RockStar2005
Headphoneus Supremus
I just recently came across the eye-catching Oppo HA-2 portable amp/DAC. I eventually purchased the device and was really blown away by it in every respect.
The box & packaging: The Oppo HA-2 comes in a nice looking box with very simple inside packaging too. All the necessary cables are included, even a rapid charger wall outlet & charging cable, in case you thought regular charging just wasn't good enough! lol Also supplied are the manuals, warranty, and rubber straps, which keep the HA-2 nicely attached to your phone as one "stacked" unit. The only 2 things missing were really more "optional" I guess, so I don't fault Oppo at all for not including them. These include an extra 3-4' OTG (On-The-Go) male-to-female Micro USB extension cable for Android (so you can set the HA-2 next to you on the couch or table while you are sitting and using your smartphone), which I had already bought on my own here for my previous portable amp/DAC, and also a short (around 5") USB-to-Micro USB cable for using the HA-2's battery pack feature to charge my smartphone (more on that below). I just got a good one though here, so now I'm truly set.
Looks/Design/Features/Ease of Use: The HA-2 comes wrapped in a genuine stitched leather casing, so you really don't need a case for it (which is good because there doesn't seem to be one available anyway lol). The stitching is top-notch, which only adds to the aesthetic appeal. It also features a really beautiful sleek body (making it easy to hold) and what appears to be all metallic parts, including a gorgeous simplistic clean design, and a sweet metallic volume dial that actually reminds me a lot of the coveted Astell & Kern line of DAPs, which are of course awesome and need no introduction. The HA-2 comes (top-side) with a line-out port for speakers, and of course a headphone port as well. On the right side are a battery & charging level indicator, which includes a button that when pressed briefly tells you the battery level status, and also when pressed for about 5-10 seconds, enables the HA-2's unique battery charging feature. One thing a lot of people don't know which I confirmed WITH OPPO (via e-mail) is that the battery pack feature can only be used at the same time that the HA-2 is being utilized to play music when the source device is running on iOS. So essentially Apple device owners have an advantage here of "having your cake and eating it too", so to speak. Android and Windows phone/device owners however have to choose either/or. Not a big deal for me though being an Android owner, but still good to know if I'm recommending the device to a friend who loves Apple.
Below there is a Bass Boost option, which I don't really ever use, but still cool to have, and also a Low/High Gain switch, which is important because different listening devices require different levels of power. IEMs/earphones are best suited for Low Gain, where most if not all headphones will benefit the most from High Gain. On the bottom you got your USB port for both Apple (lightning to USB) devices, as well as a Micro USB port which is used for connecting to Android & Windows devices, as well as for charging the HA-2. An "A-B-C" labeled switch on the left side of the bottom helps control which input device is being connected to the HA-2 at any given time. I found all the switches & dials, including the rotary volume dial, to be very easy to use and very well-made. No cheap materials here!
Sound Quality: I tested the HA-2 using my Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone and the Poweramp music playing app, which IMO are both fantastic and the best in their own arenas. The headphones I used were of course my brand new Oppo PM-3 planar magnetic headphones, which I recently reviewed on here as well. The songs played to test out the HA-2 consisted of about 95% Hi-Res, and 5% CD-Quality FLAC/ALAC and some higher-quality (320 kbps) mp3s as well. My songs are mainly rock, both soft and hard.
No matter what I played though, the HA-2 always handled every track like a true champion! The sound was rich, lavish, full of life, with plenty of widespread soundstage, and the clarity was all there too! Using the High Gain setting with Bass Boost turned off, the HA-2 got PLENTY loud at around the 2-3 volume setting (max volume is 5). So the amp was definitely on key there. The DAC and its supporting technology made every track sound truly impressive, and I never once felt like it was taking anything away from the music. Really more the opposite actually! The "hiss" sound that any track which happened to have this in it was minimized as much as possible by the HA-2 (and PM-3s), but this was of course the track's fault and not the HA-2. I really wish all Hi-Res tracks had less hiss, though fortunately most DO have less, a small number of them have more hiss vs. lesser versions like mp3. Fact is, they still sound better than the other versions do (with exception to Hi-Res DSD ((or simply DSD)) of course, and I listened to some of those too).
Conclusion: I am very happy with how my HA-2 performs and looks, and plan on keeping it for many years to come! I would highly recommend the Oppo HA-2 to anyone. For the cost of $299, you get a hell of a great device! The extra features like the battery pack option, genuine leather casing, and the Low/High Gain switch really make it worth buying.
Optional: For those interested in having a setup like mine consisting of an Android phone using Poweramp and the Oppo PM-3 headphones, included here are PowerAmp screenshots I took of my custom made EQ settings, which are based on various research I've done on EQ settings and the "Rock" EQ preset in Poweramp as well. These are the settings I currently use which I've found to give me the BEST sound quality in every respect. There's a standard one I use which I call "Oppo PM-3", and also a reduced bass one I entitled "Oppo Bass Reducer" (click on pics to enlarge them). I use the "Bass Reducer" version on certain songs (which Poweramp lets you set as the default for) where I hear any crackling and/or feel too strong of a bass sound. The bass is lowered JUST enough in "Bass Reducer" on the first 3 bands to lose all that crap without making it sound too weak in the bass spectrum. If you want more bass, you can always raise the 3 bands up too, or simply just use the Bass Boost option as well.
Oppo PM-3:
Oppo Bass Reducer:
**UPDATE: PLEASE IGNORE THE "OPTIONAL" SECTION ABOVE & THE 2 PICS INCLUDED WITH IT.
I HAVE DECIDED TO TURN OFF THE EQ FUNCTION (FOR THE OPPO PM-3 HEADPHONES I NOW HAVE) ON POWERAMP. IT WAS CAUSING STATIC ON RANDOM SONGS, EVEN HI-RES ONES, BUT NOW SINCE DISABLING IT THE STATIC HAS SINCE COMPLETELY VANISHED! THE PM-3s ARE SO CLEAR THAT IT WAS CATCHING TOO MUCH OF THE BAD FROM THAT EQ BEING ON, SO IT HAD TO GO. I DIDN'T HAVE THIS ISSUE WITH PREVIOUS HEADPHONES, BUT THEY COULDN'T DO WHAT THE PM-3s CAN.**
Oppo HA-2:
The box & packaging: The Oppo HA-2 comes in a nice looking box with very simple inside packaging too. All the necessary cables are included, even a rapid charger wall outlet & charging cable, in case you thought regular charging just wasn't good enough! lol Also supplied are the manuals, warranty, and rubber straps, which keep the HA-2 nicely attached to your phone as one "stacked" unit. The only 2 things missing were really more "optional" I guess, so I don't fault Oppo at all for not including them. These include an extra 3-4' OTG (On-The-Go) male-to-female Micro USB extension cable for Android (so you can set the HA-2 next to you on the couch or table while you are sitting and using your smartphone), which I had already bought on my own here for my previous portable amp/DAC, and also a short (around 5") USB-to-Micro USB cable for using the HA-2's battery pack feature to charge my smartphone (more on that below). I just got a good one though here, so now I'm truly set.
Looks/Design/Features/Ease of Use: The HA-2 comes wrapped in a genuine stitched leather casing, so you really don't need a case for it (which is good because there doesn't seem to be one available anyway lol). The stitching is top-notch, which only adds to the aesthetic appeal. It also features a really beautiful sleek body (making it easy to hold) and what appears to be all metallic parts, including a gorgeous simplistic clean design, and a sweet metallic volume dial that actually reminds me a lot of the coveted Astell & Kern line of DAPs, which are of course awesome and need no introduction. The HA-2 comes (top-side) with a line-out port for speakers, and of course a headphone port as well. On the right side are a battery & charging level indicator, which includes a button that when pressed briefly tells you the battery level status, and also when pressed for about 5-10 seconds, enables the HA-2's unique battery charging feature. One thing a lot of people don't know which I confirmed WITH OPPO (via e-mail) is that the battery pack feature can only be used at the same time that the HA-2 is being utilized to play music when the source device is running on iOS. So essentially Apple device owners have an advantage here of "having your cake and eating it too", so to speak. Android and Windows phone/device owners however have to choose either/or. Not a big deal for me though being an Android owner, but still good to know if I'm recommending the device to a friend who loves Apple.
Below there is a Bass Boost option, which I don't really ever use, but still cool to have, and also a Low/High Gain switch, which is important because different listening devices require different levels of power. IEMs/earphones are best suited for Low Gain, where most if not all headphones will benefit the most from High Gain. On the bottom you got your USB port for both Apple (lightning to USB) devices, as well as a Micro USB port which is used for connecting to Android & Windows devices, as well as for charging the HA-2. An "A-B-C" labeled switch on the left side of the bottom helps control which input device is being connected to the HA-2 at any given time. I found all the switches & dials, including the rotary volume dial, to be very easy to use and very well-made. No cheap materials here!
Sound Quality: I tested the HA-2 using my Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone and the Poweramp music playing app, which IMO are both fantastic and the best in their own arenas. The headphones I used were of course my brand new Oppo PM-3 planar magnetic headphones, which I recently reviewed on here as well. The songs played to test out the HA-2 consisted of about 95% Hi-Res, and 5% CD-Quality FLAC/ALAC and some higher-quality (320 kbps) mp3s as well. My songs are mainly rock, both soft and hard.
No matter what I played though, the HA-2 always handled every track like a true champion! The sound was rich, lavish, full of life, with plenty of widespread soundstage, and the clarity was all there too! Using the High Gain setting with Bass Boost turned off, the HA-2 got PLENTY loud at around the 2-3 volume setting (max volume is 5). So the amp was definitely on key there. The DAC and its supporting technology made every track sound truly impressive, and I never once felt like it was taking anything away from the music. Really more the opposite actually! The "hiss" sound that any track which happened to have this in it was minimized as much as possible by the HA-2 (and PM-3s), but this was of course the track's fault and not the HA-2. I really wish all Hi-Res tracks had less hiss, though fortunately most DO have less, a small number of them have more hiss vs. lesser versions like mp3. Fact is, they still sound better than the other versions do (with exception to Hi-Res DSD ((or simply DSD)) of course, and I listened to some of those too).
Conclusion: I am very happy with how my HA-2 performs and looks, and plan on keeping it for many years to come! I would highly recommend the Oppo HA-2 to anyone. For the cost of $299, you get a hell of a great device! The extra features like the battery pack option, genuine leather casing, and the Low/High Gain switch really make it worth buying.
Optional: For those interested in having a setup like mine consisting of an Android phone using Poweramp and the Oppo PM-3 headphones, included here are PowerAmp screenshots I took of my custom made EQ settings, which are based on various research I've done on EQ settings and the "Rock" EQ preset in Poweramp as well. These are the settings I currently use which I've found to give me the BEST sound quality in every respect. There's a standard one I use which I call "Oppo PM-3", and also a reduced bass one I entitled "Oppo Bass Reducer" (click on pics to enlarge them). I use the "Bass Reducer" version on certain songs (which Poweramp lets you set as the default for) where I hear any crackling and/or feel too strong of a bass sound. The bass is lowered JUST enough in "Bass Reducer" on the first 3 bands to lose all that crap without making it sound too weak in the bass spectrum. If you want more bass, you can always raise the 3 bands up too, or simply just use the Bass Boost option as well.
Oppo PM-3:
Oppo Bass Reducer:
**UPDATE: PLEASE IGNORE THE "OPTIONAL" SECTION ABOVE & THE 2 PICS INCLUDED WITH IT.
I HAVE DECIDED TO TURN OFF THE EQ FUNCTION (FOR THE OPPO PM-3 HEADPHONES I NOW HAVE) ON POWERAMP. IT WAS CAUSING STATIC ON RANDOM SONGS, EVEN HI-RES ONES, BUT NOW SINCE DISABLING IT THE STATIC HAS SINCE COMPLETELY VANISHED! THE PM-3s ARE SO CLEAR THAT IT WAS CATCHING TOO MUCH OF THE BAD FROM THAT EQ BEING ON, SO IT HAD TO GO. I DIDN'T HAVE THIS ISSUE WITH PREVIOUS HEADPHONES, BUT THEY COULDN'T DO WHAT THE PM-3s CAN.**
Oppo HA-2: