the slow response to sound impulses. I am certainly no expert in tube amp design. However, if you go to Wiki you can find some information on the OTL designs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Output_transformerless Recent tube OTL designs have great fidelity and linearity, much like modern solid state equipment. Please don't think that I believe the Dark Voice is somehow deficient as a tube amp. It is very good for a OTL tube amp. Buyers should just realize that if they truly want the sound of tube amps from the 1950s then they should probably shell out more money and buy a non-OTL type tube headphone amp. It all depends on the type of sound that you desire. I would also caution people to take some time and really A/B test new equipment to judge the sound. Human sound memory is very poor. The only way to accurately do it is to instantaneous switch between two sound sources. Even quickly switching between output jacks with manual insertion doesn't cut it. If more people tried out A/B instantaneous switching they might be surprised that what they thought was a sound difference (from their memory) is actually far less of a difference. Many people would probably disagree with me but I've also found that most properly designed amps tend to sound very similar to each other. Instantaneous A/B testing reveals the truth. I also appreciate the "eye candy" of an amp, too. In that regard the large, glowing thermoelectric tubes of the Dark Voice are beautiful to behold!
xtracheese
7
Jul 18, 2019
AudiophileHeadCaseJust want to thank you for the info you shared in this post. I'm a headphone guy and I didn't know that much about the difference in the designs. I thought the DV amps were very "tubey", honestly, but I am obviously wrong there.
tsharp
52
Jul 18, 2019
AudiophileHeadCaseIn case anyone is interested in the actual specs of this thing, here's an in depth test and review. It measures pretty terribly. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-darkvoice-336se-headphone-amp.6549/
HIFI778
652
Sep 4, 2019
AudiophileHeadCaseWhat tubes did u use on the Loxjie? Are the stock tubes not soldered directly to the PCB or are easy to remove? Thsbk you!!
JoLamos
7
Oct 25, 2020
AudiophileHeadCaseThe Darkvoice costs $267 (inclusive of shipping cost to Australia). Loxjie P20 costs only ($94 after $5 discounts). If I add the 5A 12 V PSU, 4 Russian 6HN3P-E tubes, and a XLR cables. It is so much cheaper than the Darkvoice, particularly, I need to deal with exchange rates. I have pair the Loxjie P20 with Topping D10s. It sounds great to my taste. I have no issues to drive HD650 and Focal Elex.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile