[mr.khali]

Thanks guys, much appreciated. The HA-1 is a very nice piece of kit...it takes a lot these days to impress me, but the Oppo managed to do just that.

Great review Skylab!  I have been looking for something a bit smaller to replace my vintage Sansui amp to clear some room on my desk. How does the Oppo compare to some of the better Pioneer and Marantz receivers?

 

[flatmap]

But fell short of being in the WOF?

I also wondered about this, but realized the Wall of Fame only lists headphones and amps.  Perhaps the issue is
that there's no category for DAC/Amps?

 

[lukeap69]

Hifi-M8 is a amp/DAC so that must not be the reason.

 

[flatmap]

  Hifi-M8 is a amp/DAC so that must not be the reason.

Oh, you're right.  There's the M8 Centrance DAC/Amp in Amplifier category.  
 
So, there's a nice opening in the price curve between the Lake People G 109 ($695) and the fearsome AURALiC TAURUS ($1899).   Apparently, the Oppo ($1199) didn't make the cut.  

 

[Skylab]

But fell short of being in the WOF?

The Wall of Fame isn't updated that instantaneously, guys.

Great review Skylab!  I have been looking for something a bit smaller to replace my vintage Sansui amp to clear some room on my desk. How does the Oppo compare to some of the better Pioneer and Marantz receivers?

It's more neutral than either the Marantz 2270 or 2285 I owned, for sure. It's a bit more neutral than my SX-1980, but the 1980 has an authority driving headphones that almost nothing I've heard really matches. That said, very few people will buy an 80 pound, $2-3000 vintage receiver just for headphone use

 

[Canadian411]

The Wall of Fame isn't updated that instantaneously, guys.
It's more neutral than either the Marantz 2270 or 2285 I owned, for sure. It's a bit more neutral than my SX-1980, but the 1980 has an authority driving headphones that almost nothing I've heard really matches. That said, very few people will buy an 80 pound, $2-3000 vintage receiver just for headphone use

 
Ah.. I've been looking to find SX-1980 locally here in Toronto but no success. It's a very nice amp to own. I am jealous.

 

[youngarthur]

Yet another daft question. Am i right in thinking,i can go from rca/phono outs on the HA 1,to say,CD in on my amp/receiver?. Thanks.( It arrives tomorrow!!!!!.)

 

[Badas]

  Yet another daft question. Am i right in thinking,i can go from rca/phono outs on the HA 1,to say,CD in on my amp/receiver?. Thanks.( It arrives tomorrow!!!!!.)

Yes. Whatever the HA-1 is decoding can be feed to a external device. Like a AVR Amp Receiver. It is a pre-amp. I use both outputs. One to a AVR and one to a Woo tube amp. Works well.

 

[youngarthur]

Thanks for quick reply. Cannot wait to try with my HD 800.Also hoping it will heat the room!. its cold here in N/E Scotland.

 

[Badas]

  Thanks for quick reply. Cannot wait to try with my HD 800.Also hoping it will heat the room!. its cold here in N/E Scotland.

The heat is not as bad as some make out. If you use it for say half an hour it gets on the high side of warm. I wouldn't call it hot. I have other equipment that gets a lot hotter. Then you can use it for hours (last weekend I did a 8 hour session) with no temperature change. It never gets to warm your hands hot.

 

[youngarthur]

I have an old converted Croft,solid Granite walls,so fantastic sound,and no property near me.I might try my Shure 846 with the HA 1. It would seem to have so many uses so looking forward to trying different ways to use it.

 

[Badas]

  I have an old converted Croft,solid Granite walls,so fantastic sound,and no property near me.I might try my Shure 846 with the HA 1. It would seem to have so many uses so looking forward to trying different ways to use it.

Absolutely. I run mine into a Marantz AVR with two Marantz 5 channel power amps connected to it. So in stereo I'm running 2 x 140 watts into each speaker (bi-amped). The Oppo sounded great. I did tweak the treble a bit to my sound signature and then it was amazing.
 

 
Edit: Oh I forgot. 3 subs are also running. Two SVS SB Ultra 13's and one Polk PSW1200.

 

[Mortalcoil]

In case anyone is interested:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/affordable-and-transparent-oppo-ha-1-headphone-amplifierdac

 Just came across this.  Informative and nicely done Skylab.

 

[Hififox]

In case anyone is interested:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/affordable-and-transparent-oppo-ha-1-headphone-amplifierdac

Hi Skylab,
 
I read your review before but now I'm confusing to select an amplifier upgrade from my O2/ODAC. I'm considering about Oppo ha-1, Wooaudio wa7, Violetric v200 and Burson Conductor for K701/HD600. I like a little warmer sound. Could you please give me some suggestions or recommendations?
 
Thank you!

 

[akhyar]

  Hi Skylab,
 
I read your review before but now I'm confusing to select an amplifier upgrade from my O2/ODAC. I'm considering about Oppo ha-1, Wooaudio wa7, Violetric v200 and Burson Conductor for K701/HD600. I like a little warmer sound. Could you please give me some suggestions or recommendations?
 
Thank you!

 
Having owned the WA7 before and currently using the HA-1, to me the WA7 has a warmer sound, while HA-1 is more towards the neutral/clean sounding.
But then my headphones selections are the HD800 and LCD-X, so I'm not sure the pairing of those amps with your cans