[iamdman]

Hello,

I have been looking for a tube amplifier for my HD800s and ZMF VC for quite some time. I am inching towards Cayin HA-6A and my rig is Roon Nucleus > MScaler > TT2. Will HA6 be a good option or is there any other tube amp I must also be considering in that price range? I like the Amp out of TT2 as it is and so dont want to get any SS amp and have tube. I am not much into tube rolling etc and I would likely stick to the stock tubes - I think!

Appreciate any inputs!

Thanks

 

[ThanatosVI]

Hello,

I have been looking for a tube amplifier for my HD800s and ZMF VC for quite some time. I am inching towards Cayin HA-6A and my rig is Roon Nucleus > MScaler > TT2. Will HA6 be a good option or is there any other tube amp I must also be considering in that price range? I like the Amp out of TT2 as it is and so dont want to get any SS amp and have tube. I am not much into tube rolling etc and I would likely stick to the stock tubes - I think!

Appreciate any inputs!

Thanks

For those high impedance dynamics you should definitely look into the Feliks Euforia as well.

 

[iamdman]

***deleted***

sorry wrong forum.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

I may have to give this a shot. The amp is pretty close to my gaming PC but I have everything hooked up to a ddc so any ground loop or dirty signal shouldn't be a problem

Have you solved the hiss/hum issue? If so, was the identified root cause due to external factors I.e power sources, nearby computer/routers or the amp itself (high noise floor) ?

Am keen on the HA-6A but this seems to be a perennial issue that has been highlighted by others frequently in this thread. I have mainly high impedance dynamic ZMF headphones so if I do get it, will likely be using xlr and settings of m/h impedance. Thanks.

 

[Newbman123]

Have you solved the hiss/hum issue? If so, was the identified root cause due to external factors I.e power sources, nearby computer/routers or the amp itself (high noise floor) ?

Am keen on the HA-6A but this seems to be a perennial issue that has been highlighted by others frequently in this thread. I have mainly high impedance dynamic ZMF headphones so if I do get it, will likely be using xlr and settings of m/h impedance. Thanks.

You really don't need to go balanced. The amp has enough power on se and is quiet enough in se mode

 

[19844]

I tested ifi iematch 4.4 with Cayin HA-6A+ZMF verite. its work very well no more noise even noisy tube. I tried to listen if iematch made sound quality drop but I could not detect it maybe my ears not good enough

 

[shafat777]

Have you solved the hiss/hum issue? If so, was the identified root cause due to external factors I.e power sources, nearby computer/routers or the amp itself (high noise floor) ?

Am keen on the HA-6A but this seems to be a perennial issue that has been highlighted by others frequently in this thread. I have mainly high impedance dynamic ZMF headphones so if I do get it, will likely be using xlr and settings of m/h impedance. Thanks.

Yes a simple 4.4mm to 4 pin xlr adapter fixed the issue about 95% for me. The noise is completely gone with my planars. Theres a slight hum with zmf cans but its on the same level with my Elise OTL when i use kt88 + Vt231 tube combo. Its well within acceptable level for me. This amp is wonderful regarding the slight hum/noise floor with dynamic headphones when used with the 4.4m setup. Zach also recommends a preamp and set a low gain before feeding the HA6A. For me that was not an option and so i chose the 4.4 mm route. Since i never owned a single 4.4 mm cable of any sort, I purchased a 4.4mm to xlr adapter from ZMF. Now my noise issue is all but gone. Also, in case you haven't tried it, give some new production tubes a shot, especially in the power tubes.

Tube rolling is really fun and so far has been a wonderful experience messing with kt88 and 12au7 tubes. Over at the HA3A amp page, i just read that that amp can take ECC80 tubes in the driver slot and cayin has personally said the amp can handle the power. Would it work with our HA6A amp? @zach915m can you plz comment on this? Have you tried any other tubes besides 12au7?

 

[shafat777]

I tested ifi iematch 4.4 with Cayin HA-6A+ZMF verite. its work very well no more noise even noisy tube. I tried to listen if iematch made sound quality drop but I could not detect it maybe my ears not good enough

This would be absolutely perfect for me if the headpohone end was XLR balanced instead of 3.5 mm.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

You really don't need to go balanced. The amp has enough power on se and is quiet enough in se mode

Yup se connection between dac and amp makes sense as HA-6A is not a push-pull balanced design amp. However on the headphone side, I think it will probably still be better to use xlr so that the output transformers are being utilized.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

I tested ifi iematch 4.4 with Cayin HA-6A+ZMF verite. its work very well no more noise even noisy tube. I tried to listen if iematch made sound quality drop but I could not detect it maybe my ears not good enough

Good to know about this backup option. Thanks for sharing !

 

[AudioPowerHead]

Yes a simple 4.4mm to 4 pin xlr adapter fixed the issue about 95% for me. The noise is completely gone with my planars. Theres a slight hum with zmf cans but its on the same level with my Elise OTL when i use kt88 + Vt231 tube combo. Its well within acceptable level for me. This amp is wonderful regarding the slight hum/noise floor with dynamic headphones when used with the 4.4m setup. Zach also recommends a preamp and set a low gain before feeding the HA6A. For me that was not an option and so i chose the 4.4 mm route. Since i never owned a single 4.4 mm cable of any sort, I purchased a 4.4mm to xlr adapter from ZMF. Now my noise issue is all but gone. Also, in case you haven't tried it, give some new production tubes a shot, especially in the power tubes.

Tube rolling is really fun and so far has been a wonderful experience messing with kt88 and 12au7 tubes. Over at the HA3A amp page, i just read that that amp can take ECC80 tubes in the driver slot and cayin has personally said the amp can handle the power. Would it work with our HA6A amp? @zach915m can you plz comment on this? Have you tried any other tubes besides 12au7?

Great to hear that the adapter solution works for you.

Sounds like this is the right tube amp for me. Will join this club soon !

 

[jandrese]

Hello,

I have been looking for a tube amplifier for my HD800s and ZMF VC for quite some time. I am inching towards Cayin HA-6A and my rig is Roon Nucleus > MScaler > TT2. Will HA6 be a good option or is there any other tube amp I must also be considering in that price range? I like the Amp out of TT2 as it is and so dont want to get any SS amp and have tube. I am not much into tube rolling etc and I would likely stick to the stock tubes - I think!

Appreciate any inputs!

Thanks

I love the HA-6A with my VC. The stock tubes are very good sounding. Tube rolling can change the sound signature within certain parameters but it’s not necessary.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I love the HA-6A with my VC. The stock tubes are very good sounding. Tube rolling can change the sound signature within certain parameters but it’s not necessary.

Maybe not necessary, but it's so much fun!

 

[jandrese]

Maybe not necessary, but it's so much fun!

Right on. Currently, I’m running KT88 power tubes and the Baldwin drivers that ZMF included in the package. So far I’ve found that it’s best when the tubes compliment each other. For example, the stock EL34 are richer in the midrange than the KT88 and benefit from the more linear, cleaner stock 12AU7 driver tubes. The opposite is true of the Gold Lion KT88/Baldwin 12AU7 combo. The KT88 with the stock drivers was too much of the same thing and especially so in ultralinear mode. I might prefer the current setup sonically, but one or both of these tubes, the Baldwins I think, are a bit noisy in that they seem a bit microphonic and they tinkle quite a bit when warming up and cooling off and sometimes for no apparent reason.

Tonight I’m listening to Pink Floyd through the ZMF Atrium headphones with the amp in triode mode and it’s wonderful. Am I really planning on selling these headphones?

 

[shafat777]

Got some bad news guys, I think my HA6A just crapped out on me. It was working fine, then all of a sudden, the sound cut off. Tubes light up, but no sound from either of the outputs. I have swapped out the tubes, tried two seperate dacs, tried both inputs, still no sound. Can someone plz help me? I bought it from ZMF, should i contact zach or cayin? Any help would be appreciated.