Pffhhhh....
That's quite an extensive review. And what you guys don't know is, that the mails from Jazz during the evaluation phase of the amps also were very detailed and precise. It sure was fun and helpfull to have all his comments.
Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to hear his EMP and the Talisman so I can't personally comment on these amps, but I feel that Jazz's description of the HA-2 MkII for 100% reflects my own impressions of the amp. There's nothing to add.
However, I would like to answer a few questions that have been put.
> what kind of extra goodies (tone adjustment, bass boaster???) will be available with Prehead MKII?"
As Jazz mentioned there will be 4 discrete switches that allow a soft tone control as well as a high-cut filter. These controls can be very usefull with certain types of headphones. Actually, this is the first solid state amp that I find to sound well with the K1000. Treble down, bass up and this phone sounds really fine.
The crossfeed filter will not have 2 positions (as did the prototype) but 3 positions (Stereo, low, medium). The original PREHEAD also had a high level crossfeed but this is hardly used and the implementation would have required a much larger switch.
In addition there's a switch that allows to (de)activate the preamp output.
A gain switch is also present.
"considering the HA2-MKII is equal to a prehead mk2, and there is a slight improvement going from the HA-2 to the prehead..."
It's difficult to tell whether the HA-2 MkII sounds better than the new PREHEAD, as I never heard both in a direct A-B comparison, but I feel that the new PREHEAD is slightly more smooth and shows more authority. That's nothing unexpected, as the PREHEAD has a much better powersupply and a more powerfull output stage. Differences are small though.
Also be aware that the prototype I now have at home is the SE-version of the new amp. It has a stepped attenuator and polystyrol capacitors throughout its signal path (the regular version also uses cheaper polypropylene).
"the Prehead MkII will be available soon (?)"
Hopefully in 1.5 - 2 weeks. I'm merely waiting for the front- and backplates.
Various people have asked me whether a HA-2 MkII will appear. Of course there will, but not on short notice. It will take at least half a year before this amp will hit the market.
Another question was, whether upgrades for the regular HA-2 and PREHEAD are offered. I have to disappoint you guys though. Upgrading a HA-2 is not without risk. Desoldering a double sided PCB is quite difficult. Because of warranty issues I decided not to offer any updates. Updating a PREHEAD is practically impossible. In various aspects the concept of the new amp is completely different.
People also like to know prices. Well, due to the extra option and due to the increased prices for several parts the new amp will be slightly above the current PREHEAD bit I have not made an exact decision yet. Of course the SE-version will be quite a lot more expensive.
Just a few images of the PCB:
Cheers,
Jan
