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Inexpensive production of Chinese factories has long and firmly won the market of audio solutions. One of the first swallows were compact hybrid headphone amplifiers, using both lamps and discrete elements. This design has allowed to create compact inexpensive devices that combine good power with affordable price and unpretentiousness to the headphones. About one of these amplifiers, TA-02 from the company xDuoo, I'll tell.
In general, the design of TA-02 can be called "typical". Pre-amplification is carried out using two pentodes 6J1, the buffer amplifier is built on transistors. This allows the device to work with headphones of almost any impedance, unlike "purely lamp solutions", which most often either use matching transformers, or work only with headphones of a certain impedance.
Simplicity of the scheme allows you to place it in a small case, which takes up little space on the table, but it does its job well - the same "tube heat" is definitely present in the TA-02 sound. Also in xDuoo extended the scheme, adding protection to the input and output to the headphones, in case of any problems this will help to save the equipment.
The prices for this amplifier fluctuate around $ 100, you can find a little more expensive or a little cheaper. By the way, if you take it
Specifications
- Output Power: 780 mW @ 32Ω
- Frequency range: 10 Hz - 100 KHz ± 0.5 dB
- Heine: +15 dB
- Distortion: ≤0.1% @ 1 KHz
- Channel separation: 110 dB
- Recommended load impedance: 16Ω - 600Ω
- Operating voltage: 12 V
- Size: 151 mm × 84 mm × 70 mm
- Weight: 260g
Packing and delivery kit
The box at TA-02 is quite solid, from a thick cardboard with a "dust jacket", inside everything is neatly divided in compartments and protected by inserts of soft material. In the kit you'll get the amplifier itself, an external power supply that gives out 12 volts, a few pieces of paper and a couple of 6J1 lamps.
The default lamps used are popular due to the low price, on the basis of which many Chinese devices such as the stock Maverick Audio A1 and HiFiMan EF2 are built, but their sound is very far from the maximum for which the hybrid circuit is capable. Fortunately, for a small amount of money you can find a lot of analogues, greatly improving the sound of the device, the same Maverick Audio offer such an upgrade themselves as an option when buying a device.
Design and management
The appearance of the amplifier is very good, the compact body is made entirely of anodized aluminum, which has a beneficial effect on protection from external interference, and on the perception of the device, the TA-02 looks beautiful, the build quality is at a high level.
Lamps are placed at the top and protrude from the body of the device, most likely, Chinese engineers act on the principle "once the lamps in the device are, they need to be demonstrated." To protect the fragile glass bulbs from external influences, a metal rim is provided. On the one hand, such protection is a reasonable step, on the other, it greatly hinders the extraction of lamps. Personally, I just unscrew this protection if I need to remove the lamps.
There are very few controls for TA-02, you can forget about the richness of interfaces, there is only the minimum. At the rear is a power socket and an input in the form of dual RCA connectors. On the front panel there is a switch, a blue work indication LED, a 6.3 mm headphone jack and a volume control.
Sound
To listen to the amplifier I used the following equipment:
- MacBook Pro Retina Late 2013 as a source
- Yulong DA8 as USB DAC
- Audinst Hud-MX2 as USB DAC
- Audirvana Plus as a player
- Headphones Philips Fidelio X1, AKG K702, ZMF Fostex, Fischer Audio FA-003 Bog Oak Limited Edition, Fischer Audio FA-011 Limited Edition Japan, Sennheiser HD800 and others
- Entries in lossless format
Since the amplifier contains a lamp in the design, it takes a few seconds each time it is turned on, in order for the lamps to warm up and sound. It takes several minutes to reach the 100% mode of operation.
After listening to the amplifier with the complete 6J1 for about an hour, I replaced them with a pair of EF-95 from Philips, at a price of about $ 15 per pair (or cheaper), this is one of the best replacement options. If you want to get the most out possible, it's worth looking at Mullard, for a matched pair of the latter asking for an average of $ 40.
The sound of the TA-02 with the 6J1 is still very warm and soft, so I recommend that you replace them, and a further description goes for the sound with Philips lamps.
The bass of the amplifier is slightly accented, despite some softness, it is well textured and has a pleasant energy. Such an emphasis makes the TA-02 not quite universal, but it's hard to expect more for such a price.
The middle frequencies are very good, they are detailed, lively, with natural emotions and natural playing of instruments. It is this part of the range that benefits most from the use of lamps that color the sound. The naturalness of the presentation leads to the fact that a rather wide imaginary scene with a good separation of instruments is built in the head by itself.
The upper frequencies are balanced so as not to strain the listener on the one hand, and not to get lost on the other. Their balance on my hearing is close to optimal, although, of course, headphones play a major role here.
Of the non-critical shortcomings is worth noting a small background noise, however, does not interfere with the music, and rustling when adjusting the volume.
Compatibility
Since TA-02 has a high gain without the possibility of its adjustment, it is not very suitable for sensitive headphones in general and for in-channel models in particular. Also, due to the nature of the sound, it does not go well with headphones with a dark pitch, but with light models it's good: Grado, Beyerdynamic, German Maestro will be a very good choice for him.
The amplifier is well combined with inexpensive DACs such as the HiFiMeDIY and Stoner Acoustics models, smoothing out their sound character.
The genre enhancer tends to live music: rock, jazz, non-orchestral classics best respond to its presentation, although, of course, other styles with it are quite possible to listen to.
conclusions
A very good option for those who want to try a tube sound for a little money. TA-02, of course, is not as good as purely lamp solutions, but its price is several times less. With good overhead headphones, he will give his user a lively and juicy sound, and the possibility of an easy upgrade by changing lamps makes it an even more interesting option.
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