[Yggy]

 

[Yggy]

The glow on my WE300b’s on my HA-300

 

[normie610]

This is how it looked first night I installed the replacement tubes. Notice the glow is only at the top.

I had mine replaced as well but only one piece since the other one is fine. The one that didn’t get replaced has blue glow perhaps 50% of the tube’s body, but it sounds fine. Perhaps try to wait and see past 200 hours of use (I know it’s a lot and takes a long time), the noise/hum might go away.

 

[jambaj0e]

Yeah, so far, the sound is excellent, even though the bass hasn't fully formed unlike the previous tube (I had about 400-500 hours on them) that sounded amazing until recently when they started to sound deflated and I asked for the replacement.

@normie610 what 6sn7 tubes are you running? I have the Sylvania 3-hole Bad boys that sounds great with the we300b.

 

[Palyodgree]

I’m a novice having purchased my first headphones a year ago one thing I will say my family likes me better now they do not have to join in with listening.

It was a good move to purchase the HA 300 I love how my HiFiman 1000 SE sound more so then over the past year that I’ve owned them .
My HA 300 has the current factory suppled tubes the textural presence with great recorded vocals I’m hearing for the first time using the 1000SE is a beautiful thing to experience.

I don’t have immediate plans on rolling tubes however when I do I’ll try out the Linlai Global E-6sn7s ,,.if theres room for them that is.

Finally once again I’d like to say that I am Very pleased with the HA 300 , by far it’s one of the best audio purchases for me of 2021.

 

[jambaj0e]

Dangit, now the left channel is making that "microphone rustling" sound, which is actually showing up on the EV meter. I turned it off, waited for several minutes, and turned it on, and it did it again.

I waited for a while again, swapped the WE300b tubes, and it seems to have stopped doing that for now. I am concerned because I feel that I have had different problems with this amp... I think if I have something else, I'll have to take it in to get looked at, and worse comes to worse, figure out a new amp, maybe a solid state amp. Problem is what amp has the kind of tube sound that's also a speaker amp?

 

[Yggy]

Have you tried swapping out your NOS Sylvania 6SN7 tubes back to stock or very gently tapping them or reseating them? I find my NOS Sylvania tubes can be extremely microphonous and a very gentle touch or tap with the pad of my finger or taking them out and putting them back in, or switching them round, can clear static / quiet rustling. Also, mine did that when they new but haven’t done it for a while no it might lessen with burn-in.

 

[jambaj0e]

Have you tried swapping out your NOS Sylvania 6SN7 tubes back to stock or very gently tapping them or reseating them? I find my NOS Sylvania tubes can be extremely microphonous and a very gentle touch or tap with the pad of my finger or taking them out and putting them back in, or switching them round, can clear static / quiet rustling. Also, mine did that when they new but haven’t done it for a while no it might lessen with burn-in.

I'll try that on my next round. Funny thing, though, it has been dead quiet up until I swapped to the new we300bs. So may be it's a hum that will go away as I put more hours on the WE300b tubes. Also, after I swapped the WE300b around, the rustling sound is gone. Let's hope it'll be gone for good, and it was just a seating issue.

 

[normie610]

what 6sn7 tubes are you running? I have the Sylvania 3-hole Bad boys that sounds great with the we300b

Unfortunately I don’t own HA-300. Instead, I have a Manley 300B preamp which uses 6SL7 as preamp tubes (not 6SN7). I’m running Tung Sol 6SU7GTY (military spec of 6SL7) which sounds sublime alternating with a pair of RCA 5691 red base (for 6SN7 it’s RCA 5692) and a pair of Tung Sol VT-229.

 

[Yggy]

I bought a pair of HE-6SE v2 headphones in the Hifiman sale for USD 609. They have excellent clarity on the high impedance setting of the HA-300. They are more neutral than my Susvaras.

I find sound clarity on the Susvaras gets slightly worse when you switch impedence to medium and high, even though they are being better driven. HE-6SE v2 doesn’t have the dimensionality and massive sound stage of the Susvaras but they sound clearer with movies and TV.

I’m trying to get a pair of original HE-6’s. Has anybody compared Diana Phi’s to Susvaras on the HA-300? Based on what I’ve read about their sound signature, I think they’d be a good match.

 

[llamaluv]

In case anyone's interested, I'm finding the Meze Elite (which I started listening to on my system earlier today) to synergize really well with the HA-300.

The Elite's appeal lies in its overall presentation and "musicality", and the HA-300 plays to those strengths. Positive changes to soundstage depth and instrument placement are immediately apparent. This is in relation to the Bakoon R13 solid state amp, with which I'm liking the Elite just fine with so far as well.

Also, the 300B's warmth and extra body combines well with the Elite's relative neutrality -- compared to its warmer and slightly less detailed predecessor, the Empyrean.

Easily and obviously one of the best planar pairings for the HA-300 I've heard. And way ahead of the LCD5 in terms of synergy, by the by. IMO.

Over a quick listen, my friend, who's also on here, had similarly favorable impressions.

 

[Yggy]

It was a good move to purchase the HA 300 I love how my HiFiman 1000 SE sound more so then over the past year that I’ve owned them. My HA 300 has the current factory suppled tubes the textural presence with great recorded vocals I’m hearing for the first time using the 1000SE is a beautiful thing to experience.

I’ve just ordered a used pair of HE1000SE for my HA-300. The HE1000v1 paired with the HA-300 got an excellent review from Project86 on Head-Fi. He/she said they were as good or better than Susvaras because they are easier to drive.

People say the SE takes the best bits of the v1 and v2 and sprinkles in some Susvara. I have Susvaras and know how good they sound with the HA-300 so I can’t wait to hear the HE1000SE.

I figured it was going to be cheaper to add an easier-to-drive used headphone to get more out of my HA-300 than to add a power or integrated amp with a pre amp to extract the last drop of performance from my Susvaras. Ultimately, whatever replaces the Susvaras will likely be easier to drive but I know I’ll still love the HA-300 sound.

Tube rolling is definitely the way to go with the HA-300. You can completely transform it. The difference is not subtle.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I’ve just ordered a used pair of HE1000SE for my HA-300. The HE1000v1 paired with the HA-300 got an excellent review from Project86 on Head-Fi. He/she said they were as good or better than Susvaras because they are easier to drive.

People say the SE takes the best bits of the v1 and v2 and sprinkles in some Susvara. I have Susvaras and know how good they sound with the HA-300 so I can’t wait to hear the HE1000SE.

I figured it was going to be cheaper to add an easier-to-drive used headphone to get more out of my HA-300 than to add a power or integrated amp with a pre amp to extract the last drop of performance from my Susvaras. Ultimately, whatever replaces the Susvaras will likely be easier to drive but I know I’ll still love the HA-300 sound.

Tube rolling is definitely the way to go with the HA-300. You can completely transform it. The difference is not subtle.

The Ha300 has more than enough juice into the Susvara.
If you prefer another amp it's because of its inherent sound and not because the Ha300 has insufficient power.

 

[Yggy]

The Ha300 has more than enough juice into the Susvara.
If you prefer another amp it's because of its inherent sound and not because the Ha300 has insufficient power.

The Susvara would wipe the floor with the HE1000v1 if both were fully driven but Project86 said he/she preferred the HE1000v1 to the Susvara with the Cayin HA-300 because it was easier to drive.

The Susvara and HA-300 are both brilliant products and so the under-powering isn’t as noticeable as it would be with a lesser headphone amp because of the incredible sweetness of tone and synergy between the 300b tubes and Susvaras.

Based on what I’ve read the HA-300 doesn’t drive the Susvara to the level of power amps like the Keces S300 and Benchmark AHB2, integrated amps like the Accuphase E-380, amp and pre amp combinations like Pass Labs XA25 and XP12 and solid state headphone amps like the Ferrum Oor and Flux Volot.

Power isn’t everything though. Some reviewers say the Susvara driven by power amps like the AHB2 can be tonally thin and too analytical. I think it depends on what aspect of a sound signature you value the most. If it’s sweetness of tone and elegant refinement, you won’t beat the HA-300 for the money but if it’s dynamics, transient response, resolution, or bass slam, you probably can. The Niimbus US5 is probably better than the HA-300 on all of those with the Susvara at a similar cost.

 

[ThanatosVI]

The Susvara would wipe the floor with the HE1000v1 if both were fully driven but Project86 said he/she preferred the HE1000v1 to the Susvara with the Cayin HA-300 because it was easier to drive.

The Susvara and HA-300 are both brilliant products and so the under-powering isn’t as noticeable as it would be with a lesser headphone amp because of the incredible sweetness of tone and synergy between the 300b tubes and Susvaras.

Based on what I’ve read the HA-300 doesn’t drive the Susvara to the level of power amps like the Keces S300 and Benchmark AHB2, integrated amps like the Accuphase E-380, amp and pre amp combinations like Pass Labs XA25 and XP12 and solid state headphone amps like the Ferrum Oor and Flux Volot.

Power isn’t everything though. Some reviewers say the Susvara driven by power amps like the AHB2 can be tonally thin and too analytical. I think it depends on what aspect of a sound signature you value the most. If it’s sweetness of tone and elegant refinement, you won’t beat the HA-300 for the money but if it’s dynamics, transient response, resolution, or bass slam, you probably can. The Niimbus US5 is probably better than the HA-300 on all of those with the Susvara at a similar cost.

As I said, if someone prefers a different amp that is totally fine, but it's due to the inherent sound of that amp and not the power.

The Ha300 Puts up to 5w into the Susvara.
That's a lot more than the XA25 manages to put into the Susvara impedance and yet even the XA25 drives the Susvara to full potential