[Rhamnetin]

Well I mean I would never know the true power of HPA4. I think the problem with HD800/HD800s is that they are relatively cheap but to fully uncover their potential costs an arm. Even at their extreme, they still have 0 bass. Maybe if you only like baroque music they are good choices. I’m not a bass head btw.

Yup, might as well go with Stax at that rate.

 

[Tobes]

Right I believe Maybe 50% of buyers will go your route because of the rediculous long time the unit takes to burn in.
You only get a good week of solid use before you expire the 30day return policy...

Really?
Maybe for the first few hours the sound was unremarkable - though nothing obnoxious, clean but restrained. In less than 10 hours I thought it was handily better than the Bryston BHA-1.
I left it off overnight and I'm only just into day 2 listening and think it sounds awesome. The 'speed', impact, dynamics and textural clarity/detail is killer with the Utopia.
Enthralling on the jazz program I'm listening to at the moment.
Each to his/her own, but personally I can't imagine people returning this thing after they sample the sound - and that's before the unique flexibility and features are taken into account.

 

[etc6849]

I'm setting here listening to my HD800's and can't believe the other review about the HPA4 and HD800's 1cm sound stage and lack of bass... Doesn't match my experience on any level with the DAC3 DX driving the HPA 4 for the HD800's or the Utopia's.

All I'm hearing is stuff like it's supposed to be. Just extremely clean and detailed dynamics. Plenty of bass, just free of distortion so maybe that is where the difference in opinions comes from. I am used to extremely accurate and distortion free bass; I have 5 JL Audio subs (F113 x 3 and F212 x 2) on my main system that are time aligned using Room EQ Wizard, many bass traps, etc... Bass is absolutely dead on and portrays what is on the recording with the HPA4 (as well as my main system).

If someone likes using bass boost, nothing wrong with that. To say this unit can't supply enough power for accurate bass with the HD800's or that the soundstage is 1 cm with it is a bit puzzling. I'd love to see the other person's pics of their setup with the HPA4. I'm absolutely not saying there are shill accounts being used or anything of the sort. It'd be nice if people posted pictures of their headphones with the HPA4 so we could at least see what source component is being used though.

 

[NEXTLEVEL5]

Soundstage isn't an issue with this amp. In fact the sound stage is similar compared to the mjolnir2 using we396a tubes. Amp is definitely neutral, doesn't add any color,clean, no added brightness or sibilance. The power is more than plenty running the utopias(no surprise there). I have aeon open's coming that I will test as well. Between the mjolnir2 and this amp they both sound excellent but the big cherry on top is being able to use this as a pre-amp and connect an amp (ahb2 on order). to power my bookshelf speakers. Love the touch screen. It isn't cheap but it's an excellent headphone amp.

 

[Savage4]

I'm setting here listening to my HD800's and can't believe the other review about the HPA4 and HD800's 1cm sound stage and lack of bass... Doesn't match my experience on any level with the DAC3 DX driving the HPA 4 for the HD800's or the Utopia's.

All I'm hearing is stuff like it's supposed to be. Just extremely clean and detailed dynamics. Plenty of bass, just free of distortion so maybe that is where the difference in opinions comes from. I am used to extremely accurate and distortion free bass; I have 5 JL Audio subs (F113 x 3 and F212 x 2) on my main system that are time aligned using Room EQ Wizard, many bass traps, etc... Bass is absolutely dead on and portrays what is on the recording with the HPA4 (as well as my main system).

If someone likes using bass boost, nothing wrong with that. To say this unit can't supply enough power for accurate bass with the HD800's or that the soundstage is 1 cm with it is a bit puzzling. I'd love to see the other person's pics of their setup with the HPA4. I'm absolutely not saying there are shill accounts being used or anything of the sort. It'd be nice if people posted pictures of their headphones with the HPA4 so we could at least see what source component is being used though.

I’m not trying to argue with you, but neither Hd800 nor utopia offers acceptable bass at all. Also that whole sound stage hype over HD800 is completely a joke. We live in 2018 in which HD800 is beyond redemption, despite how good HPA4 is. After fighting Wall Street crooks for two years, I accumulated enough cash to try out as many cans as I could. If you think I’m ridiculous, spend 30 days with He1000v2 and abyss 1266 phi. If you still believe in that Most hyped headphone in human history so be it.

 

[Benny-x]

Haven’t tried a lot of pre-amps for dave yet so really can’t help you. To me, Lau works better. It may not be the case for others.

That's great news. I own the LAu as well, so any confirmation-bias-supporting posts I can find are always reassuring. Haha. I do love the amp, though. It may not be the be-all-end-all, but it is a sweet piece of ace.

I'm going to be auditioning the WA33 and Viva 845 side by side this weekend. Counting down the days... Although my piggy bank will need a thorough shakedown.

I'm looking forward to the feedback on this one.

If the HOA4 is playing in the same league as the AHB2, it probably really is an exceptional preamp. My particular preamp needs pretty much destroy the field of available pres though and it's a huge piss-off trying to wade through everything looking.

I need 2 balanced inputs and 3-4 balanced outputs. The only pre I know of that has that is a custom configured Tortuga Audio LDR xB balanced. Now that pre is rumored to be great in its own right, but it's annoying that even if this HPA4 were good, it's not a match for my set up.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be, for that 2x XLR in + 3-4 XLR out?

 

[Alcophone]

I need 2 balanced inputs and 3-4 balanced outputs. The only pre I know of that has that is a custom configured Tortuga Audio LDR xB balanced. Now that pre is rumored to be great in its own right, but it's annoying that even if this HPA4 were good, it's not a match for my set up.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be, for that 2x XLR in + 3-4 XLR out?

I won't have an answer for you, but might XLR Y-splitters work for you? At least to turn two outputs into four? As far as I know that's not an issue when both downstream devices are on at the same time. Works for me when A/B-ing balanced amps with the Yggy.

 

[Benny-x]

It's an idea. I'm not sure how the whole sequence would go together with power on/off for the downstream components. In your case, you recommend leaving them both on and maybe attenuating the amp via its own potentiometer? In my case, 1-2 amps, like the LAu, have their own volume knobs, but 2 of my other amps are power amps, so they require the pre to attenuate their volume. I guess you could just disconnect the speakers/headphones, but that seems a bit weird to me to turn an amp on, feed it signal, and then not have an output connected...

If you have any experience with this, I'm happy to hear about it.

Thanks for the idea, even as a patch/hold-over.

 

[Madra]

That's great news. I own the LAu as well, so any confirmation-bias-supporting posts I can find are always reassuring. Haha. I do love the amp, though. It may not be the be-all-end-all, but it is a sweet piece of ace.


I'm looking forward to the feedback on this one.

If the HOA4 is playing in the same league as the AHB2, it probably really is an exceptional preamp. My particular preamp needs pretty much destroy the field of available pres though and it's a huge piss-off trying to wade through everything looking.

I need 2 balanced inputs and 3-4 balanced outputs. The only pre I know of that has that is a custom configured Tortuga Audio LDR xB balanced. Now that pre is rumored to be great in its own right, but it's annoying that even if this HPA4 were good, it's not a match for my set up.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be, for that 2x XLR in + 3-4 XLR out?

Look at AVM. They offer a modular pre that can be configured and modified as per one’s needs. It is quite pricey though.

 

[Alcophone]

It's an idea. I'm not sure how the whole sequence would go together with power on/off for the downstream components. In your case, you recommend leaving them both on and maybe attenuating the amp via its own potentiometer? In my case, 1-2 amps, like the LAu, have their own volume knobs, but 2 of my other amps are power amps, so they require the pre to attenuate their volume. I guess you could just disconnect the speakers/headphones, but that seems a bit weird to me to turn an amp on, feed it signal, and then not have an output connected...

If you have any experience with this, I'm happy to hear about it.

Thanks for the idea, even as a patch/hold-over.

Ah, I wasn't sure what the downstream components are. For amps with their own attenuator, it might be best to hook them up directly to the source, avoiding the preamp. But maybe you need/want volume control via remote and the amp itself doesn't have it, then that wouldn't do the trick for you. At least the preamp could then be on without the power amps being powered on, though.

I thought maybe you have four power amps connected at the same time, for a four channel system. If you don't need to be able to switch remotely, there are XLR output switch boxes. That can get really pricy if you prefer expensive interconnects, and might not be fully transparent - but I haven't tried any yet. The
ARX ABS-2 is one of the cheaper (and uglier) ones. The Goldpoint SW2X-O looks interesting, but seems overpriced to me. The Dodocus UBox2X also looks promising.

Just some food for thought, I'm curious which route you'll be taking in the end.

 

[Benny-x]

Look at AVM. They offer a modular pre that can be configured and modified as per one’s needs. It is quite pricey though.

That's an interesting unit that can certainly be built to my needs and more. I've never even heard of AVM. I wonder if the sound is in that price bracket, though?

It looks like for 2x XLR in cards it'd be ~2580 GBP, then 3x XLR out cards would be ~3870 GBP, then the master chassis unit would be 5990 GBP. So, for 12,440 GBP I can get a pre that has 2x XLR in and 3x XLR out. That's quite a walk outside my price bracket, but I'm still wondering if that's really worth it? Like is the sound quality really in that league? That's the same league as an AR Ref 6, which also has 2x XLR in + 3x XLR out, but the Ref 6 is a world-renowned Pre. Any ideas?

 

[Benny-x]

Ah, I wasn't sure what the downstream components are. For amps with their own attenuator, it might be best to hook them up directly to the source, avoiding the preamp. But maybe you need/want volume control via remote and the amp itself doesn't have it, then that wouldn't do the trick for you. At least the preamp could then be on without the power amps being powered on, though.

I thought maybe you have four power amps connected at the same time, for a four channel system. If you don't need to be able to switch remotely, there are XLR output switch boxes. That can get really pricey if you prefer expensive interconnects, and might not be fully transparent - but I haven't tried any yet. The
ARX ABS-2 is one of the cheaper (and uglier) ones. The Goldpoint SW2X-O looks interesting, but seems overpriced to me. The Dodocus UBox2X also looks promising.

Just some food for thought, I'm curious which route you'll be taking in the end.

It's great stuff. I was looking into pro-audio components also, because my situation looks a lot like those applications, but I didn't know what to call what I was looking for, so I didn't make much progress.

From your tips, I guess I found this one: https://www.markertek.com/product/a...r-isolated-active-broadcast-splitter-pressbox

But it's a mic-splitter, which I don't really follow if there's any different? In the specs, it says outputs #1-8 are line level (0dB) and #8-16 are switchable from mic (-30dB) to line (0dB). But I'm not sure how that works for me nor how I could run 2 outputs (L+R) at once, etc.

I can follow the direction you thought I was looking at, but that one is easier than my situation. My needs are essentially built around DAC+amp+headphones/speaker pairings. When you've got multiple headphones and a rack, it's OK to throw a few amps in there and try to make the ideal pairings, which is where I am now. 2 DACs, 4 headphones, 3 amps. I only like to run one chain at a time, but I want to be able to switch I/O via remote (if possible; and it is possible with the Tortuga LDR xB), and I don't want to make a compromise in I/O or having to plug/unplug units as I want to listen to them if I'm going to drop a few thousand on a pre.

The ARX pro-audio "pre" linked above seems like it could match, but I don't know enough about pro-audio gear and mics/other to say yet. I'll try looking into it. For this specific unit, at $1900, it's too close to the $3000 Tortuga price to consider, at least that's how I feel now.

You've certainly got me going in a good direction, though. Thanks.

 

[Alcophone]

From your tips, I guess I found this one: https://www.markertek.com/product/a...r-isolated-active-broadcast-splitter-pressbox

But it's a mic-splitter, which I don't really follow if there's any different? In the specs, it says outputs #1-8 are line level (0dB) and #8-16 are switchable from mic (-30dB) to line (0dB). But I'm not sure how that works for me nor how I could run 2 outputs (L+R) at once, etc.

Oooh... yeah I think all outputs are active at the same time here, and are probably a mono mix of the two inputs. Not quite what you're looking for.

There's also the Pro Co Switch Witch, with four outputs, which can even be active at the same time. Passive, no remote. $249.
I'd love to see a quality analysis of its components and circuitry.

Edit: the Coleman Audio SPK5+1 and MS6R also look interesting.

 

[Maxx134]

. I think the problem with HD800/HD800s is that they are relatively cheap but to fully uncover their potential costs an arm. Even at their extreme, they still have 0 bass. Maybe if you only like baroque music they are good c

The HD800 remain the standard and marker for resolution at a top level.

If a headphone can match or surpass it in resolve, then it can be considered a TOTL headphone.

The HD800 can be had for way less than any cans at this level,
And only need system to match them, notably, a tube amp to give bass sustain/decay, to fill in its bass.
The HD800S tries to do this by elevated lower spectrum slightly but also added a hint of distortion as well.
My HD800 to 800S conversion mod does similar without the added distortion.

I'm setting here listening to my HD800's and can't believe the other review about the HPA4 and HD800's 1cm sound stage and lack of bass...

Very simply put the HD800 has bass but its such a different type of bass,
and when you are comparing it to an Abyss Phi (arguably the best bass headphones) or other top "planar", its no contest, but can be mitigated with equipment (thicker amps).

The Benchmark being so neutral and transparent makes the difference more apparent.

 

[jsiau]

I thought maybe you have four power amps connected at the same time, for a four channel system. If you don't need to be able to switch remotely, there are XLR output switch boxes. That can get really pricy if you prefer expensive interconnects, and might not be fully transparent - but I haven't tried any yet. The
ARX ABS-2 is one of the cheaper (and uglier) ones. The Goldpoint SW2X-O looks interesting, but seems overpriced to me. The Dodocus UBox2X also looks promising.

We have used the ARX RS-2, which is a relay-switched version of the ARX ABS-2. We use the 12V trigger output from a Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier to switch the signal to the amp when the amp is turned on. The relay-switched version is highly transparent and can be controlled by a 12V trigger. We have not tried the push button version.