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Product Description
A powerful balanced tube headphone amp with a variety of interfaces, the xDuoo TA-20 brings classic analog flavor to your audio setup. It features a durable aluminum alloy shell designed with anti-inference in mind, and has a small footprint—about the size of a sheet of A5 paper—to save space on your desk Read More
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Need some help and opinions to decide between TA-20 and TA-30. Headphones that I own and can be paired / connected (easily) to these amps are - Denon 9200, Drop Fostex TH-00, HiFiman Drop XX, Sennheiser HD 600, Oppo PM3 and ones that cannot be connected without special interconnects AKG 1000 (not sure as I can't recall if I had it mod to have directly connect to speaker terminals of my Norh SE 09), KOSS 950 and Stax - forgot the model). I do have a Jared Dared MP-5BT Tube amp. I do understand that TA-20 is balanced and TA-30 isn't and that difference is what I am requesting your thoughts and opinions.
Type of music I listen to - mainly Indian (bollywood & hindustani classical), English - no rock, no heavy metal, no rap .. just soft - Country, pop and bluegrass. So essentially focused more on mid-range and vocals.
Best Regards.
FrostyBud - Hi! ... and Ah ... the question you asked is so familiar .. it is just not asked as politely as you asked .. and the person who has been shouting at me for couple of decades ... is my wife :)
Few reasons, I don't like the Dared amp. Second that itch that we all audio lovers have is overtaking some of the common sense. I do have the Drop THX 789 for now (temporarily) .. but I prefer tube sound over SS and Vinyls over CDs (old school I guess I am). I had some good tube amps ... that I sold off and am repenting. Between the two, I am leaning towards the TA30 ... no need of extra cables as you said .. has bluetooth and from some reviews I read .. 'includes the best of other TA models'. I may skip both .. and just wait for something else to come up. Seems there is no warranty on these and they used to be sold cheaper. Let's see. Thanks for replying and your comments.
SuharshAh! I can completely respect that. I had a THX-789 and ended up selling it. With my Focal headphones it was just too harsh or thin. I can't hear most of what people say that they can hear, but I COULD hear the difference between the 789 and my Dark Voice (with upgraded tubes). My primary set up is a Hugo 2 (bought used) through the Dark Voice into Focal Clears (also bought used). And it sounds sublime. I only mention bought used as I can't afford this hobby and I mostly refuse to buy new if I can. Anyway, to take a dose of my own medicine, I am awaiting a TA-20 to arrive. The reason is that I had Drop credits to spend after splurging for the HD8xx and tube amps and that warm analog type sound, much like you, were all I was looking for. I'll pair that TA20 with a Topping D70 which has balanced outs and probably the HD8XX via a balanced cable, some day. So that will be my "balanced" set up, if such a thing is needed. So to add to your considerations, maybe look at the DAC to see if it is balanced. If not, the TA20 may be 'overkill' unless you are building in that direction. I will add that the Hugo2 is not balanced and the day that I added that to the Dark Voice was an epiphany. I guess Rob Watts and his FPGs are really all that. FWIW, the head phones through the Hugo2 alone are just OK. It takes the tube amps to really make them shine, IMHO, of course. -Cheers
Not a competitive price at $360.
Gustard H16 - separate true balanced path from input to output.
Relay volume control - very precise.
True pre out.
Remote! $399
What happened to the $299 price for the XDuoo?
PyceYikes! Yeah, that's the price I got mine at - $299. Almost precisely one year ago. Looks like it went up all around. I was so happy, I got my NOS and rolled right away.
I am looking to get a Schiit Magni or Magnius headphone amp. For the DAC I am considering getting a Schiit Modi or Modius to go with the amp and I am wondering how this xDuoo TA-20 compares to the Modi or Modius. I will be using high ohm headphones with these.
Does / has anyone owned both the TA-20 and a Modi or Modius and can you tell me the difference from your experience?
Could someone tell me what differences I would actually notice when using a TA-20 over a Modi or Modius for my DAC?
R.B.96You don't need to mess with that Schiit. Get a Drop Linear One. It blows all other budget solid state amps away! But the TA-20 is in a different category.
The Gold Lions sound great and are among the best. They seem to be a gold pin version of the Tung-Sols since they are visually identical. The Northern Electric seem to be best current production 12AU7 tubes but need break in. Cable rolling is when things really start to come alive. Check my TA-20 review for more detailed info: https://drop.com/buy/xduoo-ta-20-balanced-headphone-amp/reviews/2847329