[grizzlybeast]

There obviously needs to be a recall. Some peoples units are defective. I have yet in 3+ years seen so many different experiences of power output. 5W into 32ohms should be no question and can even handle an he6 decently. 

 

[Takeanidea]

Hi all,
My girlfriend picked the amp up from the Post Office earlier and it's still not been unwrapped.
First impressions will follow shortly.
It'll be pitted against a First Watt F6 a Fidelity Audio HPA 200SE and a Topping The.
Needless to say it'll have its work cut out

 

[Takeanidea]

My first impressions would be that. ...yes, this is a very nice headphone amp. It looks good and sounds good

 

[psonoda]

psonoda - You're in for a treat. Good call warming it up first; it definitely needs to warm up before it sounds its best.

Re: Volume jump at last detent - I never got past 11:30 - what headphones are you using that you can stand to play it so loudly?

Normally, I would be no where near the end of the volume. But recently, I have been playing with the sonar works plugin and it drops the gain level to prevent any potential of clipping. I could compensate for that but it is not a real problem for me as I do not listen to the music too loudly anyway. The current setup drops the gain level 8.1 dB. In amplifier volume that is quite a lot. I only discovered the Herron 5 volume functionality of relatively low recorded music.

 

[grizzlybeast]

Maybe thw heron needs a preamp. The Headfonia reviewer used the mjolnir as a preamp for it. Both of my amps have preamp functionality. I would love to test it just not at my expense.

 

[yage]

Maybe thw heron needs a preamp. The Headfonia reviewer used the mjolnir as a preamp for it. Both of my amps have preamp functionality. I would love to test it just not at my expense.

That Headfonics reviewer didn't know what the hell he was doing. First, the Heron appears to be a single ended design so the XLR input is more or less a convenience feature and balanced output simply isn't a viable option. Second, why the hell anyone would want to use the Mjolnir as a preamp to another headphone amp (which already has its own preamp-like gain stage) is beyond me. You're only increasing noise with a setup like that. Frankly, I'm a little appalled that this guy is "reviewing" audio equipment when he doesn't understand any fundamentals at all.

 

[Takeanidea]

  There obviously needs to be a recall. Some peoples units are defective. I have yet in 3+ years seen so many different experiences of power output. 5W into 32ohms should be no question and can even handle an he6 decently. 

It handles my HE-6 and my AKG K1000s decently - the unit I have with me works fine

 

[grizzlybeast]

@yage, that did sound very odd to me when I read it.

 
There obviously needs to be a recall. Some peoples units are defective. I have yet in 3+ years seen so many different experiences of power output. 5W into 32ohms should be no question and can even handle an he6 decently. 

It handles my HE-6 and my AKG K1000s decently - the unit I have with me works fine

Awesome.

That's great news!!

 

[Army-Firedawg]

Finished my review of this beautiful amp. You can check it out for yourselves here. At the bottom of my review are links to my YouTube unboxing and review video for those interested as well. I've also shipped it off to @joeq70 who should receive it by Wednesday they said. Tracking # is was provided to him via PM.

 

[Ultrainferno]

Maybe thw heron needs a preamp. The Headfonia reviewer used the mjolnir as a preamp for it. Both of my amps have preamp functionality. I would love to test it just not at my expense.

 
I don't think we covered this actually, maybe Headfonics?

 

[joeq70]

Hey all! The Heron 5 was waiting for me at home yesterday when I returned from a recent trip. I have taken some time this morning to listen to it, and my initial experience is...not too good honestly. The sound of the amp is not bad per se, but there are some other things that I find completely unacceptable for a component in this price range. Here are some of my issues:
 
1) The volume pot makes static noise with each click, especially during the first half of the available clicks. Not a deal breaker, but it makes you wonder if the components in this amp are of high quality.
 
2) The increase in volume between clicks is not linear, especially during the last three clicks of the dial. This makes it impossible to find a satisfactory volume setting when one click is too quiet and the next is ear splittingly loud. The ear splitting last click happens on the high impedance output, while on the low impedance output, the issue is less severe, but nevertheless, you basically get to choose between a couple usable volume levels. This is not acceptable when the way certain songs are produced creates an essential need for much more nuanced changes between volume levels. This issue alone is enough that if I had purchased the amp with my own money, it would be an immediate return. 
 
3) During the songs which the amp is able to the play at an acceptable volume, the quality of the sound is good. I'd characterize the Heron 5 as having relaxed treble and an overall laid back sound. Don't get me wrong, it is detailed sounding. That said, I prefer the way the Mjolnir sounds even if the two amps were priced the same (Mjolnir cost me $400ish dollars used). 
 
The headphones I used were just my ZMF Omni. I find that it is possible that the volume issues are mostly confined to the last few clicks of the dial, so I will be taking the Heron 5 to my local audiophile shop to listen to some more headphones. If the Heron 5 is somehow magic with Grados or the Nighthawk or the HD800, something like that, then it will be worth noting. I will report back when I've given the amp more time.

 

[oaklandrichie]

2) +1. That was my problem with this amp. I would crank it up on high gain with my hd600's, and right up until the notch pictured below it sounded great, then one more click sounded like ten more clicks. 
 
 

 

[Army-Firedawg]

:/ Dang I could only go to like 4-6 clicks and that was it for me in the db department. Though the hiss is something I can completely relate to. All I was using (well primarily) is my HD650

 

[joeq70]

:/ Dang I could only go to like 4-6 clicks and that was it for me in the db department. Though the hiss is something I can completely relate to. All I was using (well primarily) is my HD650

Yeah, the Omni is a bit of a power hog.

 

[grizzlybeast]

:/ Dang I could only go to like 4-6 clicks and that was it for me in the db department. Though the hiss is something I can completely relate to. All I was using (well primarily) is my HD650

Yeah, the Omni is a bit of a power hog.

The problem is w/high impedance? but the Omni should be used with low impedance setting. The Hd650 should be used with the high impedance setting irregardless of volume levels for optimised sound quality. Was the hd650 wasn't used in high impedance mode?

These problems don't seem to be consistent as some ppl experience them and others don't. I signed up dor the tour but don't know how far I am. Id like to hear it with my HD800S