Isabellina HPA - Owner's Thread and Impressions

[mrarroyo]

Larry I will use Fri-Sun to put about 50 hours of burn-in via the USB. This should bring my Isabellina HPA to 200 hours of total burn-in of which about 140 hours were via coaxial input and 60 via USB input. Next week should complete the burn-in and bring the unit to about 300 hours of burn-in with about 220 hours via coaxial and 85 hours via USB and I will be able to make an informed decision on how well the unit performs following burn-in. I certainly hope it is all I have read it is because it will be a killer unit, will keep you all posted. I do have great expectations.

[GreenLeo]

Originally Posted by Bredin

What do you guys think of this setup?
Foobar2000->ASIO->ESI Maya44->Chord Indigo (RCA->BNC)->Isabellina HPA-> Moon-Audio Black Dragon-> Alessandro MS-PRO.

I own Alessandro MSPRO with Black Dragon, and foobar2000 with ASIO .
I will buy a DAC, coax cable and soundcard the 25-30th.

I was going for a neutral setup, but the question is: Where am I heading now?
And will everything comp fine? 99.99% of my music collection is 16bit/44.1Khz music.

RCA->BNC may not be the best idea as I'm told due to the impedance matching.

One of the best sound coming out from Isabellina DAC that I read from the impressions of other members in this forum and other forums was using an Off Ramp Turbo V3 as the USB input and output to the RCA input of the Isabellina. The guy who did this was actually an owner of an Isabella so he actually likes Vinnie's product a lot. However he did pointed out that this way the the DAC of the Isabella sounds better.

Maybe KingStyles may share his impressions here?

[Bredin]

The reason why I want to use a RCA->BNC cable is that the soundcard got a RCA coax out, and the isabellina got the BNC in. Feels like it would work good with the right cable. Would be weird if Chords 395£ digital cable wouldn't be good. It says on the webpage that the isabellina hpa uses the same dac as isabellina. And the isabellina says:
"Coaxial (s/pdif) with a Vampire 75-ohm BNC input jack followed by a digital pulse isolation transformer that isolates noise and gives precision 75-ohm impedance matching. " Why would the impedance of a rca->bnc cable be wrong?
And does it also use the same kind of charger? It got a different connector, but will it to work with 230V 60Hz?

I can't afford anything that cost more than the isabellina hpa, it's hardly like I can afford that. I think my bank account balance will be like -800$ XD. Maybe I just stick with the Isabellina HPA with fixed outputs so I can use it as dac for another headphone amplifier or stereo amplifier later.

[KingStyles]

I thought I would take a little time to a/b the isabellina with stock usb vs the locus usb and also do some comparisons with the offramp in the circuit and it not in the circuit. I currently have about 210 hours on my isabellina and 160 hours on my offramp.
Stock USB cable vs Locus axis USB cable
I am using the stock usb that comes with the isabellina and then switching it with the locus axis usb cable. This is done by having both cables plugged into my laptop and then just swapping the other end of the cables in the usb input on the isabellina. I am using my d7000’s since I know the signature of that can the best. When I listen to the stock cable there is a little less dynamics and the tone seems brighter. It seems that the sound is a bit less natural coming from the stock. The axis cable seems to have just a smidge more dynamics and detail with a slight increase in soundstage. The music seems to have a more natural tone to it. My thoughts on the axis cable is it did bring some better things to the table, but for 500-700 dollars, I dont think it is worth the purchase for just headphone use. For speaker use with more power and sound, I would think though it might be worth the price since the differences would probably show up more. I don’t know since I don’t have a speaker setup or another more powerful headphone amp to see.
With Offramp3 vs without Offramp3
I am using the locus usb cable and switching it between the offramp and the isabellina. My computer is setup for this one with directsound output at 16/44. I am using the directsound rather than the wasapi output for this comparison so I don’t have to go into the driver and mediacenter to change settings. You have to have to have the setting the same to get wasapi to work. Since the offramp driver is set for 24/44 at its lowest setting and the isabellina setting will only let me use 16/44, directsound is easier for comparisons. The directsound driver lets me set playback at 16/44 and just let the offramp take it automatically to 24/44. Anyways, the first thing I notice when the offramp is in the circuit is the presence of more air and better dynamics. I would say every area has a slight improvement. Detail, soundstage (more front to back improvement than side to side), Better prat and layering. When listening to piano the keys have a smoother decay, less staccato like. Also I would say the tone is richer with more texture. Overall the offramp just helps to bring out more of the isabellina’s good qualities while helping to strengthen some of its weaker points due to its nos nature.
Final thoughts
At this point I am looking into upgrading to the ultraclock and a battery supply for it because I feel that as long as I am using a computer music server that I will always have a great devise for connecting into a variety of dacs , not just usb ones. With its usb input and xlr output it will be able to attach to just about all the high end dacs out there thus worth investing in upgrading it further. The isabellina HPA is a great dac with many good qualities that set it aside from the rest of the dacs in its price range. Among which is its nice tone, good bass, black background, and plenty of prat with good dynamics. With a good headphone out that makes my d7000s sound so sweet, and allows the hd800 to be tamed to a point where they are really enjoyable especially when playing classical and jazz. I am very happy with the purchase and cant wait to see what it sounds like with a nice tube amp dropped on the end of it. happy listening.

[KingStyles]

The reason why I want to use a RCA->BNC cable is that the soundcard got a RCA coax out, and the isabellina got the BNC in. Feels like it would work good with the right cable. Would be weird if Chords 395£ digital cable wouldn't be good. It says on the webpage that the isabellina hpa uses the same dac as isabellina. And the isabellina says:

Personally, for a lot cheaper I would buy a dhlabs cable. You can have it configured with any combination of rca or bnc or mixed ends. The reviews on it have always stacked up as almost equals with some of the best digital cables. Here is a link.
DH Labs D-75

[Bredin]

Originally Posted by KingStyles

Personally, for a lot cheaper I would buy a dhlabs cable. You can have it configured with any combination of rca or bnc or mixed ends. The reviews on it have always stacked up as almost equals with some of the best digital cables. Here is a link.
DH Labs D-75

Just look at it. Can you imagine how much placebo a cable like that will give? I'm sure that I'll think that the system will sound much better

[mrarroyo]

As an option you could buy an RCA to BNC cable from Blue Jean Cable and save some money! Digital Audio Cables at Blue Jeans Cable

[jallis]

I have had my Isabellina HPA(i refer to my Isabellina HPA as "Izzy"for short)now for just over two weeks and it has about 200+ hours on it thru the supplied usb cable. i continue to listen thru my Sennheiser HD800. i also have a pair of HD600s but i prefer the soundfield of the HD800s much, much better. My source continues to be music recorded on my windows 7 machine using Windows Media Player 12. it is ripped at WMA lossless.
As i said last time i posted, i have been rediscovering my SHMCD(japan) set of Led Zeppelin with Izzy and my hd800. The combo has been in my opinion been outstanding in bringing to my ears the sound the way the artist intended for me to hear it. I have been able to hear the personal inflections and nuances in so many ways that is hard to describe to you.
I've have also been listening to very early Scorpions, Deep Purple, James Gang, Ted Nugent, etc. to much delight. again rediscovering the songs as if hearing them the first time all over again. i have found myself drifting into the music moreso than i ever done in the past.
Again when listening to groups like the Rippingtons, Tangerine dream, Asrha(Manual Gottsching.. fantastic german instrumentalist.. go to ashra.com), Al Di Meola, etc.. just to name a few. Time and time again, i when listen to something i have listened to many times in the past, hearing again thru my Izzy, i get that great feeling of hearing for the first time and again being able to hear all the nuances i haven't heard before. i could go on and on but suffice it to say, i love my izzy...err... Isabellina HPA!
I find my Izzy to be the perfect solution to my search for an all in one system that only requires a connection to a computer and a pair of headphones to enjoy it all by. i just can not imagine having a need to hook up any other dac's, amps, etc. to make it sound any better than it already is, but, that is my opinion.
those of you that truly have enjoyed listening to your Isabellina HPA know what I'm talking about.
Have a good weekend everyone.
cheers

[Vinnie R.]

All,

Thanks for your continued feecback (and I hope to hear from quite a few more HPA owners who have not posted).

Here is a thread that you might find interestings regarding a listening session this morning with the Isabellina HPA, Sony R10s, Senn HD800s, and Denon D7000s:

Today's "mini meet" at Red Wine Audio - with Isabellina HPA and some nice cans!

Thanks again for all your interest and support!

Have a nice weekend,

Vinnie

[mrarroyo]

My Isabellina HPA has about 190 hours of burn in, of which about 60 are via the USB and the other 130 via coaxial. I will say that the last 25 hours have brought a pronounced change in smoothness and musicality.

Before I felt something was missing, kind of sterile and un-involving as compared w/ the way it sounds now. Sadly I could not figure out what was the issue until it resolved it self, funny if you ask me. If this continuous to evolve it will be a very nice sounding unit when it reaches the 300 hour mark and then I will be able to do a side by side of the DAC section by feeding it and my other current DAC into a Singlepower MPX3 w/ dual inputs.

Yes, to repeat myself the three main areas improved in the last 25 hours are: Musicality, Smoothness, and Listener Involvement. BTW these comments are w/ AKG K501, Ultrasone HFI-780, and Denon AH-D5000. All three have been modified.

More to come.

[decur]

hi miguel,
it sounds like the v-caps are coming alive

[mrarroyo]

Yes it does! I have a big smile on my face. Of course I have a big question/favor to ask Vinnie but I will wait till the unit has 300 hours of burn-in.

[NewMexiCat]

I have a "burn-in" question that was touched on by Miguel, but maybe Vinnie could weigh in with his thoughts.

I will be listening to the Isabellina almost exclusively via USB to my Mac Mini, but I would prefer to burn-in the Isabellina using a different source via either optical or BNC, as I really don't want to throw an extra 200 hours of wear on my computer's hard drive if I don't have to. Will I accomplish burn-in for USB if I do it through another input, or do I need to burn-in via USB?

[Vinnie R.]

Originally Posted by NewMexiCat

I have a "burn-in" question that was touched on by Miguel, but maybe Vinnie could weigh in with his thoughts.

I will be listening to the Isabellina almost exclusively via USB to my Mac Mini, but I would prefer to burn-in the Isabellina using a different source via either optical or BNC, as I really don't want to throw an extra 200 hours of wear on my computer's hard drive if I don't have to. Will I accomplish burn-in for USB if I do it through another input, or do I need to burn-in via USB?

Hi NewMexiCat,

You don't need to use USB to burn-in - the coax and optical will also do the trick. Essentially, the USB, coax, and optical inputs feed digital data to the NOS dac chip. From that point on (DAC, analog output stage, volume control, vcaps, headphone amp, etc.) it is all the same and you are burning-in the same entire signal path.

So might argue that w/o using the USB input, then you are not burning-in your USB cable - but I'd say the majority of the burn-in of the unit starts with the actual NOS Dac chip and everything that follows it. So go ahead and use one of the spdif inputs and a cheap dvd/cd player as a transport.

hi miguel,
it sounds like the v-caps are coming alive

The Vcaps certainly take their time, but believe me, in this design we found them to really be the best in terms of resolution, clarity, tone, and having the best overall synergy with the headphone amp. We did this research a while back with the ALO Amphora, and I knew (and Amphora customers can testify) that the burn-in of the Vcaps is long, but in the end of all the burn-in you will be well-rewarded with these!

Hi Miguel (and everyone!),

Thanks for posting your updates!

Best regards,

Vinnie

[mrarroyo]

My Isabellina HPA has about 293 hours of burn-in, tomorrow I will try to put in a short paragraph the last thoughts on the unit. By then the burn-in would be over with 310 hours.

So far I can say ...