xDuoo TA-26 Tube Headphone Amplifier Discussions | Drop

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xDuoo TA-26 Tube Headphone Amplifier

Jul 15, 2021

It is like an ugly DarkVoice, but likely built with better components. Too bad it didn’t drop last week, I already ordered one from a vendor on Ali.

Jul 15, 2021

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dcalebmcginn

Jul 15, 2021

FayneI thought the tubes looked familiar. Enjoy the DV, I love mine with my 6XX. Got mine from Apos on sale.

Jul 15, 2021

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Fayne

2603

Jul 15, 2021

dcalebmcginnYeah. After the DV, lots of other Chinese brands started producing similar 6AS7 cathode follower OTL amps. I'm rather hoping xDuoo designed their version a bit better than the DV. So far I've had very good luck with the TA-20, TA-03S, and more recently, the MT-604. So I have high hopes. At the bare minimum, I expect the components to be better. Especially the trafo/supply for the heaters. I'm still a bit unhappy with all of the flaws in the DV. Some day I'll get around to modifying mine so it doesn't have a 60hZ hum. Likely just Eagle up a replacement PCB and do away with the stupid design choices. I do like the DV chassis, super chonky.

Jul 15, 2021

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dcalebmcginn

Jul 15, 2021

FayneI think I’ve heard about the 60hz issue. It doesn’t affect the 230V models apparently

Jul 15, 2021

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Fayne

2603

Jul 15, 2021

dcalebmcginnYeah, unfortunately I'm in the US with our boring low voltage at 60hz. Pretty sure the heater voltage on my DV is around 7v, which means likely the transformer was made for 100v. I bet the 230v versions weren't made with the wrong transformers like a lot of the 110/115v models were. Plus, even if they were, the difference between a 220v on 230v is less than half of that between 100v and 110v (or 115v) when it comes to transformer conversion. Where I see a tube lifespan destroying 7v from the trafo instead of the normal 6.3v, someone on 230v operating gear with a 220v trafo would see something closer to 6.5v which is a bit hot but within the generally ok range for heaters. Excess heater AC voltage will cause very unpleasant mains noise, thus the nasty 60hz. x_X

Jul 15, 2021

dcalebmcginn

Jul 15, 2021

FayneIt’s funny because there is no advantage to 60 over 50. 60 just requires generating equipment to run faster, degrading its lifespan.

Jul 15, 2021

postwarscars

1368

Jul 16, 2021

FayneI saw this and immediately thought of you today (that sounds way creepier than I mean it, holy shit). I figured you'd at least be interested in it.

Jul 16, 2021

Fayne

2603

Jul 16, 2021

postwarscarsHahahaha. Yeah, poor impulse control strikes again. I bought it the second I saw it hit the Chinese market. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for it to ship, so slightly regretting my choice of vendor... but not enough to cancel that order and buy it here.

Jul 16, 2021

MechEng

345

Jul 16, 2021

Faynehttps://apos.audio/products/xduoo-ta-26-tube-amplifier Way faster shipping Fayne how do you think this will sound in comparison to Darkvoice 336se, any expectations, thoughts? I am highly interested myself, I have a darkvoice and it's bigger brother La Figura..But I am also interested in this and I have heard some good things about the MT-604 in another category as an aside... There are no reviews on it as it appears it came out like 8 days ago, aside from the guy who always gets the jump on youtube but his vids literally have no meaning other than what you can already read.

Jul 16, 2021

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Fayne

2603

Jul 17, 2021

MechEngI just got my FedEx IP tracking number. If I'm lucky, mine will arrive sometime next week. I expect it to sound rather similar to a modded DV, and likely have better quality control. There are only so many configurations you can use for a cathode follower OTL. I'll be very surprised if the pre-out is wired so that it works when headphones are plugged in like the DV, but we'll see. I do know that one of the best mods for the DV (other than fixing the stupid heater voltage) is to sever the preamp out (or swap the headphone jack to allow for breaking the preamp connection when plugging in cans). Doing such seriously drops some of the excessive darkness. I have a pile of 6SN7 and 6AS7 tubes from the US and Russia that I bought for my DV, and I'm rather looking forward to seeing how they sound on the TA-26. The photos they have on the product site of the mainboard are a good sign as the layout is very clean. As long as they don't smear hot-glue over everything like the DV has, it should be crazy easy to repair (or mod, if you're into that kinda thing). As for the MT-604, I've been super happy with the one I scored from Ali during their summer sales a few weeks back ( https://drop.com/talk/87604/x-duoo-mt-604-hanging-out-on-an-umc-202-hd ). $134 with free shipping, I couldn't pass up. I was already a fan of the 6AK5/5654/6J1/6Zh1P tubes from other amps, and the MT-604 uses them well. I slapped a quad of Realistic Lifetime/Hit-Ray gold clad 6AK5 into it and have been swapping through all of my cans with great success. The biggest problem with it is the level of microphonics that the types of tubes it uses have. Ultra sensitive cans really pick up all of the pings from simple things like moving the headphone cable. I couldn't stand the Drop+Meze 99 Noir and JVC HA-SW01 on it for that reason. At least as long as the tubes are good, it is dead quiet background. So far one of the best pairings I've found on it has surprisingly been the HE-X4. I do think the TA-20 has slightly better compatibility and sounds a bit cleaner, but I do not regret the MT-604 at all. Plus it looks pretty sexy. The only mod I am considering with it (other than the tube roll I already did), is the replacement of the 12vdc power brick. Probably swap it out for a medical grade switching (medical because it has very stringent noise requirements) or just a simple hand built LDO linear. I tend to judge the power supplies that come with these things by how heavy they are, and this one is stupid light.

(Edited)

Jul 17, 2021

Fayne

2603

Jul 23, 2021

FayneStock everything as it just arrived. I will be rolling away from the stock tubes for sure, but they’re not as offensive as they could be. No hum, which is a good enough start.

Jul 23, 2021

Fayne

2603

Jul 23, 2021

FayneRolled in a RCA JAN CRC-6AS7G from ‘59 with passable rest results:

At the same time I rolled a GE 6SN7GTB from ‘56 (I think), also with passable test results:

In my DV they were a mess of noise and hum that made me immediately put them back in their boxes, in the TA-26 they’re perfectly silent when no sound is playing. Zero break-in (unless you call 5 minutes of DV broken in).

Sound quality is about what one can expect from a cathode follower OTL. Been using my ATH-R70x because it is neutral and I’ve gotten myself pretty familiar with how it normally sounds on my other amps. With this pairing of tubes and cans I get nice deep bass, crystal clear mids, and a top end with a touch of sparkle but no pain. Gain is about as expected and I find that I only need to turn the dial to about 10 o’clock before it is a bit louder than I need. So far I’m digging it much more than my DV. I have yet to test if they bypass the preamp out when headphones are plugged in. When I can pull myself from this pairing I have a few tested low-noise JJ and Tung-Sol new production 6SN7 kicking around as well as some NOS Sylvania and Raytheon to have a go with. Plus I got a factory box of Nevz 6H8C. I’ve also got an assortment of NOS GE, Sylvania, and Raytheon 6AS7 and 6080 variants to play with. Plus that factory box of Svetlana 6H13C. Sadly the little guards make it so I can’t roll a pair of GEC A2293/CV4079 in place of the 6AS7. I mean, I could with enough socket savers… but nope, too silly.

Jul 23, 2021

MechEng

345

Jul 24, 2021

FayneSounds good, let us know how the JJ and Tung-Sol eventually work. Thank you for the update of information, super appreciative.

(Edited)

Jul 24, 2021

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Fayne

2603

Jul 24, 2021

MechEngCouldn’t find my Tung-Sol, probably in a bin at the bottom of my closet. Did find my JJs and randomly grabbed and tested one before rolling. This one has less than 10 hours on it as it was part of a pair I bought for my BZHIFI E200. Used them to make sure everything was clean sounding before rolling to some rare-ish Sylvania black-plates in that amp. Test results from my AT1000 were pretty good, showing about as close to bogey as one can expect:

Sounds great in the TA-26; no hum and has that great nearly NOS sound which most all JJ have.

Jul 24, 2021

Fayne

2603

Jul 30, 2021

FayneSo, after a full week of use 12 hours a day, I'm rather in <3 with this amp. Ended up going back to and sticking with the RCA 6AS7G and GE 6SN7GTB combo. It is very sweet and hits most all of my sonic preferences nicely. At some point I'll roll in a Svetlana 6H13C and either a Sylvania or Hitach-Raytheon 6SN7, but I'm feeling no great urge to roll from the way it sounds currently. The good:

The TA-26 runs significantly cooler than the DarkVoice or TA-03S. The chassis does warm up a bit, especially the housing for the power transformer, but not to the painfully hot temperatures the DV and TA-03 show across the whole unit when used for 12 hours straight.
The TA-26 has much much less noise than the DV, still. Pretty consistent with all of the amps from xDuoo I've bought, but very pleasing after fighting with a DV.
Every single set of high Ω cans I've used with the TA-26 have worked as wonderfully as possible. Nothing needed me to go past 10 o'clock on the dial.
The front facing power switch isn't a giant honking bar like on the DV, and is much harder to accidentally toggle.
The volume knob doesn't generate noise when being turned and doesn't seem to have any imbalance.
The sockets used for the tubes are nice high quality ceramic with gold plated pin cups. They make very excellent tight connections to the pins on the tubes.
The preamp out sounds about as good as one can expect from an OTL triode amp, and very similar to the DV. I think the preamp on the Schiit Valhalla 2 sounds a bit better, but that is likely because it is much more neutral and doesn't have the bottom end bump like the TA-26. That said, if the amps you're going to feed with the preamp out are a bit bass shy, the TA-26 will do a wonderful job. TA-26 feeding TA-03S was not good sounding, giving the TA-03S nasty bloated bass that wasn't good for anything other than EDM (for me).

The Meh (I nitpick):

The TA-26 does not have a bypass for the preamp out when headphones are plugged in. Without opening the unit up and tracing the circuit, I'm guessing it is rather similar to the DV, and something to potentially mod with a simple cut of a trace, snip of wire, or de-soldering of resistor. Not horrible. Not amazing, not horrible, just meh.
The volume knob isn't as pleasant feeling to turn as the DV. It feels about the same as the pot on TA-03S, it has some resistance but not that silky smoothness of the pot the DV ships with.
The tube slots are just a bit too recessed, making it somewhat difficult to safely pull/replace tubes unless you use socket-savers/extenders.
The stupid railings make it difficult to use wacky tube adapters for stuff that isn't 6AS7/6080. They may be removable, but I've got a feeling it requires complete disassembly of the amp to get at the screws (or nuts). Aside from aesthetics, they don't serve any purpose. I'd rather have a removable cage or nothing at all.
Blue LED. Why oh why must these vendors use blue. Just give me a dull amber or green. Hell, I'll take dull red even. Anything but the spot-light blue. It isn't a beacon of blindness in dark rooms like a bunch of gear I've bought, but it is still much brighter than I like. I'll likely slap a square (or two) of kapton tape over it, damn the aesthetics.

The bad:

Nothing. 100% stock the unit isn't bad. Some silly design choices, sure, but nothing that stands out as a deal breaker.

I'm not sure if I like the way it sounds more than the TA-03S. I mean, they're very similar sounding, with the main difference being that the TA-03S has a slightly deeper bass and a bit more recessed treble which is better with brighter cans (like the T1.2). Both amps have that sweet linear big boy triode sound and similar pricing, and to be fair, I'd be perfectly happy using either amp all day every day. The TA-26 has a slight edge in regards to availability of 6AS7 and 6SN7 tubes for rolling, but the prices for both tend to be a bit higher especially for NIB/NOS. The TA-03S on the other hand has extremely limited rolling options for the output tubes, but they can be had dirt cheap and Russian variants (6S19P-VR) can be found that have long lifespan and extreme vibration tolerance. Preamp is a 12AU7, so stupid easy to find for cheap, even NIB/NOS. If you plan to roll heavily, the TA-26 will be a better option. If you want a set it once and forget it (until heat death of tubes), the TA-03S is probably the way to go. So, yeah. I've no regrets associated with buying it. My only problem is the extreme lack of space for my ever growing collection of amplifiers. If I had bought the amp here my review would absolutely be a 5 star and recommend to friends.

Jul 30, 2021

Fayne

2603

Jul 31, 2021

FayneDecided to try out a Sylvania 6080. Old military stock from ‘66 that I scored a quad of some years back. It dissipates a LOT of heat, I'm talking a noticeable bubble of radiant heat. Luckily it sounds rather fine when paired with a GTE Sylvania 6SN7GTB of unknown age (probably 60s). Still no hum, buzz, or noise.

The 6080WB tests kinda trashy, a bit gassy, somewhat under bogey, and not as balanced as I’d prefer. But, it does show off that small balance differences in the tubes and just a touch of gas doesn't really impact the sound quality on this amp.

The GTE Sylvania 6SN7GTB tests fairly strong, but also has balance issues. Sounds great in this application.

(Edited)

Jul 31, 2021

Alfredo3001

Aug 31, 2021

FayneI read t1.2nd. I have never tried a tube or hybrid amp with my t1.2nd. Which amps do you recommend? I wanted to try the DV, but it seems a little old nowadays. I am currently running mine with the BF2 and G111. So far I read some people recommend the MLP, Tuba and bottleneck. For each price range which amps do you recommend?

Below 300$
300 - 500$
Above 500$ ( I don't think I will go with this thought)

Aug 31, 2021

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Fayne

2603

Aug 31, 2021

Alfredo3001There are a bunch of really good amps available for cheap. Everything I reference here I own and have spent at least 100 hours on. There are others which may be better, but as I don't own them I prefer not to speculate. For OTL amps I'm pretty happy with the xDuoo TA-03S and TA-26 in the ~$300 range. I like the TA-03S a bit more than the TA-26, but this is mostly because I rather like how the 6S19P sounds as in OTL. Stuff the TA-03S with JJ ECC802S (or a NOS long-plate 12AU7) and Ulyanovsk 6S19P-VR for great performance. Both amps use very similar cathode-follower circuits, not unlike the DarkVoice. Both sound absolutely wonderful with the Beyer T1.2. On the super cheap side you can pick up something like one of these hand built Chinese 6P1 OTL amps for ~$150 with shipping: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001159745055.html . They're not the best design, but are easy to modify/repair and do sound pleasant on the T1.2, HD6xx, and HD820. It is basically a 6P1 speaker amp without the transformers, with the headphone output going through a voltage divider. In the ~$350 range the Schiit Valhalla 2 is a nice sounding amp once you roll the tubes to your preference. I ended up settling on a pair of NEVZ 6N5P and 6N6P for the warmer tone. Be aware, the Valhalla is a very neutral sounding amp and might need to EQ for some extra bottom end if you're a basshead. For Transformer coupled amps I have nothing but good to say about the APPJ PA1502A which can be found for ~$200-250 after shipping. Throw in a NOS 12ax7 and pair of nice 6L6, 6AQ5/6005 (via adapter), 6P1P (via adapter), or 6BG6 (via adapter) and it is an amazing amp. Most all cans from 16Ω to 600Ω will sound good on it. The bottom end can be a bit light, but not terribly so. Can be modified to fix the bottom end via a capacitor swap. Does have a gain switch. A bit higher in price is the Weiliang/Breeze/Nobsound E200 which can be found for ~ $300-350 after shipping. Stuff it with NOS 12AX7 and a pair of 6SN7 and it handles rather well. The transformers are huge and heavy, having very nice extension. The unit itself has a impedance selector, making the amp compatible with everything from IEM to high Ω cans. Example which might not be the best price, but is the one I purchased without tubes: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32556281296.html Delving even further into the Chinese market there are the 6N2 + FU19/FU32 amps which can be had for ~$250-300 after shipping. They're huge and have a piddly 4w speaker output, but do very nice things with high Ω cans. They're using the FU19/FU32 tubes in parallel single-ended configuration. Stuff it with a 6N2P-EV and a pair of NOS Phillips 5894 tubes for best effect. Has oversized transformers for the effective output wattage, sounds absolutely wonderful with all of my cans, even the stupid sensitive ones. Does hum a bit during startup, but goes dead silent after it heats up. Has to do with the tube output tube types. One of my other speaker amps (an Audioromy M-828A) uses the similar FU29/GU29/829 tubes and does the same thing. Example which might not be the best price: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2049107601.html Hybrid amp wise anything from xDuoo is going to sound pretty good, especially after a rolling off of the cheap Shuguang tubes. The ~$170 MT-604 does a good job at making T1.2 sing, as annoying as the dual volume control is. The tubes it uses are a bit microphonic, but not as horrible as some. Stuff it with Hitachi-Raytheon 6AK5 for very nice sound. The ~$400 TA-20 is one of the cleanest sounding hybrid amps I've had the pleasure of owning, worth every cent. Using JJ ECC802S it has a very sweet overall tone, with very nice bass extension. If you want to go expensive (~$2500) silly sorta-hybrid, you can get a Schiit Ragnarok 2 in the Just an Amp config along with a Schiit Freya+. The Rag can push any set of cans (or speakers) wonderfully, and the signal passing through the Freya+ (in tube mode) adds just enough harmonic to remind one that their signal is traversing two pairs of 6SN7. All of that said, my preference order (at the moment) for the tube headphone amps I own is: TA-03S > 6N2+FU19/FU32 > APPJ PA1502A > Valhalla 2 > TA-26 > E200 > TA-20 > ASL MG-Head OTL Mk3 > MT-604 > Loxjie P20 > Monoprice Monolith 29511 > Cheap Chinese 6P1 OTL > Wang's PHA-T1/Spartan Helot > CTH > LittleDot 1+ > DV

(Edited)

Aug 31, 2021

Alfredo3001

Aug 31, 2021

FayneAmazing write-up. I really appreciated it. Thank you!

Aug 31, 2021

donunus

Sep 7, 2021

FayneCan you tell me more about how the cheap sp1 sounds? I have hd600s. What is the output impedance vs the xduoo ta26 here?

Sep 7, 2021

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Fayne

2603

Sep 7, 2021

donunusThe cheapo 6P1 OTL amp has pretty sweet mids and treble, but the bass is not even close to as deep as a 6AS7 or 6C19P in OTL. Output impedance is also pretty high, without doing the maths I gustimate in the mid 200s. The TA-26 has similar high output impedance, but if I had to pick between the two, I would absolutely go with the TA-26. That said, the 6P1 amp did sound pretty pleasant on my HD6XX and HD820. I purchased the 6P1 amp on a lark. I have like 600 6П1П-EB tubes and absolutely love them in any position a 6V6 or 6AQ5 would normally go in. At sub-$90 before shipping, it isn't a bad little box especially if one is prone to tinkering or modifying ones tube gear. With a bit of effort and maybe $10 in parts one could modify it from being a 6P1 OTL to a 6C19 or 6H6П OTL.

(Edited)

Sep 7, 2021

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