[bulmanxxi]

At least with MTPC, the UHA-4 is a bit more "musical" or "warm" or "enjoyable" whereas the Arrow was quite dry and not to my liking regardless of the numerous features and slim form factor.  PLUS, and this is a BIG PLUS, the Arrow DOES NOT have a DAC AND COSTS almost twice as much s the UHA-4, AND the UHA-4 is "always" in stock, so no waiting for weeks or months like the Arrow, thus the UHA-4 WINS in more ways than one.

 

[kbuzz]

FYI Nick at leckerton just let me know that the dac in the slim is not ipad compatible. The other two amp/dacs are.
Hopefully the next version will be

 

[shotgunshane]

I just received mine, about 20 minutes ago.  So far, it works.  It is sort of an odd shape, wider than my touch 4g, slightly wider than my iphone 3gs, and an inch and a half give or take shorter.  I'm looking forward to actually giving it a test drive.  It will be AB'd against my Arrow.  I listen quietly, and the Arrow has a bit too much gain for me, even in a modified, lower gain configuration.  I think I'm in the minority on the Arrow being a bit too loud though.  I'm hoping the digital volume control and low gain on the Leckerton will solve my issue.

Looking forward to your impressions.

 

[rawrster]

I've always wondered about the UHA-4 but didn't want to buy one to find out. I'm glad some people are getting it.
 
@aamedford: can you try it out of a computer with your quads and let me know how it goes? I want a smaller dac/amp for my netbook when I leave the house and I was looking at this before I got lazy and just stuck with my current dac/amp which sounds great but I would prefer a smaller package.

 

[aamefford]

So far, I find it more to my liking than the arrow.  It is a clean, basically neutral to ever so slightly warm amp.  The low gain is -6 db, perfect for iem's.  My stock Arrow had about 5 degrees of rotation, and never got out of channel imbalance before it was too loud, and the modified one with lower gain got maybe twice that far.  There is plenty of volume control with the digital volume on the UH-4 in low gain.  It got too loud long before I ran out of volume using EQu on my touch 4G.  EQu has a lower dock connector output volume than the ipod player does.
 
The crossfeed is the Linkowitz circuit, similar to the headroom amps.  It adds just a touch of low end, warming up the sound.  The headroom amps have a treble boost to offset this, the UH-4 doesn't.  I just use a slight bass reduction through EQu, and it works just fine.
 
I have not tried the DAC yet.  It is the same chip as the Headstage dac cable that I bought with my Arrow.  The DAC cable sounds pretty nice, though not high end.
 
In brief, the UH-4 is one heck of a deal!  It sounds great, has a digital volume control, and a dac, for something like $179 delivered.  I bought mine barely used for a bit less.  I put the Arrow up for sale after about 5 minutes with the Leckerton.  It is everything I had hoped the Arrow would be - well except tiny.  It is small, but the Arrow is minuscule!
 
Note - I'm not slamming the Arrow - it is a good amp, but wasn't the right one for me.
 
I'll try it out of a computer via the dac in the next few days, and I'll give it a try with my D7000's.  The Arrow was great with the D7000's (still on low gain!)  I'm curious to see how the Leckerton stacks up with my full size cans, though that is not it's purpose.

 

[bulmanxxi]

My audio impressions are similar compared to the Arrow.  However, from memory, since the Headphonia cable is no longer listed, the DAC chips are not the same.  If i recall, the latest Headphonia, actually used Woldfson WM8740 whereas the Leckerton uses TI PCM2706.  Even the older Headphonia cable seems used TI PCM2704.  In any case, it sounds fantastic as a DAC/AMP combo - I actually use it more as an amp/dac than for portable use but it's very nice that it provides that option as well.  Bottom line, amazing that the UHA-4 has not generated more buzz around here plus it's made in the USA!!!

 

[rawrster]

Leckerton is not a very well known brand even here so I'm not surprised their products are that popular. The UHA-6S never received much attention here either although some members liked it quite a bit.
 
How does the crossfeed for the UHA-4 work?
 
Right now I'm using my audinst dac/amp so if I can get something closer to the size of my J3 that would be pretty ideal for me and the price is pretty reasonable as long as no unexpected expense comes in the future. I don't amp my portable rig so no worries about that feature. I would use it purely as a dac/amp for my netbook when I'm in a cafe, library, etc.

 

[bulmanxxi]

Perhaps "big brands" around here are related to their sponsorship??
 
In any case, the UHA-4 in combination with the new Mac players - Pure Music, Fidelia, Audirvana, etc. works fine.  Much better than uDac-2 which has the serious and well acknowledged channel imbalance issues.  The UHA-4 at its price is simply the only and best available.  The iBasso D4 (no crossfeed) is the only close competitor and also outstanding but a boxier/bigger and does not have a rechargeable battery and it is about $50 more including shipping plus it is not made in the USA.  Another pretty good one is the Apogee One, but it does not have a battery and it is even larger yet it can be found in the same price range on eBay, etc.  Leckerton is simply the best and only amp/dac with portability, crossfeed, etc. in that price range that I am aware of and even twice the price.
 
The Leckerton website has a link about the crossfeed.  I rarely use it as I don't hear huge difference, but that's probably a good thing...  It says the benefit is mostly realized after listening for many hours by reducing fatigue and benefit varies with different types of music....  It's nice that it's there though.

 

[Anaxilus]

So what's the voltage swing on this thing?  The Arrow is very powerful so I'm wondering if the Leckerton is even comparable in that respect.

 

[bulmanxxi]

I would email Nick at Leckerton Audio for any tech specs:
 
http://www.leckertonaudio.com/support/contact_us/
 
 

 

[TekeRugburn]

was contemplating of getting the arrow since my alo rx  crapped out on me.... but with this price and features i decided to get the uha-4.  can get the alo rx fixed and a uha-4 for about the same price (50 more) than just a new arrow.

 

[bulmanxxi]

Can't go wrong with the UHA-4 especially at that price and they have 30 days money back guarantee just in case!

 

[Scudbot]

This is my first post although I've been lurking in the bushes for quite a while. I've been running a UHA4 for a few weeks. Not only is the amp/DAC a true bargain but you'll get world class customer service as well. Highly recommended.

 

[Pitch Black]

How's the bass on these wonderful looking things?
Anybody pair it with the TF10s?
 
Thanx!

 

[TekeRugburn]

Quote:

How's the bass on these wonderful looking things?
Anybody pair it with the TF10s?
 
Thanx!

 
can't comment on the bass because im about to order mine today, but since you're coming form TF10's bass shouldnt be a problem, always found the bass more than adequate.  Also, TF10's are pretty efficient headphones so amping them wouldnt see that much of an increase of SQ.  But, if you play most of your music through a notebook/netbook than the dac will definately help.