Meier-Audio Corda Headamp-2 (HA-2) Review

[john_jcb]

Meier-Audio Corda Headamp-2 (HA-2)

The following is the equipment and music I used for this review:

Sources:
Meridian 507 (Redbook)
Philips DVD963SA (Redbook/SACD)
Sony DVP-NS500V (Redbook/SACD)

Phones:
Sennheiser HD600/Cardas Cable
Sony CD-3000
Etymotic ER-4S
Koss Porta Pro
AKG 401
Koss KSC-35
Audio Technica ATH-EM7

Comparison Amps:
Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline HR-2 with LT1028 Op Amp
Headroom Cosmic
Headroom Total Airhead
META42

Interconnects:

DH Labs Silver Sonic, 1m

Music:

Aimee Mann "Lost in Space" Tracks 2,3
Gladiator Soundtrack Tracks 3 and 10
Diana Krall SACD "When I Look In Your Eyes" Tracks 1,2,5 and 12
Mark Knopfler “Ragpicker’s Dream” Tracks 3, 4, and 9
Holly Cole "Temptation" Tracks 2,6,7 and 11
Led Zeppelin I Tracks 2, 7 and 8
Jennifer Warnes “Famous Blue Raincoat” Track 3
Jim Hall & Pat Metheny Tracks 4, 7,8 and 10

Initial Impressions

My first impressions of any piece of equipment are based how it looks and the build quality. This is, I think, from the many years I spent doing mechanical engineering work on military avionics. I cannot tell you how many times I have looked at manufacturers’ items and knew they would eventually fail. They may have worked perfectly on the test bench and made the EE’s swoon but were destined for failure in field trials. Many of the problems you read about here and on other sites can be directly attributed to mechanical and quality problems with an otherwise sound electrical design. That being said the Meier-Audio Corda Headamp-2 (HA-2) is extremely well built and employs quality components throughout. The RCA and headphone connectors are of high quality and the switch and volume control were excellent. I did, however, in the course of the review knock off one of the rubber feet (I reattached it and so far so good). One bit of errata for those of you that tend to leave the manual in the box. The crossfeed markings on the front panel do not match the actual operation. The switch operates with the center position being off, left is the lower crossfeed setting and right is the higher setting. The legend on the faceplate indicates off, low, high as viewed from left to right. This causes no problem in the operation as long as you realize the issue. This is a good reason for all new owners to at least skim through the manual of all new equipment.

One other thing that I have seen from various amp manufactures is what I would characterize as a bait and switch with their design. Their amps are sold to the anxious owners and as soon as the sales start to dwindle a new and improved version of the same design is brought out with the components that should have been in the amp in the first place. The initial owners are now left with a piece that is hard to sell and eats at their psyche as they now know that there is a better amp out there than the one they own. Looking at the HA-2 parts list it is obvious that this amp is built with quality parts and you will have no need to be reaching for your soldering iron or wallet to get all that the design has to offer.

I listened to this amp for nearly two weeks before I did any real critical listening. I found that this was a very enjoyable and enlightening period for me. I made it a point to not listen to any of the artists listed above. Instead I listened to a variety of CD’s rediscovering old favorites and auditioning a couple of new arrivals. I listen at a relatively low volume level most of the time so low level detail and accuracy across the frequency spectrum is important to me. I heard some things that I did not remember and was impressed with the detail and accurate sound. I also found some of my older 80’s time frame CD’s to be lacking. One that I was really disappointed with was Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “In Step” recorded in 1989. It sounded recessed and I was required to listen to it at a level louder than I would normally to compensate for this. I tried several combinations of amps and sources and verified that the recording was indeed lacking. I truly enjoyed this amp during my two week listening period; I would alternate between the three crossfeed positions and the two headphone jacks in search of the settings that gave me the most pleasant listening experience. After much experimentation and great music I settled on the low crossfeed setting and “0” ohm input setting as my favorite. If you like a slightly warmer sound the 120 ohm headphone jack may be more to your liking. I think I also enjoyed this period of listening more as realized that I truly liked this amp and I would not be faced with the unpleasant task writing a negative review.

Critical Listening

The music I selected has a wide variety of passages that are difficult for some equipment. Male and Female vocals, piano, powerful bass and complicated passages are all there for the reviewer. Each song selected has something that challenges an amp and the HA-2 met the challenge.

Listening to Aimee Mann was as if she was singing for you alone, her haunting voice located just off of center flanked by the accompanying strings. Holly Cole covering Tom Waits in her Temptation CD with the ever present bass off to the side is perfectly reproduced. The other thing that impressed me is if you listen to track 2 of this CD the drummer is using wire brushes softly in the background. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this CD on lesser equipment and I swore it was static. The Meridian and HA-2 bring out the full detail even as softly as it is played. Shifting to Led Zeppelin the amp handled it all well even Bonham’s drumming did not overwhelm it. Gladiator is another powerful CD that shows off this amp. It does not get bogged down with the more complex passages letting you enjoy the sound as if you were there listening to the orchestra. The Jim Hall & Pat Metheny CD is comprised of electric and acoustic guitar. I was impressed with the low level detail in the midrange on this CD. I listened to it at fairly low levels and never felt like I was missing anything.

During the review I had to repeat many of the tracks. I found myself drifting off enjoying the music and not really listening critically. A track would end and I would be forced to listen again this time paying closer attention to the various elements I was trying to evaluate. I would without reservation recommend this amp to anyone. I think if I was forced to choose right now I personally would get the Pre-Head simply for the multiple inputs. As you can see by the list of equipment above I am an accumulator choosing not to sell anything as I upgrade and try new equipment and the more inputs the better. Sonically though this amp leaves you wanting for nothing.

I think that in the end the difference between the better amps on the market today is how they were “voiced” during the design and prototyping process. The selection of components and values is key in this process for amp designs. When I listened to this amp with my equipment I found that it performed admirably although it has a slightly different “voice” than say the HeadRoom Cosmic or Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline HR-2. To my ears the HA-2 has ever so slightly less bass extension and is slightly warmer than the Emmeline HR-2 configured with the LT1028 Op Amps. The difference I noted is somewhat more pronounced with the crossfeed filter engaged. This effect is clearly explained in the manual and it has to do with how your brain interprets sound. With no crossfeed I still thought that the bass was slightly more extended with the HR-2 but less than with the crossfeed turned on. The differences at this level are indeed minor and it really comes down to personal preference when you are deciding which amp has the sound that you like the best and how much you are willing to spend to achieve it.

Again I was very pleased with this amp and would not hesitate to recommend it.