If we say Jolida, this name will surely speak to some enthusiasts of tube electronics. Indeed, the founders of Doge are none other than M.Li, chief engineer at Jolida from 1994 to 2003, and M. Sun, general manager of the Shuguang tubes division from 1986 to 1995 (currently the world leader in tube manufacture).
Doge was founded in 2002 and currently boasts various vacuum tube devices, such as four models of integrated amplifier, a stereo amplification unit delivering 180 watts per channel, a tube preamplifier, CD player and, the object of this benchmark: the 6210-II amplifier for headphones.
Appearance
Tube amplifiers using output transformers usually offer a special aesthetic due to the use of these elements, which are more often than not quite bulky.
A single housing can be used to integrate all the electronics and the transformers, in which case it will be a relatively large setup - a more reasonably-sized (less bulky) device which has most of the electronics integrated, apart from the output transformers and the AC adapter taking their place outside (above) the housing.
It is this second solution that Doge has employed for the 6210-II amplifier which is presented as a three-price housing made of steel and coated with a beautiful charcoal gray, flanked by identically-profiled faces at the front and rear - and all in 10mm thick sandblasted anodized aluminum, no less!
Two headphone jacks in (standard 6.35mm) take place in the middle of the front side. Power is achieved by a toggle switch next to which sits a blue LED indicator. In contrast, on the facade, the same type of switch lets you choose between "general" (normal stereo reproduction) and "odeon" for playback with a concert hall effect.
A three-position switch, using a button similar to that of the volume control, allows you to select the output transformer best suited to the impedance of the headphones used.
The output transformer has the advantage of offering a complete transfer of power if the receiver impedance is equal to that of the source (a 60Ω headphone with 60Ω selector receives the same power as a 600Ω headphone with the switch to 600Ω, this is not the case at all in the mountains where 'transformerless' power drops considerably with very high impedances).
On the rear panel there is a base area containing three poles with an integrated fuse holder, input pin jacks and a fixed stereo output (tape out).
Manufacturing
The Doge 6210-II amplifier, unlike some 'tube' achievements that use an "in the air" wire (to sound better, they say...), uses a wired circuit to group components that may be done in this manner, and which are also the bases on which the four tubes are plugged. The components are largely dimensioned and coupling capacitors are from the Wima brand and, it will be noted that the three 100uF electrochemical capacitors are held by clamps.
Of course, there are a number of little helpers in this model (those carrying the low-level audio are presented very well) connecting the circuit to the sockets and switches, potentiometer, and also to output audio processors as well power transformers.
As we said before, and as shown on the display below, power transformers are placed logically to the arrival area, the further output audio transformers (to minimize any undesirable induction 'hum'), the latter taking place along the front, and the Jack being taken in solidarity with their protective cover.
The tubes, which are a Psvane 12AX7-TII and an EL84-TII paired at the factory, are mounted in open air to facilitate cooling (and changed if necessary due to aging) but do not benefit from any protection, and it will avoid leaving this unit reach of small fingers explore the world. Is not noticed of dedicated circuit for the spatial effect and the latter is generated (old) by phase shift certain frequencies.
Listening
For this Doge amplifier 6210-II, we have employed the use of a Foobar2000 in KS mode, our reference DAC from Leaf Audio equipped with a PCM5102 chip (used without additional filtering), this means that there is a particular transparency, the headphone being of model "Oppo PM-3", and starting with one of our first few albums used for testing, Fantasia on British Sea Songs by Henry Wood.
Through this Doge 6210-II amplifier, restitution is airy, dynamic and full of details, and the light tinkling of the triangle is clearly visible in The Saucy Arethusa, but we have some doubts about the warmth of character lended to the track by the tube amplification because we found instead that this amplifier is shown to be, perhaps not dry-dry, but quite expansive on the high ropes, and perhaps overzealous on occasion.
A word about Odeum effect: it actually brings a feeling of space but is also concedes a loss of consistency to restitution.
In conclusion, Doge 6210-II headphone amplifier is a device that will appeal to lovers of tubes in both its original appearance and its excellent sound performances.
We would like to thank Audiophonics for lending us this Doge 6210-II for this benchmark.
To follow everything that happens at Qobuz, like us on Facebook!
If you are a constructer, importer, distributor, or agent in the field of sound reproduction, and would like to contact us, please do so through the following address: newstech@qobuz.com
If you are passionate about the contents of our Hi-Fi Guide, and would like to contact us, then please do so uniquely through the following address: rubriquehifi@qobuz.com