cjc
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Didn't Hafler recently exit the Headphone amp line-up?
I would like to hear one, but not many places have stock and warranty is in Canada.
HAFLER HA75 Tube Headphone Amplifier
- Thread starter dirtrat
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I would like to hear one, but not many places have stock and warranty is in Canada.
Jim Hagerman
Member of the Trade: Hagerman Audio Labs
There is nothing wrong with using a wall-wart (except psychologically). It's the same circuit and function, just moved to a different location. In fact, keeping switching transients (whether 120Hz or 120kHz) far away from the rest of the analog chain is actually a good idea. It's also an easy way to keep size and cost down, while maintaining the ability to ship product worldwide. It's a win-win for low powered equipment. Won't work for a big power amp, but for small signal preamps and headphone amplifiers, it's most definitely reasonable.
amazon has the newer version. At least that is the one I received when I ordered.
https://www.amazon.com/Hafler-HA75-...r+ha-75&qid=1567532626&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0
I'm resurrecting this ancient thread because I was able to pick up an HA75 locally (thanks Erik!) and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Mine is revised version (no feedback control, instead it has impedance control). I'll start by saying it's a bit more "tubey" than I had anticipated - based on reviews I thought it would be mostly SS with a touch of tubey goodness, but I find it seems pretty tube-like to my ears. Of note, I just got this so have hardly any time on it.
The impedance control seems to work well. Running my modded T1.1 at the 400 Ohm setting they sound great and there's tons of power available. My Denon 9200 sound good too, and my Z1R at the 100 ohm setting seemed a great fit. The focus feature is pretty neat; I have other devices that do similar effect and it's fun for certain recordings. One of my favorite options if the VOX selector. You can leave it bypassed if desired. The "A" is a big ol' bass boost, and the "B" setting is a more typical loudness contour. On my Z1R the "B" loudness was OK, still a touch too much bass, and the "A" setting was simply overwhelming. That's a can I'd likely leave it bypassed on. However, on the T1.1 the loudness is PERFECT for adding some real grunt down low, and the "A" setting is actually acceptable since it's a bass-light headphone to begin with. Same on the HD800S; the bass settings are welcome and the loudness setting is just about perfect. Color me impressed, this little guy is ticking many, many boxes for me!
I couldn't find specs from the manufacturer on noise or distortion (the pamphlet that came with mine simply mentions gain of 30db...). It's not as quiet an amp as something like a THX amp, a Phonitor, or an RME...when I crank it all the way up with no input it's got a bit of noise/hiss. BUT, it is a tube unit, and that noise is at such an absurdly high volume that I think it's plenty quiet for any human. There's TONS of gain in this unit. For reference, my T1.1 (a fairly difficult can to drive) at the 400 ohm setting is already quite loud at the 10 o'clock position, so this amp should be able to drive just about anything out there. It's smaller in person than I had in my mind, but feels very sturdy. A couple demerits for it: the power cable is bulky, plasticky, and proprietary. Also, the knobs/pots are plastic. The volume knob at a minimum should have been metal, but something that I can likely fix myself. Loving this little thing!!
The impedance control seems to work well. Running my modded T1.1 at the 400 Ohm setting they sound great and there's tons of power available. My Denon 9200 sound good too, and my Z1R at the 100 ohm setting seemed a great fit. The focus feature is pretty neat; I have other devices that do similar effect and it's fun for certain recordings. One of my favorite options if the VOX selector. You can leave it bypassed if desired. The "A" is a big ol' bass boost, and the "B" setting is a more typical loudness contour. On my Z1R the "B" loudness was OK, still a touch too much bass, and the "A" setting was simply overwhelming. That's a can I'd likely leave it bypassed on. However, on the T1.1 the loudness is PERFECT for adding some real grunt down low, and the "A" setting is actually acceptable since it's a bass-light headphone to begin with. Same on the HD800S; the bass settings are welcome and the loudness setting is just about perfect. Color me impressed, this little guy is ticking many, many boxes for me!
I couldn't find specs from the manufacturer on noise or distortion (the pamphlet that came with mine simply mentions gain of 30db...). It's not as quiet an amp as something like a THX amp, a Phonitor, or an RME...when I crank it all the way up with no input it's got a bit of noise/hiss. BUT, it is a tube unit, and that noise is at such an absurdly high volume that I think it's plenty quiet for any human. There's TONS of gain in this unit. For reference, my T1.1 (a fairly difficult can to drive) at the 400 ohm setting is already quite loud at the 10 o'clock position, so this amp should be able to drive just about anything out there. It's smaller in person than I had in my mind, but feels very sturdy. A couple demerits for it: the power cable is bulky, plasticky, and proprietary. Also, the knobs/pots are plastic. The volume knob at a minimum should have been metal, but something that I can likely fix myself. Loving this little thing!!
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Thanks for the pics and the mini review. I'm the OP and also a SAC guy. Congrats in obtaining this locally. I'm assuming they didn't sell many of these, so it's cool you were able to obtain one. Very cool design.
Hey there! Yeah, it's not something that comes up often, and it's just quirky enough that it always had my attention
The more time I spend with it the more I'm enjoying it. I'll say that it works perfectly fine with my lower impedance cans but the synergy is really great with higher impedance ones, despite its ability to adjust the impedance setting. I was fortunate enough that the seller included a few tubes with it so I still have to do some tube rolling for fun. Interested to see what appreciable difference this unit gets from swapping tubes.FYI. I am still rocking my HA-75 v2. Long story but I have moved primarily to IEMs. Specifically the Shure SE846. Long story but the signal chain has the black ice soundtage expander, the BBE sonic maximizer and the HA-75 after my Border Patrol dac. Its a jacked signal chain and not neutral really. The Shures are neutral and long story I have awesome soundstaging and bass now. Crossfeed is great and I am kind of stuck with an amp/ signal chain that offers bass boost, soundstage widening and crossfeed. Loving it though with neutral headphones. Also, the 2nd output on this amp is much appreciated.
Yeah, it's a great little amp. I've been using it now for about 6 months, still love it. It has turned out to be my favorite amp for the 800S. The little bit of tube sound, with the focus set to 50% and the VOX in the loudness position all adds up to a really great experience with that headphone. Funny you mention the black ice soundstage expander, I have 2 of them and use them in other setups, also really underrated piece of gear. One thing I wish Hafler would have done on this amp is a better job of muting upon on/off to avoid pops, so I unplug stuff before powering the unit on or off. Not a huuuuge deal, but certainly an oversight on their part. With the right tube, the HA75 is actually really quiet, noise floor is quite low to my ears. I appreciate the compact size of this unit, but sometimes wish it was a smidge bigger/wider just so the faceplate controls were spaced apart a little more.
Haidar
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Anyone here tried the HA75 with a linear power supply?
For example the ones tested at https://audiobacon.net/2021/08/06/the-worlds-best-audiophile-linear-power-supplies
For example the ones tested at https://audiobacon.net/2021/08/06/the-worlds-best-audiophile-linear-power-supplies
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