[realstar]

I was curious of the internals so carefully removed the bottom panel and took a few pictures. Again sturdy build quality and attention to detail. I love the little wooden terminal strips. I think the r-core transformer is in the upper housing.

 

[daigo]

realstar, I appreciate the impressions and the detailed pictures of your amp.  Especially that it is a very quiet amp with no hum.  Internals look pretty clean and organized with the wiring.  
 
Have you tried the HA-03 with speakers?

 

[realstar]

Yes, my speakers (Energy esm4) are not very efficient at 86.6db but they still reach a good listening volume at 3/4 of the volume dial. They sound nice. I think paired with a high efficiency speaker it would work really well. It doesn't really have a selector between speaker or headphone. If you plug in a headphone with speakers attached then most of the power seems to get re-directed to the headphones and the speaker will become very quiet.

 

[macdevign]

realstar,
congratulation for been the owner of the Yamamoto gear.

Like to check if the the Yamamoto ha-03 supports dual voltage (120/240v) out of the box ? From the yamamoto site, it shows dual voltage support http://www2.117.ne.jp/~y-s/images/HA-03rear-web.jpg , however from the carton's package label from your first photo, it shows "120V US plug". So can you verify from your gear ?
thank

 

[realstar]

It's a bit of a mystery mine has a small sticker next to those two voltage ratings that says "120V". However the instruction sheet mentions having the correct fuse installed depending on voltage. It seems like the transformers can support multiple voltages and I got a 120v fuse and north american power cord because I am in Canada. ???

 

[realstar]

I tried HD800, PS1000, Beyer T1 plus AD2000 and they all sound very good on this amp. The LCD-2 and K1000 felt slightly subdued in dynamics vs my vintage receiver. The Yamamoto is well suited for the T1, AD2000 or HD800 but for the K1000 or LCD-2 I think the Pioneer provides a little more impact / dynamics. The PS1000 is pretty good on either amp. The clarity, detail and impact is stunning on the T1 and AD2000.

The Yamamoto is very pure and detailed given the right headphones. Rock and metal are pretty well served on the Beyer T1, PS1000 or AD2000. This is easily the best I have heard the Audio Technica AD2000 and I imagine W5000 or W3000ANV might pair just as well too. T1 is a little bright but very snappy and dynamic. The Senn HD800 just sounds clear, clean and smooth.

Please bear in mind these are just my casual observations and nothing is set in stone. I don't have a lot of hours on the amp yet maybe 20 - 30 hours max...

Wow, just switched to a Benz Micro Gold MC cartridge and everything got deeper, wider and smoother. This amp is very sensitive to the source, very revealing.

 

[Denosha]

Good to hear that the HA-03 is able to handle the high impedance T1s and HD800s (which is somewhat surprising since the limited info only mentioned 16-200ohms?). The older HA-02 is pretty much useless with both of them.

 

[viking59]

hi frd,
 
do you use the HA 03 amplifier with 220 V in canada ?
do you order it with this spécific voltage.
 
thk you

 

[viking59]

hello frd,
 
just order mine...
hard to wait 8 weeks but, this the price for such  gear !
 
how is yurs after much burn in ?

 

[realstar]

Hi. 120v is standard in Canada and my amp shipped from the dealer like that. I would say this amp certainly gets better the more hours put onto it and I am not really sure mine is fully into it's sound yet. Partially because I have tended to go back to using my vintage amps a lot because they are a little more versatile with inputs and outputs and driving a wider range of headphones. The sound is a little less fatiguing as well because the Yamamoto can be a little hot in the mids and doesn't have a lot of bass fill in covering up things.

However I hooked up the HA-03 to my K1000 and RS1i lately and listened more and was pretty impressed with the clarity and realism in the mids and treble. This is not an overly thick sounding amp but rather has a slightly forward and clean presentation. Bass is tight, controlled and has good snap but is not adding a lot of body to the sound or extending into subterranean areas. It's good for those that like an intimate presentation where vocals and guitars are close to the listener and very pure sounding. Very nice for instrumental and certain electronic type music. Klaus Netzle/Claude Larson is amazing on here as well as stuff like Joe Satriani or Midnight Blue. I am not dissapointed by Iron Maiden on here either as the electric guitars and vocals come through really clean and strong and drums have good snap and rhythm. Cymbals sound pretty realistic too. The soundstage does not seem particularly wide and probably won't appeal to those that like a more analytical plus diffuse and layered presentation. The forwardness or sharpness in the mids can be a little fatiguing at times but is actually one of the best features of this amp. If you find the Grado RS1i or AD2000 type of mids a little too forward and intense then this amp might not be for you. I think it somehow complements the AD2000, RS1i and Beyer T1 in good ways. I recently sold my HD800 but it was good with that as well. K1000 is nice on here but you will keep the volume knob close to the max.

I am very curious to try some other similar amps to see where this one fits in overall but I did prefer the HA-03 to the Elekit TU-882AS as I found the latter a little too polite sounding even though it had some good qualities too. I am curious to hear the thoughts of another owner to see what impression this amp gives to others.

 

[viking59]

well ..
at first , thank you for all these précisions about the way u used and compared it !
 
i will coming back with mines, during autumn after a comfortable burn in.
typically, i am a classical and jazz listener. i own a little dot MR IV  SE at his best with my Grado PS500 and 
Audio Technica WH 5000 Rafinato.
it 's exiting to add such review to complete yurs.
cu soon !

 

[TheOtus]

Just noticed this, very interesting. Never owned the HA-02. Well, probably I'm not going to own this one either unless something gets me extremely interesting.

 

[viking59]

Hello Realstar,
 
finaly i would like to give you my conclusions...i don't own so many headphones as you, but can confirm the HA-03
suits perfectly with the w5000. I am a big fan of Audiotechnica and i have ordered a AD2000X too.
i confirm the clear and dynamic impact of the HA 03 without any hardness.
this not exactly a tubbey sound amplifier, but very similar to a good solid state A class.
it seems to me very neutral and suits perfectly with my PS Audio Nuwave.those two make a lot of good music.
i just choose carefully the power cord (wireworld silver electra 5²) to add a very little bit of honey...) and
the audio rca interconnect(the nice Audioquest Colorado).
up to my opinion, there is plenty of power with this amplifier, much more than with my Little Dot MK V, even with the
Nos reflector 6H30P-DR  Super tube.
I love this tube amp at his best.It provide me a more analogic sound, quite complémentary with the more authoritary HA 03.
 
there are,for sure, more coupling to discover.
realy a very good investment for futures encounters !

 

[goreshade]

How does it sound compare to HA-02 ?
Do they have similar characteristic or sound completely different ?

 

[headfirocks]

Is the HA-03 a single-ended triode?