Can anyone speak to how this amp compares to the Xduoo TA 26?
I’m really happy with my MT 602, so I want to avoid buying another tube amp if the performance improvement is just incremental.
Can anyone speak to how this amp compares to the Xduoo TA 26?
I’m really happy with my MT 602, so I want to avoid buying another tube amp if the performance improvement is just incremental.
I was in a similar boat. I love my Schiit and would have preferred to keep it all Schiit, but the Mt-602 pre-out uses the tube stage. From everything I’ve read the Vali 2+ doesn’t. Only uses tube for the HP stage.
For me that was a deciding factor because for my Turntable setup I wanted to add Tubes into the chain for HP and Speakers.
OMG thank you for replying! and that actually doesnt look bad, i kinda like it yeah keeping all schiit would have been nice but since they have the mt602 for cheaper i just cant justify it other than looks. any other pros and cons ?
Hard for me to do a direct pro/con with the Vali 2+ as I don’t have one. A big negative though of the MT-602, is the stock tubes are awful. They sound ok until music gets busy, then the imaging and everything just falls apart. Upgrading the tubes to Sylvania JHS 6AK5 from the 1950’s really brings out the magic. Increased sweetness in the highs, increased thickness without blot and an increase in the soundstage. So factor that into the cost.
Thanks for the suggestion, guess I will try these out next
Can confirm. Insane!
Ordered an MT-602 last night from Apos. Also ordered some tubes from Amazon: 2 X GE JAN 5654W and 2 X 6J1P-EV’s (Voshkods).
Amp and three sets of tubes for $200.00 Canadian. I had a $25.00 Amazon gift card, so the whole deal was pretty cheap. Curious to try it out. If I like it, these tubes are pretty cheap to keep rolling too. matched sets of 403b’s and 6AK5W’s would be next.
As a bonus, ordering from Apos doubled my warranty! Now, if they would just offer me a discount on the Caspians, I would be all set.
Congrats, Shane! Enjoy that. I am curious as to how the Voshkods will sound. This little guy is a reasonable way to play in the tube space. I often drool over the Woo WA-22, but I look at those tubes and I see nothing but dollar signs to roll or maintain that amp.
Anyway, have fun!
I loved the Voshkods in my Little Dot MKIII.
I have been underwhelmed with tube and hybrid amps for a few years now, but I am willing to try a cheapie. I love the look of Woo amps, but they are crazy expensive.
If this goes well, the 6AK5W’s and the 403b’s are also pretty affordable. Could be some cheap fun.
On the flip side, that new WA7 (3rd gen.) looks incredible, if I wanted to go big. But man, I would want to hear it first. That amp would be about $2,000.00, landed here in Canada. Don’t really need a DAC/amp, but it sure is pretty.
Love the WA7. I saw a really good youtube vid on that unit (though I am drawing a blank as to who it was at the moment!) and was impressed. However, it is not the right solution for me at this particular point in time.
Got the accessories before the toy!
I have an MT-602 slowly making its way to me. I also ordered some Voshkods (received today) and a matched set of JAN5654W’s, which are also on their way.
It has been a while since I had my Little Dot MKIII and I had forgotten how small these are.
I have 3 sets for my 604…and my fav set for planar IEM’s are still Siemens 5654w’s…it’ll be interesting to see what works for you HP wise
Mine are GE, so I guess I will have to wait and see. When I had these tubes for my Little Dot MKIII, I preferred the Voshkods.
I’ve had my 602 for about 2 months now, and I’ve done a good bit of messing around with combinations, stock tubes aren’t terrible in my unit, I’ve since had the GE5654’s, they didn’t do a whole lot for me, some non Voskhod 6J1P-ev’s, not great, I found it can be generational with some companies. Since then I’ve found my 2 favorite sets, 1953 Sylvania 6AK5’s and Svetlana 6J1p’s, the Sylvania’s kind of set the stage to the rear, but the Svetlana’s are everything I’ve looked for, decent bass, nice space, the highs are a little heavy, but then again I’m listening to them with my 250 ohm DT770’s. I’ve been opamp rolling an XD05 plus, and got a Muses02 in it this week, the mix between the three is quite nice
I got my amp today. Ordered Jan. 25 and received Feb. 16. That is my first, last and only order with APOS.
The amp is cool and VERY small. Gave it a bit to warm up and now it is hooked up.
BF2 to Loki to switcher to MT-602. Nice sound. Not as full and detailed as the Pro iCAN, but c’mon, it is literally ten times the price.
I pulled my HE6se V2’s out of the iCAN and put them right into the MT-602. Not bad at all. Especially with the Loki adding EQ and some gain. I am at 1:00 and it is sounding pretty good.
I had some channel imbalance that could be corrected by touching the tubes. I turned it off, pulled the tubes and then reset them. They ship already installed and I guess loosened in transit.
I am impressed with this little amp! I have two other sets of tubes to run through in the coming weeks. I fully expect my efficient 'phones to be a problem with this amp, but it is taking my bad boys in stride. Auditory memory sucks but I think this sounds better than when I tried to run these headphones through my Violectric V220, which I deemed a failure.
I had a $25.00 Amazon gift card so I am out of pocket a total $200.00 in Canuck bucks for this amp and two other sets of matched tubes to my door. Quite happy with this little deal so far.
Glad it finally came. I wonder if all the goings on up there caused the delay. I have had very good luck with Apos and have never experienced that kind of delay. Either way, your off and running, and that is a good thing.
I continue to enjoy my TA-20 very much. I did a 4 hour session last night and stayed on the TA-20 the entire time. I too have 2 sets of tubes to test, but somehow I can’t bring myself to pull the Gold Lions that are in there now! I love those tubes. But I’ll get there…
Glad you’re having good luck with that! I didn’t like mine, but it sounded weird to me. I wonder if I had a dud? The guy I sold it to seemed to like it. I always follow up with my “customers” to see if they like the stuff. Sometimes they say, “No, but I knew what I was getting into”. As I recall that guy really seemed to like it.
Maybe just boils down to we all hear differently.
I am currently playing Deciphering the Message by Malaya McCraven and have had to turn the volume down twice. It is now down to 12:00. This is really impressive, to me.
Still pretty happy with this little fella as I moved on to the T60 Argon’s.
One thing I noted is that the case and even the tubes don’t get hot. Just luke warm. That surprised me as I thought it would be much hotter. My Pro iCAN hybrid gets MUCH hotter than the little fella.
Just an FYI.