[Benny-x]

My suspicion is this amp isn't a true balanced design my feeling is it works best at RCA/SE mode.....

If you read the thread, Andykong from Cayin details the topology as well as the reasoning, then several other members commented on it as well.

There no secret about it and nothing you need to "have a suspicion" for. It's laid out bare.

Anyway, still crossing my fingers that I can pick one of these up in the coming months.

 

[DrummerLeo]

Hi, I'm here to update some impressions.
The word expensive in terms of sound to me is a very refined but not overly colored sound, pretty much like how Johann Sebastian Bach's music sounds like. HA300 sounds "expensive". HA300's treble is the most impressive part to me. It is very natural and comfortable, everything is just smooth and it reveals all the details I want. The mid range is also very sweet, smooth however it is not like Woo's products that I tried that is very thick in mid and bass, where I think that's why some say HA300 has some SS amp's feature. HA300's bass could be faster and with more attack, it is very accurate but sometimes I was expecting it could go a little deeper.
Well, I don't if it's proper to make a comparison in this thread, but I have to say I tried lots of amps from $2000 to $5000 and 2-3 $7000 level amps, HA300 is so far my favorite. I can't recall everything about DNA's stellaris, but to me these two amps are similar in sound, but stellaris has a better noise control with Utopia(still HA300 is surprisingly quiet with TH900, no humming at all...).
I tried my Uto, HD800s, HE6se, TH900, Tribute 7. My uto sounds just amazing with HA300, it is so attractive, it almost touches the "Utopia" but with a little humming lol. HA with HD800s and TH900 really surprised me, both of these 2 headphones sounds great, HA is able to control their treble, to me HA300 makes them beyond what they were in my mind and brought them to a completely new level. HE6se on HA300 is a little thin with vocals, to be honest I don't know what can drive he6 or 6se to a "perfect" level, I feel they have a potential that sounds better than hekv2, but I also feel there is no amp can completely control this monster. Tribute 7 on HA is a little dark, but I use them for portable anyway.
Overall, I think Cayin did a fantastic job on this amp, HA300 is a very satisfying amp at a very reasonable price. If you are looking for a amp under $4000 or even $5000 please check this one out! I'm going to start my tube rolling this BF, if there is a sale anywhere please let me know lol, thanks!

 

[iceanddice]

Hi, I'm here to update some impressions.
The word expensive in terms of sound to me is a very refined but not overly colored sound, pretty much like how Johann Sebastian Bach's music sounds like. HA300 sounds "expensive". HA300's treble is the most impressive part to me. It is very natural and comfortable, everything is just smooth and it reveals all the details I want. The mid range is also very sweet, smooth however it is not like Woo's products that I tried that is very thick in mid and bass, where I think that's why some say HA300 has some SS amp's feature. HA300's bass could be faster and with more attack, it is very accurate but sometimes I was expecting it could go a little deeper.
Well, I don't if it's proper to make a comparison in this thread, but I have to say I tried lots of amps from $2000 to $5000 and 2-3 $7000 level amps, HA300 is so far my favorite. I can't recall everything about DNA's stellaris, but to me these two amps are similar in sound, but stellaris has a better noise control with Utopia(still HA300 is surprisingly quiet with TH900, no humming at all...).
I tried my Uto, HD800s, HE6se, TH900, Tribute 7. My uto sounds just amazing with HA300, it is so attractive, it almost touches the "Utopia" but with a little humming lol. HA with HD800s and TH900 really surprised me, both of these 2 headphones sounds great, HA is able to control their treble, to me HA300 makes them beyond what they were in my mind and brought them to a completely new level. HE6se on HA300 is a little thin with vocals, to be honest I don't know what can drive he6 or 6se to a "perfect" level, I feel they have a potential that sounds better than hekv2, but I also feel there is no amp can completely control this monster. Tribute 7 on HA is a little dark, but I use them for portable anyway.
Overall, I think Cayin did a fantastic job on this amp, HA300 is a very satisfying amp at a very reasonable price. If you are looking for a amp under $4000 or even $5000 please check this one out! I'm going to start my tube rolling this BF, if there is a sale anywhere please let me know lol, thanks!

Check out Aliexpress for deals on the WE300B Plus replicas by PsVane this coming Black Friday. cheers!

 

[Andykong]

2018 is a special year to Cayin because this is our 25th Anniversary, we have delivered several milestone products that summarized our effort in past three four years. We are fortunate to have customers who take us seriously and valued our contribution. Our highest gratitude and appreciation on this special day – we are so grateful for your support and we are looking forward to a fruitful and exciting 2019, and we hope you'll be there with us. Happy Thanksgiving Day!

 

[Benny-x]

Hi, I'm here to update some impressions.
The word expensive in terms of sound to me is a very refined but not overly colored sound, pretty much like how Johann Sebastian Bach's music sounds like. HA300 sounds "expensive". HA300's treble is the most impressive part to me. It is very natural and comfortable, everything is just smooth and it reveals all the details I want. The mid range is also very sweet, smooth however it is not like Woo's products that I tried that is very thick in mid and bass, where I think that's why some say HA300 has some SS amp's feature. HA300's bass could be faster and with more attack, it is very accurate but sometimes I was expecting it could go a little deeper.
Well, I don't if it's proper to make a comparison in this thread, but I have to say I tried lots of amps from $2000 to $5000 and 2-3 $7000 level amps, HA300 is so far my favorite. I can't recall everything about DNA's stellaris, but to me these two amps are similar in sound, but stellaris has a better noise control with Utopia(still HA300 is surprisingly quiet with TH900, no humming at all...).
I tried my Uto, HD800s, HE6se, TH900, Tribute 7. My uto sounds just amazing with HA300, it is so attractive, it almost touches the "Utopia" but with a little humming lol. HA with HD800s and TH900 really surprised me, both of these 2 headphones sounds great, HA is able to control their treble, to me HA300 makes them beyond what they were in my mind and brought them to a completely new level. HE6se on HA300 is a little thin with vocals, to be honest I don't know what can drive he6 or 6se to a "perfect" level, I feel they have a potential that sounds better than hekv2, but I also feel there is no amp can completely control this monster. Tribute 7 on HA is a little dark, but I use them for portable anyway.
Overall, I think Cayin did a fantastic job on this amp, HA300 is a very satisfying amp at a very reasonable price. If you are looking for a amp under $4000 or even $5000 please check this one out! I'm going to start my tube rolling this BF, if there is a sale anywhere please let me know lol, thanks!

Thanks for the write-up, it covered a lot of different headphones there.

Can you share any info on where your Goldenwave GA-X sits in all of this?

And regarding the HE-6, there are 3 amps I've really gotten them to sing with:
1. Cavalli Audio - Liquid Gold
2. First Watt - F1J
3. Xindak - a600e MkII

If I had to pick 1, it'd be the F1J. It adds a little something more, like a little more meat on the bone, maybe. The Xindak is the best bargain, but it's been too long since I've compared the LAu to the 2 speaker amps, so I can't really place it. It also sounds great.

In the beginning, I could tell the HE-6s had qualities I liked, but they were severely limited by my amps. Now that I have the right stuff for them, the sound is really engaging and I'm sure I'll never let my pair go.

 

[dadracer2]

[/QUOTE]


[/QUOTE]

2018 is a special year to Cayin because this is our 25th Anniversary, we have delivered several milestone products that summarized our effort in past three four years. We are fortunate to have customers who take us seriously and valued our contribution. Our highest gratitude and appreciation on this special day – we are so grateful for your support and we are looking forward to a fruitful and exciting 2019, and we hope you'll be there with us. Happy Thanksgiving Day!

I am hoping for an exciting 2019 as I am in the process of ordering an HA300. It will replace my existing KT66 integrated amp and ss headphone amp. The one question I have is about wifi interference. Has anyone found this to be a problem when say you are using a wifi streamer next to the HA300 please?

 

[project86]

I am hoping for an exciting 2019 as I am in the process of ordering an HA300. It will replace my existing KT66 integrated amp and ss headphone amp. The one question I have is about wifi interference. Has anyone found this to be a problem when say you are using a wifi streamer next to the HA300 please?

I've used the HA300 on the same rack as the Cayin iDap-6 running wireless networking, no issues. Also the Nativ Vita which I normally run via Ethernet, but initially did WiFi just to test it out.... no issues there either.

The streaming player is on one side of the rack, then HA300 a foot or two away, and the router is about 5 feet over to the other side. So it is in between the signals but not super close to either device.... I'm gonna say it's pretty safe but if you put a WiFi device within inches I suppose it could be a problem.

EDIT just remembered I used the iFi iDSD Pro for a while, within about a foot of the HA300, with WiFi streaming. No issues there either.

 

[Andykong]

I am hoping for an exciting 2019 as I am in the process of ordering an HA300. It will replace my existing KT66 integrated amp and ss headphone amp. The one question I have is about wifi interference. Has anyone found this to be a problem when say you are using a wifi streamer next to the HA300 please?

We do receive user feedback that they need to relocate their router to a different room to get rid of interference, I guess that depends on the model of the router (some of the recent routers are monsters with 6-8 antenna shooting up to enhance transmission power) and wifi streamer is smaller problem when compare to router. In general tube amplifier tends to sensitive to ground hum more then wifi interference. Make sure you have used shielded interconnects and properly plug into your equipment otherwise the cable will become an antenna picking up noise into your amplifier.

 

[project86]

Agreed, I have had more issues with ground-related noise than WiFi noise. That goes for tube amps but also SS headphone amps and even preamps etc. Ground loops and other issues are no joke.

I deal with phone noise more often than WiFi. Like when I'm testing a music server that is controlled by a phone, and I set the phone down on or next to the component, I get intermittent and very obvious interference.

Not saying WiFi is not an issue at all but in my particular home it hasn't caused problems. And this with a massive Asus router. Your results may differ of course.

 

[dadracer2]

Agreed, I have had more issues with ground-related noise than WiFi noise. That goes for tube amps but also SS headphone amps and even preamps etc. Ground loops and other issues are no joke.

I deal with phone noise more often than WiFi. Like when I'm testing a music server that is controlled by a phone, and I set the phone down on or next to the component, I get intermittent and very obvious interference.

Not saying WiFi is not an issue at all but in my particular home it hasn't caused problems. And this with a massive Asus router. Your results may differ of course.

Thanks both for your feedback and tips. I use a valve integrated at the moment (only tetrodes strapped as triodes) and there is not an issue so am hoping it is the same again. You are right about ground loops and I have an annoying buzz from my phono amp which I am having trouble solving.

 

[project86]

It also varies from headphone to headphone. I hear zero noise with HD650 but a very slight background grunge with HD660S. AKG K812 has a tiny bit of noise, K7XX has none at all. Fostex woodies are silent, Sony Z1R has noise if you listen closely. So not only does it vary but it can be hard to predict as well.

 

[Andykong]

We would like to thank all our friends, customers and partners for your continuous support throughout the year. We shall take a short break to reunion with our family and celebrate the Chinese New Year. We shall resume office on 14th February 2019.

 

[DrummerLeo]

I've heard lots of good feedback from headfiers who are in canjam and tried ha300. I believe ha-300 will become much more popular after the show. A true diamond will eventually shine out!

 

[project86]

Glad more people can experience this beast - it is exceptional!

 

[westyjeff]

I am loving mine,,,