As I was watching the
Zeos review of the TA-10 again just now - before seeing your updated post! - I thought - "Hey, I wonder if
@FireLion is the one that sent Zeos the tubes?!" - wild.
That's great!, btw is the "GE Tube" a 12AU7 or a 6201? GE 6201's do sound great on the TA-20 too. I have a few pairs of 6201's and they are a bit of a "sure thing" that are also inexpensive. Given all the tubes I've heard, for someone wanting a "first" tube for rolling on a 12AU7 pre-amp section I'd recommend the GE 6201 - GE, or the vast number of other makes - as a first tube/pair to start tube rolling.
The HD800S's are on my list (not the 8XX). The Sennheiser HD660S / HD598cs were the motivation for getting a Tube based headphone amplifier, and my Beyerdynamic DT880/DT990 600 ohm models were the motivation to get a Hybrid Tube headphone Amplifier.
After I had the Xduoo TA-20 and heard my Planar SendyAudio Aiva and TinHifi P1 Planar IEM, I was even more impressed with the TA-20, and started reading about and looking for affordable Planar headphones/IEMs. That lead to the finding Hifiman HE6SE V2 and Hifiman Ananda's on discount last year, which quickly became my favorite headphones on the TA-20. I still enjoy my Dynamic Headphones, but for my ears the Planars "performance" blossoms on the TA-20 Tube Hybrid.
I'll share the current set I am enjoying, and yes they do sound great - a surprising side step up from the Brimar 6060 ("12AT7") and the Haltron E80CC ("12AT7"). All of these have a wide and tall sound stage, the BVA CV4024 with a more encompassing field from ear to ear - it was a bit shocking when I moved from the 6060's to these:
RARE Matched Quad NOS/NIB GEC/Mullard B309/M8162/CV4024/12AT7WA/ECC81 tubes 1958 | eBay
Given how great these sound - comments from Tubemaze's owner that he wanted me to get the 1968 production release instead - "lowest noise he's heard", that's saying something with his
vast experience with tubes. Same price for both Quads, so he wasn't upselling me. The 1968 Quad set are next on my list, for comparison.
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It really is an enjoyable part of the hobby for me now, researching new makes/models while enjoying music through different valves. It's been a pleasant passing of time in this pandemic. What a godsend it has turned into for me.
The
Xduoo TA-10 looked like a great choice to me too, and I did consider the TA-10 instead of the TA-20, until I bought the Topping D90 MQA / A90 - then I already had a DAC. I think the TA-10 would be a great "all-in-one" Tube Hybrid with DAC too for a great price right now: $290.90 if you can find it. It is out of stock at Xduoo, and I am not sure but I would imagine the new
Xduoo TA-10R would be the replacement, at $319.99
Zeos also did a review of the TA-10R:
Xduoo TA-10R _(Z Reviews)_ Lil Red Rocket! - YouTube
The big savings with the TA-10/TA-10R is that it takes 1/2 the cost for tube rolling, instead of the TA-20 / TA-30 needing 2 tubes in a Matched Pair for rolling the TA-10/TA-10R/MT-601 all take only 1 tube.
The
xDuoo MT-601 Tube Headphone Amp - xDuoo official store takes a different model single tube, but I haven't personally directly experienced the MT-601 or the TA-10 / TA-10R yet either.
I do recall Zeos describing the differences after listening to the TA-20 in his review - and again in the TA-10R review, perhaps that will give some perspective for prospective Xduoo Hybrid headphone shoppers.
Zeos Xduoo TA-30 review, with a bit more power (3W) than the TA-20 (2W).
It's great hearing from another Tube Hybrid enthusiast, thanks for sharing your TA-10 experience and Zeos connection
What are you listening through now as a headphone amplifier?