enjoyed your review and pics. this amp 'looks the business' and has been on my radar too for quite some time. i doubt that i'll ever own one but it's nice to see first hand impressions from someone who does and appreciates its pedigree.
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
up late
project86
Nice review! That Q/A section with Jam seems very familiar to me...
teknorob23
What a feast of a review! Thanks
voja
What a great read. You have great presentation, delivery, and expression. Felt more like a piece of journalism than a review.
John Massaria
Love that review - we thought out and written thank you! Would love to know if you ever tried Ray Samuels Apache
OCC7N
possible get my hands on a total new one?
adydula
John I have not used the Ray Samuels Apache.
adydula
OCC7N,
I would contact PassLabs directly to see availability. They have several folks that are dealers for them AFAIK. I got my unit from Todd the Vinyl Junkie guy. Great person to deal with.
I would contact PassLabs directly to see availability. They have several folks that are dealers for them AFAIK. I got my unit from Todd the Vinyl Junkie guy. Great person to deal with.
Reactcore
Hi
Have you compared this also to a current mode design like Questyle offerings like CMA12, or 600 ?
If never heard one i invite u to try
Have you compared this also to a current mode design like Questyle offerings like CMA12, or 600 ?
If never heard one i invite u to try
adydula
Reactcore,
The CMA 12 is a dac/amp combination? The HPA-1 is of course just an amp.
I am sure its a good device.
The CMA 12 is a dac/amp combination? The HPA-1 is of course just an amp.
I am sure its a good device.
OhMyGodPancakes
They talked about a balanced version a few years ago, but it never got made, such a shame.
adydula
@OhMyGodPancakes
Understand the want for a balanced version. It was discussed but I never heard if it would indeed ever be made.
From what I understand it would be most likely north of $5000 +.
And again is it really needed? YMMV for sure.
Understand the want for a balanced version. It was discussed but I never heard if it would indeed ever be made.
From what I understand it would be most likely north of $5000 +.
And again is it really needed? YMMV for sure.
project86
Yep, per my discussion with the designer Jam Somasundram (which is extensively quoted in this review without attribution...) he felt that the added complexity and cost of going fully balanced would not justify any meager potential improvement in SQ. They did play with various options and build prototypes which did not go anywhere. So the final HPA-1 design, as is, was considered the best, and hit the "sweet spot" they were looking for.
chesebert
I run my gear in SE mode in most cases even if they have balanced out. I just like how SE sounds.
Also you can do a lot worse than the Pass amp, even though the amp is certainly not anywhere near that optimized price performance curve. The Pass is at least competently designed, built and free of BS.
Also you can do a lot worse than the Pass amp, even though the amp is certainly not anywhere near that optimized price performance curve. The Pass is at least competently designed, built and free of BS.
sp33ls
Listening to my upgraded Whammy as I type this... I love it.
What did you think of the BH Mainline compared to the HPA-1 and your WHAMMY?
Great job on this review btw!
What did you think of the BH Mainline compared to the HPA-1 and your WHAMMY?
Great job on this review btw!
adydula
@sp33ls
Gosh, the BB Mainline is also a really excellent headphone amplifier. I wanted to see what the BB TOTL tube head amp was like after having a Crack for a year. I sold it after several months only because of it not being as different than other amps I have had. It was more like a SS amp to me at times. The Whammy is a great SS amp for the bucks its hard to beat and very versatile with the op amp swapping if u like that. Again a good amp but not any better than stuff I have or had. Both of these amps are a lot less costly than the HPA-1. And realistically many would be hard pressed to pay $3500 for the HPA-1 when amps like these are available and others too.
Gosh, the BB Mainline is also a really excellent headphone amplifier. I wanted to see what the BB TOTL tube head amp was like after having a Crack for a year. I sold it after several months only because of it not being as different than other amps I have had. It was more like a SS amp to me at times. The Whammy is a great SS amp for the bucks its hard to beat and very versatile with the op amp swapping if u like that. Again a good amp but not any better than stuff I have or had. Both of these amps are a lot less costly than the HPA-1. And realistically many would be hard pressed to pay $3500 for the HPA-1 when amps like these are available and others too.
adydula
@sp33ls
You could compare specs for power and see if one might be "better" than other for your cans...but amps like the Schiit Jot 2 for the money IMO has enough power for most anything out there as well at a less cost.
But the PassLabs HPA-1 is just a really special, very musical amp to me subjectively with a build that is tank like from the "old" days....when we had thick copper chassis in gear and transformers that weighed 50 lbs or more....
:>)
You could compare specs for power and see if one might be "better" than other for your cans...but amps like the Schiit Jot 2 for the money IMO has enough power for most anything out there as well at a less cost.
But the PassLabs HPA-1 is just a really special, very musical amp to me subjectively with a build that is tank like from the "old" days....when we had thick copper chassis in gear and transformers that weighed 50 lbs or more....
:>)
sp33ls
100% agree with everything you said. I now have a Neurochrome HP-1, WHAMMY, and Crackatwoa (having built all three). I am hard pressed to justify spending more, especially since I don't have any hard to drive cans.
I'm a sucker for build quality -- I have a couple of TOTL vintage amps I've restored and my lord, the amount of time assembling everything by hand on these old Pioneer and Sansui's... you just won't find anything like that today.
Enjoy your HPA-1!
I'm a sucker for build quality -- I have a couple of TOTL vintage amps I've restored and my lord, the amount of time assembling everything by hand on these old Pioneer and Sansui's... you just won't find anything like that today.
Enjoy your HPA-1!
John Massaria
love Pass - I had a Whammy and miss it! always loved the HPA1 too great stuff!
