OuchSubmitted by PharaoRamsesII t3_11bk67s in headphones
mat-2018 t1_j9ym049 wrote
Reply to comment by croakjob in Ouch by PharaoRamsesII
realistically, a modern solid state amplifier will always reproduce sound more faithfully to the original file than a tube amp. people use tube amps because tubes naturally color the sound giving it a more "warm" tone. or that's what audio enjoyers say at least, i've never had the chance to do a blind test in person
PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j9yp0jx wrote
The biggest issue on here is that many people recommend these without ever having tried them or without knowing what they are talking about. From my understanding tube amps, just like solid state amps, can be very different from each other, from super clean to very warm sounding, depending on the circuitry or the way the tubes operate.
My Xduoo TA-26 is absolutely on the same level, if not better than my FiiO K5 pro and both sound very clean (I've also rolled a ton of tubes). The only difference could be a tad more bass and more midrange presence on tubes, but this is so minimal and also genre dependant that it's almost negligible.
I'm almost 100% sure that I could blindly make out a littledot from the TA-26 because it's supposedly smoother and less detailed, but I am not sure if I could spot a TA-26 in a blind test against a few solid state amps in a similiar price range.
biolox t1_j9yr57t wrote
Yeah. I just got a little dot mk3 and Magni 3 and honestly can’t tell the difference on ZMF Aeolus 🤷♀️
PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j9yudxs wrote
Welcome to tube amps lmao.. I too can almost not tell the difference. But it glows, feels and looks nice.
But it was quite a tough pill to swallow once I realized that I feel for audiophile overexaggeration.
biolox t1_j9z6ekx wrote
Yeah, it’s sexy for sure; gonna try the other tubes that came with it but may just dump it for nice IEMs or closed to compliment the ZMFs
Thugglebum t1_j9zsilg wrote
I've tube rolled the balls off a LD2 and it really doesn't do much for me. It's sat unused for a year and needs to go on eBay. Magni 3 is just better.
InsanelyHandsomeQB t1_j9zjuf0 wrote
LOL I drank the snake oil too!
In reality if you want better sound, buy better headphones and speakers.
Great drivers + good amps > good drivers + great amps
SolarFusion90 t1_j9zrujs wrote
Yeah, I posted this up top, they do look nice, pretty much guarantee if you try some headphones with these hooked up you are gonna hear some good quality audio equipment. It's more of a status thing imho
coffeeshopslut t1_ja12wcn wrote
Because the little dot is a tube driver stage for a solid state output
blorg t1_ja173nn wrote
Little Dot Mk3 is a OTL tube amp with tube output stage. Mk3 SE is a hybrid with solid state output. My understanding from Google, I don't own either (I have a TA-26).
coffeeshopslut t1_ja1hsqq wrote
Yes you are correct. My apologies.
corporatemonkey t1_j9ywack wrote
I bought an Aune T1s 4th gen tube amp and honestly can't tell the difference from my Fiio K5 Pro.
PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j9yxt1d wrote
Oh my.. guess you need to have golden ears to hear these differences.
I love my Xduoo TA-26, but it also taught me the lesson that many reviewers are full of shit. Being completely honest, to me the difference is neither good or bad, but it's very slim, like 5-10% different in comparison to the FiiO at best (using the FiiO's DAC on both devices).
coffeeshopslut t1_ja139fx wrote
Lots of people also think they're listening to tube amps when it's just a tube input stage and a solid state output.
Also different tube topologies sound drastically different. Output transformer amps sound different from output transformer less. Cheap output transformers sound way different than expensive ones (and they get pricey...)
c0ng0pr0 t1_j9yss4f wrote
Solid state everything… solid state cooling is blowing my mind currently
moonra_zk t1_ja35wuw wrote
That's gonna be amazing for laptops.
c0ng0pr0 t1_ja3ff7d wrote
My first thought was underwear where you’ll never have to sweat again… my fashion friend’s first thought was mattress cooling.
moonra_zk t1_ja3km68 wrote
Ah, I'm thinking of a different kind of solid state cooling, this one, specially.
InsanelyHandsomeQB t1_j9zj3e4 wrote
Honestly, it’s not that big of a difference. Like yeah, in a critical listening session I can tell but these days I just want to enjoy my music. After listening to a few songs I forget what hardware I’m plugged into anyway.
Tubes are cool for the novelty factor, but these days my headphones stay plugged into my solid state 99% of the time, mainly for the heat and power. You can also add the harmonics in software to simulate the warmth of tube amps, so there’s that.
mattband t1_j9yxyco wrote
Telling us what is but that you never heard it. So typical of this sub.
mat-2018 t1_j9yzogk wrote
yes, which is why i clearly stated that i never heard it so i can't say whether a tube amp sounds "better" (which is subjective anyways). i do think it's important to tell people that tubes aren't magic, they can't improve the original track, just modifiy the tonality a bit.
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