[grant0317]

The longer I've had this amp, the issue of how often I should be turning on/off the amp keeps irking me. I've tried reading about it...with differing recommendations. How often are you guys turning off the amp? For instance if I have to walk away from the amp for about 2 hours, is it better to just leave it on with volume lowered and come back rather than going through the off/on process for the tubes again? Would you say the same for 4 hours?

 

[LXMc]

The longer I've had this amp, the issue of how often I should be turning on/off the amp keeps irking me. I've tried reading about it...with differing recommendations. How often are you guys turning off the amp? For instance if I have to walk away from the amp for about 2 hours, is it better to just leave it on with volume lowered and come back rather than going through the off/on process for the tubes again? Would you say the same for 4 hours?

If I'm gonna be gone longer than 20-30 minutes I will typically turn it off but I have nothing to base that on apart from not wanting to use up expensive NOS tubes idling for extending periods. I tend to use the amp in 3-6 hours segments as I work and if I think I'm only going to have 30 or less minutes to listen to something I'll probably just use my solid-state.

 

[DrDen]

The longer I've had this amp, the issue of how often I should be turning on/off the amp keeps irking me. I've tried reading about it...with differing recommendations. How often are you guys turning off the amp? For instance if I have to walk away from the amp for about 2 hours, is it better to just leave it on with volume lowered and come back rather than going through the off/on process for the tubes again? Would you say the same for 4 hours?

In general you should never leave tube gear unattended while turned on, just in terms of safety.

 

[betula]

The longer I've had this amp, the issue of how often I should be turning on/off the amp keeps irking me. I've tried reading about it...with differing recommendations. How often are you guys turning off the amp? For instance if I have to walk away from the amp for about 2 hours, is it better to just leave it on with volume lowered and come back rather than going through the off/on process for the tubes again? Would you say the same for 4 hours?

Well, first of all it is never a good idea to leave a tube amp switched on and unattended for hours.

I often have mine running for 6 or occasionally even 8 hours. If the break is not more than half an hour, I usually leave the amp on. If I know I will be away for an hour or two, I switch it off.
It is about finding the balance between warm up time to reach best performance (half an hour) and not burning expensive NOS tubes without listening. Remember, tubes effectively behave like old light bulbs.

 

[DrDen]

Any 3A owner tried or is using Lampizator Big7 dac? I want to find out if they have good synergy

Given the lack of information about Lampizator it’s really hard to answer.
As both pieces allow tube rolling, you probably can eventually find the result you want. Too many variables in this equation.

 

[realmccoy]

Given the lack of information about Lampizator it’s really hard to answer.
As both pieces allow tube rolling, you probably can eventually find the result you want. Too many variables in this equation.

Yeah I figured the only way to know is to buy the amp.
I'm not getting any answers either at Lampizator thread or other forums too as most Lampi owners are using it on two channels.
I'm starting to believe that I might be the only 1 using a Big7 on a headphone setup.
Appreciate your reply

 

[DrDen]

Yeah I figured the only way to know is to buy the amp.
I'm not getting any answers either at Lampizator thread or other forums too as most Lampi owners are using it on two channels.
I'm starting to believe that I might be the only 1 using a Big7 on a headphone setup.

Actually no matter what do you listen to, speakers or headphones, the good DAC is essential. I’m using my DAC with the speaker amp via RCA, and the headphone amp via XLR. Enjoying them both.

 

[Ultron 5]

No, I have no other headphones besides HE1000SE and don’t plan to buy any, so I’m quite happy with the HA-3A.
It’s not “my claim” — simply what the manufacturer says, and Nakamura98 have noticed “you do lose that estat like dynamics” as well. Cayin has other headphone amplifiers in this line (e.g. HA-300), driving that tough headphones better. At least the company claims that.

Thank you for clarifying DrDen. Based on what you have shared and my research, it appears that this amp will power the LCD-5; ZMF Verite; LCD-XC (2021); HD6XX and; the Empyrean II. Does this ring true to you?

 

[DrDen]

Based on what you have shared and my research, it appears that this amp will power the LCD-5; ZMF Verite; LCD-XC (2021); HD6XX and; the Empyrean II.

Yes, it definitely should.

 

[Andykong]

With all respect to HA-3A, I have to mention that the manufacturer claims it’s not suitable for the most inefficient headphones like Susvara. For the vast majority of headphones it’s quite sufficient.
Andykong can confirm it unless he’s too busy.
Sorry, it’s all because some people prefer asking to reading.

Thank you for clarifying this DrDen. Is it your personal experience with the Susvara that you are using to support your claim?

I find it interesting to describe the limitation as a "manufacturer claim".

For those who are interested in pairing Susvara with HA-3A, I would like to quote my previous sharing here:

One distinctive R&D objective is to develop HA-3A for the best quality within certain limitations. It is not aiming at "driving any demanding headphones" direction. As a result, HA-3A is relatively low-powered when compared to HA1AMK2, HA-6A, and HA-300MK2, but the audio performance will be closer to its bigger brothers when working within its design limitation. For those who want to ask "can it drive Susvara to full potential", you can look elsewhere, maybe HA-1AMK2.

I stand by my description and the impression from @Nakamura98 seems to agree with me that HA-3A + Susvara can be enjoyable but you are not hearing the full potential of the headphones.

To do the Susvara justice, we recommend HA-6A as the starting point, HA-300MK2 offers better midrange, richly harmonic, and holographic presentation, but it won't overpower the HA-6A with KT88 in the ultralinear mode. The cheaper (and older) HA-1AMK2 is more powerful when compared to HA-3A driving the Susvara. It is not as refined and is more prone to microphonic when compared to HA-3A, but with Susvara, the HA-1Amk2 is technically more capable.

 

[7in1]

If I connect my planar headphones to Cayin MT-45 , what would be the difference with Cayin HA-3A?

 

[grant0317]

If I connect my planar headphones to Cayin MT-45 , what would be the difference with Cayin HA-3A?

The mt45 is a speaker amp first with the headphone out being secondary, so it wouldn't make sense for them to have comparable performance in the headphone side.

 

[DrDen]

As far as I know the headphone amplifiers built in budget tube speaker amps are usually just SS small circuits.
MT-45 internals look different though, but dedicated SE headphone amp seems to be superior for sure.

 

[grant0317]

Thank you for clarifying DrDen. Based on what you have shared and my research, it appears that this amp will power the LCD-5; ZMF Verite; LCD-XC (2021); HD6XX and; the Empyrean II. Does this ring true to you?

You probably won't even need to go past 10'oclock on the amp with those headphones.

 

[djentbat]

Thank you for clarifying DrDen. Based on what you have shared and my research, it appears that this amp will power the LCD-5; ZMF Verite; LCD-XC (2021); HD6XX and; the Empyrean II. Does this ring true to you?

I have the VC, had the Empy II, and I have the 650. All run flawlessly