This thing rocks.
So I ended up purchasing this little baby out of sheer curiosity. I needed a bedside Amp/Dac set up, and as touched upon above, was contemplating between another O2+ODAC, a JDS The Element, Schiit Jotunheim, and this Fostex HP-A4BL. The Fostex was the cheapest to include a balanced XLR output on top of an optical out (for connecting to the PS4 Pro/PS4 or Xbox One), so I thought why not. You can find it from between £360 and £375, which makes it fairly solid value. It's only $350 in the US, which is even better value for money.
The Schiit Jotunheim was the next cheapest attractive alternative to include balanced out, but doesn't have an optical in, and is also £90 more expensive at todays exchange rate (including shipping), but not including taxes (a possible 20% VAT on top). Granted specs wise it's a lot more powerful.
Initial impressions.
After some brief testing with the HP-A4BL yesterday, I cannot
believe this Dac/Amp combo is not more popular. Why this thread is only on page 5, whilst the Jotunheim's is on page 177, I'm not quite sure.
In terms of sound quality, it is every bit as competent as the Violectric V200+Rein Audio X-DAC, the X-DAC+O2 and the O2+ODAC. There are miniscule differences between some of them, depending on the connection type and combination set up used, but it's generally a case of very minor, oft insignificant, other times nonexistent one's that don't massively sway things either way.
Importance of volume matched A/B'ing, including blind.
Essentially the HP-A4BL on it's own (internal DAC and amp) via USB, sounds
exactly the same as the Rein Audio X-DAC + Objective 2 combo via Optical, which is one of my fave combinations that I own or have tested (including versus other much more expensive gear I either own, or no longer own). And for the record, I A/B blind tested multiple times (with the help of my wife), and volume matched via mic readings before hand. Before I did that, placebo was well and truly kicking in (including when comparing the two different digital filter modes).
The mind is a powerful thing. Trust me, until you've persistently A/B tested with extreme analytical concentration, with as close to perfectly volume matched set up's as possible, do not think you can accurately gauge sonic differences. Simply put, you can't. Even a 5-10% difference in volume between set ups can make
all the difference.
USB vs Optical?
Another good thing about the HP-A4BL is that out of my Macbook Pro Retina, just as with my X-DAC, there does seem to be a very slight difference in signature between Optical and USB (based on rudimentary preliminary testing), which is good because it allows me to switch between neutral and ever so slightly warm.
Power.
One slight negative however is that the HP-A4BL doesn't quite have the same amount of power as my O2, nor my Violectric V200. That said, it still has more than enough for my use, and is sufficient enough to power the MDR-Z1R's, HD800's and T1's. With the Z1R's I don't go need to beyond half volume on low gain, and with the other two, I don't even get to half way on the volume knob in high gain, In other words, there's more than enough juice for real world use.
For now.
I'll go in to more detail in my subsequent review, including comparisons with all the different combos I've compared, but for now I'd like to do more tests, including more blind A/B one's. I haven't even gotten around to testing the balanced out yet, which I'm looking forward to.
In conclusion ahead of my review though, just go buy this amp/dac. For the money you simply cannot go wrong.
Pic.
Here's a cheeky mobile snap. Apologies for the ugly white cardboard box, just waiting for my new Oak bedside draw to be delivered!
