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MechEng
345
Jan 23, 2021
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This or Schitt Valhalla 2?
Jan 23, 2021
Fayne
2575
Jan 23, 2021
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MechEngThe Schiit probably sounds better (especially the bass because of the OTL configuration), has better support, and can use a large selection of tubes (6922, 6Н1П, 6DJ8, etc) for the input/gain stage. The output stage is very limited to only 6Н6П, and there are no western equivalents. You get Russian and Chinese only. The TA-20 uses the very readily available 12AU7 and does sound pretty awesome. Support will be expensive. Balanced is nice if you've already got balanced DAC or cans. I don't have the Valhalla 2, so I can't really speak too much about it other than it has been on my buy list for a while. All of the other schiit gear I've bought has been pretty amazing (Freya+, Ragnarok 2, Loki, Mani). I do have the TA-20 and it is absolutely my favourite hybrid amp at the moment (assuming you don't consider the Freya+ and Ragnarok 2 combo as hybrid). I also have the TA-03s and will never use my Darkvoice again because of it.
(Edited)
Jan 23, 2021
MechEng
345
Jan 23, 2021
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FayneGood to know. I am just getting started and have dt770s, HD6XX on the way and want to explore planars with this amp (just bought from the manfacturer directly) eventually. I think the combo of now having a clinical 789 with Drop Grace balanced DAC, TA-20 for planars, and possibly a darkvoice, valhalla2, or maybe Mjolnir (redundant hybrid with the TA-20) might be a good third addition eventually. I need to get some more ear time in. From reviews it appeared the Valhalla was a meh and too neutral for some, hence I went with the TA-20. Definitely going to try some different tubes in the TA-20. But maybe a TA-03S might be a good third option over a dark voice for a full tube amp. How does the TA-03s compare to the TA-20 in terms of tubyness?
Jan 23, 2021
Fayne
2575
Jan 23, 2021
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MechEngThe TA-03s is a night and day compared to the TA-20. The TA-20 while giving a slight tube vibe, just doesn't have the kick that the TA-03s does with its OTL setup. Don't get me wrong, the TA-20 is pretty great sounding, and has power on tap to drive most hungry dynamic and planar cans. It does have some issues with ultra-sensitive cans and IEM, but very few out of the lot I've run through it are useless. I left a big 'ol list of the cans and IEMs I tried with mine, and some basic impressions with each over here in my review. After the last edit, I did end up switching the tubes in it to JJ ECC802s for the JJ typical bump to the bottom end. No regrets there. The TA-03s has that ultra deep bass drive capability that the DarkVoice does, but none of the hum and a hell of a lot less heat. What the TA-03s is missing though, is the ability to drive cans below 150Ω efficiently. It is for high Ω cans (just like the DV). You throw HD-58X, HD-6xx, or any high Ω Beyer at it, and it will drive them beautifully. I've spent a lot of time with my T1.2 on it since I got it last month and consider it one of the best pairings out of all of my amp and cans. Dead silent background and the bass bump tends to help the T1.2 which are pretty low frequency shy. I can't really say anything about the built in DAC on the 03s, I'm not a big fan of the series and just ignored it. My Airist R-2R tends to do most of the serious listening driving for it, otherwise I'm taking a feed off of my Behringer XR-18. I have a review of the TA-03s over here. If I had to pick between the two and most of my cans were in the 32-100Ω range, I'd go with the TA-20. If most of my cans were >=150Ω I'd absolutely pick the TA-03s. Both amps need their stock tubes replaced. Pretty much any current production 12AU7 variant from Russia is going to be better than the Sino they come with. The stock Sino 6C19-J on the TA-03s are ok, but prone to vibration noise. It sounded almost like a piece of paper hitting a fan blade a room away when my disk arrays and radiator fans spun up, somewhat distracting. Luckily it is not difficult at all to score 6С19П-BP in pairs on eBay (or buy a pair of Sovtek rebrand from a vendor like tubedepot). I bought two factory boxes of 50 and randomly picked two tubes from one of them, no testing or matching required. Straight bliss. For reference, BP == EV == Extended/exceptional reliability and high vibration resistance/tolerance. Usually the BP/EV variants were meant for space program, missile program, or jets (and other highly critical military application) where having a tube fail could mean you've got a very expensive piece of equipment impacting the ground. Now, Mjolnir is also a nice option, but damn that thing is huge and kind of expensive. I see nothing but <3 from people reviewing it. But... I can fit 9 amps in the space that one Mjolnir would take. DarkVoice... eh... nice sounding when you work out all the kinks and mod the shit out of the amp. The caps might need replacement, especially if you want to use lower Ω cans. The preamp out needs bypassing when headphones are plugged in (or just straight removal), otherwise it kinda mucks the sound quality. You might run into heater voltage issues depending on your local voltage and what they used in the build you get. A lot of them run the heaters at 7v+, which makes tubes fail quicker and sound like poop, like the winding on the trafo were for 100v or something silly. And the heat output, holy hell that chassis gets painfully warm to the touch after a few hours of use. I rolled through some 10 different 6AS7G and 6Н13С in mine, as well as some GEC CV4079/A2293 on adapter and never really found it to be quiet enough. I've put it on a storage shelf until I can convert the AC heater to DC. I invested in a factory box of Svetlana 6H13C while waiting for the DV to arrive and regretted it with how the DV performs. To make use of those Svetlana tubes I ended up buying a Monoprice Monolith 29511 like a month after getting the DV. Absolutely no regrets with that one. It comes with a variable impedance transformer setup, so you twist a knob to select the types of cans you're going to be using. After swapping the Sino 6N3-J with GE 5670W and the Sino 6N5-J with Svetlana 6H13C it was dead quiet on everything but my most sensitive cans and IEMs. Very plesant, even if it doesn't have the bass depth and power the DV does. I do not use the built in DAC, but it does cause a bit of a hum when using it if you don't pop the amp open and move the wires around a bit. They zip tied them to the transformer. x_X If you've already got the THX789, another nice option is to put a tube buffer in front of the single ended input. You get the taste of tube with that most excellent neutral amplification. I use a (self) modified Yaqin SD-CD3 with some NOS sylvania black plate 6SN7 or MS-CD2 with Western Electric 403B depending on mood and what I've rolled onto my desk that month. Same works for the LCX.
(Edited)
Jan 23, 2021
MechEng
345
Feb 9, 2021
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FayneI swapped these bad boys in, no sound. total newb here.
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I also have the following sets coming as well.
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(Edited)
Feb 9, 2021
MechEng
345
Feb 10, 2021
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MechEngMaybe my first two are bad tubes.
Feb 10, 2021
Fayne
2575
Feb 10, 2021
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MechEngPossible that they're bad. Those tubes look like the right series. The first batch look like Ulyanovosk and the second batch looks like a mix between Ulyanovosk and Svetlana. Both types should absolutely work fine in the TA-03s. So, basic troubleshooting.
  1. Did the amp work with stock tubes? Silly question, but I just want to make sure it isn't a dud unit. If it did work properly, then go to the next question, otherwise try loading it with all stock tubes and making sure you don't have a bad unit.
  2. Do all the heaters light up in the tubes, including the 12AU7 (the one in the center)? The heater will glow lightly orange in the center of the tubes. It may take up to 60 seconds for the glow to really show, though it should be pretty apparent if you have the lights low or off in the room with the amp. If one of them isn't glowing, there is a problem either with that tube, or with the tube connection in the socket. If one of the tubes you've recently installed isn't lighting up, try swapping back in the stock Chinese tube for that position. It is absolutely safe to have mismatched tubes in this amplifier.
  3. If all the tubes are lighting up, the next question is how are you driving the amp? If you're using the usb, try going to an external source via the RCA, and leaving the USB unplugged.
And while the tubes do require some force to push in and pull out, be *extremely* careful with how much lateral force you exert when doing either action. It is somewhat easy to crack the glass at the base where the pins are exposed and completely destroy a tube. Don't ever try to twist them, and if you have to rock them out, be suuuuuuuper careful.
Feb 10, 2021
MechEng
345
Feb 10, 2021
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Fayne1. TA-20 was tested for my setup, maybe this is the over-arching reason. 1a. Stock tubes work great, both sets of tube I acquired from the first photo did not work, I did not swap individually between the two sets. I hear these don't come silver. Loading stock ta-20's back in work great. 1st photo are new never used Uljanovsk. 2.Neither sets appeared to be glowing (dark room) or putting out much heat, the transformer seemed to be getting warm as normal. I did not run them more than 5ish minutes each. Checked my DAC physically settings, sound output to DAC as well as trying different media sources (this wasn't the problem). 3.Tube didn't light up. USB-type A to USB type-B connection to Grace balanced SDAC Yea, I watched some install/ removal vids, it was fine for install, they were mounted flush and square. I will give the second set a go when they come in (second photo). Didn't use the socket savers I acquired because I felt this would break the socket more as there is no purchase on the savers with ta-20 case. This would add more leverage to the base ta-20 socket when removing tubes.
(Edited)
Feb 10, 2021
Fayne
2575
Feb 10, 2021
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MechEngOh. Well there is the problem. Those 6s19p tubes are for the TA-03S. The TA-20 eats 12au7.
Feb 10, 2021
Fayne
2575
Feb 10, 2021
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MechEngFor the TA-20, just snag yourself a pair of cheap JJ ecc802s/12au7 from some place like https://www.tubedepot.com/products/jj-ecc802s-hi-performance-12au7-preamp-vacuum-tube they might not be as good as NOS, it they’re cheap and good sounding.
Feb 10, 2021
MechEng
345
Feb 10, 2021
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FayneThanks Fayne for all your help.
Feb 10, 2021
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