[plus_c]

For a long time, I'd considered augmenting my headphones (AKG K271) with an amp and upgraded source. Two weeks after the 271s came in, I had a chance to taste what was possible at a "pico-meet" of sorts at doobooloo's apartment. Ever since, I knew I wanted to upgrade the components upstream of my 271s, but never had the money to do so. Enter jude and the Katrina raffle...I happened to get extremely lucky and won the Corda HA-1.

The Corda arrived just in time for the start of my final semester of classes, and I rushed back home after class to put the HA-1 through its paces. I carefully unpacked the amp, plugged it up to my iBook, plugged up my headphones, and fired up iTunes. Instantly, I could hear the difference - it reminded me of that listening session at doobooloo's, when I first heard the immense potential that my K271s have. The mids remain characteristically AKG - smooooooth as ever. Now, though, I can hear that everything has tightened up significantly, and there's a nice amount of clear, tight bass rounding out the sound. Detail is improved quite a bit over the unamped K271s...I'm very happy with this amp! I never imagined that my entry into the world of amplification could be this good. I wouldn't call it a night-and-day difference, but the improvement is definitely audible.

Thanks jude, for running the raffle and making it possible for me to experience more of what my headphones can do. I'm listening to Diana Krall's rendition of "A Case of You" right now, and it just made me pause for a couple minutes to revel in headphone bliss.

A couple questions though, for those that have owned the HA-1 - should I be using the 0-ohm or the 120-ohm jack for my headphones? Also, I'd like to hear about others' impressions on the crossfeed filter. Thanks!

 

[Spad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plus_c A couple questions though, for those that have owned the HA-1 - should I be using the 0-ohm or the 120-ohm jack for my headphones? Also, I'd like to hear about others' impressions on the crossfeed filter. Thanks!

Congrats on winning the Corda! I've never used the 271, but I owned an HA-1 for a while. Most headphones are best suited for the 0 Ohm output, but don't hesitate to try the 120 Ohm jack. It will alter the frequency response of your 'phones and you may actually prefer it.

I have an HA-2 these days and, despite trying several models, have yet to find a headphone that sounds better from the higher impedance jack. IIRC, Jan (the amp's designer) particularly liked it with his Beyers. I don't recall which model he used, but my DT880 definitely prefers the 0 side. YMMV.

 

[Sisyphos]

The 120-Ohm-jack is particularly suited for the quite bright Beyer DT931, which was Jan's former favourite headphone. I'm using this phone with a Porta Corda MkII and the 120-Ohm-adapter and it's quite satisfying. However I prefered the DT880 on the 0-Ohm-jack.

 

[vcoheda]

I owned a Corda HA-1 MKI for a while. I recently sold it to purchase an Aria. It is a great amp. I used it with my HD 580s through the 0 ohm jack. I used the cross feed at the low setting for the majority of my recordings. Sometimes I would use the medium setting as well. But the crossfeed definitely makes a difference. It is a great feature.

 

[plus_c]

I'm currently using the crossfeed in the low position as well. It sounds amazing this way. How's the Aria working out for you? I was interested in one of those for a while, and then the HA-1 stepped into my life.

 

[greenhorn]

I always felt that the Corda HA1 deserved more attention. It's indeed a very, very good amp.