the most comprehensive and interesting video review of this amp up to date, with great new production tubes comparison, awesome attention to spatial presentation of devices, thanks!
Monoprice discontinued the Liquid Platinum recently, though I think they may still put the odd open box on sale. So did I--I replaced it last month in my primary music setup with an Aune S17 Pro, which was a pretty good, and cost effective, upgrade.
Hey Wave! Very nice review, Sir. I am an OG TA-20 owner and currently run the Liquid Platinum as well. Currently the LP is the amp that sits on the desk as overall I enjoy the LP over the TA-20 by just a hair (Matched Gold Lion's installed). Your assessment of the LP from memory was pretty accurate. I like the power and the punch that the LP delivers, and to my ear it creates an overall preferable sound signature. But there are some things that the TA-20 does a little better, especially with the right tubes installed, so it's fun to switch between the 2 depending on music, mood and so on. I don't see myself replacing either one of my current hybrids with this model, but should something ever happen to either one of my current hybrids, this will get a serious look. So thanks again for showcasing this one! Keep up the great work. 👍
Can't get my hands on RayTubes here in Germany, but the Psvanes tho are available here and seem to be a pretty good alternative :) might give them a shot for my coming TA20 Plus.
Hey, if the power switch on the back is annoying to you, remember many brands have cheap smart plugs, like philips hue. I use those to power my guitar pedals that otherwise need their cables unplugged when not in use
I don't advise it. You'll see reports of people doing this and it working out for them. That's not a guarantee for every pair of gear. The most common problems are that the output voltage of a standard balanced connection is twice that of a standard SE connection, so you run the risk of overdriving the input of your amp. The other is that these cable simply drop the shared ground that is carried on the third conductor of a balanced cable. Some gear responds ok to that, some don't.
@@wavetheorysound Shuguang is shutdown, Linlai doesn’t OEM, so that leaves only Psvane in China. And Apos is a Chinese outfit. You have both Psvane and RAY on hand, so visual inspection should tell the tale. They are probably cherry picked units, though. At least, I hope, since they charge so much more for them.
@@el_arte I wondered about that as well, since looking at the 2 in the video they look very similar to each other. I would still like to have that confirmed, but you may well be correct.
Would you like to try that lost again? You made it sound as if you listen to music because of some obscure reason detached from liking the music. That can't be right.
The last guy here makes a good point. If the music was actually good, it wouldn't matter if you added colouration to it because it is the music itself in its arrangement and composition that matters, not its mixing and post-production values. If the music is only good because of its production, then it aint good music lol
BTW, I was curious about the Ray tubes from Apos as well and reached out to them to inquire about origin etc., but they never bothered to respond to me. So I will be curious to see how you make out.
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA W2D5 | Fall | พลาดวันนี้ จะต้องเสียใจ](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/A5-Cuo12p6A/mqdefault.jpg)
the most comprehensive and interesting video review of this amp up to date, with great new production tubes comparison, awesome attention to spatial presentation of devices, thanks!
Quite the value 👍
Monoprice discontinued the Liquid Platinum recently, though I think they may still put the odd open box on sale. So did I--I replaced it last month in my primary music setup with an Aune S17 Pro, which was a pretty good, and cost effective, upgrade.
I didn't know that. thanks for sharing. Hopefully that means a revamped hybrid amp is coming out soon.
Hey Wave! Very nice review, Sir. I am an OG TA-20 owner and currently run the Liquid Platinum as well. Currently the LP is the amp that sits on the desk as overall I enjoy the LP over the TA-20 by just a hair (Matched Gold Lion's installed). Your assessment of the LP from memory was pretty accurate. I like the power and the punch that the LP delivers, and to my ear it creates an overall preferable sound signature. But there are some things that the TA-20 does a little better, especially with the right tubes installed, so it's fun to switch between the 2 depending on music, mood and so on. I don't see myself replacing either one of my current hybrids with this model, but should something ever happen to either one of my current hybrids, this will get a serious look. So thanks again for showcasing this one! Keep up the great work. 👍
i still think my dacs adjusted slightly on higher end iems so its not universally applied
since in some areas those combo shouldnt be able to cope w the powah ith holts
Thanks Bro for your great review.
Can't get my hands on RayTubes here in Germany, but the Psvanes tho are available here and seem to be a pretty good alternative :) might give them a shot for my coming TA20 Plus.
11:05 one more advantage of the cage is it act a Faraday cage because tubes are sensitive to RF noise.
Good point. That was not an issue for me but could be for some.
That dad joke at 22:48... excellent! 😂
Hey, if the power switch on the back is annoying to you, remember many brands have cheap smart plugs, like philips hue. I use those to power my guitar pedals that otherwise need their cables unplugged when not in use
Have you listened to the TA-20 Plus with the latest Hifiman "Ananda, Arya, 1000SE"?
What is your feeling?
Thanks
He mentioned it during the video
I saw for the 1000SE, but I would have liked a little more detail for the Ananda and the Arya😏@@Mastermnd1
Xduoo products are real eye catchers. I like the grey colour of their products.
The red accent on the volume knob is also a nice touch.
Honestly Xduoo can't miss
question about balanced dacs to single ended amps; can you use a xlr to rca cable without there being a loss of quality?
I don't advise it. You'll see reports of people doing this and it working out for them. That's not a guarantee for every pair of gear. The most common problems are that the output voltage of a standard balanced connection is twice that of a standard SE connection, so you run the risk of overdriving the input of your amp. The other is that these cable simply drop the shared ground that is carried on the third conductor of a balanced cable. Some gear responds ok to that, some don't.
Integrate it with your smarthome hardware and forget about the power switch. Seriously.
Ray are rebranded Psvane.
Do you have evidence of this?
@@wavetheorysound Shuguang is shutdown, Linlai doesn’t OEM, so that leaves only Psvane in China. And Apos is a Chinese outfit. You have both Psvane and RAY on hand, so visual inspection should tell the tale. They are probably cherry picked units, though. At least, I hope, since they charge so much more for them.
@@el_arte I wondered about that as well, since looking at the 2 in the video they look very similar to each other. I would still like to have that confirmed, but you may well be correct.
You know what this needs? A matched pair of Telefunken G73Rs. 🤣
That would be a lot of telefunken money to spend on tubes for this amp, lol
@@wavetheorysound If you aren't spending more on the tubes than you are on the amp, are you really trying? 🤑
@@Michael_mki233Good point. Anything less and you're just Gold Lion to yourself 😆
When are we going to compare USB cables to see which one sounds best?
i hate the background . hopefully he will change the setup
If you need tubes to make your music sound good you're listening to the wrong music.
Would you like to try that lost again?
You made it sound as if you listen to music because of some obscure reason detached from liking the music.
That can't be right.
There is no such thing as wrong music or wrong amp, it's just a preference thing
@@2ridiculous41 if your music is perfect without tubes don't use tubes because they will just get in the way.
If you need solid state to make your music sound good...
The last guy here makes a good point. If the music was actually good, it wouldn't matter if you added colouration to it because it is the music itself in its arrangement and composition that matters, not its mixing and post-production values. If the music is only good because of its production, then it aint good music lol
BTW, I was curious about the Ray tubes from Apos as well and reached out to them to inquire about origin etc., but they never bothered to respond to me. So I will be curious to see how you make out.