[jamato8]

Any evidence that an upgrade to the power cable increases SQ on the HA-6A?

The evidence would be the subjective listening tests. I never used the stock power cable as I use high purity 12 gauge copper cords so I don't have a comparison to the stock power cable.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have ever compare the ha-6a with Feliks Euforia Evo? I'm curious about the difference in sound of OTL vs transformer tube amp.

I currently own Utopia 2022 and Atrium and they both sound lovely on the ha-6a, but a lot of people seems to say that OTL synergize really well with dynamic driver headphone.

 

[jonathan c]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have ever compare the ha-6a with Feliks Euforia Evo? I'm curious about the difference in sound of OTL vs transformer tube amp.

I currently own Utopia 2022 and Atrium and they both sound lovely on the ha-6a, but a lot of people seems to say that OTL synergize really well with dynamic driver headphone.

• In particular, high output impedance OTL tube h/p/a driving high nominal impedance headphones.
• Not all OTL tube h/p/a have high output impedance. Two examples are Linear Tube Audio MZ3 (2.0 ohms) and Schiit Valhalla 2 (5.7 ohms / 19.0 ohms). Check the particular h/p/a specification, if possible.

 

[jamato8]

• In particular, high output impedance OTL tube h/p/a driving high nominal impedance headphones.
• Not all OTL tube h/p/a have high output impedance. Two examples are Linear Tube Audio MZ3 (2.0 ohms) and Schiit Valhalla 2 (5.7 ohms / 19.0 ohms). Check the particular h/p/a specification, if possible.

The MZ3 is not a conventional tube amp and uses an entirely different type of output, so it can't really be used as a comparison to an OTL.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

A lot of people in the ZMF/Utopia thread seems to agree with the Feliks Euforia (and the newer EVO version) pairing sounding great, but I have yet to find a comparison between Euforia and Ha-6a.

I'm really interested to know if anyone has experience on comparing between the two amps.

On another note, I read that @ThanatosVI mentioned Feliks Envy was a definite step-up from the ha-6a. Can you elaborate how is it better than the ha-6a? I would love to know your opinion as that amp looks really great!

 

[Ateefi]

Hi all, I'm interested in getting into tube amps, currently on my short list are the Cayin Ha- 6a, Cayin Ha-3a or the Icon Hp8 mk2. Bit of a price difference between the first and latter ones, but I'm thinking if I am going to get one might as well be the better one (that's if it is )

What I would like to know is what the Cayin Ha-6a is like with stock tubes, (don't want to start tube rolling straight away) what I don't want is something to sound like a solid state amp as I already have one, I read somewhere that it requires burn in to get that full potential of the amp, is this true?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[shafat777]

A lot of people in the ZMF/Utopia thread seems to agree with the Feliks Euforia (and the newer EVO version) pairing sounding great, but I have yet to find a comparison between Euforia and Ha-6a.

I'm really interested to know if anyone has experience on comparing between the two amps.

On another note, I read that @ThanatosVI mentioned Feliks Envy was a definite step-up from the ha-6a. Can you elaborate how is it better than the ha-6a? I would love to know your opinion as that amp looks really great!

Hello Mr Hammer,

I would like to chime in as i own both amps.

The Euforia (Evo) being an OTL amp, pairs extremely well with high impedance zmf headphones. It has an unmatched synergy as well as extra ordinary timbre with just about any high impedance dynamic driver headphones. The EVO can also run planar drivers as well. I have tried some of my planar headphones including the ZMF caldera, LCD-X, He1000SE and even my Diana TC and ended up with mixed results. Unlike other OTL amps that struggle with planar headphones, the EVO will play them just fine, however, the synergy is not up to par with some of the transformer coupled amps.

Now lets talk about the Ha6a. Its an extremely versatile amp with capability of powering just about any headphone on the market. Its a transformer coupled amp so it will play nice with any and all headphones regardless of driver impedance. Its a fantastic amp for zmf dynamics, although i prefer the EVO ever so slightly for my zmf cans. Planars run flawlessly with plenty of power for even the most inefficient cans. I typically run my Diana TC and Zmf caldera with the HA6A and I can honestly say this amp simply rocks.

 

[IvanE92]

Excited to try my first tube upgrade on the Cayin. Went all out with the Telefunken G73-Rs; figured my recent high-end tube amp purchase deserved a TOTL tube. Will update after they come in and I give them a good listen.

For power tube upgrade I’m waiting on SE to restock their KT88s. Was told three more weeks… I really liked the SE 274b on my Woo WA6.

 

[suno23]

Excited to try my first tube upgrade on the Cayin. Went all out with the Telefunken G73-Rs; figured my recent high-end tube amp purchase deserved a TOTL tube. Will update after they come in and I give them a good listen.

For power tube upgrade I’m waiting on SE to restock their KT88s. Was told three more weeks… I really liked the SE 274b on my Woo WA6.

SE KT88's <3

 

[ThanatosVI]

Excited to try my first tube upgrade on the Cayin. Went all out with the Telefunken G73-Rs; figured my recent high-end tube amp purchase deserved a TOTL tube. Will update after they come in and I give them a good listen.

For power tube upgrade I’m waiting on SE to restock their KT88s. Was told three more weeks… I really liked the SE 274b on my Woo WA6.

SE KT88s were my favourite new production KT88s.

Telefunken G73-Rs are crazy hard to get, congratz

 

[BiscuitHammer]

Hello Mr Hammer,

I would like to chime in as i own both amps.

The Euforia (Evo) being an OTL amp, pairs extremely well with high impedance zmf headphones. It has an unmatched synergy as well as extra ordinary timbre with just about any high impedance dynamic driver headphones. The EVO can also run planar drivers as well. I have tried some of my planar headphones including the ZMF caldera, LCD-X, He1000SE and even my Diana TC and ended up with mixed results. Unlike other OTL amps that struggle with planar headphones, the EVO will play them just fine, however, the synergy is not up to par with some of the transformer coupled amps.

Now lets talk about the Ha6a. Its an extremely versatile amp with capability of powering just about any headphone on the market. Its a transformer coupled amp so it will play nice with any and all headphones regardless of driver impedance. Its a fantastic amp for zmf dynamics, although i prefer the EVO ever so slightly for my zmf cans. Planars run flawlessly with plenty of power for even the most inefficient cans. I typically run my Diana TC and Zmf caldera with the HA6A and I can honestly say this amp simply rocks.

Thank you for the great insight! I was having a rather curiosity itch with OTL amps (especially Euforia EVO) but now I feel I'm not missing out with my ha-6a

Excited to try my first tube upgrade on the Cayin. Went all out with the Telefunken G73-Rs; figured my recent high-end tube amp purchase deserved a TOTL tube. Will update after they come in and I give them a good listen.

For power tube upgrade I’m waiting on SE to restock their KT88s. Was told three more weeks… I really liked the SE 274b on my Woo WA6.

SE KT88 is definitely great pairing with the ha-6a and congrats on that TF G73-Rs! I'm running my ha-6a with SE KT88 and SE 12au7 and I can confirm it is a great pairing with Utopia 2022/Atrium. Do give them some time to burn in though, as my first impression of the tubes were quite "meh" but it completely changed after 50h or so. The more hours I put to it, the more I'm enjoying the music

 

[IvanE92]

Telefunken G73-Rs are crazy hard to get, congratz

Thank you. They weren’t cheap. Still a but unnerved if it will be worth it (and hope I’m proved wrong!) But I like to tinker and leaving things as is ain’t an option, lol.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

I'm considering upgrading to the HA-6A from my current HA-3A.

Besides the power increase, is there any sonic improvements when going to the HA-6A?

 

[shafat777]

I'm considering upgrading to the HA-6A from my current HA-3A.

Besides the power increase, is there any sonic improvements when going to the HA-6A?

Yes. the KT88 power tubes are huge upgrades over the kt66. Also, the unique UL/Triode mode is a game changer. Its literally two seperate amps in one.

 

[ArkNerevar]

I havent heard the 2 side by side but I can point out that the 6A as the larger amp has larger transformers, this is always a good indicator of a performance increase, as shafat points out you can use KT88 & EL34 with the 6A, these are definately superior pentodes to the 3As 6V6s (but more expensive..you will have to pay a lot more for NOS versions, still its defo worth it IMHO).