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zenbert
175
Jun 6, 2020
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Better tube amp than I'd expected
I had been looking for a portable and natural sounding dac/amp setup that would be a notch better than my trusty Chord Mojo in the bedroom, and I thought that my Drop THX AAA 789 + Denafrips Ares r2r dac would just be a bit much in terms of size on the nightstand. For a long time, I was eyeing the La Figaro 337 Dark Voice amp, but frankly I wasn't particularly impressed by the built quality of the La Figaro 339 that I had owned, despite being fairly happy with its sound quality. The issues with the melting adhesive smell during the break-in period, and the hot-to-touch surface were turnoffs. The xDuoo TA-20 was delayed in delivery by Drop, and it was ok given the current affairs with the pandemic around the world, and I didn't opened it up for a week after arrival due to the poor timing with lots of distractions. When I finally got time to listen to it, a couple of the JJ Electronics gold pin tubes that I ordered had also arrived. The first dac I had paired the amp with was the SMSL SU-8 (v2), and I was quite surprised by the enjoyable listening experience after sampling through several tracks of different genres, including "First Love" by Hikaru Utada, an excellent vocal track, "Time" by Hans Zimmer, a track in the Inception movie, and "Cities in Dust" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. In the middle of composing a document, I had to pause to what I was hearing. Is it really that good I thought? The imaging and clarity of the music was fantastic.
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During the course of a few days, I tried other dac and headphone combinations to see what worked well. The list included the Denafrips Ares R2R dac, Topping D50, and the Focal Clear. It was also evident the stock Chinese tubes sounded very differently than the JJs I had sourced separately.
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Here is a summary of my experience: • The SMSL SU-8 combo with the amp produced neutral, clean sound with excellent imaging and separation • The Topping D50 was more forward sounding than the SMSL but seem to be an equally competent dac • The Denafrips Ares matched very well with the THX AAA 789 didn't perform well with the xDuoo amp. I had registered more noise artifacts and less imaging compare to others • The Ether CX headphone with the setup is sweet and smooth; as usual I have to listen more intently to find all the music but was rewarded as such • The Focal Clear matches very well with the SMSL and the amp. As expected with the Clear, the sound signature was quite more dynamic and the music is pushed toward the listener in a 'more emotional' delivery • I prefer the Chinese tubes than the JJ in terms of the sound signature despite being of poorer quality by visual inspection. The Chinese tubes sounded more airy and open while the JJs are tighter and more punchy--including more lower end • The amp never got hot; at most it got warm but never too hot to the touch I ended up leaving the SMSL+xDuoo setup in my study because of all the work from home hours. I think it's fantastic that a sounding tube amp is now at this price point, and it may be a good choice for those that want to try rolling tubes also. The key thing though is that xDuoo has produced a solid amp that can competently drive the two sample headphones I used (Ether CX @ 23 ohm and Clear @ 55ohm), and in my book it is a product that produces good musicality. Other notes: • tidal usb --> dac 32bit/192k (smsl/topping/denafrips) balanced out --> xduoo • ether cx required more power to register similar loudness level despite lower impedance (~52-55 volume vs ~50-52 for clear) • corpse cable on the ether, stock cable on the clear
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Recommends this product? Yes
elau
81
Jun 17, 2020
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zenbertHow would you describe the experience compared to your 789?
Jun 17, 2020
zenbert
175
Jun 19, 2020
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elau789 is velvety - clean, smooth, neutral. Ta20 - clean, very slightly warm, and airy with the stock tube. Your choice of DAC and headphone will affect the experience. They’re distinctly different amps. What kind of headphone and DAC are you thinking about pairing? I might be able to provide a more narrowed, albeit subjective, opinion 😊
Jun 19, 2020
elau
81
Jun 19, 2020
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zenbert dac would be rme adi-2 fs and cans would be hd800, currently using 789
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Jun 19, 2020
zenbert
175
Jun 20, 2020
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elauthat's a sweet setup! i haven't listened to the adi-2 but know it as a competent dac by reputation.
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i used the gustard x22 dac for the test. it's a very good neutral and clean dac. i don't have the hd800, and the closest thing i got is the hd820. here's my take: • 789 has more pronounced highs, faster decay, more digital than the TA-20, neutral, fast, clean • TA-20 is warmer and more pronounced mids, nearly as fast, more analog than 789 it wouldn't be an upgrade imo going to the TA-20, but the vocal tracks sound more focused on the voice (to me). as i mentioned the 789 is evidently more digital when you compare them side-by-side neither amps with the dac ever sounded sibilant even when push into the louder region. the sennheiser requires more power. the good news is the TA-20 handles it very well. pushing 57-60(high) on the volume; no distortion and still clean tracks: aha-living a boy's adventure tale (remastered), tiesto,jonas blue, rita ora-ritual, and kelly clarkson-move you. the closest sounding track was the aha one on both amps. 789 still has more noticeable highs, TA-20 slightly warmer and linear hope that helps!
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Jun 20, 2020
elau
81
Jun 20, 2020
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zenbertWhich gain do you use on the 789? I notice smoother treble and warmer (or less lean) on gain 3 versus lower.
Jun 20, 2020
zenbert
175
Jun 20, 2020
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elauthat's really interesting what you said. i haven't paid attention to the gain difference, but the gain setting for the sennheiser was at 2 on the 789 and the volume level was around 10 o'clock. you got me intrigued
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Jun 20, 2020
elau
81
Jun 20, 2020
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zenbertGain 1 and 2 is intended for input voltages of 4-7V and gain 3 is made for up to 2.1V. So it also depends what your DAC output is and volume level. You might have to lower your system volume to test with if it's already at 10 o'clock on gain 2.
Jun 20, 2020
zenbert
175
Jun 20, 2020
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elaugotcha. appreciate the data and suggestion! the dac was set at 0 volume(no boost). will review spec and see what make sense
Jun 20, 2020
Mendy770
76
Jun 21, 2020
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zenbertHi! on the same topic, how does the hd 6xx sound on the 789 vs TA-20? i have the 789 with the d70
Jun 21, 2020
zenbert
175
Jun 21, 2020
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Mendy770sorry but i don't a similar dac or headphone. i had a hd58x and a hd595 in the past which i had enjoyed. the d70 utilizes ak4497 chips, and i don't know how they sound like. the d50 i have runs on saber ess chips. the dac/amp combo you have should work well with pretty much any headphone i think.. able to drive pretty anything with good musicality. really depends on your taste at that point. the amps 'should' produce similar results with the tests i did with the smsl SU-8, d50, and the gustard x22; based on reviews on the d70, it appears to be a fairly dynamic but neutral across the spectrum. as a generalization, you're likely to register more mids and vocal with the TA20, and it may sound more analog. granted the TA20 isn't as analog as other tube amps i heard like the woo fireflies. if the hd6xx has tuning to the highs, then you're likely to hear more highs with the 789. if not, both amps may sound similar. however, the TA20 should be warmer. i prefer the TA20 for vocals while the 789 as generally a more resolving amp
Jun 21, 2020
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