[TerryKok]

Update 5/7/2003 - Full Review Online!

As promised

Please check it out at http://www.exhardware.com/reviews.php?Id=115

Thanks and enjoy!

Hey Guys!

I just got my Corda HA1 MKII two days ago and I haven't really seen many comment on the new Corda HA-1 MK II amp around here, so I thought I'd just share some of my thoughts on this wonderful little amp. This won't really be an in-depth review, rather just some first impressions describing the overall design of the amp and more importanly, the sound. I'll post up a much longer and in-depth review later on at my site for those who are interested but here goes

Corda HA-1 MKII Headphone Amplifier
For those unfamiliar with the Corda HA1 MK-II, this is the latest headphone amp design from Dr. Jan Meier and as he puts it, "It is a small home-unit headphone amplifier that offers a minimum amount of luxury but a maximum of sound." Personally, I can't agree more.

The amp is fairly compact, and is built like a tank, the face plate is 6mm thick and the entire amp feels extremely solid. In fact, if people were to throw these amps around, it'll probably be classified as weapons. The volume knob is of the Alps Blue Velvet variety and feels solid as are the jacks, connectors and swtiches.

Equipment
Headphones: Sennheiser HD600 w/ Cardas cables, Grado SR-60, Ultrasone HFI-650 Trackmaster and DVD
Cables: JPS Labs Superconductor+ Interconnects, Discovery Cable Signature Interconnects
Source: Marantz CD6000 OSE LE CD Player

Sound
I'll try not to waste too much time elaborating on all the features and get on to the sound.

Personally this is my first Corda amp so I can't really speak for the rest of the line up and I am not sure how it stands up to the HA-1 or the PREHEAD but I can tell you that it sounds excellent on it's own. The sound is very balanced across the spectrum, good balance of bass and highs with a smooth midrange with a nice rich tonality that really draws you into the music.

In fact, I feel that the Corda's musicality is perhaps the best part of the sound, it's extremely addictive and really enjoyable. Like I said to Jan, sometimes it's such musical qualities like this that makes this hobby worthwile, forget about upgrading cables or tweaking, just sit back and enjoy the music!

Details are very good too but I still have not listened to it long enough to comment on ultimate resolution (it takes time to go pick out little details

) but so far so good. The Corda also has the ability to drive a wide variety of headphones, driving both the Grado and Senn HD600s with plenty of power to spare. Controls are minimal and just the way I like it, plug and play.

Crossfeed on the Corda is excellent, it was difficult to pick up at first but I found that it was much more profound on softer tracks so that's where I started to appreciate it, it's very natural and I think it works wonders for certain tracks, especially vocals and jazz.

In Short
I really enjoy listening to the Corda HA-1 MKII and I'm definitely looking forward to getting into more detail in the full review. Hopefully these few 'first impressions' will help those of you interested in the HA-1 MKII. At the price, I think it's an amazing amp considering how well the amp is built, and with top notch components too. Until then, rock on and keep up the great work here

 

[JaZZ]

Thanks, Terry, very nice review! It's such a cute little amp, and if I hadn't already the HA-2... If it sounds any similar, it's a great amp for the price.

 

[Tuberoller]

I have been loving the Corda HA-1 MKII for a few weeks.It is an improvement over the Corda HA-1 and sounds great.I'm sending it out to the Bay Area Meet this week so those guys will have it to offer some listening impressions.I think they will be pleased.

 

[Gainex]

thx..

it 's really help those people who are interesting in the cute little amp, like me..

but my question is ,can it drive the low-Ohm headphone very good??cause i got a ath-w1000,and can't find a good headphone amp in my budget...

 

[TerryKok]

Yes it drives my Grados (32 Ohms if i recall correctly) and Senn HD600s (300 Ohms) very well, though the Grados are much easier to drive

 

[TerryKok]

bump for the review

 

[miroslav]

Very professional write up. So good that it`s ahead of time (It is still August 4th over here

)

Sad to hear about sibilance of Ultrasone headphones again. Would it be too much to ask for a bit more comparison of the HFI-650s performance with the Corda?

 

[psxguy85]

Thanks. I still need to buy this amp.

 

[TerryKok]

Thanks guys! miroslav, I'll have a dedicated review of the Ultrasones soon, you can check that out

 

[Guyferd]

good review terry!

 

[andrzejpw]

could you elaborate a bit on the bass? A common complaint with the original corda was that it was a bit lacking in that department(something that I agree with).

 

[TerryKok]

hi andrew!

i haven't heard the original HA-1 but the bass on the HA-1 MkII is definitely there. the bass isn't bloated or overwhelming, rather it's just right. i'd say it's a very balanced amp

 

[pbirkett]

Quote:

Originally posted by andrzejpw could you elaborate a bit on the bass? A common complaint with the original corda was that it was a bit lacking in that department(something that I agree with).

Just out of interest mate, what was it about the bass you found lacking? Depth? Slam?

I happen to somewhat agree, although I do have quite a bassy source, but sometimes I wouldnt mind a wee bit extra...