Yamamoto Sound Craft HA-02 - Page 3

Not the sort of news I wanted to hear, by my countdown my amp should have been ready within the next week or so, still hard to argue against perfection.
Been stocking up a few sets of the 408As, cant believe how small they are.
Back to reading the 6 Moons review for another few weeks I guess.

Ah, that makes sense. I've noticed you have eye for the beautiful in audio equipment as well as great sound. So, what nice source and cans will you artistically pair this with at the next meet?

Ah, boom, you caught me.

I was thinking it will pair well with the AT woodies (W2002 and 11JPN), the L3000s, and perhaps a slice of pie.

Will be really fun to contrast it with the Extreme with whatever tube set you've decided is best for that beast.

What type of pie would go best? I just got a killer recipe from a nice Irish lady down the street: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. I think the coloration and general tone might be off a bit though for the HA-02, but it's perfect for the Extreme! I'll perfect pie/amp synergy by the time we meet again, and bake something special just for you.

According to Mr Yamamotos original estimate my amp was due to be finished about now so I mailed him a couple of days back and had this reply.

"We are behind in time for delivery for a while for the vacation of the beginning of the year.
The time for delivery of your amplifier will become first in February.
Please wait till then.
I am sorry that time for delivery is overdue. "

Regards
Shigeki Yamamoto
Yamamoto Sound Craft Corp. Japan
I had a hunch that the holiday period might knock things back abit...oh well,only a couple more weeks ,not long and looks like I'll have some 701s as well as my other phones to try them with. Going by the resounding silence no one else has their amp yet either.

Hi guys,

That is a truly beautiful amplifier. I am astonished that something built so beautifully seems so reasonably priced, especially as the company has developed a reputation for outstanding performance as well. It makes me wonder what the Qualia would sound like, given Srajan Ebaen's comments about image density. I will be very interested to hear other comments on sound quality once they start arriving.

I need to downsize my system and all I can think about now is cutting holes in cabinets to make this fit without kinking cables!

Col

Hello Gents,

First post here, so be gentle.

I picked up the Yammy about 2 months ago and I am just loving it. Seems to work best with my ATH W1000's. Although the combo seems a little lacking in the bass as compared to my other rigs.

Build quality is superb. Sound is quintessential Yamamoto - smooth, airy, and detailed. Dealing directly with Yamamoto San was a real pleasure. He answered all my questions very quickly. Took about 3 weeks from initial e-mail to delivery (in Hong Kong).

This is definately a piece I will, Lord willing, hold onto for a long time .

Looking forward to trying it out on my new Zu Tones that should arrive soon.

Cheers,
Garry

PS - Pics of my HA-02 . . . http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...9390&read&3&4&

Lucky you(envious tone in voice)Must have placed your order before the the 6Moons review and the initial HeadFi notice, I dont think anyone here who ordered late November on has received theirs yet.
It's going to be interesting to see how it mates with other phones besides the W1000,hopefully my 701s will be here shortly and I'll have a few hours on them when the HA-02 arrives.Do you think the ATs are better with it than the 701s?I agree that Mr Yamamoto is very good to deal with, his replies to me have always been prompt.
Back to re-reading the 6 moons review...at least I have the Mapletree to console me.

Guys,

I have just contacted Jacmusic who are the German/European distributors. I expect them to say there will be a long delay in filling an order but I live in hope. Once I know when it will arrive I can start cutting holes for the cables...

Keep telling myself "it's much smaller than the RP0101 and the dac isn't too big..."

Col

Welcome to Head-Fi, but looks like you've been a busy headphone user already.

I see you have the Cayin HA-1A headphone amp. Could you compare the Yammy to the Cayin driving your K701 and AT? Does Yammy have enough power to drive K701 properly?

Tuatara / JonL

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Trying my best to answer your questions - my thoughts . . .

ATH-W1000 w/ Yamamoto

IMO, the Yamamoto works best with the W1000 and vice-versa in the sense that the W1000's didn't do it for me with the other amps. Having bought the W1000's before the Yammy, I was actually thinking of selling them. They were very good with my other amps, just not great. With the Yamamoto, it becomes really clear as to why some really like the W1000's. Without trying to exaggerate, the clarity and synergy of the W1000 and Yamamoto is scary good.

Srajan is 110% correct when describing how well they work together. IMO, they have the best synergy I've ever experienced between two components-period - perhaps it's the (Japanese) way both are voiced? While they don't hit the lowest octave, what they do, they do sublimely. Detail is eye-opening. The decay of notes is amazing, something not experienced to the same degree with the other amps. Like Srajan posits, sound rolls out like spring water, pure and clean, almost sounding unamplified. Soundstage with this combo is very precise and focused - it's very easy to pick out where voices / instruments are in the mix. Best music with this combo - Solo vocals and instrumentals / fast paced pop (as long as it's not too bass heavy) / easy listening.

ATH W1000 w/ Cayin HA-1A

I found the W1000's with the Cayin to sound a bit too etched for my tastes. On my PS Audio GCHA, they sounded just too hard/cold. Despite the fact that you can match adjust the impedence on the Cayin, this combo never seemed to gel to my satisfaction. That said, the Cayin, in Triode mode, was the best with the W1000's.

AKG 701 w/ Yamamoto HA-02

IME, the 701's at lower volumes and soft music they were OK on the Yamamoto, however, for quicker tempo / rock, the Yammy just did not seem to have enough to drive it at the lower levels/octives. I found that for rock and classical, things sounded a bit dark. Though, if I hadn't heard the W1000 and the Yammy, it probably would have been less obvious.

AKG 701 w/ Cayin HA-1A

The 701's shine with the Cayin due to the sheer grunt it puts out in ultralinear. A lot of folks seem to like the Cayin in Triode, but for my taste, ultralinear was best with the AKG 701's. While this combo didn't have the same degree of detail as the all Japanese combo, there is quite a bit of detail. Sound is very balanced with a degree of warmth. Soundstage is broader and more extended vis a vis the ATH/Yammy. Best music with this combo - classical / hard rock.

In short, given my tastes and experience, here's how I would pair things:

ATH-W1000 & Yamamoto HA-02
AKG 701 & Cayin HA-1A
Senn HD650 & PS Audio GCHA

In my opinion, these amp and cans pairings have the best natural synergy that seems to complement their respective sensitivity & power, detail & soundstage, and voicing & range.

Hope this helps.

PS - Haven't done any tube rolling with the Cayin yet - perhaps this will affect my findings - I'll keep you posted.

Really nice setup and pics. I love that leather chair. Perfect for extended listening sessions. Very nice impressions of the HA-02. Not many on this forum. I'm not a big believer in synergy, but you seemed convinced of it. And if the HA-02 is headphone sensitive, then that would make it quite a limited amp, especially since I don't own any ATH phones.

Welcome aboard.

I too prefer the Cayin in UL mode, so I'm not surprised. I don't own the Cayin, but I listen to headphones via Almarro A205a MkII, which uses one 12AX7 and 2 EL84. Cayin uses one 12AX7, one 12AU7, and 2 EL84 as you know.

I have pretty much listened to every notable 12AU7/5814a type and am getting there with 12AX7/ECC83/EL84. You can google the usual tube rolling suspects, some of which are $$$, but I would alert you to a couple of tubes I've found to be exceptional.

One is Valvo ECC83, which is not much talked about, but this one is a zinger, at least in my Almarro.

Raytheon (and/or CBS) 5814A (NOT windmill getter) is another excellent tube that can be had for less than the really famous tubes.

EL84 is a funny animal b/c when the small driver tube is selected well (see above), the lowly Sovtek EL84 (not M) sounds utterly fantastic. Yup, it's a puzzle, but right now I prefer the Sovtek to my Amperex Holland EL84, Telefunken diamond-bottom, Yugo Ei, etc. Warning: you cannot use Sovtek signal tube (12AX7 and/or 12AU7) AND Sovtek output tube at the SAME time without hurting something..

Vcoheda,


Thanks for the warm welcome and I am glad that you like the setup.

Believe it or not, I really wasn't a big believer in "synergy" per se. However, having three rigs readily available for A-Bing (should that be A-B-Cing ??) after mixing and matching, it seemed fairly clear that there was something to it. Quite honestly it took me a bit by surprise. That said, I asked my 15 year daughter to do the same comparo with the three setups. Not telling her my preference, she came to the exact same conclusion. Granted not all that scientific - coincidence - luck ~ who knows ?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the Yamamoto is limited powerwise save for not having the very deepest bass . . . if you weren't looking for deep bass, you might very well miss it and be just as happy. Though I didn't mention it earlier, in my experience with the Yammy and the Senns, the 650's fared better than 701's, just had to turn the volume up a bit more than the usual 9:00, say to 10-11:00. At 9:00 with the W1000 and 10-11:00 with the Senns & AKG's respectively, things were more than loud enough.

To me, it seems that the most limited component in this mix of amps and cans would be the ATH-W1000 due to its slightly tilted up higher end. IMO it really needs the right amp to bring out its best. As with Yammy and the bass, if you had not the others, surely the W1000's would likely suit many.

Let's put it this way . . . right now if I had to keep just one of these rigs, it would be the ATH and Yamamoto . . . this, despite how much I love the other two combo's.

Cheers,
Garry

JonL,

Thanks for the advice and warning re: the Sovteks.

BTW - you're one lucky devil having the Almarro driving the 701's. When I recently purchased my Zu Tones, the dealer, whom also carries Almarro, was using the Almarro A205a MkII to drive Zu Definitions . Despite knowing that the Zu Def's are 101dB sensitive, the control it had over them was nothing short of amazing.

They must sound great with the 701's! I'll have to go back there and demo mine - startin' to get that "empty out your wallet" feeling again . . . must resist, must resist .

Cheers,
Garry