[yyzSB]

You don't find it colors the Phi and the Sus too much? Does it considerably smooth out the sound? Its what bothered me with my quick test with regular headphones, but I didn't test for long enough. I sold all of my headphones except for my ribbons and I had to borrow a pair. I'm not convinced I'd enjoy using conventional headphones with the HSA1B.

Im sure my dac isn't the best. I'm thinking of buying a Musetec 005 this week. I'm currently feeding a D1se into the HSA1B.

I recently sold my Topping D90SE. It was a little overrated in my opinion. The Musetec 005 is in a different league compared to the Topping D90SE, Gustard X26 Pro, Audio Mirror Tubadour SE III, and Benchmark DAC3B. I have had all these DACs recently and got rid of all of them except the DAC3B and Musetec 005. The 005 is the best but I do like the DAC3B, just not as much. The 005 is an end-game DAC for me.

I concur about the JotR. An excellent unit at full price and amazing for a used price. I use my unit in the bedroom with a FM tuner and a warm 20-year-old Sony SCD-1 SACD player. It sounds great. Not harsh at all but my sources are naturally a little toned down on the top end so that helps.

BTW - another amp that works great with the SR1a is the NAD M22 V2 (with Musetec 005). I had it with the SR1a for a few days and it was really good. Not as good as my better amps, but for the price it was excellent. I moved the NAD to my KEF LS50 2-channel system.

 

[Shahrose]

You don't find it colors the Phi and the Sus too much? Does it considerably smooth out the sound? Its what bothered me with my quick test with regular headphones, but I didn't test for long enough. I sold all of my headphones except for my ribbons and I had to borrow a pair. I'm not convinced I'd enjoy using conventional headphones with the HSA1B.

Im sure my dac isn't the best. I'm thinking of buying a Musetec 005 this week. I'm currently feeding a D1se into the HSA1B.

Without baffle compensation, the HSA1b does colour the sound of conventional HPs to some extent but mildly so (definitely less than most tube amps I owned/heard). I feel part of it may be your DAC's MO coming through.

 

[Turcoda]

I recently sold my Topping D90SE. It was a little overrated in my opinion. The Musetec 005 is in a different league compared to the Topping D90SE, Gustard X26 Pro, Audio Mirror Tubadour SE III, and Benchmark DAC3B. I have had all these DACs recently and got rid of all of them except the DAC3B and Musetec 005. The 005 is the best but I do like the DAC3B, just not as much. The 005 is an end-game DAC for me.

I concur about the JotR. An excellent unit at full price and amazing for a used price. I use my unit in the bedroom with a FM tuner and a warm 20-year-old Sony SCD-1 SACD player. It sounds great. Not harsh at all but my sources are naturally a little toned down on the top end so that helps.

BTW - another amp that works great with the SR1a is the NAD M22 V2 (with Musetec 005). I had it with the SR1a for a few days and it was really good. Not as good as my better amps, but for the price it was excellent. I moved the NAD to my KEF LS50 2-channel system.

Eh, I almost bought the x26 pro, but was currently considering the SDA-6 Pro. I think you just sold me on the 005. May I ask if its not an overly smooth or analog sounding dac? Are transients fast and is its tonality completely neutral?

If it fits my preference, I'm just gonna splurge and get it. I need a dac that isolates well. I just dont care for certain bells and whistles that come as a premium and are sometimes marketing gimmicks. I couldn't tell if the 005 fell under that category. It certainly sounds like a legit unit and might be an amazing pairing with the raals.

 

[yyzSB]

Eh, I almost bought the x26 pro, but was currently considering the SDA-6 Pro. I think you just sold me on the 005. May I ask if its not an overly smooth or analog sounding dac? Are transients fast and is its tonality completely neutral?

If it fits my preference, I'm just gonna splurge and get it. I need a dac that isolates well. I just dont care for certain bells and whistles that come as a premium and are sometimes marketing gimmicks. I couldn't tell if the 005 fell under that category. It certainly sounds like a legit unit and might be an amazing pairing with the raals.

There is a long thread on Audiogn that gets into the sound details of the 005 that you are asking about.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/musetec-lks-mh-da005-dac (another thread compares it to the Halo May KTE)

The 005 is not smooth, nor it is bright, nor is it analog. The Gustard X26 Pro was a little analog sounding, but that was good with the SR1a. However, the 005 is not analog sounding, yet it is the very best DAC I have had with the SR1a. On my 2-channel setup, Thiel CS3.7 | CODA 07x preamp | KRELL 175 XD amp | Musetec 005, I have reference quality sound. This gear is my final end-game stuff for my office system.

I have a Livingroom system that likely will end up-being all Benchmark once I get the final speakers for it. However, I do plan on getting a second Musetec 005 for the Livingroom system.

 

[Turcoda]

There is a long thread on Audiogn that gets into the sound details of the 005 that you are asking about.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/musetec-lks-mh-da005-dac (another thread compares it to the Halo May KTE)

The 005 is not smooth, nor it is bright, nor is it analog. The Gustard X26 Pro was a little analog sounding, but that was good with the SR1a. However, the 005 is not analog sounding, yet it is the very best DAC I have had with the SR1a. On my 2-channel setup, Thiel CS3.7 | CODA 07x preamp | KRELL 175 XD amp | Musetec 005, I have reference quality sound. This gear is my final end-game stuff for my office system.

I have a Livingroom system that likely will end up-being all Benchmark once I get the final speakers for it. However, I do plan on getting a second Musetec 005 for the Livingroom system.

Thanks, yeah, I read that forum the other day already. I couldn't come to a definitive conclusion on its tonality because some people argued conflicting opinions. Which is fine, but I gotta make sure of it before i go in deep with this level of expensive gear. I think you just sold me on it. Thanks

 

[jlbrach]

actually I find the 1B to be extremely clean with the susvara and abyss...surprisingly so....it isnt as good as the 13r with the susvara for the formula s/powerman with the abyss but it is quite good

 

[yyzSB]

Thanks, yeah, I read that forum the other day already. I couldn't come to a definitive conclusion on its tonality because some people argued conflicting opinions. Which is fine, but I gotta make sure of it before i go in deep with this level of expensive gear. I think you just sold me on it. Thanks

If you get it from these guys you have a 30-day return. They are very good.
https://shenzhenaudio.com/collectio...ac-coaxial-opt-aes-ebu-flagship-audio-decoder

This will go on sale for $2965 close to the next US holiday. Maybe Easter. That is what I paid from the guys. I also bought my Gustard and Topping from them. I am in California (formally Toronto) and shipment was fast and painless.

I even returned the Gustard and got a new replacement. Cost was $125 to do that.

 

[Turcoda]

If you get it from these guys you have a 30-day return. They are very good.
https://shenzhenaudio.com/collectio...ac-coaxial-opt-aes-ebu-flagship-audio-decoder

This will go on sale for $2965 close to the next US holiday. Maybe Easter. That is what I paid from the guys. I also bought my Gustard and Topping from them. I am in California (formally Toronto) and shipment was fast and painless.

I even returned the Gustard and got a new replacement. Cost was $125 to do that.

Thanks! Yeah thats who i was planning on buying from. I think i'll go for it tonight. That's where i got my D2 from, but I didn't care for it and already returned it last month.

So what's your take on the Jot r vs HS1B? Have you heard both, or you're just happy with the Jot R?

 

[jlbrach]

the 1B is better no question and more versatile but for the money the jotr is quite good

 

[yyzSB]

Thanks! Yeah thats who i was planning on buying from. I think i'll go for it tonight. That's where i got my D2 from, but I didn't care for it and already returned it last month.

So what's your take on the Jot r vs HS1B? Have you heard both, or you're just happy with the Jot R?

The JotR is not as good as the HSA-1B (demoed for 2 weeks) but in my situation I did not need it to be the best sound. I just needed something that would work and the JotR does that with the pleasant surprise that is sounds really good.

I also realized that I like my stereo amps more than the headphone amps with the SR1a.

 

[Shahrose]

The JotR is not as good as the HSA-1B (demoed for 2 weeks) but in my situation I did not need it to be the best sound. I just needed something that would work and the JotR does that with the pleasant surprise that is sounds really good.

I also realized that I like my stereo amps more than the headphone amps with the SR1a.

I agree, I strongly prefer speaker amps for the SR1a (and all of my headphones). The HSA1b and JotR serve as travel amps in my case.

 

[Turcoda]

The JotR is not as good as the HSA-1B (demoed for 2 weeks) but in my situation I did not need it to be the best sound. I just needed something that would work and the JotR does that with the pleasant surprise that is sounds really good.

I also realized that I like my stereo amps more than the headphone amps with the SR1a.

Oh really? What about using the HSA1B speaker taps for the SR1A? Don't like them?

Eh the interface box applies its own EQ with bass shelf. I'd rather be able to switch off that EQ.

Do your other amps sound cleaner and more detailed with the interface box over the HSA1B? I kept reading reviews of people preferring the Jot R over speaker amps worth several folds more so I never even wanted to go down that road. Maybe I was wrong not to...

Ive got a Hypex Ncore 500w 8 channel amp here i was saving for a home theater setup, but I decided to not built that setup. Now that I'm no longer using the amp I could always try to buy an interface box and repurpose that amp. No clue how it'll sound compared to the HSA1B though.

 

[yyzSB]

I never tried the HSA-1B speaker taps because my Thiel CS3.7 speakers would kill that amp and I was also of the opinion my KEF LS50's would need more power than the HSA-1b could deliver. I always liked the LS50 with more than 100 watts.

I have bought and sold about 7 amps in the last 18 months trying to get my systems sorted out. If I had never heard the SR1a my life would have been simpler. However, I realized that the SR1a was a must to own, and I wanted it to give me as much enjoyment as my speaker system. I also work late when everyone is asleep. So, a headphone system was a must.

The 2-channel gear I decided to pursue for the SR1a was not easy to get right. For example, I was using the Benchmark DAC3B a lot of the time, until I realized that it was too bright for the SR1a, but great on my speakers I used the Convolution filter from AccurateSound and that helped with some gear, but I did not need it with other gear. So, after a lot of permutations, I have the following setup. This setup is crystal clear, clean, detailed, and non-fatiguing and in my opinion better than the HSA-1b and JotR.

CODA 07x preamp with 2 sets of XLR outputs for 2 stereo amps. I set of XLR's to the Thiel CS3.7 and the other to the SR1a amp. Only one amp is turned ON at any time.
- this SS preamp is referred to as tube like. I tend to like non-tube like gear but I learned the hard way that the SR1a needs a gentle touch on the top end. I like my Benchmark LA4 preamp more with my speakers, but that preamp is awful with the SR1a.

Musetec 005 DAC
- this DAC is the very best DAC I have had with the SR1a. I like my speakers with my Benchmark DAC3B, but the 005 is great with all my gear.

CODA #8 amp
- this amp is very powerful 150 | 300 | 600 @ 8 | 4 | 2 with the first 18 watts in Class A at 8 Ohms. It is a very good amp but bettered by the more expensive CODA #16. Which sounds like my Benchmark AHB2 amp on steroids.

Audience FrontRow speaker cable with SpeakON terminations
- I bought this cable for my speakers but using it with the amp interface box and the SR1a is definitely better than any other speaker cable I have used with the amp interface box. These cables cost more than the SR1a, so a little nuts to use them this way.

Put all of these together and you have a SR1a sound that I think is almost the very best I have ever heard. The very best would be if I replaced the CODA #8 with my KRELL Duo 175XD amp. I actually bought the KRELL solely for the SR1a, but after some listening with my Thiel CS3.7 speakers I could not take them out. It was just too good.

The reason I knew the Krell 175XD would sound good with the SR1a was because I owned the KRELL K-300i integrated amp and it was incredible with the SR1a using lower quality speaker cables than the FrontRow. I sold the K-300i and the guy who bought was floored at how good it was. I am trying to get him to buy a SR1a to pair with the K-300i.

My favorite amp is the Benchmark AHB2. It bothered me that I was never able to get it to sound good with the SR1a. However, I took a flyer on the Schitt Freya+ tube preamp ($1000) | Musetec 005 DAC | Benchmark AHB2 | Benchmark Speaker cable ($200) and this give me a slightly warmer sound than the CODA setup. I cannot say which I like more. When I used the Benchmark DAC3B in this setup, instead of the Musetec 005, the sound was too fatiguing.

My FM tuner and Musetec DAC both allow XLR and RCA outputs to be used at the same time. So, I can have 2 preamps wired up to these 2 sources which eventually go to my 2 RAAL amp interface boxes.

Saying all of this. I never tried the HSA-1b with the Musetec 005 DAC, though my guess is that the gear I setup would still sound better to my ears.

 

[Turcoda]

I never tried the HSA-1B speaker taps because my Thiel CS3.7 speakers would kill that amp and I was also of the opinion my KEF LS50's would need more power than the HSA-1b could deliver. I always liked the LS50 with more than 100 watts.

I have bought and sold about 7 amps in the last 18 months trying to get my systems sorted out. If I had never heard the SR1a my life would have been simpler. However, I realized that the SR1a was a must to own, and I wanted it to give me as much enjoyment as my speaker system. I also work late when everyone is asleep. So, a headphone system was a must.

The 2-channel gear I decided to pursue for the SR1a was not easy to get right. For example, I was using the Benchmark DAC3B a lot of the time, until I realized that it was too bright for the SR1a, but great on my speakers I used the Convolution filter from AccurateSound and that helped with some gear, but I did not need it with other gear. So, after a lot of permutations, I have the following setup. This setup is crystal clear, clean, detailed, and non-fatiguing and in my opinion better than the HSA-1b and JotR.

CODA 07x preamp with 2 sets of XLR outputs for 2 stereo amps. I set of XLR's to the Thiel CS3.7 and the other to the SR1a amp. Only one amp is turned ON at any time.
- this SS preamp is referred to as tube like. I tend to like non-tube like gear but I learned the hard way that the SR1a needs a gentle touch on the top end. I like my Benchmark LA4 preamp more with my speakers, but that preamp is awful with the SR1a.

Musetec 005 DAC
- this DAC is the very best DAC I have had with the SR1a. I like my speakers with my Benchmark DAC3B, but the 005 is great with all my gear.

CODA #8 amp
- this amp is very powerful 150 | 300 | 600 @ 8 | 4 | 2 with the first 18 watts in Class A at 8 Ohms. It is a very good amp but bettered by the more expensive CODA #16. Which sounds like my Benchmark AHB2 amp on steroids.

Audience FrontRow speaker cable with SpeakON terminations
- I bought this cable for my speakers but using it with the amp interface box and the SR1a is definitely better than any other speaker cable I have used with the amp interface box. These cables cost more than the SR1a, so a little nuts to use them this way.

Put all of these together and you have a SR1a sound that I think is almost the very best I have ever heard. The very best would be if I replaced the CODA #8 with my KRELL Duo 175XD amp. I actually bought the KRELL solely for the SR1a, but after some listening with my Thiel CS3.7 speakers I could not take them out. It was just too good.

The reason I knew the Krell 175XD would sound good with the SR1a was because I owned the KRELL K-300i integrated amp and it was incredible with the SR1a using lower quality speaker cables than the FrontRow. I sold the K-300i and the guy who bought was floored at how good it was. I am trying to get him to buy a SR1a to pair with the K-300i.

My favorite amp is the Benchmark AHB2. It bothered me that I was never able to get it to sound good with the SR1a. However, I took a flyer on the Schitt Freya+ tube preamp ($1000) | Musetec 005 DAC | Benchmark AHB2 | Benchmark Speaker cable ($200) and this give me a slightly warmer sound than the CODA setup. I cannot say which I like more. When I used the Benchmark DAC3B in this setup, instead of the Musetec 005, the sound was too fatiguing.

My FM tuner and Musetec DAC both allow XLR and RCA outputs to be used at the same time. So, I can have 2 preamps wired up to these 2 sources which eventually go to my 2 RAAL amp interface boxes.

Saying all of this. I never tried the HSA-1b with the Musetec 005 DAC, though my guess is that the gear I setup would still sound better to my ears.

Holy hell those are some really expensive amps and speakers. I was mostly looking into the Kinki monoblocks or the Audio Gd Master 10 mk2 or something roughly around 3-4k$ I wouldn't be able to afford your setup. I'm getting the impression the HSA1B is the best I can do at this price range.

Yeah, I'm the same. I'm a software developer and i do my best work well past midnight. I need the ability to switch from headphones to speakers as well. Its a really important thing for me. With that said, I'm currently shopping for magnepan floorstanders or Martin Logan ESLs. I put a down payment on some ESL 9s, but I think im gonna cancel and get something else.

As for the LS50s, I demoed them a few years back and couldn't stand their boomy low end. With that said, maybe the Metas might be a significant upgrade. I had the 35xts for a long time before selling them. Now I'm tempted to go back

As for power, I ran the SR1A on a 15W VMV A1 amp for weeks before upgrading my setup. It had enough power that I never went over 30% on the dial, whereas my HSA1B currently sits at 40% on the dial. I no longer believe wattage ratings and I feel that the dynamics of an amp is something that I will never be able to judge based on watts and manufacturer specs.

 

[yyzSB]

I have a feeling the Musetec 005 you get will shock you at how good it is. I do not know the DACs you currently use but if you are using the level of DACs I was using you will find the 005 a massive step up. Just give it a lot of hours to really burn-in.

I posted somewhere above that the NAD M22 V2 is good with SR1a and CODA 07x preamp. It is also around $USD2300 used (what I paid). I did not like it with Schitt Freya+ and the SR1a (too dark). I have not tried this but the NAD M22 V2 and the Topping pre90 preamp ($600) may be a very good combo with the SR1a. I sold the Topping pre90 because it had volume issues with most amps I owned, except the Benchmark AHB2 and Parasound A21+. The Parasound A21+ ($2500 used) was very good with the SR1a. That amp led me to the better KRELL 175XD but at a lot more money. The NAD M22 V2 has adjustable gain, like the AHB2 and Parasound A21+.

I should test out the Benchmark LA4 preamp with NAD M22 V2 and SR1a. I have that setup in my Livingroom with my KEF LS50's. The reason I say this is that the $600 Topping pre90 sounds EXACTLY like the $2600 Benchmark LA4 under very specific conditions. Unfortunately, I do not have the Musetec 005 DAC on that system.