xDuoo TA-66 Headphone Amp Review - Your Vacuum Tube Journey Can Start Here

[@ConsecDesign]

bro was so excited to get this review out, he couldn't even change out of his best buy uniform

[@Michael_mki233]

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.

[@johnsoriano3812]

Wow! Very cool-looking OTL HP amp. Thank you for another honest review.

[@backrack01]

Great review. Just what I was looking for on this product. Thanks

[@ReverendDr.Thomas]

Another EXCELLENT review, Doctor!

[@vaneast411]

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.

[@brianliu522]

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.

[@IrenESorius]

Thank you ever so much for your time and work it takes to share your knwowledge,, 💖🙏💖

[@jmjf7]

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?

[@EddNog]

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.

[@Cp48533]

Nice review! Have you heard the Woo Audio WA7 fireflies (gen3)?

[@wavetheorysound]

Not yet

[@chungang7037]

Neat review. I hope you get to do the xDuoo MT604 as well.

[@hiraksarma3068]

Nice review! will the technicalities of the bottlehead crack + speedball upgrade be about twice as better than ta-66

[@danieleturrin5625]

No

[@808lilmac]

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]

@@808lilmac but then ta-66 can be tube rolled too, will that not bring similar improvements.

[@808lilmac]

@@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

[@hartyewh1]

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.

[@bezchlebalukas1779]

Thanks for the video, can you compare xDuoo TA-6 and TA-20 Plus please?

[@technologicalsingularity1788]

Can you please do some AKG headphones review? It would be nice to hear from you, my favorite top 3 reviewer in YT

[@Error8x8]

What makes a higher end tube amp better than the TA-66? If you use the same tubes wouldn't they sound the same?

[@Fckisnotrealnatowefc_nts]

I think the answer from this reviewer would be: blablabla blablabla

[@necrodh]

Yup, only a balanced version can be " better" plus this is already a evolved version of the mighty dark voice .

[@Error8x8]

@@necrodh That's what I thought. Output power would be the only difference between two OTL amps with the same tubes

[@robertrobert2835]

Is the sound comparable to Violectric DHA V226?

[@TerraBlacc1]

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?

[@reptidan]

Hmmm, i think this would be a mismatch with a focal clear mg?

[@skeza2496]

Are these even worth a comparison to the WA7?

[@hiraksarma3068]

How is TA-26S compared to TA-66.

[@alb8390]

Following

[@dstjepan]

Can I hook 600 ohm headphones onto this amp?

[@IHearEverythingDude]

A darkvoice in a different skin?

[@kalakalaiand3343]

How does this sound with focal utopia?

[@donvittoriosierra]

Any little Dot mk2 owners that have heard these? I wonder how they compare sonically

[@noturnleftunstoned72]

We get such crappy pricing here in Canada. unreal.

[@MrThacke]

Yeah, I have an electrician friend in Canada Joel Lagace and it’s depressing for him. I do audio work and field momentum vehicles.

[@MrThephonypope]

I can find it on Amazon for $340 which converts to $250 USD

Does nobody know the difference between "these days" and "anymore" anymore?

[@Nearest_Neighbor]

😢

@@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".

[@shroud1390]

Chifi

[@tonyfrench2574]

Too many words, technobabble junk

[@ConsecDesign]

what, should he do interpretive dance? just because YOU don't understand what he's saying doesn't make it "junk"

[@RoccoXYZ1]

Why is everything a Jurney? Give me a break

[@delta9k]

Don't Stop Believing