[tropicana]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/In-English/b?ie=UTF8&node=1094656

Do consider purchasing from Amazon JP.

I got my HPA8 from Amazon JP.
Am currently using it in a 240V environment after making the necessary adjustment internally.

 

[Canadian411]

 
It would appear that Sonic Sense only ships Stateside.
 
You may want to checkout this brick and mortar in Toronto  http://headfoneshop.com/
 
Give him a call

headfoneshop.com is actually the WORST place to buy any audio gear, I know this place, several friends went there to audition but NEVER bought anything lol.
 
Whenever I called the owner he never "price-match" or offers discount, even during the Black Friday or on Christmas boxing weeks there are no discount or very small rebate.
For example, I was comparing HD800 price, headfonesshop was selling $1499+tax while Bay Bloor Radio was offering for $1220 + tax on black friday here in Canada.
 
There are far better stores in Toronto,
 
avshop.ca
mostlydigital.ca
ncix.com
canadacomputers.com
 
From above stores I was able to get,(price before tax)
 
T1 => $899 
T5p => $899
HD800 => $1220
TH900 => $1440
Denon AH-D7000 => $615
Westone 4R => $375
etc...
 
Tips : I will suggest people to stop by headfoneshop to audition gears, just don't buy, he won't offer any discount.

 

[Canadian411]

Just talked to the salesrep at SonicSense and HP-A8 is not the international version.
They probably took the cheapest HP-A8 and tweak it to 120v for North America.

 

[Matvei]

So, HP-A8 users:
 
To upsample, or not to upsample? That is the question.
 
What settings are you all using?

 

[Mortalcoil]

  headfoneshop.com is actually the WORST place to buy any audio gear, I know this place, several friends went there to audition but NEVER bought anything lol.
 
Whenever I called the owner he never "price-match" or offers discount, even during the Black Friday or on Christmas boxing weeks there are no discount or very small rebate.
For example, I was comparing HD800 price, headfonesshop was selling $1499+tax while Bay Bloor Radio was offering for $1220 + tax on black friday here in Canada.
 
There are far better stores in Toronto,
 
avshop.ca
mostlydigital.ca
ncix.com
canadacomputers.com
 
From above stores I was able to get,(price before tax)
 
T1 => $899 
T5p => $899
HD800 => $1220
TH900 => $1440
Denon AH-D7000 => $615
Westone 4R => $375
etc...
 
Tips : I will suggest people to stop by headfoneshop to audition gears, just don't buy, he won't offer any discount.

Fair enough.  I spoke to him about a year ago (forgot his name).  Seemed like an ok guy, lol at least over the phone.
 
Mind me asking where you were able to track down those TH-900 at $1440?  Great deal.

 

[Canadian411]

 
Fair enough.  I spoke to him about a year ago (forgot his name).  Seemed like an ok guy, lol at least over the phone.
 
Mind me asking where you were able to track down those TH-900 at $1440?  Great deal.

Oh yeah, he is one very nice guy, just that his price is high or not offering any discount is a loss to him, and I feel sorry for him.

 

[GoldfishX]

  So, HP-A8 users:
 
To upsample, or not to upsample? That is the question.
 
What settings are you all using?

 
It's garbage. I just leave mine at X1 (regular). Sounds the cleanest, the others sound busier.

 

[GoldfishX]

  Just talked to the salesrep at SonicSense and HP-A8 is not the international version.
They probably took the cheapest HP-A8 and tweak it to 120v for North America.

 
Guess you got a different sales rep. The one I got couldn't give me a definitive answer. Oh well, I haven't opened mine yet, but have had no issues so far.

 

[Matvei]

   
It's garbage. I just leave mine at X1 (regular). Sounds the cleanest, the others sound busier.

Out of curiosity, do you use the cut off or the minimum delay filter?

 

[GoldfishX]

  Out of curiosity, do you use the cut off or the minimum delay filter?

 
For the HD800, I set it to minimum delay. It adds more impact to the music and it's not quite the relentless assault of information that the HD800 is known for. Decay is still super-fast, just easier to process everything.
 
For the Mad Dogs/HD600, I prefer sharp rolloff. It's way more dynamic and fun. So pretty safe to say headphones with a slower decay, I prefer sharp rolloff.
 
Unlike the upsampling, this feature is quite effective and worth playing around with.
 
For the upsampling, it seemingly moves everything farther back, but makes everything sound smaller. 1X has a lot more impact and feels way more natural, especially for drums. I'm also finding 4X makes vocals more sibilant. Maybe on speakers and not headphones this works better? *shrug*
 
Also, the A8 DAC/Nighthawk amp pairing is really transparent with a good source, almost clinically so. I love it. One second, I thought it was a bass-lite pairing after a few light pop songs, then Iron Maiden comes one and proves otherwise. I love using thick metal to test pairings, it gives all the frequencies a great workout.

 

[Canadian411]

Looks like there are 3 different version of this amp.
Which one is which ?  I am puzzled.... 

 
1. Silver-Colored side panel, model number indicates as HP-A8 at the back

2. Black-Colored side panel, model number indicates as HP-A8 at the back
 

 
3. Black-Colored side panel, model number indicates as HP-A8C at the back, note that the model number is located just above SD CARD reader.

 

[Matvei]

One is JP, one is US, one is EU.
 
It doesn't matter which one you get aside from switching the voltage.

 

[Canadian411]

  One is JP, one is US, one is EU.
 
It doesn't matter which one you get aside from switching the voltage.

oh, i see, thanks ! so the salesrep at sonic sense was right, it's not the international version (but US is international with respect to where it's made).
But like you said, doesn't matter.
 
thanks

 

[kljash]

Would you recomend this as a headphone amp for a pair of T1's. 

 

[HiFiRobot]

I listened to HP-A8 the other day with LCD-2 and HE-500. Foobar (FLAC) - Laptop - HP-A8 - Headphones. Sounded really good with LCD-2, but not heavenly. The match with HE-500 was not working in my opinion. It felt like HP-A8 has a brighter signature that paired better with LCD-2.