For anyone looking for a budget amp for this monster, the drop - smsl ho150x can do 3 watts into 32 ohms, best I’ve seen for $150
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I upgraded my amp and dac to this to power the Tungsten headphone. What do you think?
Ifi Ican Pro
Gustard R26 Discrete R2R DAC
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(post deleted by author)
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You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) post the same thing in multiple threads. It’d be different if this actually had the Tungsten in it, but it doesn’t. The post in the iFi thread was sufficient.
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Honestly, sometimes I don’t know if you’re serious or not. 
That’s not a slam, it’s an honest question. I feel like I’m in a Marx Bros movie. “Anything further Father? Further Father—that can’t be right.”
Can you please explain why you would ever think that two volumes would ever improve your case? Before answering, consider exactly what the volume control does and how it does it. Consider the quality of components in each part of any chain.
I really feel like I fell for your trap. If so, will the pink frog (@generic) please rescue me?
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No.
The power output from the Denon will be unchanged.
Notwithstanding that if the TV is getting its signal from the Denon, it won’t work at all; you can’t have two active inputs (whatever you’re watching/listening to, and the output from the TV) - and even if you could you’d either get ground-loops, massive feedback or, due to the delays involved in most AVR processing, everything would echo.
Can’t say, haven’t heard either.
Without knowing the relative output levels across that range, it’s essentially useless information.
BUT …
They very first post in this very thread shows the frequency response plot for the Tungsten. And there you can see what the output is, for a constant level, from 20Hz to 20kHz. Anything outside that range is largely academic.
I don’t care what you do/don’t buy.
But if you want to use the Tungsten properly, you’re going to need an appropriately powerful, and capable, amplifier.
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@Torq - I’ve been using your awesome Headphone power tools to look at power ratings and decide if I need to change anything about my amp setup to consider these. BTW, these look like they might be a great neutral with good sound staging headphone per my other thread, which I appreciate your contributions on.
I wanted to ask if you feel that the V222 (same headphone stage as V226) would be likely to perform well with this headphone. The amp / headphone tool estimates 91.5 dB w/ 20% headroom, so that seems like it would be more than adequate for moderate to loud listening with minimal distortion. I’m curious if there is anything I might be missing.
Also, I have the WA22 2nd gen, and it looks like it would be a bit more marginal based on that tool, but I believe that using higher output power tubes than stock (421a, 5998, or 7236 versus the stock 6080) can change the overall power output of the amp. The only official mention of this that I can find from Woo Audio on this is that it does 700 mW into 600 Ohm with a 7236 tube - it is the only listing in their manual that specifies a different tube, so I assume the other ones all assume the 6080 stock tubes. I’m not sure if it is valid to make assumptions based on this, but working backwards from that number, I think that would put it at just over 20V at 150 Ohm, but I’m not sure if I’m making any incorrect assumptions or obvious mistakes in my calculations. I emailed Woo Audio with this question, and all they had to say is that they haven’t tried one, so they don’t know how well it will work, then they tried to sell me a Diana TC or MR in the same email, so not super helpful, which was surprising, given my other positive interactions with them. I also mentioned to them that, per one of the videos I saw about the Tungsten, Ryan (I think that’s his name) from Mod House is recommending the WA5-LE as his reference amp for this headphone for reviewers, so they should probably reach out to him for a natural synergy to promote their own product and avoid steering people away from his. Sorry for the tangent, but thought that was interesting.
Anyway, any insights you can offer on either of these amps for the Tungsten would be greatly appreciated!
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Glad you’re finding it useful!
Based on the numbers, it should be fine - in terms of power. Though bear in mind the calculations for the Tungsten are based on calculated estimates of what the V226 will do into 155 ohms - as Violetric do not provide a measurement at that impedance. So, thermal, current and voltage limits, that are not directly specified, could alter that actual power available for that load.
I don’t know how well it pairs from any other perspective.
It’ll have a couple dB less drive capability, but I’m more confident on the numbers there as Woo’s specs include measurements much closer to the 155 ohms than Violectric did, so any potential delta in calculation vs. reality is going to be smaller.
Also, tube amplifiers, when pushed a bit too hard, are typically more graceful as they start to clip so perceptually you may find the WA22 sounds cleaner at its limits than the V226 does.
Perhaps … though will still have to be within the thermal limits of the design and available current and voltage swing from the PSU of course.
None really beyond the above contextualization of the output from my tool with the amps you’ve mentioned. If I’d heard the Tungsten I could probably say more, but I’ve no plans to do so.
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Greatly appreciate the context. That’s a great point about soft clipping. Thanks for the thoughtful reply!
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I heard these (dual-sided) recently at a local gathering and DMAN they sure have some snap! On certain tracks the snare drum cracks like nothing else I’ve heard. It seemed almost unrealistic.
I didn’t get a chance to do any in-depth listening or A/B with anything else, but I’m definitely intrigued.
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Awesome! What was the chain?
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Two different chains one involved a tube speaker amp, and the other was a solid state headphone amp from Flux. Sorry I wasn’t paying enough attention to get the details.
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Awesome, thanks. No worries and thanks for sharing.
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The Burson 3xP will do a great job as it can produce 28 volts on high gain, balanced.
I assume the Burson DAC outputs at least 4 volts.
Over 20 volts, will probably play louder than is good for your ears.
I ordered a SS Tungsten in December and I’m confident my Burson 3xP ( Gustard A26 DAC which outputs 5 volts) will be fantastic.
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It’s not just about voltage swing.
The 3XP will start clipping with the Tungsten DS around 10V (which is plenty loud for most, even allowing for peaks … ~106 dB/SPL peak), where it can deliver about 580mW.
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Bottom line: the Brunson 3XP will drive the Tungsten SS or DS just fine.
Isn’t that what I said?
which is plenty loud for most, even allowing for peaks … ~106 dB/SPL peak
Just adding context, so more people understand how all of this really works … enabling them to answer their own questions. And keeping specs honest.
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With all the recent hype on the Tungstens – plus the excessive waiting time from (even late 2023) buyers – if I were a manufacturer, I would be planning a new (or re-release) product ASAP. I mean, the demand is there.
Looks like people are craving for low-efficiency transducers once again. And I like where this is going. Need to justify to my own conscience why I am needing anything more powerful than a typical USB dongle to drive my stuff. 
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Tube:
Wandla DAC + Galion TS120 + Zynsonix 8ohm adapter box
SS:
? DAC + Flux MENTOR
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About how many Tungstens have been made up to this point?
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