I was fortunate to be accepted to the Heron 5 beta test group. This is one of many amazing programs that is supported only because of the proper participation of the members of Head-Fi. Thank you Airist Audio.
The Heron 5 arrived at my house in a the well protected double-sleeved cardboard box. Inside, the Heron 5 was protected with custom cut foam that adequately protected the amplifier from potential shipping damage. Given that this amplifier has been shipped to multiple locations, it is proof to me that the packaging is adequate to make sure that your purchase will arrive safely.
Included in the box is the Heron 5 amplifier, an owner's manual and a nicely upgraded power cable. Boy this amplifier has some heft to it. I added the Heron 5 to my simple setup which consists of an 11" MacBook Air feeding a Schiit Wyrd through a Grace m9xx to a modded HD 700. I connected the Heron 5 to the SE output of the Grace setting the output to a unity gain.
The fit and finish of the Heron 5 is excellent. My only nitpick is the headphone jacks which are not secured to the front faceplate. There is a little wiggle to the connectors. All the other connectors are nice and solid. I really like the large and easy to use volume control. Powering on the Heron 5 is relatively quiet and adds a subtle Amber/ red line to glow on the volume knob. This amplifier is a single ended amplifier through and through. On the input side, you can use either single ended or balanced. However, the balanced inputs are just converted back to single ended. So don’t feel if you are not using the balanced inputs you are missing anything, you are not. Out the output side, things are a little more different. There is a “High” and “Low” 1/4” plugs for the headphone outputs. The manual was kind of confusing as to what high and low reference. Is it gain? Or, was it the impedance of the headphones? After plugging into to both connectors, I liked the “Low” connector better. Your headphones may benefit from the “High” setting, so I recommend testing for yourself.
I let the Heron 5 warm up for several hours before I began my listing. Since I was way down the list of beta testers I figured it would be safe to say the amplifier has "broken in". That is, if you believe that sort of thing happens on electrical components. I do believe that products perform best when their electrical components reach their thermal stability. After warming up, The Heron 5 sounds great. The amplifier sounds quite effortless. There does not seem to be an emphasis on any particular area of the frequency spectrum. The highs are extended without sounding blown out or splashy. the mid are quite smooth. If I was going to pick on the the overall frequency balance, I would say the bass sounded a little soft or slightly mushy with my set-up. Your milage may vary. Never did the amplifier sound like it was working hard. Also, the amplifier never really got that hot.
As much as I liked the frequency balance and the effortless of the amplifier, I disliked the performance of the volume control. This is difficult to explain because I like the ergonomics of the volume knob, but, the performance is another thing. First, when first powering the amplifier on, I noticed some scratching noise when rotating the volume on the lowest three detents. This problem did seem to lessen as the amplifier warmed up. It did not go away completely. Granted, once the volume was set, the noise is not present. It only happens when going from one detent to another. Another issue to me was the volume control has bigger than ideal volume jumps between detents. There were sometimes where I couldn’t get the output I wanted. I felt like Goldilocks and trying to find the right temperature porridge. This is not a deal breaker, but I would have liked smaller jumps in output. This brings me to the biggest annoyance. The last detent. There is a HUGE repeat HUGE jump in volume on the last volume detent. From what I could tell this was around a 8dB jump! I had been playing with some equalization. As a result, the maximum gain overall was reduced to prevent digital clipping. The first time I got to the last detent it scared the **** out of me. Like I broke something. It is a definite “11” on the volume control. It did not distort, which was good, but damn, that could be a potential to damage gear, hearing etc. This should be fixed before released to the public.
Before I continue the review, I need to take a step back. I am a former product manager for an audio company. I have been involved in the development of speakers, amplifiers and processors. I was forced to believe that most amplifiers, when unclipped, sounds the same. I have taken the ABX and failed just like everyone else. I do believe amplifiers sound different in how they perform near their maximum. How they clip by running out of current or voltage the sound quality difference is obvious. It is this point that brings me back to the Heron 5. From the first moment, the amplifier sounded different. Not in frequency response, but in imaging, soundstage, space around instruments. This is not a frequency response thing but a real difference in the feeling of being there.
Up to this point in time, I just accepted that most headphones differed in width and height of the stereo image. Depth, while there, was just limited in the headphone format. Now the Heron 5 comes in and I am forced to re-evaluate. The depth from this combination is quite staggering. Sounding more like they way my Apogee home audio speakers present depth. Not depth behind but in front! This is the most impressive aspect of the Heron 5. Live recorded tracks like Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Session, or Sara Bareilles - Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse just came alive. Even studio recorded albums like Norah Jones - Not Too Late or guilty pleasure electronic music like Kraftwerk - The Mix sounded amazing on the Heron 5. With its effortless sound and amazing soundstage, I found myself listing to entire albums, just enjoying the music. Isn’t that what it is all about?
Obviously, when looking to upgrade, your audio system, price to performance does play a part in the decision making process. This is where I struggle with the Heron 5. At the original price of 2k. I would be hesitant to drop that kind of money on a single ended amplifier that does not have the features of other amplifiers. The Schiit Ragnarok is only $1699 for comparison. However, I just learned that the price of the Heron 5 was reduced to $1000. Is this a show special or the final price? If they fixed the volume control (At least the noise and big jump on the last detent), I could see wanting and recommending this amplifier for someone who doesn’t care about balanced inputs or outputs. The imaging and soundstage are that impressive.
The Heron 5 arrived at my house in a the well protected double-sleeved cardboard box. Inside, the Heron 5 was protected with custom cut foam that adequately protected the amplifier from potential shipping damage. Given that this amplifier has been shipped to multiple locations, it is proof to me that the packaging is adequate to make sure that your purchase will arrive safely.
Included in the box is the Heron 5 amplifier, an owner's manual and a nicely upgraded power cable. Boy this amplifier has some heft to it. I added the Heron 5 to my simple setup which consists of an 11" MacBook Air feeding a Schiit Wyrd through a Grace m9xx to a modded HD 700. I connected the Heron 5 to the SE output of the Grace setting the output to a unity gain.
The fit and finish of the Heron 5 is excellent. My only nitpick is the headphone jacks which are not secured to the front faceplate. There is a little wiggle to the connectors. All the other connectors are nice and solid. I really like the large and easy to use volume control. Powering on the Heron 5 is relatively quiet and adds a subtle Amber/ red line to glow on the volume knob. This amplifier is a single ended amplifier through and through. On the input side, you can use either single ended or balanced. However, the balanced inputs are just converted back to single ended. So don’t feel if you are not using the balanced inputs you are missing anything, you are not. Out the output side, things are a little more different. There is a “High” and “Low” 1/4” plugs for the headphone outputs. The manual was kind of confusing as to what high and low reference. Is it gain? Or, was it the impedance of the headphones? After plugging into to both connectors, I liked the “Low” connector better. Your headphones may benefit from the “High” setting, so I recommend testing for yourself.
I let the Heron 5 warm up for several hours before I began my listing. Since I was way down the list of beta testers I figured it would be safe to say the amplifier has "broken in". That is, if you believe that sort of thing happens on electrical components. I do believe that products perform best when their electrical components reach their thermal stability. After warming up, The Heron 5 sounds great. The amplifier sounds quite effortless. There does not seem to be an emphasis on any particular area of the frequency spectrum. The highs are extended without sounding blown out or splashy. the mid are quite smooth. If I was going to pick on the the overall frequency balance, I would say the bass sounded a little soft or slightly mushy with my set-up. Your milage may vary. Never did the amplifier sound like it was working hard. Also, the amplifier never really got that hot.
As much as I liked the frequency balance and the effortless of the amplifier, I disliked the performance of the volume control. This is difficult to explain because I like the ergonomics of the volume knob, but, the performance is another thing. First, when first powering the amplifier on, I noticed some scratching noise when rotating the volume on the lowest three detents. This problem did seem to lessen as the amplifier warmed up. It did not go away completely. Granted, once the volume was set, the noise is not present. It only happens when going from one detent to another. Another issue to me was the volume control has bigger than ideal volume jumps between detents. There were sometimes where I couldn’t get the output I wanted. I felt like Goldilocks and trying to find the right temperature porridge. This is not a deal breaker, but I would have liked smaller jumps in output. This brings me to the biggest annoyance. The last detent. There is a HUGE repeat HUGE jump in volume on the last volume detent. From what I could tell this was around a 8dB jump! I had been playing with some equalization. As a result, the maximum gain overall was reduced to prevent digital clipping. The first time I got to the last detent it scared the **** out of me. Like I broke something. It is a definite “11” on the volume control. It did not distort, which was good, but damn, that could be a potential to damage gear, hearing etc. This should be fixed before released to the public.
Before I continue the review, I need to take a step back. I am a former product manager for an audio company. I have been involved in the development of speakers, amplifiers and processors. I was forced to believe that most amplifiers, when unclipped, sounds the same. I have taken the ABX and failed just like everyone else. I do believe amplifiers sound different in how they perform near their maximum. How they clip by running out of current or voltage the sound quality difference is obvious. It is this point that brings me back to the Heron 5. From the first moment, the amplifier sounded different. Not in frequency response, but in imaging, soundstage, space around instruments. This is not a frequency response thing but a real difference in the feeling of being there.
Up to this point in time, I just accepted that most headphones differed in width and height of the stereo image. Depth, while there, was just limited in the headphone format. Now the Heron 5 comes in and I am forced to re-evaluate. The depth from this combination is quite staggering. Sounding more like they way my Apogee home audio speakers present depth. Not depth behind but in front! This is the most impressive aspect of the Heron 5. Live recorded tracks like Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Session, or Sara Bareilles - Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse just came alive. Even studio recorded albums like Norah Jones - Not Too Late or guilty pleasure electronic music like Kraftwerk - The Mix sounded amazing on the Heron 5. With its effortless sound and amazing soundstage, I found myself listing to entire albums, just enjoying the music. Isn’t that what it is all about?
Obviously, when looking to upgrade, your audio system, price to performance does play a part in the decision making process. This is where I struggle with the Heron 5. At the original price of 2k. I would be hesitant to drop that kind of money on a single ended amplifier that does not have the features of other amplifiers. The Schiit Ragnarok is only $1699 for comparison. However, I just learned that the price of the Heron 5 was reduced to $1000. Is this a show special or the final price? If they fixed the volume control (At least the noise and big jump on the last detent), I could see wanting and recommending this amplifier for someone who doesn’t care about balanced inputs or outputs. The imaging and soundstage are that impressive.
