Disclaimer:
I would like to thank Takstar for providing a review unit of the HA101. Rest assured that my impressions written in this review are my own personal thoughts and opinions and in no way influenced by outside parties.
Check out the Takstar HA101 on their website: LINK HERE
I am not an expert in this hobby nor claim to be an audiophile. I just love listening to music and am fond of writing articles.
Introduction:
Their only portable amplifier dedicated for headphone use, the Takstar HA101 is a powerful amp currently selling for 90 USD or even less (released in 2019). A tl;dr? It’s a really good addition for your portable set-up if you can get by with one quite big drawback depending on your view.
These were paired with the KGUSS BH3 (ES9038Q2M) via RCA for the review.
Description from page:
Specifications:
Package: 3.5 to 3.5 cable (short, L-plug). Micro-USB cable. Fabric bag. Long cable tie (2 pcs.). Short cable tie (2 pcs.). Antiskid pad (1 pc.). Manual.
Design and build:
Built like a brick. Hard, cold metal everything. There is nothing I can see wrong with the design other than one quite major thing. Bass boost switch satisfyingly clicks in place and locks in. The volume control is smooth-turning. Literally no flex at all with the body when I try to bend it.
Size is portable which is quite obvious because the HA101 was designed to be a portable amplifier. Not too small to compromise battery life nor too large to hamper portability.
The only thing that is bad is the use of Micro-USB. Now, I do understand this as the product was released in 2019 where having Micro-USB in your device was not preferable, but still acceptable. I do hope that if they ever release an update, the next one should be using USB-C.
Connectivity:
The only way to connect HA101 to your source is with a line out. What I do with mine is I pair it with the KGUSS BH3, which has an ES9038Q2M as its DAC, via an RCA-to-3.5mm cable (disables amp function and becomes a pure DAC). This sets it as a hybrid portable/stationary setup, where it is rather large to bring with me when I go out of the house (not impossible, though impractical), but is small enough to be able to move easily when I decide to transfer to a different room.
You can use the HA101 with a device without a dedicated LO though I wouldn't advice it as you'd be double amping - usable but not recommended.
I won’t be using them portably as I see no need with my use case. I purely use the HA101 to power the planar headphones I have and only used IEMs/Earbuds in testing for this review.
Now, onto sound:
----------
So clean, so good. The HA101 is a neutral-sounding amplifier, without any sort of harshness in the treble region nor cold characteristic to its sound. It’s just there to provide amplification as much as it can to whatever you bring on the road. One improvement I noticed even with easy-to-drive transducers is that the music and its parts are more defined and separated, which in turn makes it easier to determine at which direction sound is coming from (imaging and such). They also got to have more space and depth to move around. I didn’t perceive any roll-off with both ends of the spectrum.
Bass hits deeper, harder, faster. Midrange doesn’t sound thin and is weightier and more textured (brought up by a notch). Treble exhibits more “air.” Transients don’t experience any adverse effect and is actually the opposite – everything just sounds livelier and more realistic. I also hear more detail and texture though this did depend as well on the raw capabilities of the transducer I plugged in.
----------
Bass Boost:
Works really well to provide that punchy and engaging bass response. As per specifications stated by Takstar, the switch increases 80 Hz by 5 dB. What this does with a more neutral transducer is help it make the signature more “mainstream” and “fun,” if ever you find a need for that (particular song, current mood and such). With a V-shaped transducer, and you get something akin to subwoofers. The increase in 80 Hz also adds more body to the overall signature especially in the midrange, without muddying the mix, though it does decrease perceived treble quantity.
Hiss Amount (no music playing):
None, be it from IEMs (except two of them), to earbuds, and planar headphones in my rotation, unless I go past 70% volume (ear-shattering level) using the HA101 knob control with everything in the chain maxed out (system, MusicBee) I only encounter noticeable hiss with the KZ DQ6 and Audiosense DT200 when I go past said volume level (KZ earlier). At my listening volume range of low-to-medium, none of the transducers I have exhibit hiss. I therefore conclude that the HA101 has a low noise floor, excellent for any type of transducer you have (unless you have those 8 ohm or abnormally high sensitivity ones).
Battery:
I get similar numbers with the indicated running time of the HA101 by Takstar. Charging from 0 to 100 takes me about 3.5 hours. The 12+ hours of operation is enough to last me a day or two at my listening volume of low-medium, powering Takstar HF580 (planar headphone). Using an easier-to-drive transducer would of course lengthen the battery life of the HA101, say for example it was used with an IEM.
----------------
Conclusion:
For ~90 USD, the amount of amplification the HA101 can provide is more than enough - from easy-to-drive KZs, to the unassumingly hard-to-drive SSP, 150-ohm Zen LL, and any planar headphone not considered “nuclear power-requiring.” Everything is livelier, more textured, faster – basically just more realistic-sounding. the bass boost is also a nice feature when I have the urge to “feel the bass.” Only bummer is the Micro-USB in 2021.
I would like to thank Takstar for providing a review unit of the HA101. Rest assured that my impressions written in this review are my own personal thoughts and opinions and in no way influenced by outside parties.
Check out the Takstar HA101 on their website: LINK HERE
I am not an expert in this hobby nor claim to be an audiophile. I just love listening to music and am fond of writing articles.
Introduction:
Their only portable amplifier dedicated for headphone use, the Takstar HA101 is a powerful amp currently selling for 90 USD or even less (released in 2019). A tl;dr? It’s a really good addition for your portable set-up if you can get by with one quite big drawback depending on your view.
These were paired with the KGUSS BH3 (ES9038Q2M) via RCA for the review.
Description from page:
Specifications:
Package: 3.5 to 3.5 cable (short, L-plug). Micro-USB cable. Fabric bag. Long cable tie (2 pcs.). Short cable tie (2 pcs.). Antiskid pad (1 pc.). Manual.
Design and build:
Built like a brick. Hard, cold metal everything. There is nothing I can see wrong with the design other than one quite major thing. Bass boost switch satisfyingly clicks in place and locks in. The volume control is smooth-turning. Literally no flex at all with the body when I try to bend it.
Size is portable which is quite obvious because the HA101 was designed to be a portable amplifier. Not too small to compromise battery life nor too large to hamper portability.
The only thing that is bad is the use of Micro-USB. Now, I do understand this as the product was released in 2019 where having Micro-USB in your device was not preferable, but still acceptable. I do hope that if they ever release an update, the next one should be using USB-C.
Connectivity:
The only way to connect HA101 to your source is with a line out. What I do with mine is I pair it with the KGUSS BH3, which has an ES9038Q2M as its DAC, via an RCA-to-3.5mm cable (disables amp function and becomes a pure DAC). This sets it as a hybrid portable/stationary setup, where it is rather large to bring with me when I go out of the house (not impossible, though impractical), but is small enough to be able to move easily when I decide to transfer to a different room.
You can use the HA101 with a device without a dedicated LO though I wouldn't advice it as you'd be double amping - usable but not recommended.
I won’t be using them portably as I see no need with my use case. I purely use the HA101 to power the planar headphones I have and only used IEMs/Earbuds in testing for this review.
Now, onto sound:
----------
So clean, so good. The HA101 is a neutral-sounding amplifier, without any sort of harshness in the treble region nor cold characteristic to its sound. It’s just there to provide amplification as much as it can to whatever you bring on the road. One improvement I noticed even with easy-to-drive transducers is that the music and its parts are more defined and separated, which in turn makes it easier to determine at which direction sound is coming from (imaging and such). They also got to have more space and depth to move around. I didn’t perceive any roll-off with both ends of the spectrum.
Bass hits deeper, harder, faster. Midrange doesn’t sound thin and is weightier and more textured (brought up by a notch). Treble exhibits more “air.” Transients don’t experience any adverse effect and is actually the opposite – everything just sounds livelier and more realistic. I also hear more detail and texture though this did depend as well on the raw capabilities of the transducer I plugged in.
----------
Bass Boost:
Works really well to provide that punchy and engaging bass response. As per specifications stated by Takstar, the switch increases 80 Hz by 5 dB. What this does with a more neutral transducer is help it make the signature more “mainstream” and “fun,” if ever you find a need for that (particular song, current mood and such). With a V-shaped transducer, and you get something akin to subwoofers. The increase in 80 Hz also adds more body to the overall signature especially in the midrange, without muddying the mix, though it does decrease perceived treble quantity.
Hiss Amount (no music playing):
None, be it from IEMs (except two of them), to earbuds, and planar headphones in my rotation, unless I go past 70% volume (ear-shattering level) using the HA101 knob control with everything in the chain maxed out (system, MusicBee) I only encounter noticeable hiss with the KZ DQ6 and Audiosense DT200 when I go past said volume level (KZ earlier). At my listening volume range of low-to-medium, none of the transducers I have exhibit hiss. I therefore conclude that the HA101 has a low noise floor, excellent for any type of transducer you have (unless you have those 8 ohm or abnormally high sensitivity ones).
Battery:
I get similar numbers with the indicated running time of the HA101 by Takstar. Charging from 0 to 100 takes me about 3.5 hours. The 12+ hours of operation is enough to last me a day or two at my listening volume of low-medium, powering Takstar HF580 (planar headphone). Using an easier-to-drive transducer would of course lengthen the battery life of the HA101, say for example it was used with an IEM.
----------------
Conclusion:
For ~90 USD, the amount of amplification the HA101 can provide is more than enough - from easy-to-drive KZs, to the unassumingly hard-to-drive SSP, 150-ohm Zen LL, and any planar headphone not considered “nuclear power-requiring.” Everything is livelier, more textured, faster – basically just more realistic-sounding. the bass boost is also a nice feature when I have the urge to “feel the bass.” Only bummer is the Micro-USB in 2021.
****If you have other questions/concerns with the amplifier mentioned, feel free to message me****
