Micro review of the Oppo HA-1:
rankings (because the bars to the side for some reason are not representative of the rank I gave)
audio quality: 2/5
design: 4/5
quality: 3.5/5
value: 2.5/5
- build quality is great
- nice pot, motorized, smooth and solid feel
- user interface is simple and clean, intuitive menu system
- connectivity is top notch
- I can easily see this becoming the centrepiece of a system
- but I couldn't get the usb drivers to work
- bluetooth from your smartdevice, operate both as a streaming device and as remote: fantastic!
The dac
- um, no thanks, it's headache inducing
- really edgy transients, I could maybe see this being good if you have older ears or mild hearing loss, but for younger ears this will be very fatiguing
- otherwise good definition
- chain: fed coax from a NuPrime uDSD and coax/optical from a Peachtree X1
The amp
- can't handle the HE-6; at full power into the headphone jack the HA-1 shuts down (likely a safety, it happened twice, I'm not going to push that further)
- but otherwise seems ok
- good energy
- I think it sounds better in low gain, even if perhaps lacking a tiny bit of dynamics
- but bright sounding, somewhat "pushy" in the upper mids
- especially guitar picks
- if using the dac, this combo is especially bright
The preamp
- clean and functional, has a bit of gain to it so not a direct pass through (not affected by the headphone gain selection)
- also slightly bright, less so than the amp section, but similar characteristic
- This would be good with darker cans like the Audeze LCD-2/3 or the Oppo PM-1/2 or Sennheiser HD600/650, but it's a terrible match with the HE-6.
- Preamp output still retains that bright characteristic, even when using analog inputs.
- For the price as an all-in-one unit, it really comes down to how the dac sounds for you. I have some friends who really love the sound, but for me it doesn't work. Feature-wise, the HA-1 hits all the right checkmarks.
rankings (because the bars to the side for some reason are not representative of the rank I gave)
audio quality: 2/5
design: 4/5
quality: 3.5/5
value: 2.5/5
- build quality is great
- nice pot, motorized, smooth and solid feel
- user interface is simple and clean, intuitive menu system
- connectivity is top notch
- I can easily see this becoming the centrepiece of a system
- but I couldn't get the usb drivers to work
- bluetooth from your smartdevice, operate both as a streaming device and as remote: fantastic!
The dac
- um, no thanks, it's headache inducing
- really edgy transients, I could maybe see this being good if you have older ears or mild hearing loss, but for younger ears this will be very fatiguing
- otherwise good definition
- chain: fed coax from a NuPrime uDSD and coax/optical from a Peachtree X1
The amp
- can't handle the HE-6; at full power into the headphone jack the HA-1 shuts down (likely a safety, it happened twice, I'm not going to push that further)
- but otherwise seems ok
- good energy
- I think it sounds better in low gain, even if perhaps lacking a tiny bit of dynamics
- but bright sounding, somewhat "pushy" in the upper mids
- especially guitar picks
- if using the dac, this combo is especially bright
The preamp
- clean and functional, has a bit of gain to it so not a direct pass through (not affected by the headphone gain selection)
- also slightly bright, less so than the amp section, but similar characteristic
- This would be good with darker cans like the Audeze LCD-2/3 or the Oppo PM-1/2 or Sennheiser HD600/650, but it's a terrible match with the HE-6.
- Preamp output still retains that bright characteristic, even when using analog inputs.
- For the price as an all-in-one unit, it really comes down to how the dac sounds for you. I have some friends who really love the sound, but for me it doesn't work. Feature-wise, the HA-1 hits all the right checkmarks.