[Pashmeister]

Sylvania 5814 black plates + Fivre 6v6g
@zach915m does the Cayin HA-3A have enough juice to drive the upcoming Caldera well ?

I wish I could roll bigger 6v6 tubes but they won’t fit the cage that I need because cats. So it’s the excellent RCA 6v6gta for me for now.

Ha-3a should be enough as Caldera was hooked up to a Ha-3a in the recent canjam at the ZMF booth as photographed in this post: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can...ead-september-17-18-2022.964899/post-17152247

 

[Cayin]

Interesting. I started with the XLR inputs but am now using RCA. The RCA input is not as loud but I suspect this may just be the difference in output power from my Soekris 2541 DAC. I just got my HA-3A Saturday and am pretty blown away with, but it is also my first real tube amp. One thing that is surprising to me is how loud it is. I cannot go past 9 o'clock with either my Utopia or Auteur. I actually wish I had a little more volume range to play with. Maybe this is because I am using the XLR headphone output?

Related to that, @Cayin can you comment on the "Impedence" switch? Is this different than a typical gain switch? I see the output impedance ratings on your website. Should this be set based on the impedance rating of the headphone or just personal preference?

Thanks very much. As for the volume level it is an issue decided by many different aspects. Sensitivity of the headpones used, RCA or XLR input used or different Headphone Impedance chosen, Output level from the DAC etc.

Concerning the impedance Switch you can set on basis of the impedance rating of your Headphone. Or you can also set according to your personal preference. With setting at different impedance you can get different kind of sound performance. As for Impedance Switch we have L, M and H. What we suggested for L is from 8~64 ohm, for M is from 65~250 while for L from 251~600 ohm.

 

[Louisiana]

First impression, out of the box:
I am impressed.
Good job, Cayin!

Edit:
more harmonious picture

 

[Bkido]

I filmed a comparison between all three Cayin full tube amps, will try to get it edited soon!

Do you already have an ETA on the video? Really looking forward to your impressions and comparison.

 

[Bkido]

First impression, out of the box:
I am impressed.
Good job, Cayin!

Edit:
more harmonious picture

Really nice setup you got there. Which headphones are you running with it? I'll hopefully have a chance to demo a HA-3A soon to a local dealer with my headphones later this month. Strong contender to replace my HA-1A MK2.

 

[zach915m]

Do you already have an ETA on the video? Really looking forward to your impressions and comparison.

Shot the video but canjam got in the way of me editing it.

Should be soon.

 

[Cayin]

First impression, out of the box:
I am impressed.
Good job, Cayin!

Edit:
more harmonious picture

Thanks very much. Look forward to more pictures and impressions from you.

 

[wizzman121]

My unit arrived from ZMF this past weekend. I spent a few hours listening through my Auteur OGs before I shipped them out to be upgraded to the Classic drivers. Very quick impressions are that it is a great match for the Auteur. I look forward to testing them out more when I get them back.

I have been messing around with the settings on my Utopias the last couple days. Unfortunately I find them unlistenable via the 4 pin XLR jack. Even on the lowest impedance setting there is way too much booming bloaty bass. I do not have a 4.4mm adapter yet so switched over to the 1/4" SE jack with the Utopia. This seems to be the sweet spot on the lowest impedance setting. The bass is much cleaner and tighter and is not overwhelming the rest of the sound. Such a great sense of space and details yet very smooth and not a rounded off sound. What a fantastic amp! I look forward to getting a 4.4mm adapter so I can test out some of the other power settings on that output. While it has taken some time to find the right output and impedance settings to make the Utopia happy, it is pretty awesome how versatile this amp is with all the different power output possibilities.

 

[Louisiana]

Really nice setup you got there. Which headphones are you running with it?

Thank you
I listen with the HEKSE, wonderful combo!
The HA-3A also has enough power to drive my LCD4, but sonically the HEKSE fits better - in my opinion.
But the device is brand new, for a detailed opinion I have to listen to music for a few days first

 

[Louisiana]

I have been messing around with the settings on my Utopias the last couple days. Unfortunately I find them unlistenable via the 4 pin XLR jack. Even on the lowest impedance setting there is way too much booming bloaty bass.

How did you connect the HA-3A to your DAC - RCA or XLR?

 

[wizzman121]

How did you connect the HA-3A to your DAC - RCA or XLR?

I have tried both which I discussed back in post #177. I have stuck with the RCA as it offers a smidge more volume adjustability likely due to the lower power output of my DAC via RCA. I still rarely get past nine o'clock on the pot on the HA-3A even on the SE output on Low listening to my Utopias. It is also convenient using the RCA so that I can have my DAC outputting to both the HA-3A and my GS-X Mini simultaneously.

 

[rishabhgkp]

Hey, has anyone compared HA-3A with HA-6A or any of the Feliks lineup. I am considering to get it for my VC, and decide whether to give up on my Feliks Elise or not!

 

[rhart00]

Hey, has anyone compared HA-3A with HA-6A or any of the Feliks lineup. I am considering to get it for my VC, and decide whether to give up on my Feliks Elise or not!

Some comparisons at Headphonia including to HA-1A and Feliks Euphoria

 

[Louisiana]

I still rarely get past nine o'clock on the pot on the HA-3A even on the SE output on Low listening to my Utopias.

How do you listen to music?
Do you stream, use Roon, or the PC?
In Roon, for example, you have the Headroom management.

I used that when I still had my Empy, my Pro iCAN just had so much power that I couldn't get past 9 o'clock either.

 

[tameral]

Curious about this amp:

How much of an upgrade would this be to a really well-made bottlehead crack+speedball for ZMF and Sennheiser headphones? Just different or better? Too soon to say?