Congratulation my friend.
)hello my friends,
as teased....
and with his friends...
As you can see, I saw a used first hand utopia... and the price was correct, so I couldn't resist XD
damn that hobby...
I was a bit hesitant because of the hiss issue, and the focals high sensitivity.
But I'm glad I took my chance here.
I'm putting this out of the table now, yes I can hear hiss in balanced medium setting. In single ended, I can barely hear it.
I would say the level is about the same as I get with my HD650
To be honest , the hiss doesn't bother me anymore, Now that I have understood how this amp behaves.
I am in audio Bliss right now.
I want to say, the pairing is really good because of what I am hearing right now, but I dont't have that much points of reference to compare to.
I will try my asgard 3 and my marantz HD-Dac1 as well later.
I will try my best to describe what I am hearing now with the HA-6a equipped with 6l6wgc blackplates and sylvania 6189. SE out and impedance switch on the mid setting.
My point of reference will be My Hifiman Arya, that I know well and love.
First thing I hear, is the soundstage is more Intimate than my arya, but in no way small or congested. I am still hearing far out of my head, just not as big .
layering is incredible, instruments placement is far better than the arya. Everything sounds more in focus, spatial information are better resolved.
In comparison, my arya sounds wider,airier and more distant, also more blurry, but not in an unpleasant way,and also a lot bigger
Tonality is spot on, in fact very close to the arya's, I'm not good at describing tonality differences, but what I hear is a fuller midrange,a lot of details, and very good treble, I don't experience any harshness. Cimbals are amazing
Bass is incredibly impactful, maybe not as deep as the planar, but , more body in the mid bass, drums impact are great. It is not lacking in any way, and I am very satisfied.
Timbre and transients are great, microdynamics and plankton are insane, but here aryas are no slouch either.
Please take this as my personal experience, and I am not yet out of the honeymoon period....
My aryas are not going anywhere yet. I think the focal is better, but the aryas is different, I still love it and it is really confy, and not fatiguing, long listening sessions goes like nothing with them.
Now I will try to describe how the amp interacts with the utopia,
I think the mid setting for impedance matching, gives a subtle boost in the low end, but it could be placebo. Sounds great on the L impedance setting as well ( with a blacker background )
The utopia's are really sensitive, about 3 to 4 clicks will give a plenty loud experience ! ( cayin please do a low gain option )
Switching from triode to ultralinear, the sound seems a bit cleaner,I gain punch and attack, But the sound stage become more "in-your face ".
Very nice indeed playing "long distance calling - aurora", when the drums kicks in, my head starts bobbing on it's own
Now between single ended and balanced connection, this is a tricky one...differences are subtle, but are there, SE has less noise, but seems a tiny bit muddier in the lower mids. Balanced Out has a bit more gain, and seems cleaner with more impact.
It is tricky because it is really hard to have both outputs volume matched.
the utopia made those differences appear, I have to try the RCA IN vs XLR ( using those now )
Power tube rolling :
Switching to the provided Gold Lions KT88
I get a crispier top end and the presentation becomes more impactful, also drier. Mid range "magik" is a bit gone especially In UL. Better in Triode but not el34 level. Overall this sounds more like good solid state to me. Good EDM is great in UL mode , a bit too piercing with heavy Metal music, very satisying on nicely mastered songs.
Bass is super tight and digs deep.
didn't like the provided EH el34 at all, shrill sounding and unpleasant mids
Switching to JJ EL34
Fuller mid bass and mids in general, top end seems rolled off a bit, great soundstage, pleasant sound overall, on the warm side of the force, especially in triode.
Bass is big and rounder, not as controlled.
Vocals are warm with plenty of texture, female vocals are gorgeous , here you get that tube sound !
Back to 6L6WGC blackplates
Best of both world IMO. Great details and imaging, a bit less full than the el 34, great extension on the top, natural tonality, tight bass, very good imaging.
It has also very good "drive" and "attack".
To sum things up, I love My new toy, but I am amazed at how well the aryas was holding the comparison. Still like the bigger/more distant/less precise stage for some stuff ( If someone here likes SUNN 0)) you should try with the arya... ).
I think the pairing with this amp and the utopia is great, the sound is incredibly full, and so precise.
I'll test my other amps as well to see how it compares.
Here you go folks. Thank you for reading until the end, excuse me If it was difficult to read, english is not my native language...
best
greg
Thanks a ton for the impressions! Don't know how I missed this post lol. You're right, if Cayin provided a low gain option that would be killer.hello my friends,
as teased....
and with his friends...
As you can see, I saw a used first hand utopia... and the price was correct, so I couldn't resist XD
damn that hobby...
I was a bit hesitant because of the hiss issue, and the focals high sensitivity.
But I'm glad I took my chance here.
I'm putting this out of the table now, yes I can hear hiss in balanced medium setting. In single ended, I can barely hear it.
I would say the level is about the same as I get with my HD650
To be honest , the hiss doesn't bother me anymore, Now that I have understood how this amp behaves.
I am in audio Bliss right now.
I want to say, the pairing is really good because of what I am hearing right now, but I dont't have that much points of reference to compare to.
I will try my asgard 3 and my marantz HD-Dac1 as well later.
I will try my best to describe what I am hearing now with the HA-6a equipped with 6l6wgc blackplates and sylvania 6189. SE out and impedance switch on the mid setting.
My point of reference will be My Hifiman Arya, that I know well and love.
First thing I hear, is the soundstage is more Intimate than my arya, but in no way small or congested. I am still hearing far out of my head, just not as big .
layering is incredible, instruments placement is far better than the arya. Everything sounds more in focus, spatial information are better resolved.
In comparison, my arya sounds wider,airier and more distant, also more blurry, but not in an unpleasant way,and also a lot bigger
Tonality is spot on, in fact very close to the arya's, I'm not good at describing tonality differences, but what I hear is a fuller midrange,a lot of details, and very good treble, I don't experience any harshness. Cimbals are amazing
Bass is incredibly impactful, maybe not as deep as the planar, but , more body in the mid bass, drums impact are great. It is not lacking in any way, and I am very satisfied.
Timbre and transients are great, microdynamics and plankton are insane, but here aryas are no slouch either.
Please take this as my personal experience, and I am not yet out of the honeymoon period....
My aryas are not going anywhere yet. I think the focal is better, but the aryas is different, I still love it and it is really confy, and not fatiguing, long listening sessions goes like nothing with them.
Now I will try to describe how the amp interacts with the utopia,
I think the mid setting for impedance matching, gives a subtle boost in the low end, but it could be placebo. Sounds great on the L impedance setting as well ( with a blacker background )
The utopia's are really sensitive, about 3 to 4 clicks will give a plenty loud experience ! ( cayin please do a low gain option )
Switching from triode to ultralinear, the sound seems a bit cleaner,I gain punch and attack, But the sound stage become more "in-your face ".
Very nice indeed playing "long distance calling - aurora", when the drums kicks in, my head starts bobbing on it's own
Now between single ended and balanced connection, this is a tricky one...differences are subtle, but are there, SE has less noise, but seems a tiny bit muddier in the lower mids. Balanced Out has a bit more gain, and seems cleaner with more impact.
It is tricky because it is really hard to have both outputs volume matched.
the utopia made those differences appear, I have to try the RCA IN vs XLR ( using those now )
Power tube rolling :
Switching to the provided Gold Lions KT88
I get a crispier top end and the presentation becomes more impactful, also drier. Mid range "magik" is a bit gone especially In UL. Better in Triode but not el34 level. Overall this sounds more like good solid state to me. Good EDM is great in UL mode , a bit too piercing with heavy Metal music, very satisying on nicely mastered songs.
Bass is super tight and digs deep.
didn't like the provided EH el34 at all, shrill sounding and unpleasant mids
Switching to JJ EL34
Fuller mid bass and mids in general, top end seems rolled off a bit, great soundstage, pleasant sound overall, on the warm side of the force, especially in triode.
Bass is big and rounder, not as controlled.
Vocals are warm with plenty of texture, female vocals are gorgeous , here you get that tube sound !
Back to 6L6WGC blackplates
Best of both world IMO. Great details and imaging, a bit less full than the el 34, great extension on the top, natural tonality, tight bass, very good imaging.
It has also very good "drive" and "attack".
To sum things up, I love My new toy, but I am amazed at how well the aryas was holding the comparison. Still like the bigger/more distant/less precise stage for some stuff ( If someone here likes SUNN 0)) you should try with the arya... ).
I think the pairing with this amp and the utopia is great, the sound is incredibly full, and so precise.
I'll test my other amps as well to see how it compares.
Here you go folks. Thank you for reading until the end, excuse me If it was difficult to read, english is not my native language...
best
greg
I absolutely love how the Aeolus sounds on this amp. If you don't mind using the single ended out to avoid hiss I think you will be very pleased.
Yes for the moment dont buy at all ,, even if it sound amazing though i didn't hear anything amazing ,, the hiss is a deal breaker.
What’s recommended in the same prices category that has tubes?
There are a couple of Allnic HPA-3000 GT's in the f/s forum. I haven't heard them personally but people seem to love them.
These are some i am looking at
did you release the vedio comparing the HA6A with the WA22 ?
