[SckT]

I'm new to tubes, and am looking for my first tube amplifer to "upgrade" my current set up:

Streamer (USB to)-> DAC (SE to)-> Violectric V281 headphone amplifier (XLR to) -> Focal Clear headphones

Have the "hissing" problems been solved with the HA-6A?

Or any other alternative recommendations are welcomed too.
Thank you.

 

[shafat777]

I'm new to tubes, and am looking for my first tube amplifer to "upgrade" my current set up:

Streamer (USB to)-> DAC (SE to)-> Violectric V281 headphone amplifier (XLR to) -> Focal Clear headphones

Have the "hissing" problems been solved with the HA-6A?

Or any other alternative recommendations are welcomed too.
Thank you.

It depends on what you call a HISS. This amp, being so powerful, has a very minor but still audible low HUM/HISS with high sensitivity dynamic headphones. I am attest to this because i own the amp and all of my zmfs, barring the caldera, hums when no audio is playing ONLY when using the 4 pin xlr connectors. However, that issue can easily be mitigated by using the 4.4mm balanced output. The HA6A is dead silent with all of my planar headphones.

Another helpful tip to reduce hiss/hum is to use a clean power source/power conditioner and better power cable.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

Been running a set of Japanese made Raytheon 22de4 tubes and its by far the best sounding 22de4 tube i have listened to so far. Makes me wanna toss away my RCA and Sylvania 22de4 tubes.

Black or grey plates? Black is best so far for me.

 

[shafat777]

Black or grey plates? Black is best so far for me.

Grey plates

 

[jarble]

I'm new to tubes, and am looking for my first tube amplifer to "upgrade" my current set up:

Streamer (USB to)-> DAC (SE to)-> Violectric V281 headphone amplifier (XLR to) -> Focal Clear headphones

Have the "hissing" problems been solved with the HA-6A?

Or any other alternative recommendations are welcomed too.
Thank you.

I strongly recommend looking at your power with this amp. When I first got it I had a terrible hum on all inputs and outputs but one night I wanted to listen in a different room so I hauled the amp to the other end of the house and was shocked to find the hum was almost gone. Needless to say I had a furman on its way to my house next day. Now everything is well controlled and I have no hum at all.

 

[Michaels1963]

I use a Audioquest AC1200 Power Conditioner, No Hiss and Hum with Full Size Dynamic or Planar Magnetic Headphones

 

[BudKine]

I am currently using the ZMF Pendant SE headphone amplifier and have rolled the tubes and now have the amplifier “tuned” to where it is sounding really sweet.

I would like to know how the Pendant compares to the HA-6A for sound quality because I am considering a swap?

 

[krude]

Just slotted in Telefunken "smooth plates" 12au7 to run with SE KT88 and stock RCA rectifiers. I'm happy to report that for the first time ever I have practically NO NOISE with Utopia. Only feint bg noise on high impedance UL. Now I can safely say this is the best AMP IMO for Utopia due to flexibility UL / TR EL34 KT88 etc. amazing SQ and now also zero noise. My main argument for getting HA300 MK2 just disappeard. Happy days : )

 

[Newbman123]

Hey guys. I have an offer for a 6l6wgb. @Cayin or @Andykong or anyone else, does it work with the amp? I don't see it on the catalogue but people seem to say it is a drop in change for 5881 which is there in the catalogue for the ha6a.

 

[krude]

Testing AEG (Telefunken) EL34 and Telefunken 12AU7 ribbed plate.
Both are smooth, "reference", detailed. Ribbed plate have more low level detail, a bit less romantic sound than "smooth plate" I described before. Again practically zero noise even with Utopia. I think I prefer "ribbed plates" but you can't go wrong with either. Ribbed plate sound more transparent and detailed but still in a very smooth and cultured way with no sharp edges, still very natural. Definitely worth getting especially for Utopia owners.

A quick comparison of SE KT88 to AEG EL34, AEG EL34 is more even, more reference I would say and slightly less romantic, but still very very natural sounding. With jazz you get a slightly colder room than SE KT88 but still very very realistic, maybe even more realistic than SE KT88. Also AEG EL34 has very impressive low level detail (plankton for lack of a better term) and it firmly joins the pantheon of the best tubes I've heard in my HA6a.

 

[krude]

Testing the last tubes I got in this tube haul :> This time Mullard EL34 Reissue, so new production. Comparing to very sharp, reference and detailed AEG EL34, new Mullards are still relatively reference but quite a softer in presentation. I think they sacrifice some fine resolution for a softer more forgiving sound. Other than that very good tubes.

 

[572217]

Ok so I went on a journey optimising my stack for Utopia.

I ended up with this :
May L2 (running from AQ Niagara 1200 low current + AQ Blizzard cables) -(AQ WEL Signature XLR 0.5m)-> Holo Bliss KTE (straight from the wall using AQ Blizzard) -(AQ WEL Signature XLR 1m)-> Cayin HA6a (running from AQ Niagara 1200 high current + AQ Blizzard) [12AU7: RCA Black Plate | Sylvania Black Plate | Electroharmonix | GoldLion][Sophia Electric KT88 | BlackTreasure KT88 | GoldLion KT77] -(Lavri Grand XLR)-> Utopia

Now ... my benchmark and reference point was 1266 TC running from Bliss in my stack. I'm happy to report Utopia can practically match it in terms of sheer clarity, detail, slam, and offer a different presentation, but depending on the tube selection it can also keep 85% of detail and deliver a smoother, more vintage "musical" experience.

This is TOTL territory for sure. HA6a and Utopia keep delivering!

Now, with this level of gear, it turned out that cabling started playing a crucial role, especially for HA6a and Utopia. Great cabling unlocked final 15% of detail for TC, but was truly transformative for HA6a and Utopia. HA6a+Utopia on clear / transparent tubes and totl cabling can deliver pretty much the same amount of detail and almost the same amount of insane layering of the TC

Update: At the moment running 12AU7 Sylvania into Sophia Electric KT88, in triode mode it's smooth but textured and still extended with a bit of vintage flavour but still top tier detail, on UL throws really tall spacious image with even more detail but less organic "magical" "musical" sound, both modes do their thing in this setup with amazing performance. I'm finally getting "just one more song!" and "ahhh can't stop mid track!" syndromes with Utopia, and that's when you know you've nailed it : >

Fascinating, thank you for sharing this journey. It is very helpful for me. I’m building a desktop system in my head from scratch and your description at the end is where I want to get. Just as an aside – my personal analogy for an ideal outcome is “the bass player plugs his guitar not into his amp, but into my belly button instead”.

When listening to the Utopia – do you use the HA6a direct from the May or the Bliss in between? I interpret the above as direct, but did not understand for sure.

As for the Holo gear – do you find it supportive of very long and relaxing listening sessions? I need a system, where I can get into a meditative, absorbed state without being overstimulated. My main system is with dCS + AIC-10 + Stealth and it does that beautifully.

For the desktop I would be using my Utopia or my VC. Have you used the VC with the HA6a?

 

[gallionetech]

Just slotted in Telefunken "smooth plates" 12au7 to run with SE KT88 and stock RCA rectifiers. I'm happy to report that for the first time ever I have practically NO NOISE with Utopia. Only feint bg noise on high impedance UL. Now I can safely say this is the best AMP IMO for Utopia due to flexibility UL / TR EL34 KT88 etc. amazing SQ and now also zero noise. My main argument for getting HA300 MK2 just disappeard. Happy days : )

Just ordered these based on your comment here, hoping they pair well with my Cayin HA-6A coming in and my Utopia 2022s. I plan to pair the Cayin HA-6A with my Hugo 2

These are the tubes I ordered:
https://sophiaelectric.com/collections/kt88-and-el34-tubes/products/pages-se-kt88
https://tubedepot.com/products/tele...MI5dzLyZ_a_gIV4cfjBx3GIgKWEAQYAiABEgLnr_D_BwE

Does anyone know if this is all a good pairing for the Utopia 2022? Also plan to use my Stellia’s with this setup.

 

[dthong]

For the desktop I would be using my Utopia or my VC. Have you used the VC with the HA6a?

I use ZMF VC (and Caldera) with the HA6a and it's a solid pairing in TR mode and High impedance, very musical, 3D staging, slightly on the dark/punchy side with a presence hump. I do prefer the more linear/detailed/transparent Caldera personally. This is with SE KT88s and Philips E80CC/Amperex 12AU7.

FWIW, I've rolled so many tubes recently my brain/ears hurt ... my current favourite is the SE KT88 and Philips E80CC - authoritative yet balanced sound, massive sound-stage, very musical.

 

[krude]

Just ordered these based on your comment here, hoping they pair well with my Cayin HA-6A coming in and my Utopia 2022s. I plan to pair the Cayin HA-6A with my Hugo 2

These are the tubes I ordered:
https://sophiaelectric.com/collections/kt88-and-el34-tubes/products/pages-se-kt88
https://tubedepot.com/products/tele...MI5dzLyZ_a_gIV4cfjBx3GIgKWEAQYAiABEgLnr_D_BwE

Does anyone know if this is all a good pairing for the Utopia 2022? Also plan to use my Stellia’s with this setup.

Should be perfect.