[Rizumu]

I rarely see the two mentioned together. The amps I'm wondering about are the Corda HA-1, HA-1 MkII, and HA-2. Are there any Grado owners who particularly like the combo ("synergy" if you will

) of Grados with Corda amps? It seems like these are always paired with Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic headphones. Does the sonic signature of the Corda amps lend itself better to Senns and Beyers?

I'm just getting curious since I've always wanted to try a Corda amp. I've done a search and found some info but I'd like to get a compiling of opinions on this, so others wondering the same thing can find answers easily.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Well I wouldn't call it synergy, only because the HA1 is the only headphone amp I've ever heard, but I certainly don't hear anything bad about the HA1 combined with my SR325. It lets the best part of thesse cans show through (great detail/speed) without making them super-bright (at least to my ears). Like I said I've got no basis for comparision, but I think it sounds pretty doggone good as a combo. That said, I'm selling my HA1 to finance a PPA, since I want to go up another step in amp quality to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Anders]

Yesterday I compared my Prehead to my old amp, Headroom MOH (previous model) with RS-1. Prehead had more detail and resolution while MOH was slightly punchier in the bass. On the whole, I preferred Prehead. A more fair comparision would be with the new model of MOH, but I don't have this. I have also listend to SR225 on the Prehead with good results.
As far as I now, the Cordas are able to drive any headphone without problems (except that I think only Prehead will drive AKG K1000). Low and high impedance as well as low and high efficiency headphones.
So there should be no problem with electrical matching. The other side of the problem is that one can prefer some matchings of amp and headphone but this is more on the level of personal taste when using Corda amps. However, some amp do not work well with some headphones, for example low impedance phones with Earmax or RKV (but possible with the EarMax Pro and the RKV with Impedancer).

 

[rawhit]

I had a listen to the HP-1 paired with Corda HA-2. It was a very nice combo. Very dynamic and neutral sounding. I would prefer a slightly warmer midrange though.
Might go well with your SR-200s.
cheers
Rohit

 

[FrostyMMB]

I don't know about the models you're interested in, but I use the Prehead with the RS-1 and MS Pro. The Prehead is in a class such that it doesn't care what headphone you plug into it, it will preform well with anything. I like the synergy between the RS-1 and the Prehead way better than either the Gilmore V2 (too bright, thin, light on bass) and the RA-1 (too mellow, recessed treble, grainy, slow).

 

[greenhorn]

I use my Prehead with the Grado SR225 for rock and I'm in heaven