TerryKok
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 14, 2003
- Posts
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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
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
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