[Cosmin Stanescu]

So you heard the Benchmark doing exactly what it's designed to do, provide an unaffected sound.



I would highly recommend the Quicksilver Audio headphone amp. Another SS amp to consider is the Little Labs Monotor. Both are extremely dynamic, quiet and will easily power any HP irregardless of impedance. If you want the warmth the Pathos Acoustics Aurium is a hybrid tube / mosfet that's highly respected.

This is the shelf below my Benchmark system. The Benchmark DAC3 allows a digital pass-through so I run that to the Cranesong and to these amps or I can take the second analog out of the HPA4 to the Pathos which has 2 pass-throughs to feed the other HP amps. It all depends on whether I'm tracking, mixing or mastering.

I just saw Aurium at a supplier in my country, now i want to check it out. Thanks !

 

[fjd93]

Hey guys, so I actually have a HPA4 coming next week that I purchased of another member. I'm very excited, as I'm coming from the OG Schiit Stack. I have two concerns that maybe you guys can help me with.
1) Would the Topping D90 MQA provide an adequate pairing for a headphone amp at this level? Any other recommendations of a slightly warm sounding Dac that would pair well?
2) Looking for a set of cans that have a vast sound stage, and great imaging with a solid low end.( was possibly thinking fostex 900mk2)
Use case 50% gaming 40% music 10% movies. Currently I actually only have a pair of JH audio Lola Custom In ear monitors.

 

[yyzSB]

A review of the HPA4 said that since the noise floor of the unit is so low even low end DACs sound good through the HPA4. That is the HPA4 won't mess up any DAC. I have a new $1580 DAC3B with the HPA4 (put it on XLR input 1) and I think it sounds great. It actually sounds better to me that the DAC3 HGC used as a preamp that I owned before. It is the HPA4's volume control that tips thee balance. So my feeling is your Topping D90 MQA would sound even better on the HPA4 than alone + Topping digital volume.

If you can stay with balanced connections (XLR) you are going to get the best out of the HPA4. A nice document explaining why this is so can be found on the Benchmark web site under Application Notes menu option.

I am pretty excited myself because I am buying a used Thiel CS3.7 speaker this Saturday to run with my pure Benchmark stack. It is one of the greatest speakers ever made in my and a lot of others opinion. Not a lot of talk about the HPA4 as a preamp on this site, but it is incredible in that role. Some people with $20K preamps are switching to the HPA4/LA4. It is that good, especially if you want an unaltered signal.

 

[phthora]

Hey guys, so I actually have a HPA4 coming next week that I purchased of another member. I'm very excited, as I'm coming from the OG Schiit Stack. I have two concerns that maybe you guys can help me with.
1) Would the Topping D90 MQA provide an adequate pairing for a headphone amp at this level? Any other recommendations of a slightly warm sounding Dac that would pair well?
2) Looking for a set of cans that have a vast sound stage, and great imaging with a solid low end.( was possibly thinking fostex 900mk2)
Use case 50% gaming 40% music 10% movies. Currently I actually only have a pair of JH audio Lola Custom In ear monitors.

Also, if you are pairing with a non-Benchmark DAC, you may need to use the input boost option on the amp. That gives the incoming signal up to 10 extra db of gain and makes up a bit for the fact that most DACs have a less powerful output than the Benchmarks. Without that input boost, you may think the HPA4 lacks a bit of power. It's down a couple of menus on the screen, but it's easy to change once you know it's there.

 

[fjd93]

Unfortunately before even receiving my Amp, life has forced me to move on. Anyone that would be interested in a mint hpa4 let me know I'll let it go for a fair price. I can't post on classifieds yet.

 

[Sajid Amit]

@bimmer100 How do I source the Holo Audio May DAC in Singapore?

 

[Giru]

So I got my hands on a unit last week; finally!
Just wanted to share my observations here.
I'm working with a company that deals in medical devices and we have been doing some R&D in the field of audiometry lately.
To that end I was looking for a reference balanced headphone amp that was powerful enough to drive any and every sort of transducer on the planet.
I auditioned quite a few amps in this process. I had got the opportunity to listen to the hpa4 a few months back but I barely got an hour or so with it. Three weeks ago I finally persuaded the owner to loan me the unit for some detailed testing and he yielded.
First things First; the amp measures pretty much how the company claims. It measures so well infact that I could finally test the limits of my test bench. Full marks here. As far our research goes, this is a stellar piece of equipment and it should work like a champ for any critical work.
After it's superb test performance, I was really excited to listen to this in my personal rig. I hooked it up via the balanced output on my dac.
I have been listening to this setup with a very wide range of headphones and IEMs for about a week now.
The amp is nice, it's clear, transparent, fast and has very decent levels of details as well. However, I found it to be slightly emotionless and cold at times. The overall presentation of the amp is a bit dry and sterile. Initially I had suspected that it must be the partnering gear but I had a few friends bring over their gear on the weekend and I think all of us agreed that the amp is a bit too uncolored for its own good.
In certain scenarios this can be a good thing but I feel that the Hpa4 lacks some musicality. Considering this is a 3k USD device, I'd say it is more suitable for critical work than for personal use, unless ofcourse you're looking for a clinical sound. This is a bummer coz I was really looking forward to getting my own personal unit. Anyway, the hunt continues.
I still have the amp for this week. Let's hope my opinion changes

 

[Roasty]

So I got my hands on a unit last week; finally!
Just wanted to share my observations here.
I'm working with a company that deals in medical devices and we have been doing some R&D in the field of audiometry lately.
To that end I was looking for a reference balanced headphone amp that was powerful enough to drive any and every sort of transducer on the planet.
I auditioned quite a few amps in this process. I had got the opportunity to listen to the hpa4 a few months back but I barely got an hour or so with it. Three weeks ago I finally persuaded the owner to loan me the unit for some detailed testing and he yielded.
First things First; the amp measures pretty much how the company claims. It measures so well infact that I could finally test the limits of my test bench. Full marks here. As far our research goes, this is a stellar piece of equipment and it should work like a champ for any critical work.
After it's superb test performance, I was really excited to listen to this in my personal rig. I hooked it up via the balanced output on my dac.
I have been listening to this setup with a very wide range of headphones and IEMs for about a week now.
The amp is nice, it's clear, transparent, fast and has very decent levels of details as well. However, I found it to be slightly emotionless and cold at times. The overall presentation of the amp is a bit dry and sterile. Initially I had suspected that it must be the partnering gear but I had a few friends bring over their gear on the weekend and I think all of us agreed that the amp is a bit too uncolored for its own good.
In certain scenarios this can be a good thing but I feel that the Hpa4 lacks some musicality. Considering this is a 3k USD device, I'd say it is more suitable for critical work than for personal use, unless ofcourse you're looking for a clinical sound. This is a bummer coz I was really looking forward to getting my own personal unit. Anyway, the hunt continues.
I still have the amp for this week. Let's hope my opinion changes

Accurate and measures well. But emotionless, lacks musicality, uncoloured.

You hit the nail on the head. However, there are still some people who value measurements and accuracy over all else. Like some people on another forum...

 

[Tobes]

Accurate and measures well. But emotionless, lacks musicality, uncoloured.

Yep, not for people who require added distortion to achieve 'musicality'.
HPA4 is for folks who want to hear the unaltered sound of their sources - for better or worse

 

[Arniesb]

Accurate and measures well. But emotionless, lacks musicality, uncoloured.

You hit the nail on the head. However, there are still some people who value measurements and accuracy over all else. Like some people on another forum...

Would rather take solid state and add colorations with copper cables instead of wasting money on tube amps.

 

[Giru]

Accurate and measures well. But emotionless, lacks musicality, uncoloured.

You hit the nail on the head. However, there are still some people who value measurements and accuracy over all else. Like some people on another forum...

Please don't get me wrong. This is very well put together. It has all the bells and whistles; the multiple input outputs, touch screen, preamp functionality, THX branding and what not, but it seems that the sound quality is a bit on the sterile side.
The instruments lack texture and finer details on sharp instruments is slightly aggressive (for example in the track "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack, the drum hits sound slightly opaque and the more sharper instruments are overly emphasized, In the live rendition of "Hotel California"; the bongo doesn't have that organic bite that you hear when a hand strikes its head, In the track "Alone again Or" by Love; the guitars don't seem to have that shimmer accompanying the progression, I could go on but you get the idea). The sound seems to be leaning towards clarity than tone. I've heard better for 3K.

That said, the observations are purely subjective and one may find this type of sound agreeable as well. The only problem is that if such sound is what one is looking for it can be had for much less money. One of the friends had brought along another THX amp (789 from massdrop) and I kid you not; 7 out of 10 people would not be able to differentiate between the two amps in a blind test if both the amps were playing at moderate to loud listening levels using your regular set of headphones like the HD650. The very fine differences are all there but that would require extremely critical listening which is only possible when you're sitting down purposely for that. The differences become apparent only when you're throwing in four figure flagships and want to listen at high to very high volume levels.

My apologies if I seem to be ranting, but I'm really let down with the unegaging sound on this otherwise beautiful piece of gear.

 

[Roasty]

I did own the hpa4.
I get some people may like it. I liked it more as a line amp than a headphone amp.
Some ss amps sound better than others for headphones, eg I preferred the gsx mini over the hpa4.
I also owned the thx789 but goodness it sounded so flat.

 

[Giru]

Yep, not for people who require added distortion to achieve 'musicality'.
HPA4 is for folks who want to hear the unaltered sound of their sources - for better or worse

You bring up an interesting point brother. Music recordings by definition are not "Unaltered". For someone who has been in a family of singers, I can tell you that your songs are anything but what they sound in reality. The mixing process deliberately makes the recording sound more "real" so that you can enjoy Roberta Flack singing in front of you while she actually isn't. So if you're really looking at "Unaltered", you're not getting it unless you're listening to it live in a concert or in a room.
Which brings me to my main point: What would you consider as reference? Something that's true to the recording or something that's true to as if the artist was playing live in front of you. I'd choose the latter.

 

[elisiX]

Spent some time this evening comparing HPA4, Moon 430HAD (dac and amp), DAC3 and RME ADI-2, and wow what an experience that was. Headphones used were HD800S, Utopia and Empyrean.

Without writing a lengthy post, I felt like the RME/HPA4 pair suited trance and dance music best, but the Moon 430HAD (as a dac and amp) brought so much more to the party when it came to vocals and atmosphere, especially for sound tracks.

I’m looking for my next potential upgrade from my V281 (to be paired with my current RME ADI-2) and I’m unsure which way to go (HPA4 or 430HAD), but it’s going to be really interesting trying to decide which way to go.

A friend is doing the same and he’s buying both which I’m reluctant to do at this time, but damn they’d all live very happily together, used for they’re own purposes and matched music types.

 

[Giru]

Spent some time this evening comparing HPA4, Moon 430HAD (dac and amp), DAC3 and RME ADI-2, and wow what an experience that was. Headphones used were HD800S, Utopia and Empyrean.

Without writing a lengthy post, I felt like the RME/HPA4 pair suited trance and dance music best, but the Moon 430HAD (as a dac and amp) brought so much more to the party when it came to vocals and atmosphere, especially for sound tracks.

I’m looking for my next potential upgrade from my V281 (to be paired with my current RME ADI-2) and I’m unsure which way to go (HPA4 or 430HAD), but it’s going to be really interesting trying to decide which way to go.

A friend is doing the same and he’s buying both which I’m reluctant to do at this time, but damn they’d all live very happily together, used for they’re own purposes and matched music types.

Wow that's quite a setup you've got there.
The V281 has been on my crosshairs for sometime now but I haven't been able to nail down a unit for testing. I have heard the V200 and really liked it but it only does single ended output.
Fwiw, I don't think the Hpa4 will be an "Upgrade" from the V281, more like another flavour perhaps (the "sidegrade" as they say)