Q: Is the Bravo Ocean tube headphone amp worth buying?
A: Probably not. Its not a real tube amp, but a class A hybrid. It features a meh design, cheap components, bottom-of-the-barrel stock tube (Shu Guang 12AU7, which is one of the truly god-awful sounding tubes out there), QC issues longer than Lindsay Lohan's arrest record, etc.
But having said this, what are your options if you want a cheap hybrid amp? Well there is the HifiMan EF2A, and it does have a built in USB dac, but that has such a high preset gain and noise floor it is essentially unusable with low impedance headphones.
And the xDuoo TA01, which is more unknown than an uncredited extra in the battle scene in a Peter Jackson movie (but at least it has adjustable gain).
And then there is the Bravo trio -- the v1 (best used as a paperweight), the v2 (which is just as meh as the Ocean, mainly because, well, it is pretty much the Ocean, except naked, which means you are more likely to electrocute yourself on the amp) and the v3, which oddly has an equlaizer which is as useful as a third nipple on a dude.
So where does the enthusiast with a desire for tube sound but no money in their wallet go to get their tube fix?
Well the Little Dot Mk 1+ is probably the best choice, if you can get past the lack of customer support and huge expense shipping it back to LD if you get a lemon.
There's the Hifiman EF3, which is basically the EF2A without the DAC and with a gain switch. But tube rolling paired tubes can be expensive, especially if you go NOS.
Or there is the Bravo v2 or Ocean. The Ocean gives you an enclosure and thus better heat dissipation (Bravo uses the enclosure as a heat sink), and you could get a decent 12AU7 tube for cheaper than a pair of 6AK7s for the EF3.
So in sum, its not very good, but one of the cheapest options for getting into hybrid amps.
In the country of the blind, the one-eyed hybrid tube amp is king.
A: Probably not. Its not a real tube amp, but a class A hybrid. It features a meh design, cheap components, bottom-of-the-barrel stock tube (Shu Guang 12AU7, which is one of the truly god-awful sounding tubes out there), QC issues longer than Lindsay Lohan's arrest record, etc.
But having said this, what are your options if you want a cheap hybrid amp? Well there is the HifiMan EF2A, and it does have a built in USB dac, but that has such a high preset gain and noise floor it is essentially unusable with low impedance headphones.
And the xDuoo TA01, which is more unknown than an uncredited extra in the battle scene in a Peter Jackson movie (but at least it has adjustable gain).
And then there is the Bravo trio -- the v1 (best used as a paperweight), the v2 (which is just as meh as the Ocean, mainly because, well, it is pretty much the Ocean, except naked, which means you are more likely to electrocute yourself on the amp) and the v3, which oddly has an equlaizer which is as useful as a third nipple on a dude.
So where does the enthusiast with a desire for tube sound but no money in their wallet go to get their tube fix?
Well the Little Dot Mk 1+ is probably the best choice, if you can get past the lack of customer support and huge expense shipping it back to LD if you get a lemon.
There's the Hifiman EF3, which is basically the EF2A without the DAC and with a gain switch. But tube rolling paired tubes can be expensive, especially if you go NOS.
Or there is the Bravo v2 or Ocean. The Ocean gives you an enclosure and thus better heat dissipation (Bravo uses the enclosure as a heat sink), and you could get a decent 12AU7 tube for cheaper than a pair of 6AK7s for the EF3.
So in sum, its not very good, but one of the cheapest options for getting into hybrid amps.
In the country of the blind, the one-eyed hybrid tube amp is king.
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