Tube Amp worth it with Arya?

[TheSacredSoul]

Current setup is the Atom stack and its more than enough to drive the Aryas. Always wanted to explore tube amps and just curious if any of you guys have a chance to try the arya with a tube amp? Does it play nicely? And any recommendations on tube amps?

 

[3125b]

The Arya has only 35ohms impedance and fairly low sensitivity of 90dB/mW, that‘s not gonna go well with a tube amp, they usually perform horribly with low impedance loads: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ements-of-darkvoice-336se-headphone-amp.6549/ or https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...tle-dot-mk-iii-tube-headphone-amplifier.7903/.
The one decent one (that comes to mind right now) with low output impedance (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ce-liquid-platinum-headphone-amp-review.7036/) capable of driving the Arya in a decent manner is just too expensive while not having enough distortion for the „tube sound“.

 

[TheSacredSoul]

Thanks for the reply! Guess will stick to the Atom stack for now since I heard THX doesnt play well with Arya and the A90s are a little out of budget at the moment.

 

[hmscott]

Thanks for the reply! Guess will stick to the Atom stack for now since I heard THX doesnt play well with Arya and the A90s are a little out of budget at the moment.

I have the Topping A90 SS Balanced Headphone amp + Topping D90 MQA DAC, but I wanted a tube headphone amp to drive my Beyerdynamic DT880 / DT990 600 ohm headphones, so I'm starting with an xDuoo TA-20 Balanced Hybrid Tube/SS Headphone amp.

The TA-20 has plenty of power to drive the 600 ohm headphones, and I've found with JJ Electronic ECC802s tubes my Sennheiser headphones are no longer "boring"
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-headphone-amplifier-review.10118/post-639914

Did you find another tube headphone amp solution?

 

[TheSacredSoul]

Upon further research, I came to understand Aryas dont work well with tubes or THX. It just needs an amp with abundant power. Was about to go for the the Schiit Magnius/Modius stack until I saw that the Topping A30 Pro would be released soon so waiting on that.

 

[hmscott]

Upon further research, I came to understand Aryas dont work well with tubes or THX. It just needs an amp with abundant power. Was about to go for the the Schiit Magnius/Modius stack until I saw that the Topping A30 Pro would be released soon so waiting on that.

That is why I went with a modestly priced Xduoo TA-20 Tube / SS Hybrid AMP to start, as it has the right impedance tolerances on output for low impedance headphones and high impedance headphones both, while many tube-only amps have an affinity for high impedance headphones - it depends on the design parameters and resulting measured specifications.

You can find a tube hybrid easily these days, Xduoo keeps releasing new ones all of the time, from $89 to $789 and more than a few in between, and of course, there are many others out there as well.

From memory I was most impressed with tube only - of course, it was the design and the headphone/speaker matching that brought out that synergistic sound, I heard many years ago - I've long lost the make and model of what I heard.

There are many more Tube, SS, and Hybrid amps today than way back then to choose from, we only need to research and find them.

I found the Topping A90 / D90 MQA combination works well with many headphones and IEMs, but the TA-20 Tube / SS Hybrid design really opens up the sound stage and tonality of many of my headphones and IEMs, particularly the Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic 600 ohm headphones. But, my IEMs sound better to me too, I've only had the TA-20 for a few weeks and already it is showing me again that tubes in the mix sound's best to me.

The A90 has plenty of power for all except my 600 ohm headphones, and the TA-20 has much more headroom left on the volume dial at rousing listening levels. Perhaps even a bit more power might help too, I'm hoping Xduoo will release an updated TA-20 - the TA-20r is rumored - to bring the power from 2000mA to the TA-30's 3000mA - I don't need the DAC in-built with the TA-30, I only need a headphone AMP.

The A90 / D90 have also been mentioned as a good combination for Arya's:
(34) Search results for query: Arya | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org (head-fi.org)

ASR Xduoo TA-20 review and discussion
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-headphone-amplifier-review.10118/post-640262
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...mp-money-can-buy-for-hd800s.18522/post-610108
Search results for query: Xduoo+TA-20 | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Please let us know what you try with your Arya's and what you find shows it's best sound

 

[TheSacredSoul]

You might be on to something. Looking at the Xduoo TA-10/TA-10R. Might go with one of these. Waiting on reviews for the 10R.

 

[iucoen]

You might be on to something. Looking at the Xduoo TA-10/TA-10R. Might go with one of these. Waiting on reviews for the 10R.

I think it's the same as the TA-10. The only thing changed is the color and I/O options in the back.

 

[TheSacredSoul]

It's also using the 4493 chip instead of 4490.

 

[iucoen]

It's also using the 4493 chip instead of 4490.

Ah right, cuz the 4490 is out of production. So we can expect the DAC to measure slightly better.

 

[hmscott]

You might be on to something. Looking at the Xduoo TA-10/TA-10R. Might go with one of these. Waiting on reviews for the 10R.

If the Arya's need power, and you also need a DAC, you might consider the TA-30 as it boosts the output from 2000mA to 3000mA.

This is a good thread to watch for user reviews of the TA-10R when it arrives:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xduoo-amplifiers.682282/post-15684231
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xduoo-amplifiers.682282/post-15688345

(44) Search results for query: xduoo ta-10 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org (head-fi.org)
(44) xDuoo TA-30: lots of power and tube sweetness in a very complete all-in-one | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org (head-fi.org)

 

[TheSacredSoul]

If the Arya's need power, and you also need a DAC, you might consider the TA-30 as it boosts the output from 2000mA to 3000mA.

This is a good thread to watch for user reviews of the TA-10R when it arrives:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xduoo-amplifiers.682282/post-15684231
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xduoo-amplifiers.682282/post-15688345

(44) Search results for query: xduoo ta-10 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org (head-fi.org)
(44) xDuoo TA-30: lots of power and tube sweetness in a very complete all-in-one | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org (head-fi.org)

TA30 certainly looks to be really good. 2 issues I have is the price and more importantly, the lack of a balanced out. I already invested in a balanced cable for the Arya and ideally, I'd love to use a balanced out.

 

[hmscott]

TA30 certainly looks to be really good. 2 issues I have is the price and more importantly, the lack of a balanced out. I already invested in a balanced cable for the Arya and ideally, I'd love to use a balanced out.

Agreed. That's why I chose xDuoo TA-20. and why I prefer "separates" - generally for the combo DAC/AMP the AMP isn't as strong, or the DAC isn't as strong, so you'll end up getting an external of one or the other as an upgrade.

Also, the TA-20 responds to a better DAC, as @bgtip found:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-headphone-amplifier-review.10118/post-639291

IDk, I haven't heard the TA-10(r) or TA-30, the DAC in both might be great.

So, why not get a better DAC than the integrated one's?

A number of my DAC / AMP / DAP's have more output on balanced so that's been a good motivator to got to a balanced cable when upgrading, like a 2.5mm for mobile use - now 4.4mm for both mobile and desktop, and even 4-pin balanced, but I've pretty much standardized on 4.4mm.

The new HD650's custom cable is being built with 4.4mm instead of a 4-pin, and the follow on upgraded OCC Copper + Silver Plated mixed wire cable will also be 4.4mm. I also am planning a 4.4mm female to 4.4mm male "extension cable" so I can enjoy the shorter 4.4mm mobile cables with my desktop.

The TA-10 / TA-20 have the same power output on balanced and single-ended outputs, so there is less of a motivation to run only balanced cables and terminations. One of the reasons I got the TA-20 is for the "balanced" power on both outputs, as my Beyerdynamics are all single-ended cabled - and it was cheaper to get a new AMP than re-wire all of those headphones for balanced.

Eventually, I'd like to do that, re-wire the single-ended cabled headphones for balanced, as all of my other devices perform better on balanced, but for now the TA-20 takes me into tubes again, and solves the power shortage for the 600 ohm singled-ended headphones

 

[Svperstar]

I got a THX SP200 for my Arya as I was worried the Gilmore Lite Mk2 didn't have enough power.

To my ears the SP200 is a bit less warm and gets a lot louder, other then that its identical.

If you must have tubes you could get this ridiculous thing, or another tube amp that is specifically made to give lots of power to low impedance cans:
https://wooaudio.com/amplifiers/wa6se

 

[Veri]

If you must have tubes you could get this ridiculous thing, or another tube amp that is specifically made to give lots of power to low impedance cans:
https://wooaudio.com/amplifiers/wa6se

I'll not quickly forget this customer service fiasco though:
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/i0f7hk

 

[Svperstar]

I'll not quickly forget this customer service fiasco though:
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/i0f7hk

Wow thats awful. Woo has been around forever so sad to hear. I have nearly purchased the WA6-SE multiple times, had it in the checkout but just couldn't click order. Can't bring myself to spend that much on an amp lol

 

[Samscalia]

TA30 certainly looks to be really good. 2 issues I have is the price and more importantly, the lack of a balanced out. I already invested in a balanced cable for the Arya and ideally, I'd love to use a balanced out.

I am very happy with the xduoo TA-30 and the Arya . I swapped the 12au7 tubes for telefunkens. Sounds beautiful. Delicate smooth and very revealing. I can’t get past 10 oclock because the ta-30 is just so powerful. Very easily controls the Arya. They should have put a high/low impedance switch on the Ta-30. Otherwise a very nice match for Arya.

 

[calvin tea]

I got Topping D90mqa+ A90 to match Arya, Sundara and bunch of heaphones. At the same time, I like to try Arya with tube amp.

So I bought some china cheap tube amp:
PJMiaolai A3
(headphone amp with input 3.5mm, rca . Output : 6.35mm, 3.5mm and preamp rca 2v)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33009655184.html

This amp rated 1300mw at 32ohm. The volume knob is smooth, turn up near 11 o'clock and my Arya goes very loud. i swap GE tube and i did find the sound turn smoother and fuller. But it take long a/b test to listen. Inside build in MAX9722 audio decoder, i have no idea this chip is to decode input sound or amplified output sound to headphone jack.

2nd, tube combo dac amp:
Suca Audio T5C
headphone amp with treble and bass control.
(Input: USB dac 24/192, Bluetooth Qcc 3008 aptx-ll or rca . Output : preamp rca 2v and Single 3.5mm jack for heaphone)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001714075959.html

It is fun to have tone control when you find the headphone is boring for certain song. i think the tuning +-6db for bass below 250hz and treble above 1k hz. I just need to turn volume near 10oclock and my Arya is loud enough. This dac amp is not analytical sound, but with Bluetooth make it versatile all in 1 headphone amp. I enjoy this amp pair with my Denon 5200. if i tune bass knob to max, it turn my 5200 to basshead. Due to dynamic headphone is always awesome can handle so much bass. Some downside it equips those cheapest potentiometers for all 3 volume knob.

I couldn't find any review on both items, so i open both amps and check those pcb and wiring. from those tube and chipset wiring i could tell it not a fake tube amp. Both tube amp temperature different. A3 is really hot, i can't touch with my finger more than 3sec. T5C temp. around 50 Celcius. This two amp from the inside out pcb and the metal housing size look the same as brand Ayima or Fx Audio. Soundwise I not sure is it comparable with xduoo. I bought A3 around 55usd and T5c around 65usd at taobao. After 3 months I still keep both of them. I stack it on top my a90 and d90. End up I could say it is fun, value for money and doesn't disappoint me.