[rmsanger]

The only things I've been able to gleen so far are the 4.4mm balanced connection and likely a volume pot with many more steps, according to what Andy said over the past few pages.

For sure there will be more than that, but I can't really figure anything else out even with those nice, new pictures.

Looking forward to the event, though. I looked around online in China and couldn't find any threads yet about the MK2. That's definitely going to change after this weekend.

Any details you get and help with translation to English would be greatly appreciated!

im hoping the power output is improved just a touch to Improve macros with sus /1266 and hoping the speaker output gets a bump as well.

 

[Yggy]

Yes, more power would be good for Susvara headphones. I listen at 12:00 on the low impedance setting and have no problems with volume but maybe more power would scale up the performance of hard-to-drive headphones like Susvara to the level reviewers describe with the Riviera AIC-10 and Bakoon Amp-13R.

I don’t have a problem with the volume pot increments. I think I read that there is no benefit driving Susvara headphones from the HA300 speak taps? Has anybody tried that?

My Denafrips Terminator 2 arrived yesterday. In my rush to switch out my Yggy I reconnected the HA300 umbilical cord plugs upside down with the socket notch down and only got 1 channel of RCA and XLR analog from the HA300 so I thought the Terminator 2 was faulty for a couple of hours. Doh!

The Chinese really are a clever bunch. The Terminator 2 bested my Yggy A2 with Unison USB comprehensively, albeit at three times its price. Nothing beats the Yggy at its price point though. My DAC, headphone amp, and headphones are now all Chinese with the Brits taking care of the back-end with a Melco N1ZS/2A audio server and Isol 8 Minisub 2 power conditioner I’ve had for years.

 

[Andykong]

We have debut an engineering sample of HA-300 MK2 at the 16th Shenzhen Headphone Show. The event will last from 15 to 17 October at The Pavilion Hotel.

1. The MK2 Engineering sample will be demoed with 2 x Genalex PX300B and 2 x Tung-SOL 6SN7, power rectification remain unchanged as 4x RCA 22DE4.
2. 4.4mm and XLR4 Balanced and 6.35m Single-ended Phone Out
3. L, M, H Impedance Matching Output
4. Electronic Volume Control with ALPS Potentiometer

We shall finalised the design and setting of HA-300MK2 after this event and provide more measurements after this event.

 

[vkenz]

finally, they fixed the volume control.

 

[Yggy]

Would be interesting to compare the sound of the MK2 with MK1 tubes swapped in to the MK1.

 

[jambaj0e]

This is great! Can't wait to hear more about this!

 

[ThanatosVI]

We have debut an engineering sample of HA-300 MK2 at the 16th Shenzhen Headphone Show. The event will last from 15 to 17 October at The Pavilion Hotel.

1. The MK2 Engineering sample will be demoed with 2 x Genalex PX300B and 2 x Tung-SOL 6SN7, power rectification remain unchanged as 4x RCA 22DE4.
2. 4.4mm and XLR4 Balanced and 6.35m Single-ended Phone Out
3. L, M, H Impedance Matching Output
4. Electronic Volume Control with ALPS Potentiometer

We shall finalised the design and setting of HA-300MK2 after this event and provide more measurements after this event.

In black I actually consider getting it in addition to my Octave.

From my past experience with the Ha-6a I know that the haptics with the power Button feel really nice. It's weird how even these little details contribute to the experience.

With the Speakertaps I can also connect my Mjölnir SRD-7 Energizer for usage with the Audeze CRBN.

Since I am using a pre amp, the volume pot Was never a problem for me.
Unity gain/power amp Mode would have been nice though.

The only dreadfull thing are the 22DE4 tubes. No new production available and NOS is really hard to find in germany.
I wish the Rectifiers would be changed to 274B.

Will there be a price change between Mk1 and Mk2?

Can't wait to see how it compares to the Feliks Audio 300B.

 

[normie610]

The only dreadfull thing are the 22DE4 tubes. No new production available and NOS is really hard to find in germany.
I wish the Rectifiers would be changed to 274B.

Is there no substitute for 22DE4?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Is there no substitute for 22DE4?

None that I know of.

 

[normie610]

None that I know of.

That’s too bad since rectifiers can bring a noticeable change to sound.

 

[Andykong]

In black I actually consider getting it in addition to my Octave.

From my past experience with the Ha-6a I know that the haptics with the power Button feel really nice. It's weird how even these little details contribute to the experience.

With the Speakertaps I can also connect my Mjölnir SRD-7 Energizer for usage with the Audeze CRBN.

Since I am using a pre amp, the volume pot Was never a problem for me.
Unity gain/power amp Mode would have been nice though.

The only dreadfull thing are the 22DE4 tubes. No new production available and NOS is really hard to find in germany.
I wish the Rectifiers would be changed to 274B.

Will there be a price change between Mk1 and Mk2?

Can't wait to see how it compares to the Feliks Audio 300B.

What is the minimal input requirement of your SRD-7 Energizer? The HA-300 only deliver 8W per channel from its speaker tap, it is relatively low for speaker output, not sure if it'll work well with your SRD-7 and CRBN.

The 22DE4 are available under RCA (stock tube), GE, Raytheon, and a coupe of smaller labels. It's most unfortunately that they are not available in Germany. Please be reminded that there is no need to get the tube in match pair (or matched quad), and the tubes are meant to be used for 5 to 10 years of normal operation, non-NOS or even less than premium condition 22DE4 will work fine. These are relatively low-priced vacuum tubes (lots of choice below $10 per tube), so I guess the risk to source from other European countries are relatively low?

We are trying very hard to stay within the same budget, but there has been an increase in component prices of up to 40% as compared to last quarter (HERE), and selected components price even raised 100% since the outbreak, we are really struggling at this stage. We can't work out the final number until all the components has arrived (2-4 weeks if the logistic delays are not too outrageous).

 

[ThanatosVI]

What is the minimal input requirement of your SRD-7 Energizer? The HA-300 only deliver 8W per channel from its speaker tap, it is relatively low for speaker output, not sure if it'll work well with your SRD-7 and CRBN.

The 22DE4 are available under RCA (stock tube), GE, Raytheon, and a coupe of smaller labels. It's most unfortunately that they are not available in Germany. Please be reminded that there is no need to get the tube in match pair (or matched quad), and the tubes are meant to be used for 5 to 10 years of normal operation, non-NOS or even less than premium condition 22DE4 will work fine. These are relatively low-priced vacuum tubes (lots of choice below $10 per tube), so I guess the risk to source from other European countries are relatively low?

We are trying very hard to stay within the same budget, but there has been an increase in component prices of up to 40% as compared to last quarter (HERE), and selected components price even raised 100% since the outbreak, we are really struggling at this stage. We can't work out the final number until all the components has arrived (2-4 weeks if the logistic delays are not too outrageous).

The SRD-7 would work fine with like 3W, so 8W should be enough.
Even if not I can still use the pre out and connect my 100W speakeramp.
It would be a bonus not a requirement.

Looking forward to the final details and price.
Especially in germany where the Cayin distributor sometimes applies enormous markups.

 

[Andykong]

Yes, more power would be good for Susvara headphones. I listen at 12:00 on the low impedance setting and have no problems with volume but maybe more power would scale up the performance of hard-to-drive headphones like Susvara to the level reviewers describe with the Riviera AIC-10 and Bakoon Amp-13R.

I don’t have a problem with the volume pot increments. I think I read that there is no benefit driving Susvara headphones from the HA300 speak taps? Has anybody tried that?

My Denafrips Terminator 2 arrived yesterday. In my rush to switch out my Yggy I reconnected the HA300 umbilical cord plugs upside down with the socket notch down and only got 1 channel of RCA and XLR analog from the HA300 so I thought the Terminator 2 was faulty for a couple of hours. Doh!

The Chinese really are a clever bunch. The Terminator 2 bested my Yggy A2 with Unison USB comprehensively, albeit at three times its price. Nothing beats the Yggy at its price point though. My DAC, headphone amp, and headphones are now all Chinese with the Brits taking care of the back-end with a Melco N1ZS/2A audio server and Isol 8 Minisub 2 power conditioner I’ve had for years.

I can confirm there is no benefit to drive Susvara from the HA300 speak taps. The speaker output from HA-300 delivers 8Vrms, the Low impedance XLR4 headphone output delivers 7.59Vrms, which is very close to the speaker output already. If you change to Mid impedance, the XL4 headphone output will deliver 18.17Vrms, which is more than double of the speaker taps output. Since the Susvara is rated at 60ohm, you should try the Mid impedance, it might works better. Pay special attention to the bass response, linear and articulate bass reproduction is the key factor to decide which is a better impedance setting to match with your headphone.

I didn't know you can turn the umbilical cord plugs upside down and yet screwed into the connectors. Anyway we have received some feedback on the very "bulky" power connectors between the Main Unit and the Power supply unit, so revise the connectors was one of the agenda during MK2 development. I have no idea whether they have identified an alternative connector for that purpose, we'll have to wait and see about that. I can't travel to our Zhuhai head office or attend the Shenzhen headphone show because of the outbreak, so I am as curious as you all regarding the HA-300 MK2.

Yes, we have revised the output transformers, so the output power will be revised as well. However we have to make sure the Focal Steller or LCD-MX4 or Denon 9200 users will also be very happy with the new HA-300. So we are working on the output power and volume control as one complete move. 12 o'clock on low impedance for Susvara is on the low side, I remember I turned the HA-300 to 2 o'clock (at least) at Low impedance when I test drive the Susvara.

 

[Andykong]

yep hopefully Cayin will give a product release sheet at some point.

Yes, definitely. Please be rest assured.

Cayin always provide detail product explanation and specification. You can take a look at our HA-300 product page HERE and expect the new MK2 amplifier will have similar if not better treatment in terms of being informative and transparency.

 

[Andykong]

Does the detail retrieval and bass slam of this amp. compare to a good solid state amp. or is that just not possible?

Detail retrieval are excellent on modern tube amplifier, including the HA-300 or the new MK2.

Bass slam will depends on the synergy. The HA-300 + Utopia combo slam really well IMHO, but I must said bass slam is not the strongest suit of HA-300.

Modern tube amplifier can be very powerful, especially when they are operated in push-pull configuration and in ultralinear mode. Unfortunately, the HA-300 or HA-300MK2 is neither. It is a Single-ended Direct-Heated Triode amplifier and we used the famous 300B dream tube as the power tube in this amplifier. The HA-300 can delivery a lot of dynamic and authoritative playback when called for, but the 300B is famous for its lush and euphonic midrange, rich harmonic and holographic soundstage.