I forgot to add that the HA-300 is really sensitive to wifi signals and had to relocate my wifi router. Other than that, I don't really have any issues with any hum or noise.
Last edited:
Cayin HA-300MK2 (2022) TOTL Transformer coupled Direct Heated Triode Tube HeadAmp (Page 91)
- Thread starter Andykong
- Start date
Can the AVVT AV32B SL be used in this amplifier? I think these are equivalent as the EML 300B-XLS
http://www.jacmusic.com/avvt/datashts/av32b.htm
http://www.jacmusic.com/avvt/datashts/av32b.htm
Glad you mentioned this. Whenever HA-300 user approach me with a hum/hissing problem, I'll ask him to check if there is a RF signal in the circuit (e.g., antenna input to TV or STB) or nearby, Most Solid State amp users will not understand the Direct Heated Triode tube amplifiers are typically sensitive to RF interference.
iceanddice
100+ Head-Fier
Back from the honey moon phase and now I no longer love the stock 300b after swapping it with a pair of Gold Lions PX300B.
I must admit the stock TJ Full Music 300b/n were slightly more transparent, faster and had deeper/punchier bass than the GL, but at the cost of being too sizzly/shrilly with vocals! The GL on the other hand is very balanced with better depth and soundstage!
One of my of stock TJ 300b/n glass is bigger than the other and I noticed a chip on the ceramic base of the tube. I'll try a different mesh type 300b from another brand tube next time.
I'm still at break in period with the GL at less than 100hrs and I'm sure these will loosen up a bit more in a few days.
Later today I'm swapping the stock Shuguang WE6SN7 with a pair of Psvane CV181-TII and will give a brief impression on them.
Overall I'm very satisfied with the HA-300 and I already sold my IHA-6 because it'll just collect dust. I'm pretty much done with solid state amps!
300B is truly a magical tube and I can't wait to try more!
I actually got the Gold Lions even before I got my amp. I told myself I'd only stick em in when the stock tubes gave out -- turns out I was just lying to myself. Slapped em on 3 days ago! Sound stage is primarily where I sense the improvement... Didn't get to A/B with the stock ones though but I'm not sure I still wanna go back.
Just got it yesterday so still breaking in but with a brief listen, I am left speechless with Utopia!
First thing I noticed is the gobs of resolution this thing spits out and the thunderous slam and bass yet its not muddy nor bloomy!
The level of transparency, layering and clarity is almost SS-like and made me not want to listen to my IHA-6 anymore. I never knew a tube amp is able to go toe to toe with a good SS amp!
Soundstage is very open, airy and I get a better sense of depth. It paired really well with my Holo Spring and it didn't ruin its holographic nature.
I'll add more later when its fully broken in but so far it has exceeded my expectations and made my Utopia show its true colors!
Back from the honey moon phase and now I no longer love the stock 300b after swapping it with a pair of Gold Lions PX300B.
I must admit the stock TJ Full Music 300b/n were slightly more transparent, faster and had deeper/punchier bass than the GL, but at the cost of being too sizzly/shrilly with vocals! The GL on the other hand is very balanced with better depth and soundstage!
One of my of stock TJ 300b/n glass is bigger than the other and I noticed a chip on the ceramic base of the tube. I'll try a different mesh type 300b from another brand tube next time.
I'm still at break in period with the GL at less than 100hrs and I'm sure these will loosen up a bit more in a few days.
Later today I'm swapping the stock Shuguang WE6SN7 with a pair of Psvane CV181-TII and will give a brief impression on them.
Overall I'm very satisfied with the HA-300 and I already sold my IHA-6 because it'll just collect dust. I'm pretty much done with solid state amps!
300B is truly a magical tube and I can't wait to try more!
Find new love in 300B already? That's a quick move.
Glad you like your HA-300. The Utopia is one of the reference headphones that I used to demonstrate HA-300 frequently in previous shows. On top of demonstrating the quality of a TOTL headphone system, the HA-300 + Utopia synergy is unique and attractive, the system will draw the listeners into music in regardless of your preference: whatever you are looking for, we have it in this demo.
When I started my audiophile hobby , I also jumped to the conclusion quickly that tube amplifiers are slow (or sluggish?), colored (non-neutral), laid back (boring) and mid-range centric (below average extension on both ends). So you are not alone to underrate the performance of a high quality tube amplifier. When properly design and built, tube amplifier can definitely compete with Solid State amplifiers on almost every aspect (well, maybe except background noise) and at the same time offers impressive musicality and much longer continuous listening duration.
I am not surprised that you have done with Solid State amplifier, the 300B is magical, there is a good reason why this tube is so sought after in the audiophile community. By the way, Western Electric has announced that the WE 300B electron tube will re-enter production this year, in time for their 80th Anniversary, so stay tune for that, A pair of NOS Western Electronic 300B can easily cost more then the HA-300 right now, so it would be interesting if the new batch of WE300B will retain the glory of the dream tube and yet become affordable.
https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018...-re-enter-production-launch-of-new-amplifier/
The Utopia is very much like the Abyss Diana.
They match Really really well because they are so transparent, and the Cayin is so dam musical.
It increases the size and power and life of the headphones.
I was listening to the Cayin 3days ago at a friend's house, so memory still fresh.
The euphoric nature of the amp, is extremely well done, because it is ever so slightly richer than a 2a3 amp, while being extremely resolving so you only notice how musicall it is.
Especially with highly resolving headphones.
It makes the HD800 scale higher than I have heard before.
You would never say the HD800 lacks any bass with this amp.
Wait till your tubes burn in and the trebles become optimal.
Happens to all new tubes, you gotta burn them in.
Stock driver tubes highly musicall, but take a while to burn in...
If your not patient,
roll in some old stock Tung-sol in driver tube spot, you get an instant slap of dynamics and stage.
Hey, you are MK6+ and MK8se users? I owned MK6+ previously and had written a very long review for MK6+ vs MK8se before I join Cayin, they are marvelous headphone amplifiers.
Wander where you are located? Little Dot has limited circulation outside China,
I tends to agree with you that HA-300 works well with highly resolving headphones. In my experience, HA-300 works well with almost every dynamic headphone I throw to it. I have tried, Utopia, Clear, HD800, T1, K812/K872,, and ZMF Auteur already and none has disappointed me so far. The result with Planar is mixed. Susvara, Thror (Kennerton), Empyrean and D8000 sounds very good but Abyss, HEK, Ether Flow are not as outstanding. I haven't try Audeze yet and I am looking forwards to that,
Well, consider you bought the Utopia and Dana lazuli almost immediately after you bought our HA-300, I don't think can stand the temptation to NOT plugging the GL into HA-300 right away. I think you are doing very well already if you only do that 3 days ago.
iceanddice
100+ Head-Fier
Well, consider you bought the Utopia and Dana lazuli almost immediately after you bought our HA-300, I don't think can stand the temptation to NOT plugging the GL into HA-300 right away. I think you are doing very well already if you only do that 3 days ago.
LOL! You're right but the stock Full Music's we're pulling their weight in gold and my unaccustomed ears (coming from a Deckard --> iha-6 --> HA-300) were no match for what they brought to the table.
Yes, 6F8G with adapters can be used as replacement for 6SN7 in HA-300
Technically yes, but we don't recommend this. The Plate Dissipation of AV32B SL is 65W. HA-300 is optimized to work with standard 300B with plate dissipation at around 42W.
Glad you mentioned this. Whenever HA-300 user approach me with a hum/hissing problem, I'll ask him to check if there is a RF signal in the circuit (e.g., antenna input to TV or STB) or nearby, Most Solid State amp users will not understand the Direct Heated Triode tube amplifiers are typically sensitive to RF interference.
And I want to add one remark that is partially related to this issue. If you set the HA-300 input to XLR, you must connect a source device to the XLR input terminals, otherwise you'll likely hear background noise or hum from the HA-300. Similar will also applied to RCA inputs.
This is because the input impedance of HA-300 is rated at 100KΩ, this is significantly higher then input impedance of Solid State amplifier. When testing the HA-300 without a source device connected, the "opened" input terminal will work as an antenna picking up all sorts of noise and RF interference. When you connect a source device to the input terminal, you have closed up the circuit sealed the amplifier from interference. For similar reason, we recommend interconnects with strong shielding capability, especially if you have tight space in the back of the amplifier and the interconnect will mingle with power cords inevitably.
I have had different experience.
In my experience no solid sate amp come close to the resolve and holography of tube amp..
I have also had tube amps dead silent as well.
Solid state amps can deliver some raw power but the micro details, ambience, layering, and resolve are all superior in tube amps, for me.
I remember you guys had them all in Cayin room at CanJam NYC.
I remember I felt the D8000 and kennerton Headphones were nice, but both were less lively than both abyss models and Susvara.
Yes I have MK8 which was nice upper mid-tier level in stock form,
And used it as guinipig to learn about tube amps and worked on it,
But currently like my friend's Cayin a bit more, as it have more power and 300b sound has unique euphoric touch.
I don't know how long it takes the stock tubes to fully break in, and they are a very nicely balanced selection,
but I have experienced a bit more even larger soundstage with EML tubes.
Last edited:
Cayin HA-300 received Silver Award in the Fujiya Avic Spring Headphone Festival 2018, ¥200,000 and above Desktop Headphone Amplifier category. The Gold Award goes to Headamp Audio BSHE electrostatic headphone amplifier and the Bronze award goes to GS-X2 headphone amplifier of the same company.
Cayin is grateful for the recognition from our Toyko friends, and we are looking forward to the Autumn Headphone Festival already.
Full list of Spring Headphone Festival 2018 awards:
https://www.fujiya-avic.jp/user_data/hpfes-award2018s.php
CSIR
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2007
- Posts
- 219
- Likes
- 21
Andy feel free to send me a unit for review 
. Even if it doesn't sound great it looks fantastic.
#topofthewishlist
. Even if it doesn't sound great it looks fantastic.#topofthewishlist
To ice-break form a long silent, let's talk about the volume control of HA-300.
For those who have used headphone amplifiers and speaker amplifiers extensively, do you recognize that the attenuation rates of volume control of these amplifiers are quite different? Headphone users prefer a fine control on the volume control of their amplifier. IEM users prefer 1dB steps, and headphone users prefer 2 to 3 dB steps, but speaker amplifier need a larger gap between each volume adjustment to reach similar “impact” on volume control. In other word, the distance between the transducer and your ear will correlate to the attenuation rate of volume control they preferred. Since the HA-300 is a headphone amplifier and speaker amplifier in one chassis, so defining an attenuation curve that can work with headphones and speakers become a challenge.
We start off by setting the mid-point (i.e., volume mark at 12 o’clock) attenuation value with our standard speaker system, and then work out +12 and -12 desirable steps that will work for both headphones and speakers on both side of the mid-point, this become our targeted 24 steps attenuation curve for HA-300 volume pot (step zero as mute). We then set off to find the best possible after-market volume pot that will closely resemble our attenuation curve. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any, so at the end of the day, we have to custom make a 4 channel rotary potentiometer according to our attenuation curve exactly from one of our trusted supplier, and this is what we end up with:
Some basic information about this volume pot:
Network: Serial Type
No. of Steps: 24
Resistor: BH1/4w Carbon Film
Total: 65dB
Mechanical life: minimum 20,000 cycles
The installation of the volume pot looks like this:
For those who have used headphone amplifiers and speaker amplifiers extensively, do you recognize that the attenuation rates of volume control of these amplifiers are quite different? Headphone users prefer a fine control on the volume control of their amplifier. IEM users prefer 1dB steps, and headphone users prefer 2 to 3 dB steps, but speaker amplifier need a larger gap between each volume adjustment to reach similar “impact” on volume control. In other word, the distance between the transducer and your ear will correlate to the attenuation rate of volume control they preferred. Since the HA-300 is a headphone amplifier and speaker amplifier in one chassis, so defining an attenuation curve that can work with headphones and speakers become a challenge.
We start off by setting the mid-point (i.e., volume mark at 12 o’clock) attenuation value with our standard speaker system, and then work out +12 and -12 desirable steps that will work for both headphones and speakers on both side of the mid-point, this become our targeted 24 steps attenuation curve for HA-300 volume pot (step zero as mute). We then set off to find the best possible after-market volume pot that will closely resemble our attenuation curve. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any, so at the end of the day, we have to custom make a 4 channel rotary potentiometer according to our attenuation curve exactly from one of our trusted supplier, and this is what we end up with:
Some basic information about this volume pot:
Network: Serial Type
No. of Steps: 24
Resistor: BH1/4w Carbon Film
Total: 65dB
Mechanical life: minimum 20,000 cycles
The installation of the volume pot looks like this:
riffrafff
1000+ Head-Fier
Looks good. Do the left and right channels "track" correctly at the first few steps off of mute (step zero)?
