DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp Reviews | Drop

DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amp

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Jun 5, 2018

Verified Buyer

I purchased my DarkVoice in 01/2017 and received the amp in 02/2017. One of the top five purchases I have made at MD. I rolled an RCA 6AS7G and a Tung Sol 6SN7GTB into mine and could be any happier. Also RCA 6SN7GTB tubes work well. If you can purchase one and have up to $60.00 to spend on tubes I would not hesitate one bit in purchasing this amp.

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Jun 6, 2018

NateBI have the same tube combo. It’s very nice. A big improvement over stock tube in terms of clarity and detail.

Jun 6, 2018

mindhead1I just need to update my DAC/Amp, because sometimes you need solid state!

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Jun 6, 2018

NateBI feed my DV from an Aune X1S. I highly recommend it. Really good DAC with lots of connection options and a decent Amp.

Jun 6, 2018

mindhead1Thank you, mindhead1, I will keep that in mind!

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tylermaximus

Jun 7, 2018

NateBHey Nate,
Just placed my order. Do you have a recommended place to buy tubes? Thanks!

Jun 7, 2018

tylermaximusI have gotten my tubes from eBay, but try thetubestore.com, dbtubes.com, or audiotubes.com!

Jun 11, 2018

NateBLast night I got some more tubes to try out in my DV. I got a red base RCA 6SN7 on the expensive side, but considered one of the best tubes period, I also am going to try out a "Winged C" Svetlana 6AS7 tube to roll. I will let you know how that turns out tylermaximus!

tylermaximus

Jun 13, 2018

NateBThanks Nate, I just ordered the tubes you recommended.

Jun 13, 2018

mindhead1I am having trouble with the Aune X1S setup. Problem is that my USB signal is not clean and the DV appears to be very sensitive toward to this, even if it is separated by a mixer. You won't be able to tell if you have a noisy USB if you are just using the Aune's headphone out. Using only the optical out has no issue at all. But as soon as USB goes in, there is a lot of static. My magni 3 did not detect the statics but it is extremely noticeable on the DV. Might have to get a Schiit Wyrd :(.

Jun 13, 2018

tylermaximusI tried a Sylvania 6Sn7GTA 3 Hole "Bad Boy" earlier tonight a little hum, but still a good sounding tube. It needs to run a bit more and I think the hum will eventually go away. By the way what headphones are you using tylermaximus? I have lately been using a pair of Sennheiser HD 600 and a pair of Hifiman HE400i, both open, but sound sweet, for closed I have been using lately Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm.

Jun 13, 2018

FaceMcBashyBefore trying any Wyrd Schiit check your cables and try using another USB port. Do you have another computer to test USB- X1S- DV chain?
What kind of computer do you have? Have you attempted to use the DV without the X1S? If optical works well, why not stick with that?

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Jun 13, 2018

mindhead1My PC setup is pretty different from other PC because I am using virtual machines for window. I am using optical output for my Linux host and a USB expansion card for Windows guest. Will try with a laptop USB and see.

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tylermaximus

Jun 13, 2018

NateBAt home I use a pair of Sennheiser HD650s and on the road I a pair of 500 series Shures. The HD650s are definitely my cans of choice. I'm really looking forward to getting the DarkVoice and trying out the new tubes. I'll let you know how they sound.

MiiD82

Jun 14, 2018

NateBI'm hoping to try that combo too !! I'm waiting for the Tung Sol 6SN7GTB. Now I am combining the RCA 6AS7G with 1PC Shuguang Treasure Series CV181-Z. To me it seems also highly recommended. It will be fun to play with tubes and headphones 😉

Jun 16, 2018

MiiD82Last night I rolled a Sylvania 3 hole "Bad Boy" 6SN7GTA into my DV. There was a little bit of hum in the right channel. I ran the tube for about 10 to 12 hours, and no hum at all and the DV sounds "tubey"!

Jun 16, 2018

MiiD82The RCA/ Treasure combo is my go to in the DV.

Jun 16, 2018

mindhead1Down the road I will get a Treasure tube, but for now, as you know, there are other audio products that I want to purchase!

Jun 20, 2018

mindhead1Well, minded1 tonight I rolled in an RCA Red Base 5692 for the 6SN7, sounds just as good as the Sylvania Bad Boy, but I am going to run the amp for about 10 hours or so and then check it out again.

Curlycat

Jul 13, 2018

MiiD82Love my DV! I am keen on trying the Shuguang Treasure Series CV181-Z as well, but I am concerned about the current draw of the tube. There is conflicting data, some saying 0.6A and others 0.9A. How long have you been using your Shuguang for? Or if you can tell me what the tube's current rating is? I don't want to burn out my transformer over time.

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Jul 13, 2018

CurlycatI have been running the Treasure in my DarkVoice for over 3 months now with no issues.

Curlycat

Jul 14, 2018

mindhead1Thank you for your reply, that is great to hear! Seems like the new issue Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z tube draws only 0.6A and is a real copy of the 6SN7 tube. Apparently only the NOS CV181 tube draws the higher current of 0.9A. It would appear someone was confused or made a typo on a website and the disinformation just propagated on from there. I am looking forward to receiving my Treasure.

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Smshr

Sep 30, 2018

FaceMcBashyWhat are the mixers connected to ?

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Oct 1, 2018

SmshrMixer is connected to a bluetooth receiver, aune dac for PC's host audio, and a virtual machine guest's cheap usb dac. Main outputs to headphone amp and control room outputs to the JBL speakers. I have slightly updated my config with a bluetooth receiver that can be used to make calls. This is placed under my desk. Can make phone calls through headphone/speakers, which is interesting.

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Smshr

Oct 1, 2018

FaceMcBashyThat is so neat that you made me realize why dint i think of it? would definitely make my life easier. would you mind sharing the name of your mixer and the Bluetooth receiver? the new one of course. would save me the hassle of researching on the internet as i'm sure you must have done tons of research before buying it.

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Oct 1, 2018

SmshrThis is the mixer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J5SYPY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Problem I have realized with this mixer is that there is no on/off switch so it can only be powered off by cutting the power cord. When I cut off power to mixer, it sends a strong signal to the output. As a result, my jbl lsr305 speaker makes a loud sound. Please note that I use a remote controlled power strip(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P2UMNK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) which I have all of my audio equipment plugged into. So I can turn off everything(including the two lights) with a single click. However, when cutting power to everything, the signal from mixer reaches to the speaker before speaker shuts off, resulting in the loud sound. This is kind of annoying so I plug the mixer into an Always On outlet on the power strip and just leave the mixer on. Please note that having your mixer on will draw ~10 watt continuously. I now use a smart power plug(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4CNJKG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to turn off power to the remote power strip also to save power. Still trying to figure out a better solution, like a delayed switch off to the mixer. You might want to consider another mixer if you think this is too annoying, because I would have. You can get a cheaper version of the mixer if you do not need the sound effect feature. I needed the feature because I use the mixer for karaoke too. If your headphone amp has a passthrough/preamp out like the schiit magni 3, then you can plug your speaker into your headphone amp instead of the mixer. I plugged the speaker into mixer because I was trying to listen to both headphone(HD6xx) and speaker at the same time, which is an interesting experience.
This is the bluetooth receiver I am using: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O8FYUJA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It has a battery, which isn't necessary. Even when I place it under my desk, the mic picks up my voice well. It is similar to the one which you can install in your car but it picked up my voice much better than the one other brand I tried. Would also suggest putting a ground loop isolator(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L1NP7YI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) between the mixer and bluetooth receiver to remove as much noise as possible.
I also added my nintendo switch to the mixer so I can listen to music while gaming from the same awesome speaker/headphone. I plan to add a bluetooth transmitter in the future to use wireless headphones. I have listened to novel playing from phone, music from PC, while playing breath of the wild all at the same time. A mixer is much better than having a audio source switch.

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Smshr

Oct 2, 2018

FaceMcBashyThank you. This helps a lot.

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