Just Audio AHA-120 Appreciation Thread - Page 2

That's exactly what I thought - we are both extremely sick human beings who need to get out a lot more often !

Of course, its not the only way to spend silly amounts of money on portable amps -

http://aloaudio.com/setups/

I guess you save on postage, but Australian Customs would love to whack duty on any of the above. 

I have them all, look at my profile photos. :P

AHA-120 sounds great, same goes for the L3, the only thing is that the AHA-120 doesn't have the power to power the higher impedance and the planar dynamic headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imackler 

That is sooo awesome. What is your go to with the HD650?

I would say at the moment since I got the ALO RX Mk3, that would be the amplifier that I enjoy the most because of the good voltage swing with it because of the balanced output.

I just got my hands on a second hand AHA-120 and I am enjoying it very much these days. I can not remember having such a fulfilling sound from a portable amp since I had my old brick size Lisa III. In fact they remind me of each other. The Quickstep the iQube are very good amplifiers but the AHA-120 has soul. I am going to do some more listening and comparing between the three. the main reason I bought the AHA-120 was that after I got a pair if TZAR 350 IEM's I needed an amplifier with more power. I havn't used it with my TZAR 350 yet because I can not get my Beyerdynamic T5p of my head...WOW they are good with the AHA-120. 

I got it from a user on our Danish head-fi community - www.hoved-fi.dk. My first experience of the AHA-120 was at a loaner tour in Denmark and I was blown away by it from the first moment. I have enough portable amplifiers so I had to convince myself NOT to buy it immediately. So when I saw it up for sale I had to get it. As it is now while writing this, listening to it with the T5p, I feel like I could sell everything I have and live with this setup only. The Quickstep and the iQube are great portable amplifiers and I enjoy both of them very much but there is a smooth and warm, soft but very powerful sound from the AHA-120. I am guessing it will have a lot of listening pleasure for the future. The AHA-120 mellows out the somewhat cold and sterile ODAC and makes it sound more natural. 

I have a Meier Concerto + NOS LiTe DAC with a CD player. But it is a desktop system which I rarely use these days even though I sit right next to it with my portable gear... since I got my Quickstep and ODAC to go with my MacBook. During the next couple of weeks I am probably going to do a lot of comparing between the Concerto and the AHA-120. I am not sure the Beyerdynamic T5p is the best headphone to discern which amplifier is best since they are so easily driven. I am looking for a HD600/HD650 again. The Sennheisers require a lot more from an amplifier in order to really shine and the Concerto can do the job and I am guessing the AHA-120 will do that too. 

I would not say it is a big step up but rather a different taste. Both the Quickstep and AHA-120 are powerful portable amplifiers and both can drive full size headphones. The most important is the synergy with the headphones you pair them with. The AHA-120 sounds soft and musical and is not as analytical as the Quickstep. The Quickstep is more tight and feels faster but the soundstage does not feel as big as with the AHA-120. This is mostly with my T5p. When I use DT-1350, which are more bassy and less resolution than T5p the Quickstep is the best match and when I use my TZAR350 the iQube is better sounding.