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Fostex HP-A4
Feb 3, 2014 at 1:26 PM Post #78 of 324
dynamo said:
  Eagerly awaiting for someone to post some impressions of this (as soon as you guys get yours) ..... :p
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I feel cheated. =.="
Jaben told me early January, but it's still not here. =.="
 
Well... Maybe good stuff need some waiting...
 
Feb 4, 2014 at 7:15 AM Post #80 of 324
333€ in Europe via Thomann. One can order them already, but they will have more in stock in late February.
 
http://www.thomann.de/fi/fostex_hp_a4.htm
 
Feb 4, 2014 at 1:34 PM Post #82 of 324
There are ebay.uk sellers with Brand new A4 units, but located on Japan. 
 
Feb 6, 2014 at 12:04 PM Post #83 of 324
It's here! It's here!
Collecting tomorrow!
Stay tuned!
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Feb 8, 2014 at 1:22 AM Post #87 of 324
dynamo said:
  Omg, omg, omg! *Drool*
Impressions/Review, please! asap.
Congrats, btw. Hope it exceeds your expectations and brings you the joy that it righteously should.
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Sadly my english isn't good enough to write a full review and I'm not really an audiophile by any mean; but I'll post some of my impressions. First, the build quality is top notch. It's all made of metal (aluminium I guess) the front is glass or something similar; really sexy looking 
smily_headphones1.gif
 the knob feels good too, and is made on Japan. Package is just average, you get some papers and usb cable which looks good to me. No need to upgrade the cable here. 
 
Now about sound quality... as I said, I'm not really an audiophile but I did notice an improvement over my iPod and onboard audio. My setup is now:
 
Mac/PC ---> Audirvana/Foobar ---> Fostex hp-a4 ---> Denon D5000
 
First thing I notice is the bass... oh boy, the bass is now more tighter and prominent. Yes, more bass. Now let me tell you something, the D5000 is known for being a bass heavy headphone but I don't agree with that statement at all, the D600 is way more bassier than the D5000, that's a bass HEAVY headphone. So, there are 3 possibilities here: 1. my iPod wasn't capable of driving them properly (just 25 ohms, but I never felt that heavy bass), 2. the Fostex is adding some coloration to the bass region. Or, 3. I'm a basshead but I'm unaware of that LOL. I have to say that I'm loving the bass, but if the Fostex is indeed boosting that region...well, someone might not like it. Mids sound less recessed to me, and female vocals sound delicate and exquisite. Details are really easy to pick up.
 
So yeah, it's exceeding my expectations, I'm loving and enjoying my songs even more; but again I'm not audiophile and I haven't heard high end stuff. For $399 I think is fantastic, it does pcm up to 192khz, DSD, is usb powered, and it looks sexy as well 
beyersmile.png

 
Lastly, a pic:
 

 
Feb 8, 2014 at 10:54 AM Post #88 of 324
Nice! I just ordered mine from Thomann. It's now in stock.
 
Feb 8, 2014 at 11:06 AM Post #89 of 324
alucard177 said:
 
First thing I notice is the bass... oh boy, the bass is now more tighter and prominent. Yes, more bass. Now let me tell you something, the D5000 is known for being a bass heavy headphone but I don't agree with that statement at all, the D600 is way more bassier than the D5000, that's a bass HEAVY headphone. So, there are 3 possibilities here: 1. my iPod wasn't capable of driving them properly (just 25 ohms, but I never felt that heavy bass), 2. the Fostex is adding some coloration to the bass region. Or, 3. I'm a basshead but I'm unaware of that LOL. I have to say that I'm loving the bass, but if the Fostex is indeed boosting that region...well, someone might not like it. Mids sound less recessed to me, and female vocals sound delicate and exquisite. Details are really easy to pick up.
 
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Did you like use the D5000 without even any amp before? O:
 
Feb 8, 2014 at 11:48 AM Post #90 of 324
Just collected my HP-A4 this afternoon! :)
Sorry for the delay as I
I'll just post some brief impressions:
 
 

 
Build
The set looks very beautiful. I don't think I've seen many other DAC/AMP that has such a nice design.
There's only a slight problem with the workmanship of the back panel. The ports are not straight, but it's just a very very minor problem. (Go google for images)
They do provide 4 rubber feet for you to paste at the bottom of the unit.
 
Sound
Laptop (Foobar2000 WASAPI) > Fostex HP-A4 > Audio Technica ATH-ES10
Laptop (Foobar2000 WASAPI) > Fostex HP-A4 > Audio Technica ATH-ESW11LTD
Laptop (Foobar2000 WASAPI) > Fostex HP-A4 > Audio Technica ATH-A900XLTD
 
I've still not spent a lot of time on the set yet and I also have nothing to compare the HP-A4 with so please take this part with a pinch of salt. (Sold my ODAC+O2 back in December. Continental V3 has been on RMA for many months, returning end of this month)
 
Tried the HP-A4 with quite a few headphones. The amp section isn't really powerful (As expected from the USB). It didn't manage to drive the Alpha Dogs and Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro 250Ohms. But it's surprisingly quite decent for a USB powered amp. Managed to drive quite a number of full-sized headphones (like the ATH-AD2000X).
 
Personally I feel that the great part of the HP-A4 is actually the DAC rather than the AMP. Didn't manage to test out the line out yet. Would post impressions when I get the chance to.
 
I compared the stock cable with the ALO The Green Line USB. I can say that the stock cable is already pretty decent. Personally didn't like the ALO cable with the HP-A4, it kind of made the midrange not as engaging.
 
There's a digital filter setting on the set to change between a fast or slow roll off. So far didn't manage to hear any difference yet.
 
Can't really talk about the sound as I have nothing to compare against, but here are some very brief impressions. (I listen to mainly Asian music: Japanese, Korean, Chinese) I'd say that the sound is clear, transparent but musical.
 
I'm also thinking of trying the set with a USB power conditioner like the iUSB, but didn't have the time to try today. Would try another time.
 
Conclusion
I don't really have much to conclude yet. But the price is pretty decent for the sound.
I'll see if I have time in the coming weeks to do a proper review/impressions. Now have to go back to assignments.
If you have any question just let me know, I'll try my best to answer them. :)
 
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