[572217]

Still waiting on my silver cable for my Utopia & Compliment C cable for Stellia from DHC been running stock cables until then

Both Prion 4 and Complement C for Utopia are wonderful. They unlock the headphone’s potential. I use Complement C15 with silver strands for the Stealth. You have a treat coming!

 

[krude]

Awesome thanks for all the advice everyone!!!

Still waiting on my silver cable for my Utopia & Compliment C cable for Stellia from DHC been running stock cables until then

Going to try out my Utopias with the new tubes and cables I have coming in and see how I like it. Overall super satisfied with stock tubes, stock cable, Hugo 2 on the HA6A.

My upgrade path:
- Solidsteel S3 2 shelf rack
- Holo Audio May KTE
- Holo Audio Bliss KTE as a PRE
- Susvara

If you are going for Susvara consider Ferrum as well. You can get Oor + Hypsos 2nd hand for far less than Bliss and for me you get better performance (or at least same level).

The only thing is that you have to plug hypsos outside of the power circuit you plug HA6a with Utopia to. So you'd have to plug HA6a into a power conditioner and Hypsos outside the conditioner, but that's how it sounds it's best anyway.

 

[572217]

It is supportive of any sound you want in this config depending on the tubes you roll in. From totally cosy and full to technical with full detail.

Thank you for sharing! I had to ponder a while how to follow up. We might be talking about different things. I view sound and music presentation as two aspects. The question was aiming at the latter. It’s also something the streamer / DAC determines to a large part. Any thoughts?

You use the Niagara as a power conditioner. In my main rig I use JMF from France and it took the system to another level. Much better than the pricier Ansuz solution I had before. Might be out of budget, but could be the next bump for your system. It has its own wall power cord and two sections to separate digital and amps.

I have not had it myself, but an alternative I have heard good things about is Torus Power. The feedback I got was it only takes a little bit of dynamics out and if one can live with that is a good overall improvement.

Has someone used the HA6a with a Sonnet Morpheus or Pasithea? Or a Border Patrol SEi?

 

[krude]

Thank you for sharing! I had to ponder a while how to follow up. We might be talking about different things. I view sound and music presentation as two aspects. The question was aiming at the latter. It’s also something the streamer / DAC determines to a large part. Any thoughts?

Has someone used the HA6a with a Sonnet Morpheus or Pasithea? Or a Border Patrol SEi?

So to break it down, May and say Bliss or Serene as a pre will give a neutral and natural presentation, wide stage and lots of detail. The beautiful thing about it, is that you can take it in any direction you want with tube rolling. You can make it analytical, you can make it musical / magical or anywhere in between, because to me May doesn't lean into any direction, but it does sound very natural at the same time. That's what I was trying to say.

If you had Chord as a DAC that would be leaning towards analytical out of the gate, something like Denafrips or Border Patrol or Audio Note would lean into musical, magical side. So you'd have a harder time counteracting this if suddenly you wanted a more magical presentation out of a Chord dac.

To add to it, Holo sound is non fatiguing so you can do long hours with full immersion, no problem even if you choose more analytical tubes.

 

[572217]

So to break it down, May and say Bliss or Serene as a pre will give a neutral and natural presentation, wide stage and lots of detail. The beautiful thing about it, is that you can take it in any direction you want with tube rolling. You can make it analytical, you can make it musical / magical or anywhere in between, because to me May doesn't lean into any direction, but it does sound very natural at the same time. That's what I was trying to say.

If you had Chord as a DAC that would be leaning towards analytical out of the gate, something like Denafrips or Border Patrol or Audio Note would lean into musical, magical side. So you'd have a harder time counteracting this if suddenly you wanted a more magical presentation out of a Chord dac.

To add to it, Holo sound is non fatiguing so you can do long hours with full immersion, no problem even if you choose more analytical tubes.

Ahhh! Excccellentt. Now I got it.

(edited my post before seeing your answer and added a suggestion for power.)

 

[gallionetech]

If you are going for Susvara consider Ferrum as well. You can get Oor + Hypsos 2nd hand for far less than Bliss and for me you get better performance (or at least same level).

The only thing is that you have to plug hypsos outside of the power circuit you plug HA6a with Utopia too. So you'd have to plug HA6a into a power conditioner and Hypsos outside the conditioner, but that's how it sounds it's best anyway.

Ah that’s a good thought. I’m going to try to pick one up on the classifieds, I’ve heard great things about the Ferrum as well.

Quick question @krude, what benefits do you see when using the power conditioner? Also do you recommend your Niagara 1200?

Thanks!!

 

[krude]

Ah that’s a good thought. I’m going to try to pick one up on the classifieds, I’ve heard great things about the Ferrum as well.

Quick question @krude, what benefits do you see when using the power conditioner? Also do you recommend your Niagara 1200?

Thanks!!

In general it's a mixed bag and depends on your electrical environment and your system, but for HA6a and sensitive headphones I think it's a must.

Power conditioning does different things to different pieces. It can clean up your DAC but it can also kill bass and dynamics in your DAC if you over-condition. Same for SS amps. For most tube amps it just prevents power distortion / noise to influence the amp, so with low noise tubes and good power on HA6a you have virtually zero noise and even on High Impedamce and UL with Utopia only barely audible background noise ... while without poco in my system I get all sorts pf buzzes and hisses

I use poco for DACs / Streamers and low power tube amps. I plug SS gear and higher
power gear straight into the wall (but you could also use a poco that has bigger power reserves like Niagra 5000 ... but that's a lot of cash).

There is also a question of cables. AudioQuest pocos need good AudioQuest cables to sound it's best, that's their trap, so Niagra 1200 is cheap for this class of gear, but, you soon have to buy a set of Blizzard cables ... ouch

The best budget poco I've tested was PS Audio Quintet, no longer in production but very solid isolation and different levels of filtration so very flexible. Niagra 1200 sounds better to my ears but only with Blizzards (or better but that's an overkill for headphone power levels). To really notice the effects though you need to have a really transparent system, like Abyss or similar level of sheer clarity. Even on Susvara you will not hear that much difference (not dissing Sus but it's not a very clear sounding headphone ... it has it's own sound going so masks a lot of the signal chain).

So ... simple question, complex answer. Go into power conditioning if you have noise issues or very clear headphones that have problem with upper midrange or treble sharpness. That's how you can tell you've got problems. Otherwise this topic can be safely ignored.

Having said that if you can borrow a poco with some good power leads to back it up and experiment I would recommend it. It can show you some potential for good gains in your system.

 

[jamato8]

I assume the 12AU7 is run at 6.3 volts for the heater? I can't find my box of test sockets that I use so I can check all the voltages of a tube if I need to.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

@krude do you happen to know if I should keep the volume of the Cayin Ha-6A at 100% and adjust the volume on my Chord Hugo 2? Or should I keep the Chord Hugo 2 at 100% and adjust the Cayin HA-6A volume? Or does it not matter

Thanks

Set Hugo 2 at DAC mode (3V), then adjust the volume on HA-6A. Using max volume on HA-6A can lead to too much of hissing noise. Especially with sensitive headphone.

That’s awesome to hear thank you! Out of curiosity what dac are you using? I have a Chord Hugo 2 I’m using with my HA-6A. Sounds amazing with my Utopias, not sure if it’s a good match for Susvara’s

HA-6A is a good match indeed (for Susvara). Have you heard Susvara before? Quite different presentation compared to Utopia 2022.

 

[suno23]

​

Ah too bad you didn't like them... seems to me like a faulty unit !

I use the utopia on my ha 6a with 1/4 cable and they sound great. With plenty of bass.
I also have a hifiman arya. And to my personal experience. The utopia sound more full bodied than the aryas !
Bass is even stronger. More impactful and very precise. Maybe a bit less extension below.
Treble is more refined. Midrange is less pronounced. Imaging and separation is on par with the arya.
Soundstage is taller and wider with the hifiman. Focals are more intimate. But stage is deeper.
Also the sound is more dynamic or punchier !
I have yet to try the new clear mg . Wich is to me the most sexy looking headphone !

Would love also to try the abyss 1266 and the high end kennerton's.

Nowadays I am rocking 12bh7 as input and 6l6gc for power. And this combination is very silent.

I think we all hear differently, and we all post our impressions here , wich are very personal !
Always listen for yourself when you can

when you guys are using 1/4 out is it from RCA or XLR input?

 

[suno23]

Anyone tried the new ZMF Atrium with the ha-6a?

Mines coming in with the new ZMF Atrium Closed =)

 

[suno23]

what are these?

 

[ArkNerevar]

Those look like Elrog 300Bs, so they must be some 6SN7 family tube, jamato must have posted it here by accident, this is the wrong thread for that.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

Been reading a lot of praises about SE KT88 in this thread and really considering to get them. Does anyone have tried comparing it with SE EL34? Also I see on their website they are offering 12au7 as well, anyone has experience in these as well?

Currently I'm using reissued Mullard EL34 and NOS Tungsol 12au7 (not sure which year) and so far loving this combo. I have not yet gone deep on this tube rolling rabbit hole so any inputs are really appreciated

 

[krude]

Been reading a lot of praises about SE KT88 in this thread and really considering to get them. Does anyone have tried comparing it with SE EL34? Also I see on their website they are offering 12au7 as well, anyone has experience in these as well?

Currently I'm using reissued Mullard EL34 and NOS Tungsol 12au7 (not sure which year) and so far loving this combo. I have not yet gone deep on this tube rolling rabbit hole so any inputs are really appreciated

Buy tubes, have fun there are no bad tubes what hps do you use and what sound do you want? (analytical, bright, full, musical etc) There's plenty of tube impressions on here.