[Andykong]

I have seen that an mk2 version of the iDAC-6 has been launched, is it planned a new release of the iHA-6 ?

There is no plan to release a MKII for iHA-6, the IDAC-6 is revised because the digital audio product life are shorter then analogue amplifier. In addition, we have added Pre-amp circuit to IDAC-6 in the MKII revision, this will enhance the i-Series to cover deskfi application with active speakers.

 

[thecrow]

There is no plan to release a MKII for iHA-6, the IDAC-6 is revised because the digital audio product life are shorter then analogue amplifier. In addition, we have added Pre-amp circuit to IDAC-6 in the MKII revision, this will enhance the i-Series to cover deskfi application with active speakers.

I agree.

If you are using balanced headphone cables (the output impedance of single ended inputs being the only shortfall/limitation of the amp) then there is no reason to change the iha6 at all. Exceptional value

 

[thecrow]

can anyone provide a pic of the power cable that comes with the iha6 (particularly if you are in australia ...but not necessarily)
i have my iha6 but can't remember which cable came with it
thanks

 

[fonna]

ordered this amp, but kinda scared seeing all the buzz / noise comments in this thread

hope I don't have to deal with that

 

[thecrow]

ordered this amp, but kinda scared seeing all the buzz / noise comments in this thread

hope I don't have to deal with that

Absolutely no issue with mine (over 18 months)

 

[Litlgi74]

Absolutely no issue with mine (over 18 months)

Same here.

 

[fonna]

Got it yesterday, worked fine for a couple of hours, now whenever i plug in my hd800s via 4pin xlr it gives a horrible beeping noise, that goes away when i switch to high current.... single ended works fine also..

 

[fonna]

apparently this might be an oscillation problem, I got a super quick response and great customer service.

 

[thecrow]

apparently this might be an oscillation problem, I got a super quick response and great customer service.

And i believe it may have been affected by your dac or how you were feeding the amp (ie. xlr or rca). It would be good to let the thread (including potential buyers) know if there was an update to your discoveries

 

[Litlgi74]

apparently this might be an oscillation problem, I got a super quick response and great customer service.

Are you connecting the RME to the Iha-6? I have the same setup... I have the auto reference level turned off while using the manual level of + 7 (balanced inputs) and the volume at -1. But I use the amp volume knob to control the volume... But if you want to control the volume via the RME... Leave auto reference on... And set the volume of the Iha-6 to a maximum usable level.

Hope this helps.

 

[fonna]

And i believe it may have been affected by your dac or how you were feeding the amp (ie. xlr or rca). It would be good to let the thread (including potential buyers) know if there was an update to your discoveries

why do you assume it was affected by my dac? and why would it be affected by how I was feeding the amp? you just plug in cables and stuff works, I was using it with my RME ADI-2 DAC on +7 ref, the amp made noise basically right out of the box, when just plugging in headphones, it was just a lemon, unlucky I guess. they will let me know what was up with it, I did however get a refund after excellent customer service by "Thomas Deyerling" from Cayin.de, my Violectric V280 has been working perfectly for a while already now with my RME ADI-2 DAC.

 

[fonna]

also want to mention that the iHA-6 sounded great for as long as it worked and is a steal at the price , I was just unlucky to receive a bad unit. the customer service is also excellent, all kudos to Cayin.

 

[thecrow]

why do you assume it was affected by my dac? and why would it be affected by how I was feeding the amp? you just plug in cables and stuff works, I was using it with my RME ADI-2 DAC on +7 ref, the amp made noise basically right out of the box, when just plugging in headphones, it was just a lemon, unlucky I guess. they will let me know what was up with it, I did however get a refund after excellent customer service by "Thomas Deyerling" from Cayin.de, my Violectric V280 has been working perfectly for a while already now with my RME ADI-2 DAC.

Why? Because of this post.
I was curious what your new discoveries had been and if some issues had been resolved

just posting some impressions / thoughts of a pretty stressful week, I own a HD800S and have been using it for a while with just the RME ADI-2 DAC, which imo is a wonderful little combination on its own, however upgraditis struck me recently to go back to balanced.

I heard a lot of great things about the Cayin iHA-6, a very well priced amplifier at 699 euro, I decided to just take the plunge and buy it. few days later the amp arrived in my home, I connect the amp balanced to my RME ADI-2 DAC, plug my HD800S into the 4pin XLR, first impressions were not bad, but not great either, soundstage seemed a little less wide, kinda presented like a "ball of sound" rather than the usual very wide staging of the HD800S on my RME ADI-2, the Cayin generally sounded a little more closed in, surprisingly the vocals were a little warmer than my RME ADI-2 but the treble had a bit of an edge to it at the same time, I listened to the amp for a few hours, went to bed, woke up, started listening a little again, and suddenly the amp developed a horrible screechy high pitched noise, that would change its tone depending on if I touched the cable on my HD800S or not, and depending on volume. Immediately contacted Cayin about this, now I should mention that with the amp sitting on "high gain" my HD800S had a slight background noise aswell, kind of like a windy sound, not really noticeable when listening to music, but still kind of bothered me.

Cayin immediately replied to my e-mails and told me that I can send the amplifier back and get a replacement (amazing customer service), so I did that, and after a day orso I was thinking of how I used to have a Violectric V281 and I kind of missed the amp, I sold it at the time because of personal reasons, financial reasons and kind of being done with the hobby (always chasing the next upgrade), I remember the amp was always quiet no matter what I plugged into it, and the kinda neutral signature with the slight "touch of warmth" was always pleasing to my ears. So anyways I decided to ask Cayin for a refund instead of a replacement, and I had my mind set on getting a Violectric V280 this time, to pair with the RME and the HD800S in balanced.

I managed to get a great deal on a demo model that is pretty much in mint condition. Next day the V280 arrives, I plug everything in, obviously very excited to listen to it, after about a hour orso I was horribly fatigued, the HD800S sounded super bright, mids were shouty and just generally forward, everything sounded way too dynamic. Felt awful for another hour orso, not really understanding why everything sounded so bad, returned to my RME ADI-2 DAC and just using its amp, and everything sounded quite nice and pleasant again, super disappointed with the V280, not really knowing what was going on, so I contact the dealer saying I want to refund it, basically just had enough of constantly being disappointed, the iHA-6 pretty much came DOA and sounded good but wasn't particularly impressive, V280 sounded horribly sharp and mid-forward. Now my dealer just said I could return it, no problem, I already packed everything up again, now about an hour later I get an e-mail from him asking if I have my RME connected via balanced to the V280, which is exactly what I was doing, he told me to try an unbalanced connection.

at first I didn't really think it would make a difference, kinda hesitant to open the box again and go through the process of setting up it after all the disappointment, I eventually decided to try it, plugged in the RCA's, volume was immediately quite a bit less than through the balanced connections, but the brightness / shouty mids were completely gone. the same dynamics were present, the V280 hits pretty hard, bass is very tight, everything just sounded really good. Incredibly happy now, I however saw someone in this thread saying the RME ADI-2 DAC in combination with the V281 / HD800S sounded bright and unpleasant aswell, try switching to just regular RCA's and see what happens. anyways super long post, sorry guys, just happy everything is resolved now, and the V280 is an excellent amplifier, and a great pairing with the RME ADI-2 DAC and the HD800S.

 

[lambdastorm]

I really hope these do go on sale on Black Friday. I’ve been wanting one for quite a while, add a great price and I’ll happily bite the bullet.

 

[lambdastorm]

I tried these at a local audiophile's home today. The set up was idac6+iHA-6 driving a pair of Nighthawk and Focal Clear. They both sound warm and engaging. One thing tough, I didn't spot any voltage switch on the back of the iHA-6. If I do remember right it used to have that switch. Did Cayin make a silent revision?