HeadAmp CFA3 Headphone Amp - The Official Thread

[chesebert]

Just finished the Colorado mini meet, @Hiker816 had a Dukei CFA3 and can share his thoughts on how it compares to our CFA3 Deluxe ^^

All I’ll say is he enjoyed our set up quite a bit

Which dac did you pair the CFA3 with?

 

[Makiah S]

Which dac did you pair the CFA3 with?

On our end it was the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II ROON

 

[number1sixerfan]

I write purely out of interest and have been doing so for nearly 10 years, primarily sharing my thoughts in Chinese. Recently, I’ve started experimenting with writing in English. Today, I had the opportunity to test the Headamp CFA3 driving the HEDDPhone 2 GT, which is a notoriously hard-to-drive headphone. However, the CFA3 performed exceptionally well.

In High Gain mode, using the 4-pin XLR output, the CFA3 was able to provide sufficient volume at the 12 o’clock position on the volume knob (with 5 o’clock being the maximum). Paired with the Khozmo 47-step attenuator, it was very easy to fine-tune the ideal volume level. This demonstrates the CFA3’s capability to drive the HEDDPhone 2 GT with ease, though I would say it is only slightly easier to drive than the Susvara. Compared to most other headphones, the HEDDPhone 2 GT still requires substantial power.

Sounds cool, really enjoyed reading. Will bookmark.

A set of ZMF Pads, the owner will surely know! I'll pop into the impressions thread in the morning and get confirmation!

Thank you!

 

[chesebert]

On our end it was the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II ROON

If I were you I would use your M3. It may not be as technically proficient and transparent but I think it will match your CFA3 better. I heard that combo and it was too much for me - I can only concentrate on the gear and not the music. Use a more musical and less technical dac (or both if you are willing to lug around $20k+ dac around) - you can even try Border Patrol to show off CFA3 with entry level gear.

 

[Makiah S]

If I were you I would use your M3. It may not be as technically proficient and transparent but I think it will match your CFA3 better. I heard that combo and it was too much for me - I can only concentrate on the gear and not the music. Use a more musical and less technical dac (or both if you are willing to lug around $20k+ dac around) - you can even try Border Patrol to show off CFA3 with entry level gear.

My M3 is upgraded so it’s not quite as warm/musical as the originals. Still has that beautiful natural tone that all the Bricasti DACs have but with a bit more nuance n improved staging

In the mean time, the Bridge has some alternative filtering that adds some of that musicality back in!

Still tho, I’ve actually had a moment to sit down with both side by side! We’ll have to give that combo a try and see what folks think.

 

[Makiah S]

Sounds cool, really enjoyed reading. Will bookmark.



Thank you!

“ZMF Universe lambskin solid pads” on recommendation from @goldwerger ^^

In fact, it sounded so good my partner, and I both want one which hurts my wallet so but nonetheless it’ll be quite a journey to find and acquire one. So I guess that means she’s game to help haha

Even still with the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II, the L3000 sounded the best I’d heard it yet! I enjoyed it much more so on our CFA3 than some of the crazier, more esoteric stuff, I’ve heard it off of in the past.

 

[number1sixerfan]

“ZMF Universe lambskin solid pads” on recommendation from @goldwerger ^^

In fact, it sounded so good my partner, and I both want one which hurts my wallet so but nonetheless it’ll be quite a journey to find and acquire one. So I guess that means she’s game to help haha

Even still with the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II, the L3000 sounded the best I’d heard it yet! I enjoyed it much more so on our CFA3 than some of the crazier, more esoteric stuff, I’ve heard it off of in the past.

Very interesting, thank you! I may need to give these a try.

 

[Makiah S]

On paper, we all have a clear idea of how our CFA3 Standard differs from the Deluxe. However, how about subjectively? To explore and answer this, I sat down with both this weekend at the Denver Colorado Meet hosted by @Hiker816. Listening through the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II ROON with each amplifier volume matched for each headphone individually.

For this explorative listen, I used the HIFIMAN Susvara and a Modded Denon AH-D5000. These two headphones present the amplifier with different load requirements and have almost opposite sensitivity and resistances: 83dB sensitivity @ 60Ω for HIFIMAN Susvara and 106dB sensitivity @ 25Ω for the Denon AH-D5000. I'll also add the room I was listening in had an ambient noise floor of ~ 39dB, and my average listening level was around ~78 dB.

I didn't pick an expansive track list, rather just a single song. One we've all heard over and over and over, yet nonetheless I still enjoy it. Hotel California - Eagles off the Hell Freezes Over Album, I prefer the Simply Vinyl 1994 Pressing myself for it's dynamic contrast. I'm thankful I was able to find a clean pull with a beautiful Analog to Digital lineage.

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It's a track I've been thankful to enjoy since 2020, and there are a few things I listen for when doing a critical review. For this listen, two things stood out: the position of the kick drum within the soundstage and the movement/audible position of what I can only describe as a synth sweep towards the end of the second minute of the track. To my ears, the Kick Drum has always been stronger on the left channel with some slight bleed into the center, and that Synth Sweep starts on the left channel and ends on the right.

For the HIFIMAN Susvara, I found all nuance present and no discernable difference between the Deluxe and the Standard. I think a large portion of this is due to how inefficient the Susvara is. The Denon AH-D5000 however did present some noticeable differences! I found that for the Deluxe edition, the position of the kick drum was more clearly left-leaning with a discernable bleed into center additionally the synth sweep had 5 discernably audible placements on the deluxe vs three on the standard.

With this in mind, I find it reasonable to say for low impedance high-efficiency headphones like the Meze Elite, Focal Utopia, or Campfire Audio Cascade, the CFA3 Deluxe offers finer volume control and improvements to staging and cohesion. As someone with a varied collection of headphones, I find the Deluxe model well worth the cost for this reason! For inefficient and moderate to high-impedance headphones such as the HIFIMAN Susvara, Sennheiser HD800S , or Dan Clark Audio Stealth, I found little audibly discernable difference. I enjoyed the additional volume control of the Deluxe, which helped me find my ideal listening level. Ultimately, our CFA3 Deluxe stands as our current solid-state flagship amplifier. For those who want the absolute best solid-state amplifier we manufacture, our CFA3 Deluxe is the one.

 

[chesebert]

I agree 200 step attenuator or a high end pot is required for efficient dynamic headphones. I think I said last year that the standard 48 step attenuator will not cut it for cans like Utopia.

 

[Voxata]

The increased amount of steps and fine control are a big addition to the deluxe, plus the remote capabilities. Are there any other internal differences between the two?

 

[Makiah S]

The increased amount of steps and fine control are a big addition to the deluxe, plus the remote capabilities. Are there any other internal differences between the two?

There are, which has been covered in some earlier posts, but the circuit has been further improved/modified a lil since prototyping, so I’m gonna take a moment to coordinate with @justin w. and confirm with the final internal upgrades are.

We’ll get the photography redone here shortly so we can have an up to date visual as well.

 

[Voxata]

There are, which has been covered in some earlier posts, but the circuit has been further improved/modified a lil since prototyping, so I’m gonna take a moment to coordinate with @justin w. and confirm with the final internal upgrades are.

We’ll get the photography redone here shortly so we can have an up to date visual as well.

Awesome thanks for the info - the engineering is definitely impressive on this one.

 

[HC1205]

I know that cfa3's competition isn't TOTL like AIC-10 and MK 465
but I wonder how it compares to Enleum 23r which is known for best with Susvara

 

[Makiah S]

I know that cfa3's competition isn't TOTL like AIC-10 and MK 465
but I wonder how it compares to Enleum 23r which is known for best with Susvara

Oh I’ve not heard one of those in quite a while, tho I’m confident CFA-T will compete with even the AIC-10, I even snagged a stunning set of matched Slyvania 1940s White Label Bad Boi’s so my own nervosa will be satiated

But, I’d also challenge you to sit down and hear all three for yourself with your own source & headphones.

If ever I’m at a show, you’re always welcome to ask me about using your own source into our amps IF you have analogue line outs & the needed cable, most of the time I should be able to accommodate.

 

[HC1205]

Oh I’ve not heard one of those in quite a while, tho I’m confident CFA-T will compete with even the AIC-10, I even snagged a stunning set of matched Slyvania 1940s White Label Bad Boi’s so my own nervosa will be satiated

But, I’d also challenge you to sit down and hear all three for yourself with your own source & headphones.

If ever I’m at a show, you’re always welcome to ask me about using your own source into our amps IF you have analogue line outs & the needed cable, most of the time I should be able to accommodate.

As a person living in Washington state, it is unfortunate that such events as can jam aren't available here or/and not even a demo shop.