There are two times in my young audiophile hobby that my music has given me chills. The first when I heard my hifiman arya stealth's for the first time through the topping DX7 pro and now with the TA-22. There is and extra layer with the hybrid tube constuction that I was missing before. I have followed Joshua's advice on products twice and I have to send out a heart felt thank you. You have not steered me wrong twice. I love this dac/amp. I know things in the hobby get better but I can't imagine it at this point.
@@handcoding tubes are really up to personal taste and me personally I love warmer sound signatures. My favorite pairing was the psvane art series with gold terminations. Nice and warm but still detailed with a great soundstage.
Thanks for mentioning Eva Cassidy! I first read about her in a TH-cam comment in 2021 and now I own five of her albums. If I had to choose one album to take to a desert island and hear for the rest of my life, it would definitely be Nightbird (as shown in your video), but I'd recommend getting at least Simply Eva and Time After Time as well.
I just got this Xduoo dac/amp yesterday. I have the TA-30 and have it tubed up with a Sophia Rectifier and 2 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures. I came ready for the arrival of the DAC. I’ve owned two more 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures just in case my tubes wear out. I also set up an anti-vibration platform and even have high-end silver core cables ready for set-up. Also bought my favorite sounding oil-filled cables only sold on eBay. Even added an upgraded antenna for BlueTooth. Yes, I’m ready for this DAC. This will be the first external DAC I’ve owned. I love how much the sound has improved. Made it sound thick, full and sort of airy. After only one day, I hear low distortion of sound which I expect to go away after burn-in. I tried linking my TA22 and TA30 with the oil filled RCA inter-connect. I’ve noticed that I can’t use my oil filled RCA inter-connect. I use an all silver power distributor box that has a record of forcing me to use Bluetooth only. This has happened with my television set to my Nakamichi Soundwafe which is connected to a Furutech distributor box and mostly silver cables. I love the sound already and look forward to the sound this dac/amp will produce. I expect to hear more smoothness and airiness as this unit burns in.
How does this dac/amp works for low impedance high sensitivity Plannars? for example the Arya Organic which is 16 ohms, this amp doesn't list what current provides at this low impedance
It also apodizes! Hehe - I had to look that up. From wikipedia: "Apodization in digital audio - An apodizing filter can be used in digital audio processing instead of the more common brick-wall filters, in order to avoid the pre-ringing that the latter introduces." Still don't know what it is, but I'm sure it's awesome.
Good review but I feel all its features haven't been covered. The dac, the inputs on the back on functions in the screen menu etc, and if this responds well to tube rolling ? Zeos from z reviews was one of the first to lather praise on this but he praises almost everything. I treat this as another review of possibly more future positive ones before considering it. Thanks.
Wasn't really looking for another unit, since I am very pleased with what I have. But considering everything it has going for it, I am very tempted. I have the Xduoo MT-602 paired with a matched pair of Voskhod 6zh1p-ev as a speaker preamp. I absolutely adore the Voskhod tubes for sound reproduction.
The problem with the xDuoo TA-22 is that it does not use tube amplification when you use the digital dac, for that reason you did not notice it as a tube amplifier, it only uses tube amplification when you connect it with a monitor or other amplifier and then you will notice the sound of tubes
This product built in with Wiim pro streaming capabilities and I wouldn't waste a second of buying it. Never stop dreaming. Great vid, btw. Anyone knows the 'song' at the end of the video?
use the balanced connections on this amp!!! When I first got it I only had the 6.35mm cord and I wasn't very impressed with the sound. but man when I finally got to try the 4-pin xlr connector what a world of difference it makes!
Thanks for the great review. I was wondering if the TA22 would be an upgrade from my current stack of a THX789 with a Topping E30? I have always though the E30 was a week link in my setup. I primarily listen with Edition XS.
I just got the Hifiman EF400. It’s been great so far but now I’m curious; would you say that this is a better option for headphones like the Arya SE and Meze 109’s?
How much do you tube roll? I have the TA-20 and the TA-26. I remember a TA-20 review from another popular TH-camr who “couldn’t be bothered” to test the TA-20 with other tubes and wanted to review it “out if the box”. Fair enough… but not quite. The TA-20, the TA-26 (which I own so I know) and probably every other xDuoo tube amplifier are shipped with no-name Chinese tubes which serve only to deliver the units in working order. When i first started using my TA-20 i was aghast at the sound quality. I wasn’t into tube rolling yet so the unit stayed on my desk unused for quite some time. I eventually got a pair of $20 JJ Electronics ECC82/12au7’s. 20 bucks. That’s all it took. Totally different unit with better tubes and $20 for tubes is nothing. There are 12au7 NOS tubes that cost a grand. Same thing with the TA-26. I have since rolled “upward” so to say but you don’t need exotic tubes. You just need to not use the stock tubes. They are not för listening. They are only to deliver the amplifiers in working order. I have a preference to keep my amps and DACs separate but if i was looking for an economical, easy to use, minimal desk real estate amp/DAC, I would certainly consider one of xDuoo’s offerings like this TA-22 or the XA-10 for solid state if you prefer not to mess with tubes or don’t like the tube sound. If the price for these two units is still too high xDuoo offers lower-tier units. Once you hit the floor at about $100 or just there over, Schiit becomes very competitive, as do several other Chinese brands as well. But guys, seriously, if you get a Chinese tube amp in these price categories you have to purchase better tubes. Go on eBay, save yourselves a lot of money and get really good tubes that are pre-owned, not New Old Stock. All pre-owned means is that you can fetch some seriously good tubes at a fraction of the NOS price. You probably won’t burn them out but if you do, so what? Just have a second set available and get two different brands so that you can experiment with the sounds. Its fun. Enjoy!
Thanks for the observation about the stock tubes. I just received the TA-22 today and, while it's very 3-D/holographic, there's not a whole lot of oomph, bass-wise with my HD 800S like there is with my Schiit Jotunheim (1st gen). However, my Empyreans are glorious sounding with the TA-22. Plenty of bass and rich mids. Sounds pretty amazing. Meanwhile, the HD 800S sounds like you're actually in the crowd at a concert with my Darkvoice, but that thing buzzes and is heavy as shit with a big footprint - something I don't want on my desktop. Anyway, I just ordered some Genalex Gold Lions. Hopefully those open up the lower register for my HD 800S like the Jot does but with tubey goodness. I know it's not going to get to Darkvoice slam/reverb/decay territory, but the Empyreans show that it can get close.
very interesting. why TH-cam has no direct links to comments? there are so many texts like this one, that deservers direct links to them from web , etc
@@DukeLetoIII Hi and thanks for your reply. I was tempted to buy the Darkvoice. When I started my head-fi hobby in 2015, the Darkvoice was already an old product which was on the market for quite some time. I just couldn’t get myself to purchase if for that reason alone. When xDuoo released the TA-26 I pounced. Even it is more or less “the same amp” as the Darkvoice, it was still new. My TA-26 buzzed for a while even with the Russian tubes I put in. But it eventually settled down and now it’s really quiet and very enjoyable. In my TA-20 I have a pair of Siemens 12au7’s NOS from the 70’s. Not expensive but I have been enjoying them quite a lot too, The bass extension and treble control is very pleasant to my ears. I too use the HD800S, also HD650, Fostex TH900, and Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro and DT 1990 Pro. I don’t like any of my planars on either of thsee amps so I use my solid state amp for those headphones.
I just got this Xduoo dac/amp yesterday. I have the TA-30 and have it tubed up with a Sophia Rectifier and 2 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures. I came ready for the arrival of the DAC. I’ve owned two more 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures just in case my tubes wear out. I also set up an anti-vibration platform and even have high-end silver core cables ready for set-up. Also bought my favorite sounding oil-filled cables only sold on eBay. Even added an upgraded antenna for BlueTooth. Yes, I’m ready for this DAC. This will be the first external DAC I’ve owned. I love how much the sound has improved. Made it sound thick, full and sort of airy. After only one day, I hear low distortion of sound which I expect to go away after burn-in. I tried linking my TA22 and TA30 with the oil filled RCA inter-connect. I’ve noticed that I can’t use my oil filled RCA inter-connect. I use an all silver power distributor box that has a record of forcing me to use Bluetooth only. This has happened with my television set to my Nakamichi Soundwafe which is connected to a Furutech distributor box and mostly silver cables. I love the sound already and look forward to the sound this dac/amp will produce. I expect to hear more smoothness and airiness as this unit burns in.
Can you do a video on the updated Schiit modi/magni? I believe they're not usb C, & there's other updates that I can't remember but they're called Magni +/ Modi + & a bit more expensive. Plus there was the Schiit piety or something too
if you are hating on the orange and the red together, you sir havent been around xDuuo long enough. Thats kind of their thing. Stuff that lights up is orange with them. their knobs are red.
Hey Josh ! Is it night & day difference between this and iFi Audio Pro iDSD Signature that you have there and tested before ? I wanted before to go with iFi but now i’m confused 😬
Thanks for this very imformative video.. I am new to the headphone amp so I hope you can answer this question. TC Electronic G-Major-2 is a guitar processor that has a bunch of outputs but none for headphones, will the headphone amp work and which one do you think I need to hear the full effects from the digital guitar processor? Thanks again and I hope you can help me out with this info. -Cheers🎸
I would love if some on the reviewers would showcase the best option to use the iPhone as the primary source for music together with a headphone amp. Many of the reviews assume you are sitting down in front of your desk where you maybe have a computer outputting to a DAC and then to a headphone amplifier.
Josh, the APOS link you provide shows the single ended headphone as "Parameters of 6.5mm Headphone: Output Power: 1500mW (32Ω)". The xDuoo product page also stated the same thing. So, 1.5W for SE and 3.0W for Balanced headphone outputs. As others are confirming....another awesome production video and a great review.
Will this work for 4K movies through optical to my TV? I have a $200 DAC but the audio randomly drops or skips for a fraction of a second. I've bought and tried 4 different optical cables and there were no changes.
This sounds like an out-of-range Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) issue. It's surprisingly common especially with Samsung TVs. It results from a mismatch between the clock of the upstream source and the frequency of the downstream DAC, causing jitter. Some DACs have a setting where you can set a widen the PLL, which is how I was able to solve the issue on my Audiolab 6000a.
Hi @Joshua Valour, thanks for the video, perfect job as always, this time you even add cinematic very zoomed scene and i love it. Can i ask you, is this comparable with topping A90D? Is it worth try this amp if i want any tube with different sound experience agains A90D, thanks for answer. Have a nice day
This is the exact product i might go for when i get my hands on a ZMF VO besides my TH900ii. I only do some longer listening sessions stationary on my Desk through my PC so this will be the perfect piece of gear in case of connectivity and convenience :) The only thing that might give me some trouble is its size xd it's way larger than my Fostex HPa4BL.
Hi Josh.Ive noticed the Audioquest Nighthawks on your desk.Did you try them with this unit? I own Nighthawks myself and wonder if thats a good sounding combo.Thanks
I was introduced to Eva Cassidy through this, and WHOA she’s incredible Josh! Thanks for the recommendation. Also, love the color scheme you suggested ❤. I hope a patch or something is pushed so we can change the OLED colors (or even turn it off entirely for night sessions).
Would this amp deliver a somewhat similar experience to Schiit Valhalla 2 when paired with Sennheiser 6xx? I know the last could open these headphones a bit more (just because it's a full tube amp) but want to know if the difference would be that big.
Great review josh, you mentioned that this Amp doesn’t have that TUBE sound that’s echoey, with longer decay. What would you recommend a tube amp that does that ?
Josh, have you ever had a chance to get your hands on an older DAC called AudioEngine D1? would love to know your opinion, as i recently got the Edition XS's, and im curious if this DAC/AMP is enough to drive them to their 90/95% potential.
Looks awesome. And it mostly is a good combination to have a solid st pre amp and tube end stage. I am missing a LR balance button like the xpl phonitor had. How do you compare it vs the 5x more expensive xpl phonitor?
I would have thought this is a classic hybrid having a tube input / voltage amplifying stage and a solid stage power stage. This makes more sense than the other way around.
This is may be a silly question but will I need a DAC if I’m running out of my Apollo twin? From my understanding the Apollo twin x is a DAC, therefore will I just need an amplifier running out of the 3/4 line outs of my Apollo twin x? Also, if I buy a DAC/amp and run it out of my Apollo twin x 3/4 line out, will that be an issue? Thank you for your help.
The specs for both on the xDuoo website look a bit different, e.g. output power and frequency response. But it seems there are many similarities, including using the same type of tubes.
Very nice video, I'm tempted to pull the trigger on this product based on this review but I would MUCH prefer an dac/headphone amp/speaker amp combo, like an updated topping mx3. Anything like that coming down the pipe?
Do you prefer the dedicated units for flexibility, or because you’ve had issues with combination units like this in the past? Or is it mainly for the missing speaker amp functionality? Wondering as I’m considering a purchase as well
A product like that is very rare; the only ones I can think of are a couple entries in Emotiva's BasX line. At least with a DAC + HP amp like this you can still run the line-out to powered speakers, if have only one unit is the most important aspect of your setup.
@@BespokeSlipp For me it's simplicity, I'd like to have one decent device that really does do everything. I have a stack, I like it. I want the functionality but in a much more simple, single box.
@@Smitty_Werbenjagermanjenson True, true. Sadly I don't have powered speakers. I jump between headphones/speakers about equal parts. I'm very happy with my Topping MX3, but its starting to show it's age, I've dropped it a couple times, and I would love to get something a little more present day.
I’ve just ordered the TA-22, I plan to use it with my Grado SR325i which I purchased in 2007 and my Stax SR-2127. A question regarding the Stax, should I use a 3.5 to RCA to connect to the energiser or would line out RCA to RCA be safe to use, I eirry that I might fry the energiser with too much power. Does the gain options impact the line out or is it just for the other sockets? Sorry last question I hope, is it worth converting the Grado to balanced? Am I likely to notice a difference other than the gain/power?
Grado user here: from what I've read it's hardly worth converting: [No need to worry or convert. Balanced cabling doesn't provide a better quality of sound than unbalanced cables. Audio source and the quality of materials in the actual cable's construction determine sound quality more than anything.] As for Gain I find Low setting best for my Grados and speakers.
Bluetooth and WIFI are biggest interference for tubes, idk how this amp works with all that and tubes together. Probably tubes are just there for the show. I have Cayin HA-3A, anytime I put it near my router or plug into the same UPS as my PC, I hear crazy noises.
Would this amp be to powerful for Meze 109 Pros? I know that they don't need a lot of power, I'm still looking for a DAC amp to enhance the sound I'm getting out of them
Josh I need your help. I have the HD600 and HD800S. I'm trying to figure what amp is best for them. The Topping A90D or the Xduoo TA22? I’m currently using a Little Bear B4-X tube amp for them both. Time for an upgrade since that amp only works on battery power which is annoying when the battery dies.
I got the 6xx and hd800 (no s). I bought a silver balanced cable and the a90 for the hd800 and a cable adapter for the 6xx (also for my lcdx). The a90 helped to calm the trebble. The cable was nice for increasing soundstage. Im still happy with it. Though I also habe a little dot mk3 and analogue eq to play around with tubes when I get bored.
I got a HD800S on TA-22, what I can say even set to high gain it sound decent but soundstage not really wide on HD800S that i prefer, but its good on Meze 109Pro
I can give you thumbs up for excellent voice without having a large and stupid studio microphone as most other youtubers use and I hate so much. Well done.
For Aux-Out there is a choice of DAC and Tube. I found this on TechPowerUp: There are two separate outputs depending on whether you simply want to use the TA-22 as a DAC or have the tube in the line-out as a dedicated preamp to control, say, active speakers. Likewise, you can use the TA-22 purely as a tube amp and have another DAC or analog source supply the signal via single-ended RCA or balanced XLR/4.4 mm inputs.
The LCD 2 would definitely benefit from a good DAC, and luckily there are great affordable options around. I’m new as well but have surmised as much from watching a bunch of reviews (check out The Headphone Show and DMS channels). Can’t wait to travel down the rabbit hole of this audio world!
a hunting bow on the wall😅is there any gadget u dont own josh? i bet next room there is a complete 20k eurorack wall and a couple top notch grow led panels
I saw that and thought the same! I’d like to get one some day, shooting targets in the backyard (and preparing for a zombie apocalypse lol) sounds super fun
There are two times in my young audiophile hobby that my music has given me chills. The first when I heard my hifiman arya stealth's for the first time through the topping DX7 pro and now with the TA-22. There is and extra layer with the hybrid tube constuction that I was missing before. I have followed Joshua's advice on products twice and I have to send out a heart felt thank you. You have not steered me wrong twice. I love this dac/amp. I know things in the hobby get better but I can't imagine it at this point.
The background music makes you sound like a supervillain
Random appreciation comment: the opening speaking shot was nicely done.
As usual, the video looks great. And the B-roll is pure eye candy
As someone who owns this it’s an amazing product. Tube rolling is definitely the way to go. My focal clears and aryas sound amazing with this.
Are there certain tubes that you’d recommend in particular?
@@handcoding tubes are really up to personal taste and me personally I love warmer sound signatures. My favorite pairing was the psvane art series with gold terminations. Nice and warm but still detailed with a great soundstage.
That’s good info-I appreciate it!
Does this fit? 2A3B PSVANE HIFI-Series
@@xyzzyx6241 the tubes are 12au7 so no I don’t think so.
Thanks for mentioning Eva Cassidy! I first read about her in a TH-cam comment in 2021 and now I own five of her albums. If I had to choose one album to take to a desert island and hear for the rest of my life, it would definitely be Nightbird (as shown in your video), but I'd recommend getting at least Simply Eva and Time After Time as well.
I just got this Xduoo dac/amp yesterday.
I have the TA-30 and have it tubed up with a Sophia Rectifier and 2 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures.
I came ready for the arrival of the DAC. I’ve owned two more 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures just in case my tubes wear out.
I also set up an anti-vibration platform and even have high-end silver core cables ready for set-up.
Also bought my favorite sounding oil-filled cables only sold on eBay.
Even added an upgraded antenna for BlueTooth.
Yes, I’m ready for this DAC.
This will be the first external DAC I’ve owned.
I love how much the sound has improved. Made it sound thick, full and sort of airy.
After only one day, I hear low distortion of sound which I expect to go away after burn-in.
I tried linking my TA22 and TA30 with the oil filled RCA inter-connect.
I’ve noticed that I can’t use my oil filled RCA inter-connect.
I use an all silver power distributor box that has a record of forcing me to use Bluetooth only. This has happened with my television set to my Nakamichi Soundwafe which is connected to a Furutech distributor box and mostly silver cables.
I love the sound already and look forward to the sound this dac/amp will produce.
I expect to hear more smoothness and airiness as this unit burns in.
How does this dac/amp works for low impedance high sensitivity Plannars? for example the Arya Organic which is 16 ohms, this amp doesn't list what current provides at this low impedance
Those shots and editing are truly something else, what are the music used in the background, i really enjoyed it.
It also apodizes! Hehe - I had to look that up.
From wikipedia:
"Apodization in digital audio - An apodizing filter can be used in digital audio processing instead of the more common brick-wall filters, in order to avoid the pre-ringing that the latter introduces."
Still don't know what it is, but I'm sure it's awesome.
I like your suggested coloursheme much better than the real one
Good review but I feel all its features haven't been covered. The dac, the inputs on the back on functions in the screen menu etc, and if this responds well to tube rolling ? Zeos from z reviews was one of the first to lather praise on this but he praises almost everything. I treat this as another review of possibly more future positive ones before considering it. Thanks.
the guards and the volume knob should be the same color as the logo... that way it would be more Pop
Wasn't really looking for another unit, since I am very pleased with what I have. But considering everything it has going for it, I am very tempted. I have the Xduoo MT-602 paired with a matched pair of Voskhod 6zh1p-ev as a speaker preamp. I absolutely adore the Voskhod tubes for sound reproduction.
legitimately, the MT-602 & Voskhod Tube combo is amazing
@@thatfellarosto Especially as a preamp.
I have a similar MT-602 + Voskhod setup, but use it to drive my planar headphones, it's a fun setup for sure, and yeah, this unit does seem tempting
as im new to the whole audio scene. my setup is a zen dac air/zen can. Though my headphones are not super high end (senn hd599 and monoprice retro).
I wonder how this will compare to Burson Conductor 3 Performance (double the price tho). Looking to upgrade from my Magni/Modi stack. I use Arya's V2.
I was actually close to purchasing the Magni/Modi stack myself until I saw this! Interested in an answer to your question as well
The problem with the xDuoo TA-22 is that it does not use tube amplification when you use the digital dac, for that reason you did not notice it as a tube amplifier, it only uses tube amplification when you connect it with a monitor or other amplifier and then you will notice the sound of tubes
Awesome product! Excelent production.
Hi Josh,
Since both this and the Hifiman EF400 are at the same pricepoint. Which one would you choose based on sound alone?
I just bought the FiiO K9 ESS and now I find myself almost wanting to buy this at the same time!
The DAC in the k9 pro is amazing, I wouldn’t worry. Xduoo has been teasing a ta-20 plus amp. Keep the k9 and grab that when it drops.
@@wyles8961 Apprecite this!
This product built in with Wiim pro streaming capabilities and I wouldn't waste a second of buying it.
Never stop dreaming.
Great vid, btw. Anyone knows the 'song' at the end of the video?
Confirming what you said, this is also a DAC? I am very interested
Just ordered the MT-604 before seeing this review. I hope I won't regret my decision. Thank you so much for this great review.
the quality of your videos are amazing! second video i watch and im liking it. subbed 👍
This review directly contributed to me now owning on of these,
Goes amazing with the latest LCDX
Thank you for the detailed review Joshua! Subbed! I gotta watch more of your content!
use the balanced connections on this amp!!! When I first got it I only had the 6.35mm cord and I wasn't very impressed with the sound. but man when I finally got to try the 4-pin xlr connector what a world of difference it makes!
Hello, would this be the correct one to purchase?
D'Addario PW-P047Z XLR Male to 1/4 inch Female TRS Adapter
Or something like this?
@@martinezdecap this is the one I got
Youkamoo 4 Pin XLR Balanced Replacement Upgrade Cable Compatible for Sennheiser HD650, HD600, HD580, HD660S, HD58X, HD565, HD545, HD535, HD6XX Headphones Balanced Upgrade Cable (4 Pin XLR Male)
hope that helps :)
Would you rather get this, or two cheaper amps that can give you more of the extremes depending on your mood (say DX3 Pro+ and a Little Dot Mk2)?
Thanks for the great review. I was wondering if the TA22 would be an upgrade from my current stack of a THX789 with a Topping E30? I have always though the E30 was a week link in my setup. I primarily listen with Edition XS.
Great video. How is the sound quality of the TA-22 compared to the Fiio K9 pro ESS?
Love the different colors myself.
I just got the Hifiman EF400. It’s been great so far but now I’m curious; would you say that this is a better option for headphones like the Arya SE and Meze 109’s?
In the same camp. You teased us with having them in the same shot and then not comparing them!
I'm torn between these two amp/dacs as well. Need a comparison please.
I wonder if this would be a good match for aeon 2 noire, has someone tried that combo ?
Do you recommend this for Sennheiser HD800s?
I am a noob wanting to purchase that headset.
looks like a nice pakage!
Thanks Joshua!
How much do you tube roll? I have the TA-20 and the TA-26. I remember a TA-20 review from another popular TH-camr who “couldn’t be bothered” to test the TA-20 with other tubes and wanted to review it “out if the box”. Fair enough… but not quite. The TA-20, the TA-26 (which I own so I know) and probably every other xDuoo tube amplifier are shipped with no-name Chinese tubes which serve only to deliver the units in working order. When i first started using my TA-20 i was aghast at the sound quality. I wasn’t into tube rolling yet so the unit stayed on my desk unused for quite some time. I eventually got a pair of $20 JJ Electronics ECC82/12au7’s. 20 bucks. That’s all it took. Totally different unit with better tubes and $20 for tubes is nothing. There are 12au7 NOS tubes that cost a grand. Same thing with the TA-26. I have since rolled “upward” so to say but you don’t need exotic tubes. You just need to not use the stock tubes. They are not för listening. They are only to deliver the amplifiers in working order.
I have a preference to keep my amps and DACs separate but if i was looking for an economical, easy to use, minimal desk real estate amp/DAC, I would certainly consider one of xDuoo’s offerings like this TA-22 or the XA-10 for solid state if you prefer not to mess with tubes or don’t like the tube sound. If the price for these two units is still too high xDuoo offers lower-tier units. Once you hit the floor at about $100 or just there over, Schiit becomes very competitive, as do several other Chinese brands as well.
But guys, seriously, if you get a Chinese tube amp in these price categories you have to purchase better tubes. Go on eBay, save yourselves a lot of money and get really good tubes that are pre-owned, not New Old Stock. All pre-owned means is that you can fetch some seriously good tubes at a fraction of the NOS price. You probably won’t burn them out but if you do, so what? Just have a second set available and get two different brands so that you can experiment with the sounds. Its fun. Enjoy!
Thanks for the observation about the stock tubes. I just received the TA-22 today and, while it's very 3-D/holographic, there's not a whole lot of oomph, bass-wise with my HD 800S like there is with my Schiit Jotunheim (1st gen). However, my Empyreans are glorious sounding with the TA-22. Plenty of bass and rich mids. Sounds pretty amazing. Meanwhile, the HD 800S sounds like you're actually in the crowd at a concert with my Darkvoice, but that thing buzzes and is heavy as shit with a big footprint - something I don't want on my desktop.
Anyway, I just ordered some Genalex Gold Lions. Hopefully those open up the lower register for my HD 800S like the Jot does but with tubey goodness. I know it's not going to get to Darkvoice slam/reverb/decay territory, but the Empyreans show that it can get close.
very interesting. why TH-cam has no direct links to comments? there are so many texts like this one, that deservers direct links to them from web , etc
@@DukeLetoIII Hi and thanks for your reply. I was tempted to buy the Darkvoice. When I started my head-fi hobby in 2015, the Darkvoice was already an old product which was on the market for quite some time. I just couldn’t get myself to purchase if for that reason alone. When xDuoo released the TA-26 I pounced. Even it is more or less “the same amp” as the Darkvoice, it was still new. My TA-26 buzzed for a while even with the Russian tubes I put in. But it eventually settled down and now it’s really quiet and very enjoyable. In my TA-20 I have a pair of Siemens 12au7’s NOS from the 70’s. Not expensive but I have been enjoying them quite a lot too, The bass extension and treble control is very pleasant to my ears. I too use the HD800S, also HD650, Fostex TH900, and Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro and DT 1990 Pro. I don’t like any of my planars on either of thsee amps so I use my solid state amp for those headphones.
I just got this Xduoo dac/amp yesterday.
I have the TA-30 and have it tubed up with a Sophia Rectifier and 2 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures.
I came ready for the arrival of the DAC. I’ve owned two more 12au7 Shuguang Black Treasures just in case my tubes wear out.
I also set up an anti-vibration platform and even have high-end silver core cables ready for set-up.
Also bought my favorite sounding oil-filled cables only sold on eBay.
Even added an upgraded antenna for BlueTooth.
Yes, I’m ready for this DAC.
This will be the first external DAC I’ve owned.
I love how much the sound has improved. Made it sound thick, full and sort of airy.
After only one day, I hear low distortion of sound which I expect to go away after burn-in.
I tried linking my TA22 and TA30 with the oil filled RCA inter-connect.
I’ve noticed that I can’t use my oil filled RCA inter-connect.
I use an all silver power distributor box that has a record of forcing me to use Bluetooth only. This has happened with my television set to my Nakamichi Soundwafe which is connected to a Furutech distributor box and mostly silver cables.
I love the sound already and look forward to the sound this dac/amp will produce.
I expect to hear more smoothness and airiness as this unit burns in.
Can you do a video on the updated Schiit modi/magni? I believe they're not usb C, & there's other updates that I can't remember but they're called Magni +/ Modi + & a bit more expensive.
Plus there was the Schiit piety or something too
if you are hating on the orange and the red together, you sir havent been around xDuuo long enough. Thats kind of their thing. Stuff that lights up is orange with them. their knobs are red.
Hey Josh ! Is it night & day difference between this and iFi Audio Pro iDSD Signature that you have there and tested before ? I wanted before to go with iFi but now i’m confused 😬
Hey! Are you gonna review the new Xduoo TA-20 plus?
Thanks for this very imformative video.. I am new to the headphone amp so I hope you can answer this question.
TC Electronic G-Major-2 is a guitar processor that has a bunch of outputs but none for headphones, will the headphone amp work and which one do you think I need to hear the full effects from the digital guitar processor?
Thanks again and I hope you can help me out with this info.
-Cheers🎸
I would love if some on the reviewers would showcase the best option to use the iPhone as the primary source for music together with a headphone amp. Many of the reviews assume you are sitting down in front of your desk where you maybe have a computer outputting to a DAC and then to a headphone amplifier.
its the same thing you just have to buy the camera kit cable to your iphone and thats it.
Pls make a review of the new SMSL DO400!! So indecisive between that one and this TA-22
Josh, the APOS link you provide shows the single ended headphone as "Parameters of 6.5mm Headphone: Output Power: 1500mW (32Ω)". The xDuoo product page also stated the same thing. So, 1.5W for SE and 3.0W for Balanced headphone outputs. As others are confirming....another awesome production video and a great review.
Hello Joshua, super video thanks, ! Just a simple question : how do you could compare it against fiio’s amplifier ? Take care
hey are u planning to make a video on the new shiit power amps?
How does it compare with Lyr+ in tube mode?
Will this work for 4K movies through optical to my TV? I have a $200 DAC but the audio randomly drops or skips for a fraction of a second. I've bought and tried 4 different optical cables and there were no changes.
This sounds like an out-of-range Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) issue. It's surprisingly common especially with Samsung TVs. It results from a mismatch between the clock of the upstream source and the frequency of the downstream DAC, causing jitter. Some DACs have a setting where you can set a widen the PLL, which is how I was able to solve the issue on my Audiolab 6000a.
I bypassed the issue by running coxial straight from my 4k movie player to my dac. It works fine when I bypass the TV completely.@@michaeljbus
Hi @Joshua Valour,
thanks for the video, perfect job as always, this time you even add cinematic very zoomed scene and i love it.
Can i ask you, is this comparable with topping A90D? Is it worth try this amp if i want any tube with different sound experience agains A90D, thanks for answer. Have a nice day
This is the exact product i might go for when i get my hands on a ZMF VO besides my TH900ii. I only do some longer listening sessions stationary on my Desk through my PC so this will be the perfect piece of gear in case of connectivity and convenience :) The only thing that might give me some trouble is its size xd it's way larger than my Fostex HPa4BL.
Hi Josh.Ive noticed the Audioquest Nighthawks on your desk.Did you try them with this unit? I own Nighthawks myself and wonder if thats a good sounding combo.Thanks
I was introduced to Eva Cassidy through this, and WHOA she’s incredible Josh! Thanks for the recommendation. Also, love the color scheme you suggested ❤. I hope a patch or something is pushed so we can change the OLED colors (or even turn it off entirely for night sessions).
Xduoo is a master of tube hybrid amplification.
On the fence between this, BA Playmate 2 and the topping a90d.
Would this amp deliver a somewhat similar experience to Schiit Valhalla 2 when paired with Sennheiser 6xx? I know the last could open these headphones a bit more (just because it's a full tube amp) but want to know if the difference would be that big.
Great review josh, you mentioned that this Amp doesn’t have that TUBE sound that’s echoey, with longer decay. What would you recommend a tube amp that does that ?
Hey @JoshuaValour why didn't you reply to this guy?
Love the MT-602! Does it sound good with IEMs?
How would I go about connecting this device to an Apollo twin x?
Is it same tube type on mt 604 sir?
Can i use my tablet to stream music using usb c to usb b cable ???
Anyone know the distortion results on this device?
Josh, have you ever had a chance to get your hands on an older DAC called AudioEngine D1? would love to know your opinion, as i recently got the Edition XS's, and im curious if this DAC/AMP is enough to drive them to their 90/95% potential.
Does it work as audio interface for XLR microphone with phantom power or this device is only for headphones and I need separate device for microphone?
Will this amp work well with IEM's? Or is this amp best for headphones?
can i use my hyperx cloud alpha headset with this amp for gaming and multimedia, to get better sound ? i would get a 4,4mm adapter and rdy to go ?
Looks awesome. And it mostly is a good combination to have a solid st pre amp and tube end stage. I am missing a LR balance button like the xpl phonitor had. How do you compare it vs the 5x more expensive xpl phonitor?
I think you will find it's the other way round....tube pre and SS amp stage....🙄
@@steven2809 it’s fun to try both of course but yea I prefer feeding that warm signature into a colder amp to accentuate it.
I would have thought this is a classic hybrid having a tube input / voltage amplifying stage and a solid stage power stage. This makes more sense than the other way around.
@@razisn Exactly! 👍
Should I be concern that it's not a USB-C input and only a USB type B input?
Is there a Version without a Dac built in?
I'm curious whether it works well with the original arya?
What tube style amps would be on the shortlist for powering dt1990?
does it go well with sundara?
This is may be a silly question but will I need a DAC if I’m running out of my Apollo twin? From my understanding the Apollo twin x is a DAC, therefore will I just need an amplifier running out of the 3/4 line outs of my Apollo twin x?
Also, if I buy a DAC/amp and run it out of my Apollo twin x 3/4 line out, will that be an issue? Thank you for your help.
Hi Joshua! Does it play an Hifiman HE6SE and Arya?
this tube amp sounds like transisitor?
Anyone know if the amp part is the same as the TA-20?
The specs for both on the xDuoo website look a bit different, e.g. output power and frequency response. But it seems there are many similarities, including using the same type of tubes.
How does this compared with Fiio K9 Pro?
Very nice video, I'm tempted to pull the trigger on this product based on this review but I would MUCH prefer an dac/headphone amp/speaker amp combo, like an updated topping mx3. Anything like that coming down the pipe?
Do you prefer the dedicated units for flexibility, or because you’ve had issues with combination units like this in the past? Or is it mainly for the missing speaker amp functionality? Wondering as I’m considering a purchase as well
A product like that is very rare; the only ones I can think of are a couple entries in Emotiva's BasX line. At least with a DAC + HP amp like this you can still run the line-out to powered speakers, if have only one unit is the most important aspect of your setup.
@@BespokeSlipp For me it's simplicity, I'd like to have one decent device that really does do everything. I have a stack, I like it. I want the functionality but in a much more simple, single box.
@@Smitty_Werbenjagermanjenson True, true. Sadly I don't have powered speakers. I jump between headphones/speakers about equal parts. I'm very happy with my Topping MX3, but its starting to show it's age, I've dropped it a couple times, and I would love to get something a little more present day.
@@danielthakorlal9425 Got it, makes perfect sense. Thanks!
Great review!
I’ve just ordered the TA-22, I plan to use it with my Grado SR325i which I purchased in 2007 and my Stax SR-2127.
A question regarding the Stax, should I use a 3.5 to RCA to connect to the energiser or would line out RCA to RCA be safe to use, I eirry that I might fry the energiser with too much power.
Does the gain options impact the line out or is it just for the other sockets?
Sorry last question I hope, is it worth converting the Grado to balanced? Am I likely to notice a difference other than the gain/power?
Grado user here: from what I've read it's hardly worth converting: [No need to worry or convert. Balanced cabling doesn't provide a better quality of sound than unbalanced cables. Audio source and the quality of materials in the actual cable's construction determine sound quality more than anything.]
As for Gain I find Low setting best for my Grados and speakers.
Bluetooth and WIFI are biggest interference for tubes, idk how this amp works with all that and tubes together. Probably tubes are just there for the show. I have Cayin HA-3A, anytime I put it near my router or plug into the same UPS as my PC, I hear crazy noises.
Does it have PEQ and Crossfeed options like RME ADI 2?
Hail to the King of B-rolls!
How does it sound with HD 650? Hmm... 🤔
Would this amp be to powerful for Meze 109 Pros? I know that they don't need a lot of power, I'm still looking for a DAC amp to enhance the sound I'm getting out of them
You made me discover this amazing amp / dac. How would this compare with the monolith 788 with Dirac ? ps: watched the whole video
Josh I need your help. I have the HD600 and HD800S. I'm trying to figure what amp is best for them. The Topping A90D or the Xduoo TA22? I’m currently using a Little Bear B4-X tube amp for them both. Time for an upgrade since that amp only works on battery power which is annoying when the battery dies.
I got the 6xx and hd800 (no s).
I bought a silver balanced cable and the a90 for the hd800 and a cable adapter for the 6xx (also for my lcdx).
The a90 helped to calm the trebble. The cable was nice for increasing soundstage.
Im still happy with it. Though I also habe a little dot mk3 and analogue eq to play around with tubes when I get bored.
It doesn't do digital out or hdmi in/out.
Is this DAC/ amp combo a good match for HD800S?
I got a HD800S on TA-22, what I can say even set to high gain it sound decent but soundstage not really wide on HD800S that i prefer, but its good on Meze 109Pro
I can give you thumbs up for excellent voice without having a large and stupid studio microphone as most other youtubers use and I hate so much.
Well done.
Anyone run the Aeon 2 Noires on this? Wonder if there's enough power.
Can you bypass the DAC and only run the amp? Is the Amp input balanced?
For Aux-Out there is a choice of DAC and Tube. I found this on TechPowerUp: There are two separate outputs depending on whether you simply want to use the TA-22 as a DAC or have the tube in the line-out as a dedicated preamp to control, say, active speakers. Likewise, you can use the TA-22 purely as a tube amp and have another DAC or analog source supply the signal via single-ended RCA or balanced XLR/4.4 mm inputs.
I am sorry that I’m new to this but do I need a dac also for the audeze lcd 2?
The LCD 2 would definitely benefit from a good DAC, and luckily there are great affordable options around. I’m new as well but have surmised as much from watching a bunch of reviews (check out The Headphone Show and DMS channels). Can’t wait to travel down the rabbit hole of this audio world!
I listen my lcd 2 with this and it sounds fantastic. With stock tubes. I'm looking for replacing stock tubes with something better.
@@2Lepi2 Nice! I can’t wait to pick up this amp, still saving up
Is there remote control for this one?
no
okay but give me an option without the fugly red gamer knob and im sold
Does it blend?
I prefer my Little Dot MK2 over my tube hybrids for headphones. I don't feel a need to upgrade it.. ever.
a hunting bow on the wall😅is there any gadget u dont own josh?
i bet next room there is a complete 20k eurorack wall and a couple top notch grow led panels
I saw that and thought the same! I’d like to get one some day, shooting targets in the backyard (and preparing for a zombie apocalypse lol) sounds super fun
Is this good with meze 109 pro
saw the red knob.... know what is the brand....