For headphones I use a cayin ha300 and itās a pretty awesome amp ngl
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Oh Iāve seen how that thing looks on the inside, absolutely fantastic build quality, and such a extremely specialized Power Supply, having 4 tube rectifiers and power supply dedicated to each of the amplifiers tubes, essentially each tube gets whatever it needs, dedicated just for itself.
Also, apparently the 6SN7s work balanced, and then halfway through become unbalanced to run with the 300Bs, idk if it gets balanced again via output transformer or if itās left unbalanced through an output transformer and the Actual XLR output is just a commodity, it has internal relays though so maybe it is balanced and the relays detect whether the balanced or unbalanced port is used, or maybe itās more simple than that and those relays are for another function, maybe a safety for the amp since it has speaker and headphone outs, so you canāt damage the headphones on accident?
I donāt own one but itās always fun to speculate the smaller details. Still just from the internals, it looks absolutely amazing and most likely sounds great too.
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Yeah I am done with tube speaker amps lol, the aries cerat stack is all that I will ever need, absolute units of amps (and the highest I can currently afford to go lol)
I need to update this statement and say the ta-30 IS a hybrid and that is confirmed directly by xduooā¦ sorry if I mislead anyone
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Thanks for the info, I wasnāt sure either lol 
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Has anyone received theirs ? Any updates ?
xDuoo TA-30 at $639 now only 3 days
I love my TA-30 so much. It really does pair extremely well with most of my collection. Iām also confirming that E80CC tubes will work with no socket adapters perfectly.
This makes this amp MAGIC if you were on the fence definitely an easy buy and would recommend swapping the 12AU7 with the E80CC
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So Iām trying to figure out if I have an issue with one of the tubes/and or sockets on my TA-30. I am aware that not all tubes light up with the same glow, and that that quality is not necessarily an indication of functionality, but I have had something interesting crop up that I think may be an issue.
One of the tubes no longer lights up like it once did. I canāt distinguish any sound difference (it seems to work fine to my virgin ears), but I know that both of the front tubes once lit up in the same fashion.
Do I need to replace the tube, or is it perfectly fine for a tube to change this characteristic during its lifespan?
Hey looks like its just an LED underneath that went out the right tube seems to be lit up just fine. This wonāt affect the sound just the aesthetic.
As long as the tips glow red youāre fine. You should have no problems with the amp sound wise most of the components are over built. The unit gets super hot. Iād recommend if youāre going to use your TA-30 through out the day to keep it on all day then. Tubes donāt like to change temp too much.
Long term review time I think soā¦ :
I swapped all the tubesā¦ Then went back to the original rectifier cause that original rectifier really gives that smooth sound I love from this amp. The speed I got from my reflector rectifier tube was nutty so this amp is extremely capable and I can see why the designers chose this pairing. The driver tubes I changed to a pair of E80CC Tungsramās and WOW the soundstage and treble just incredible wow its not a mustā¦ But if youāve enjoyed the amp definitely a must have combo.
It runs hot VERY HOT if you donāt run a fan in your room the unit will bake itself to death Iām talking over 100 degrees. its packing so much in the package I understand why itās getting so hot. With a fan on barely at 40 degrees celcius
I donāt mind enthusiast compromise on products certainly Iām no stranger to products that need a bit more care.
What do you get out of it?? Its so smoothā¦ its tone for me is so inviting I work an incredibly high pressure job and for me I love it. It feels like tube for solid state Iām so happy they matched the solid state components to the tubes cause this is as close to a tube to run solid state.
Thatās my favourite part about the amp I donāt have to worry about what headphone will match with my OTL tube amps cause its solid state delivery hook up low or high impedance doesnāt matter works everytime its exactly what I wanted. Want to use that focal elex with a tuby sound but worried about bloated bass on the tube amp no worries works great with the TA-30 Especially for my Fostex X00 which doesnāt play nice with OTLās god send amp for that headphone. In fact letās run through the Gauntlett:
T50rp Argon mod (Protein leather and lambskin pads):
More than enough power to drive the famously hard to drive Argons and not only that drives them extremely well. Adds to the width the bass is TIGHT and the mids still have that magic that made me fall in love with them.
As Argon enjoyers know the treble can be aā¦ Little on the weird on the proteins the smoothless on the amp really takes care of some of that and makes it more on the relaxed but more even neutral side which is great since I love the soundstage of the Protein leather.
Lambskins pads experience ā¦just perfectā¦ Iād say the more audiophile sound for sure. [Im dying to try them with some cowhides I hear theyāre the most relaxed pad choice Iāll report back later on that]
This my go to come home and chill setup with the Argonās + TA-30 I honestly use this with bluetooth to my phone and just chill on lounge with a huge cable and itās bliss and so much FUN itās a blast.
I think this is one of the more important headphones to go over the DCA Ether CX:
As Ether CX enjoyers/users will know this headphone is 95% work 5% fun this amp now makes this headphone 25%ā¦which is HUGE for this headphone this is the only amp I now use my Ether CX with for pleasure. This is a feat even my ghetto Darkvoice to THX 789 couldnt make it this fun. Very impressive definitely more detail on the THX but my Ether CX is always trying to murder me with detil so great change of pace.
Focal Elex:
Now THIS is one my favourite combos itās just too easy tight bass, excellent mid range and the best of all. The treble off the wrong amp with this headphone is UNFORGIVING with the TA-30 just perfection for detail, energy and liveliness. Itās smooth and still exciting. Busy passages are handled perfectly with this combo
ZMF Aeolus w/perf Suede pads with Bopp filter removed:
Excellent and I have a really hard choice between OTL tubes or the TA-30 which is a huge compliment. If you plan on running a ZMF off of this amp you still get 80% of the dynamic range increase like you would from normal tubes which is awesome bass is punchier of course off of this amp than tubes which I believe would really be the main draw for running this top end still beautiful mid range magic preserved so a great pairing Iād choose this over any other solid state.
Fostex X00 Mahogany w/Dekoni Sheepskins:
Excellent solution for a tube sound for the X00 as you want more mid range and preserved Bass and calms the treble heat of this headphone for sure a lot of fun the sensitivity of this headphone is the concern you barely turn the volume pot and youāre already as loud as you want a pre-amp to control the volume is highly recommended.
Koss KPH30i w/ Yaxi Pads / KSC75ās w/Yaxi pads:
Oh yeah that mid range magic is so sweet soundstage is perfect same with the KSC75ās I feel you could blow apart the KSC75ās with the potential of this amp my favourite gaming combo as well incredible soundstage layering and texture wow what a combo. Sendy Aiva: It drives them so perfect I dont really have words it suits the character of the headphone so much its remarkable. In summary you have to keep a tab on how hot its getting in all the fun. Itās the only draw back amongst all the fun you have to sober up from time to time to double check how the amp is going but if youāre willing youāre in for a treat with this amp. I donāt really think there is too much like it out there thatās the best part really itās extremely unique and drives some odd or hard to drive headphones really well I never had an issue but it is strongly advised to pair with a pre-amp for volume purposes as it is such a high gain design.
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Iāve had my TA-30 for many months now and have been loving it. For the past couple of weeks Iāve started having pops and clicks when listening to music via USB. It gets worse every time I use it. Never had this issue previously. It ruining my listening experience. It sounds like a static pop or like vinyl with surface cracks/pops. Nothing has changed. It sits in the same spot. There is nothing around it that would generate static or noise. I rolled it when I first got it. Iām going to try and see if there is any change by putting the original tubes back. Has anyone else experienced this issue with the TA-30?
Well after a few years a different tube iterations and being packed away, Iāve decided to breath new life into my TA30. I added some harleen e80cc tubes and man itās pretty awesome the performance I get with planars. I wouldnāt say itās a best pairing for my hd800s but does respectfully but planars is definitely where it shines.
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