DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp Discussions | Drop

Mar 13, 2018

WESXFYou're asking me? I'd say if works in your house, you good as gold--but if you move to some place that doesn't do 110v, I guess you're on your own. My point, was there seems to be a disproportionate amount of enthusiasm for this amp, vs the number of people with actual experience owning/using it. Which seems to have lead to a kind of feeding frenzy among young people too eager to part with their pay check, in hopes of chasing the dragon (musically speaking of course). Between the variety of tubes being discussed and the lack of a DAC to begin with, I see a lot of people swimming out in to the deep end without their swim trunks. Proceed if you know what you're doing, otherwise, take a deep breath...

Mar 13, 2018

Mar 13, 2018

RayFI was waiting for a voice of reason to emerge. I love unique chi-fi as much as the next man with reservations of expectation, but I think the slick marketing veneer of MassDrop coupled with the presentation of the DarkVoice will lead to a small percentage of people facing smoldering units (statistically) without much recompense or recourse.

Mar 13, 2018

Casey84

Mar 13, 2018

RayFDo you have a reccomendation for a better tube headphone amp for $200? I already have a dac, so that's not a requirement for me.

Mar 13, 2018

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Mar 13, 2018

Casey84The only brand of DAC/AMPs I would implicitly trust for the most part would be from JDS Labs. I know some folks are fans of Schiit but honestly the only products I've seen just work out of the box, combined with almost instantaneous customer support, are JDS products. That and the original Mayflower Electronics stuff.
But only death and taxes are certain.

Mar 13, 2018

Mar 13, 2018

Casey84In a word--no. But for the money (and time) one has to lay out for this unit, I'd be a tad leery (depending on your funds, of course). There was a time when one could go into a store and actually listen to this or that unit before buying. Actually, you still can do that, but apparently not for this unit--which is my point! If this is supposed to be a moderately poor man's tube amp, how come the majority of questions being asked are about how it sounds and is it right for me? Somehow legend seems to have gotten ahead of the known facts here. You wan't to spend $200 solely on what the guy above or below me just wrote in his comments ? If you can afford to gamble two-hundred clams; be my guest. If that's money you can't afford to lose, than step back and do some more looking around. If it were me, I'd be looking for a lot more solid reviews on this and comparable units. Most of what I've seen on this one has been kind of sketchy (the manual/instructions are available in Chinese only? --don''t know if that still the case, but it wasn't encouraging to me. Schitt seems to be a manufacturer a lot of people express confidence in, but there are other known companies out there. I don't own any Schitt stuff (yet--the bastards back ordered my choice!), but I like their warranty and that they're in the US in case I do need warranty work down the road. You know, here's my two final points--would you buy a car without driving it first? No. And second, what's the damn hurry here? Don't get caught up in a Massdrop induced frenzy--all this "limited time and availability" crap tends to make people think they have to act quickly, or their gonna miss the bus! Screw that--don't be the deer that jumps in front of the speeding truck, just step back from the road and take your time. Plenty of opportunity to spend your dough right around the corner...

Mar 13, 2018

Mar 13, 2018

RayFEvery single time I see an alert I think it's my HD6XX's shipping and my heart stops.

Mar 13, 2018

Mar 13, 2018

MrBigI'm afraid my heart is going to stop long before MD ships the damn things--I only have one lifetime to donate to this drop!

Mar 13, 2018

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Casey84

Mar 13, 2018

RayFI definitely agree with being uncomfortable buying anything as subjective as audio equipment without demoing first. Unfortunately for most consumers that seems to be the only way to do it when it comes to mid-fi and up gear. For many the only place to demo any audio equipment at all is Best Buy. I live in San Antonio, and there is one higher end store, but they carry mostly much higher-end gear like McIntosh and HD800s. Way above most people's budget.
So our only real choice is to do as much reading and research as we can online and roll the dice. Or just not take the risk and stick with what we like best from Best Buy.
That's why you get so many people asking for impressions on how it sounds, because thats the only thing they can do if they want to upgrade. That's why I asked if yiu had any other reccomendations in this price range, because unless you know of some other amp I don't, the options are limited.
In this case, at this price range, the only real options for a tube amp is a Little Dot, a Vali, or this. None of which I can demo prior to choosing. I decided on the DarkVoice because, according to the reviews I've read, the other two sounded very similar to solid state amps (of which I already own two), the DV reportedly has the most "tubey" sound, and it has the most options for tube rolling. Also, of the three, the DV pairs best with the HD 600/6XX, which I also own.
So whats a guy to do? Pull the trigger and take a chance.

Mar 13, 2018

Mar 13, 2018

Casey84It sounds like you're going in with both eyes open. So go for it.

Mar 13, 2018

Mar 13, 2018

Casey84Much of what you say is true--a lot of this stuff is a long way from mainstream retail--which concerns the hell out of me. Before the Harrison Narcotics act and the FDA, people could sell you damn near any concoction of opium, cocaine, and snake oil and claim it cured whatever ailed you. Today, we have (to one degree or another) standards we can refer to when it comes to what we swallow. There are no standards for Mid-Fi; it's whatever you, me or the next guy says it is. Seeing as how it all comes down to sound and how one feels about that sound, if I were in your position, I head down to one of those high-end audio stores in San Antonio (Galen-Carol?) and compare all of their expensive tube amps--to find out what big money is buying these days and what that sounds like. That will help establish a high-end baseline of what that sound should sound like. And when your DV amp (finally) arrives, you'll have a better idea of wether you got close, or just got bamboozled instead ;- )
Good luck!

Mar 13, 2018

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Mar 14, 2018

MrBigFinally did get the email! Still in New Jersey, but that's a lot closer to Las Vegas than Somalia!

Mar 14, 2018

Mar 14, 2018

RayFI got the notification email last Friday but still no tracking email. But considering the amount of people in Europe who are going to wait much longer than I, I'm just trying to keep it together. :)

Mar 14, 2018

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Casey84

Mar 14, 2018

RayFJust curious, when did you join the drop?

Mar 14, 2018

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Mar 14, 2018

Casey846XXs on Jan 9th, and the Van Damme cables on the 17th. But according to MD's email, both will arrive together. That would be nice--we shall see..

Mar 14, 2018

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Mar 14, 2018

RayFhuh weird. I bought mine on Jan. 2nd. I got the email friday but no shipping info yet.

Mar 14, 2018

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