[MightyT]

very natural sounding dac/amp combo to me but sometimes a bit boring sounding due to flat sounding

 

[hodgjy]

  very natural sounding dac/amp combo to me but sometimes a bit boring sounding due to flat sounding

The HA-501 is only an amp. The UD-501 is both an amp and a DAC. Yes, the UD is reported to be a little flat, but the HA is by far the best solid state amp I've ever heard.

 

[mr.khali]

Has anyone compared this amp to the Oppo HA-1?

 

[dyavuz]

​If only the HA-501 had a remote control...

 

[buson160man]

I have been using my ud501 dac as my primary dac since my decco two had a brief encounter with a cardas rca cable(not good) . It is a pretty decent dac even as a stock unit. Much more resolving than my peachtree decco 2. But as an amp I have found a very stellar mate in my recapped vintage concept 16.5 monster receiver from the late 1970s. It is not exactly portable at 62 pounds but it makes one hell of a headphone amp for any headphone that I can imagine. This monster delivers some serious horsepower for driving headphones. I am very confident that it can more than hold its own against just about any big boy headphone amp. This beast boasts two seven amp fuses for its dual mono outputs.

 

[147JK]

Is anyone using the UD-301 together with the HA-501?   I know a few places used to be sell these together as a "package".  Seems like this would be a very nice combination.
 

 

[LinuxmasterD]

Has anyone tried to replace the Muses8920 with lets say, 01 or 02?
Would that work, and are the opamps on HA-501 socketed or soldered to the board?

 

[LinuxmasterD]

Anyone?

 

[FiGuY1017]

Wow just received my ha501s very special amp very dynamic/airy compared to my heron 5. Both amazing amps.

 

[FiGuY1017]

I really feel that there are many in the headfi world missing out on a incredible amp. I mean.. if transparency/musicality/air/prat is your thing.. maybe short on power but big on heart/soul.

 

[DavidA]

I really feel that there are many in the headfi world missing out on a incredible amp. I mean.. if transparency/musicality/air/prat is your thing.. maybe short on power but big on heart/soul.

Agree that the HA-501 is under appreciated here on Head-fi, I got to use one from a friend and its an impressive amp, I have too many others to make buying one an option at the moment but its one of the amps I have always considered since hearing it a few years ago.

 

[Groot Geluid]

For some months now have I been using the UD-501 DAC with the HD-501, mostly with the Fostex Th-900. A super combination. The combo I also use professionally to edit classical music in DXD and when the DAC locks to the workstation via USB, it proved very stable. Listening via the headphone out on the DAC the sound via the Fostex is a bit thin and the highs a bit harsh, compared to the sound out of the HD-501. Then the sound is full warm and detailed without undue emphasis.

 

[AlexRoma]

Still haven't found the response regards the ability of this AMP to drive Sennheiser HD800/HD800s .
The T1 synergy criticism made me doubt should I go for TEAC HA-501 for HD800s or should I raise the budget.

Is there anybody who had compared TEAC-HA501 and Sennhesier HDVA 600 amp in terms of dynamism and synergy on HD800/HD800s ?

Can I pick HA-501 with confindence or i should increase the budget for a balanced monster amp for HD800s ? (don't want tube amp in my house).

DAC is an RME BabyFace Pro audio interface.
Scope - classical music, modern classics with vocals, pop music mixing.
Requirements - as close to natural sound as possible, no need of analytical, dry presentation - life-like is my target.

Please help, by amp budget is below 1000$ (second hand also accepted)

 

[DavidA]

Still haven't found the response regards the ability of this AMP to drive Sennheiser HD800/HD800s .
The T1 synergy criticism made me doubt should I go for TEAC-HA501 for HD800s or should I raise the budget.

Is there anybody who had compared TEAC-HA501 and Sennhesier HDVA 600 amp in terms of dynamism and synergy on HD800/HD800s ?

Can I pick HA-501 with confindence or i should increase the budget for a balanced monster amp for HD800s ? (don't want tube amp in my house).

DAC is an RME BabyFace Pro audio interface. Scope, classical music, instrumental music, vocals, pop music mixing. Requirements - as close to natural sound as possible, no need of analytical, dry presentation - life-like is my target.

Its been a while since I heard the HD800 with the HA-501 but it was a nice pairing, one of the better ones if you don't want to get involved with tubes. Other SS gear that you might want to look at are the Hugo/Hugo2, Liquid Carbon, and Audio GD Master 11. If you really don't want tubes I'd suggest the HD800S and T1 gen2 over the HD800 and T1 gen1.

 

[AlexRoma]

Thank you DavidA

I am sorry for not mentioning my budget -> Below 1000$ amp .
I can get HA-501 for 700$ this is why I was so interested about this thread.

And yes, HD800S is the way to go. Anything more bright then my current AKG K712 is already analytical and not life-like (K702, K7XX, Q701 - too analytical for my needs).