[mfgillia]

Do you have a favourite out of those tubes? I’ve currently got the Psvanes in, and have looked at tube rolling but some of the NOS options are so bloody expensive these days.

My favorites so far are the 5692 and Psvanes. The latter doesn't get a lot of love on these forums that heavily prefer all things NOS. However, I find the Psvanes pairs well with the Elrog er300Bs, which is where I would generally recommend to spend the money first unless you have a noise problem with the stock Tungsols.

In my system the Psvanes is a more bass heavy experience paired with the Spring 3 and Atriums than the 5692s but I tend to often enjoy that type of sound signature. Others though may find that to be too much / bloated but not to my ears and preferences.

 

[krude]

Off the record (and definitely don't quote on this)!

If Susvara is all that matters to you, then go for the Mk 1, and used the money you saved to roll your 22DE4 and 6SN7, that would be fund and most likely performs better than getting the MK 2 in full retail.

Off the record (and definitely don't quote on this)!

That's a very interesting answer, maybe you could help me understand a few things using the example of the Susvara ... I'm trying to piece my experience together and understand what am I hearing.

My observations so far are :
- typical solid state amps can drive Susvara well (using Oor and Hypsos here as an example), it's clean and effortless, but I get the sense the dynamics are subdued
- when I use my HA6a with KT88, high impedance and UL the micro and macro dynamics are a lot better than any headphone SS amp I've tried. I attribute it to higher output current. As I go through output impedances from L to H and then switch to UL I can notice percievable bumps in micro and macro dynamics (along with other changes of course but dynamics are what I'm interested in)

Do I understand it correctly? Is it higher output current that wakes up hard to drive planars like Susvara?

Now to the 2nd part of the question ...
I'm in the same boat as @Pashmeister , looking to get the HA300 (mk1 or mk2) to get even more current with more headroom (assuming my understanding above is correct) to get the most dynamics out of the Susvara. I've noticed that MK1 has higher power output for SE, I think maxing out around 5W ... SE provides half the volatge of BAL? ... so it should provide way more current to get to 5W (again I don't really know what I'm talking about here lol)?

MK2 is rated at 6W BAL, but does it provide same levels of current as MK1 SE?

I guess to boil it down, does MK1 have any advantages over MK2, and vice versa, with regards to Susvara, but also lets say Utopia.

Any explanation and elaboration would be highly appreciated : )

 

[DMITRIY R]

Perhaps someone has already answered this question, I did not find it in the thread.
Has anyone compared head-on Cayin HA-300 MK2, Auris Nirvana MK4, Auris HA-2 SF. How much does the HA-300 MK2 work better with 1266 TC, Susvara, DCA Stealth?

 

[msq123]

Perhaps someone has already answered this question, I did not find it in the thread.
Has anyone compared head-on Cayin HA-300 MK2, Auris Nirvana MK4, Auris HA-2 SF. How much does the HA-300 MK2 work better with 1266 TC, Susvara, DCA Stealth?

Not a comparison with all these amps but this review from headfonics talk about synergies with most headphones you are looking for including Susvara and Stealth (check out their expanse review for synergy with expanse). Page 3 compares 300 with Auris HA-2SF.

https://headfonics.com/cayin-ha-300mk2-review/2/

https://headfonics.com/dan-clark-audio-expanse-review/2/

 

[ThanatosVI]

Perhaps someone has already answered this question, I did not find it in the thread.
Has anyone compared head-on Cayin HA-300 MK2, Auris Nirvana MK4, Auris HA-2 SF. How much does the HA-300 MK2 work better with 1266 TC, Susvara, DCA Stealth?

I wonder how the Ha-2 SF made it into that List
Is this your current amp?

 

[Wes S]

Not a comparison with all these amps but this review from headfonics talk about synergies with most headphones you are looking for including Susvara and Stealth (check out their expanse review for synergy with expanse). Page 3 compares 300 with Auris HA-2SF.

https://headfonics.com/cayin-ha-300mk2-review/2/

https://headfonics.com/dan-clark-audio-expanse-review/2/

That review of the HA300mk2 is with the stock tubes, so take that with a grain of salt. The amp can change quite a bit with tube rolling, and doing a review of a tube amp without rolling tubes does not do the amp justice in my opinion and doesn't tell the whole story. The stock tubes (especially the 300B's) are bottom of the barrel sonically and are a good starting point, however rolling better tubes (Elrog ER300B's) takes the amp to another level.

 

[msq123]

That review of the HA300mk2 is with the stock tubes, so take that with a grain of salt. The amp can change quite a bit with tube rolling, and doing a review of a tube amp without rolling tubes does not do the amp justice in my opinion and doesn't tell the whole story. The stock tubes (especially the 300B's) are bottom of the barrel sonically and are a good starting point, however rolling better tubes (Elrog ER300B's) takes the amp to another level.

I totally agree with you but I feel creating a base line with stock tubes is useful but would be great if they could have a section with some rolling options/impressions.

Talking about rolling tubes what’s your advice on the order if I want to do one set at a time? Go for the big boy elrog right away or start with rectification or 6sn7 first?

 

[Wes S]

After taking a long break, I finally return to my computer and lurk around quietly. Turns out I didn't miss my Facebook but I miss this forum.

I spent a few days checking out discussions and PMs. I read a lot of greetings and support, more than I deserved. Thank you all sincerely. I'll respond to all the PMs "briefly" if they are not outdated or resolved already. However, I can't cover the questions of discussion that were addressed to Cayin or me in various product threads during my absence, so please pardon my silence if you have @ me in this thread but I didn't get back to your question after I resume duty.

By the way, 2023 will be a fascinating year for Cayin, with lots of exciting ideas queueing up for their 30th Anniversary (but no, nothing related to HA-300 or HA-6A ), COVID makes it impossible to drop by and check out these new developments in person, but l am looking forward to them.

Glad to have you back Andy!

 

[Wes S]

I totally agree with you but I feel creating a base line with stock tubes is useful but would be great if they could have a section with some rolling options/impressions.

Talking about rolling tubes what’s your advice on the order if I want to do one set at a time? Go for the big boy elrog right away or start with rectification or 6sn7 first?

I hate how expensive they are, but I would go for the Elrog's first. They are super high quality tubes, that are quiet and made to last, and what they do for the amp sonically is stunning. I would roll the rectifiers last, as they have the least amount of impact and are more for fine tuning.

 

[Wes S]

How long is the umbilical from the PS to the amp?


Also got some interesting 22DE4 tubes. Getter flash on top, clear mica supports and on the top mica, a glass support for the grid an and bottom mica there is a glass piece. This would make everything very solid. .

No brand on them but test as NOS and very strong, better than GE I have. I have a few thousand tubes and haven't seen a glass piece used like this for the grid.

This is such an interesting tube. I have never seen another 22DE4 like it, and I have done some serious research. Curious, does it actually have 22DE4 printed on it anywhere?

 

[Wes S]

Man, I just got this amp and have been playing around with tube swap ideas. I feel like a touch more bass would be nice. I was looking at the GEs, but now I may need to search for these mythical sylvannias. Are the GEs much different than the RCAs that come as stock?

The G.E.'s are more immediate, and tighter/quicker sounding with better punch, compared to the more laid back and expansive sounding stock RCA's. The Sylvania are kind of blend of the two with sugar on top.

 

[Roybenz]

Anyone used benchmark dac3 with ha300?

 

[steve468]

That's a very interesting answer, maybe you could help me understand a few things using the example of the Susvara ... I'm trying to piece my experience together and understand what am I hearing.

My observations so far are :
- typical solid state amps can drive Susvara well (using Oor and Hypsos here as an example), it's clean and effortless, but I get the sense the dynamics are subdued
- when I use my HA6a with KT88, high impedance and UL the micro and macro dynamics are a lot better than any headphone SS amp I've tried. I attribute it to higher output current. As I go through output impedances from L to H and then switch to UL I can notice percievable bumps in micro and macro dynamics (along with other changes of course but dynamics are what I'm interested in)

Do I understand it correctly? Is it higher output current that wakes up hard to drive planars like Susvara?

Now to the 2nd part of the question ...
I'm in the same boat as @Pashmeister , looking to get the HA300 (mk1 or mk2) to get even more current with more headroom (assuming my understanding above is correct) to get the most dynamics out of the Susvara. I've noticed that MK1 has higher power output for SE, I think maxing out around 5W ... SE provides half the volatge of BAL? ... so it should provide way more current to get to 5W (again I don't really know what I'm talking about here lol)?

MK2 is rated at 6W BAL, but does it provide same levels of current as MK1 SE?

I guess to boil it down, does MK1 have any advantages over MK2, and vice versa, with regards to Susvara, but also lets say Utopia.

Any explanation and elaboration would be highly appreciated : )

I’m no expert, but my understanding is that a lot of the changes to the mk2 were to make it a quieter amp. The Susvara is so insensitive you won’t notice any difference. On my mk1 with my LCD 4 I don’t get any of the same noise that I do with my more sensitive dynamics (which isn’t even that much with the right tubes).

Andykong can correct me, but I interpreted his post as just meaning the price difference isn’t worth it, not that the mk1 specifically benefits the Susvara. Which is how I decided on mk1 over mk2.

 

[DMITRIY R]

I wonder how the Ha-2 SF made it into that List
Is this your current amp?

I listened to this amplifier not so long ago, so I wanted to get a description of the comparison with it.
Ha-2 SF is available to me for a quick purchase.

 

[JeffMann]

Andy,

Welcome back to this forum's thread. It is very useful to have a Cayin representative available to answer questions about the Cayin HA300 headphone amplifier.

I have a specific question based on my personal experience with my new Cayin HA300MK2 unit. It failed after a few hours use - see post #2331 on page 156 for a description of events.

As a neophyte tube amplifier owner, who had no previous experience with tube headphone amplifiers, I did not know what was the cause of my problem. In retrospect, I now believe that it was due to the fact that the 300B tubes became loose during shipment and there was no information in the Manual on how to check that the 300B tubes are properly seated. I thought deeply about this issue of "how to assess whether the 300B tubes are properly seated" and I expressed my opinions in post #2373 on page 159. I came to the conclusion that the only reliable way to determine that the 300B tubes are properly seated is to visually note that the 300B tube's pins are being firmly grasped by the tube socket's four clamps, and that requires one to turn the amplifier on its side and shine a flashlight through the bottom metal plate's grills. Do you agree/disagree with my opinion? Do you think that there is a better way of accurately determining whether the 300B tubes are properly seated and do you not think that this topic should be addressed in the Manual?

Jeff.