I listened to all the reviews saying that this amp is all about high impedance headphones, and I gambled on it when I found a great open-box sale. Both my 32ohm dynamic driver and 60ohm planar magnetic headphones sound just fine with the TA66. If you are interested in this as a starter amp and your headphones are less than 80ohms, there's a chance that they will sound great. Try to find a way to audition it with your headphones if at all possible, or buy it from a place with a good return policy.
Just a heads-up, I’ve seen a specification for the amp where minimum impedance for cans is actually 50ohms. I have begun listening to a pair of 60ohm cans on my TA-66 (Monolith M1070C) and they sound great, nice black background, amazing dynamics and musicality, and surprisingly great imaging for a closed-back set of cans, so I can confidently confirm that going down to 60ohm cans is fine with this amp.
Thanks for the wonderful review. I got my TA-66 two days ago and I have listened with HD800s for about 10 hours total with the stock tubes for classical music. It is my first OTL tube amp and I am still learning about the new experience. While I enjoy the sound, I find that the clarity/detail is somewhat lacking as it has more emphasis on bass compared to the hybrid Xduoo MT-604 that I have. My question is how I can alter the sound signature slightly by tube rolling to make a bass a bit tighter and increase the treble? Should I try replacing the pre-am (the small) tube first? If yes, what model should I consider? Thank you very much.
Depends on the tubes (which can get very hard to find) the BHC can actually be twice as better with the correct tubes Edit: possible, very unlikely but still amazing upgrade
@@hiraksarma3068 the tubes will cost as much as the amp itself making it a very questionable decisicion Even if you go for the cheaper tubes ($60+ship total) thats the BHC stock tubes, and you rarely know the signature of the tube, its very common to buy one, not like it and never use it again
Ordered this hoping it's a decent example of what tubes do. I've only tried a Little Dot II and something similar and mostly hated what they did for the sound.
Have you tried the he1000se on the xduoo ta66? I know it’s a lower impedance headphone, but seeing folks pairing it with tubes on head fi and enjoying it. Would I need to get something higher end to appreciate tubes on the he1000se?
I can't answer your question with any authority, but a "higher end" tube amp *should* sound better (with the same tubes) because of better circuit design and higher quality components. Theoretically. It's the same as if you had asked "What makes a Corvette better than a Chevy Chevette with Corvette engine? Wouldn't they perform the same?" The Chevette (a little economy car, like the TA66 is a little economy amp) can only do so much with that engine, the rest of the car will never allow you to see the full performance potential of the engine.
I understand the dark voice has been around for some time, and everyone tends to reference it still, but is it even still possible to buy a new dark voice?
@@danisold both are fine in this instance. But "anymore" is exclusively used in negative or interrogative sentences, e.g.: "We CAN'T do that anymore". Whereas "these days" can be used in these instances, too, e.g: "We CAN'T do that these days". What we wouldn't do, tho, is use "anymore" in a compound clause without a negative/interrogative polarity. So we wouldn't say "We CAN do that anymore", but we may well say "We CAN do that these days".
Wow! Very cool-looking OTL HP amp. Thank you for another honest review.
Another EXCELLENT review, Doctor!
sounds like a great entry into high fidelity sound!
a great amp for the HD6XX or similar headphones for a very rich and non fatiguing tube OTL sound.
I listened to all the reviews saying that this amp is all about high impedance headphones, and I gambled on it when I found a great open-box sale. Both my 32ohm dynamic driver and 60ohm planar magnetic headphones sound just fine with the TA66. If you are interested in this as a starter amp and your headphones are less than 80ohms, there's a chance that they will sound great. Try to find a way to audition it with your headphones if at all possible, or buy it from a place with a good return policy.
Great review. Just what I was looking for on this product. Thanks
Thank you ever so much for your time and work it takes to share your knwowledge,, 💖🙏💖
The sweet siren song of tube amps. A mere $250 for the amp...and then another several thousand in tubes for just the right sound, lol.
Just a heads-up, I’ve seen a specification for the amp where minimum impedance for cans is actually 50ohms. I have begun listening to a pair of 60ohm cans on my TA-66 (Monolith M1070C) and they sound great, nice black background, amazing dynamics and musicality, and surprisingly great imaging for a closed-back set of cans, so I can confidently confirm that going down to 60ohm cans is fine with this amp.
Thanks for the wonderful review. I got my TA-66 two days ago and I have listened with HD800s for about 10 hours total with the stock tubes for classical music. It is my first OTL tube amp and I am still learning about the new experience. While I enjoy the sound, I find that the clarity/detail is somewhat lacking as it has more emphasis on bass compared to the hybrid Xduoo MT-604 that I have. My question is how I can alter the sound signature slightly by tube rolling to make a bass a bit tighter and increase the treble? Should I try replacing the pre-am (the small) tube first? If yes, what model should I consider? Thank you very much.
Neat review. I hope you get to do the xDuoo MT604 as well.
bro was so excited to get this review out, he couldn't even change out of his best buy uniform
Nice review! Have you heard the Woo Audio WA7 fireflies (gen3)?
Not yet
Nice review! will the technicalities of the bottlehead crack + speedball upgrade be about twice as better than ta-66
No
Depends on the tubes (which can get very hard to find) the BHC can actually be twice as better with the correct tubes
Edit: possible, very unlikely but still amazing upgrade
@@808lilmac but then ta-66 can be tube rolled too, will that not bring similar improvements.
@@hiraksarma3068 the tubes will cost as much as the amp itself making it a very questionable decisicion
Even if you go for the cheaper tubes ($60+ship total) thats the BHC stock tubes, and you rarely know the signature of the tube, its very common to buy one, not like it and never use it again
Can you please do some AKG headphones review? It would be nice to hear from you, my favorite top 3 reviewer in YT
Ordered this hoping it's a decent example of what tubes do. I've only tried a Little Dot II and something similar and mostly hated what they did for the sound.
Have you tried the he1000se on the xduoo ta66? I know it’s a lower impedance headphone, but seeing folks pairing it with tubes on head fi and enjoying it. Would I need to get something higher end to appreciate tubes on the he1000se?
This or go ta26s? I can only buy from China.. Wish there was a local shop
What makes a higher end tube amp better than the TA-66? If you use the same tubes wouldn't they sound the same?
I think the answer from this reviewer would be: blablabla blablabla
Yup, only a balanced version can be " better" plus this is already a evolved version of the mighty dark voice .
@@necrodh That's what I thought. Output power would be the only difference between two OTL amps with the same tubes
I can't answer your question with any authority, but a "higher end" tube amp *should* sound better (with the same tubes) because of better circuit design and higher quality components. Theoretically. It's the same as if you had asked "What makes a Corvette better than a Chevy Chevette with Corvette engine? Wouldn't they perform the same?" The Chevette (a little economy car, like the TA66 is a little economy amp) can only do so much with that engine, the rest of the car will never allow you to see the full performance potential of the engine.
Hmmm, i think this would be a mismatch with a focal clear mg?
Thanks for the video,
can you compare xDuoo TA-6 and TA-20 Plus please?
Can I hook 600 ohm headphones onto this amp?
Is the sound comparable to Violectric DHA V226?
How is TA-26S compared to TA-66.
Following
Checking the same models.. It's less than a hundred price diff on my side.
The only diff I know so far is power. 200mw vs 500mw in favor of 26s
Are these even worth a comparison to the WA7?
I understand the dark voice has been around for some time, and everyone tends to reference it still, but is it even still possible to buy a new dark voice?
We get such crappy pricing here in Canada. unreal.
Yeah, I have an electrician friend in Canada Joel Lagace and it’s depressing for him. I do audio work and field momentum vehicles.
I can find it on Amazon for $340 which converts to $250 USD
How does this sound with focal utopia?
A darkvoice in a different skin?
Any little Dot mk2 owners that have heard these? I wonder how they compare sonically
Does nobody know the difference between "these days" and "anymore" anymore?
😢
@@danisold both are fine in this instance. But "anymore" is exclusively used in negative or interrogative sentences, e.g.: "We CAN'T do that anymore". Whereas "these days" can be used in these instances, too, e.g: "We CAN'T do that these days".
What we wouldn't do, tho, is use "anymore" in a compound clause without a negative/interrogative polarity. So we wouldn't say "We CAN do that anymore", but we may well say "We CAN do that these days".
Chifi
Too many words, technobabble junk
what, should he do interpretive dance?
just because YOU don't understand what he's saying doesn't make it "junk"
Why is everything a Jurney? Give me a break
Don't Stop Believing