I'm not sure how many owners tried optical input and coaxial input. They sound significantly better than the USB input. It took me this long to try other inputs. I'm A/Bing against Gumby also fed via coaxial. They are much closer in sound now. It's really surprising how poor USB is as a source. It could be just my PC.
I think USB is better than s/pdif and is superior from my USB 3.0 output on my laptop. The 2.0 output sound is 2D rather than 3D and pretty flat and lifeless. And the USB output from the ASRock SuperCarrier MB I built recently is better still. Bit are bits, right? Doesn't seem so.
I have been missing my tube sound since I sold my Liquid Glass last month, seems like this amp has a similar sound signature without all the messy tubes
Anyone want to get rid of their MHA100, please pm me.
Also since this amp is in my shortlist, is anyone using this amp with Roon & if so are you having any issues with upsampling?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers.
I have been missing my tube sound since I sold my Liquid Glass last month, seems like this amp has a similar sound signature without all the messy tubes
Anyone want to get rid of their MHA100, please pm me.
Also since this amp is in my shortlist, is anyone using this amp with Roon & if so are you having any issues with upsampling?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers.
Mha100 is one of the most tube sounding solid state amp. Running from it's integrated DAC sounds very close to Gumby with XLR input which is a very organic sound.
Mha100 is one of the most tube sounding solid state amp. Running from it's integrated DAC sounds very close to Gumby with XLR input which is a very organic sound.
I'm really surprised how the integrated dac sounds so similar to Gumby. Gumby is one of the highest regarded DACs, but it seems the headphone and amp section are dictating the overall sound signature and presentation. I don't think I have heard anyone claiming two completely difference DAC designs can some so similar out of the same amp and dac. Am I alone on this? I'm getting iDSD pro later. I guess I'll either confirm or refute this claim.
I picked one up a few weeks ago and could not be happier. Absolutely gorgeous piece of gear here. Not used to actually having features on my headphone amp, that's a welcome change of pace. Using a Yggy V1 as the DAC. Having been using this mainly with my HEX v1. Also used it with the HD800's and RSi1's. I was shocked by how good this made the RSi1 sound! Unfortunately, the amp can't help the RSi1's noggin crunching pain and "grattle" (I need a haircut). Still not a fan of the HD800's. It's super detailed and huge sound stage, but it still sounds artificial.
It's just kind boggling how much coax sounds. Initially I thought Gumby is a landmark upgrade, but now I have rca coax connected to Gumby, toslink to MHA100. Since the sound card sends digital signal through both connections simultaneously, I could just turn the input knob from balanced in to optical to AB the 2 DACs. I would have to say the difference is not that significant. The natural and holographic presentation of the Gumby is there with the MHA100. Maybe the amp and Susvara are doing most of the work.
Is there a version of the MHA100 with same amp but without the DAC section. I need an amp to drive Susvara off speaker taps without a DAC as I have a DAVE. Don’t want to spend much more than 3K. Is there any other amp that comes close via regular balanced output to the MHA via speaker tabs?
No, both the MHA100 and MHA150 only comes with the internal DAC.
I have the MHA100 and don’t use its DAC since I have a Bricasti M1 SE DAC.
If your DAVE has variable analog output you can use any speakers amp with 50-80 watts @ 8 ohms. If you go higher than 80 watts you will need the adapter box that HiFiman sells.
I used to drive my HE6 out of a Threshold T50 speakers amp that was 50 watts/ch class A and drove them beautifully.
Another good option is to look in the use market for RSA Dark Star. That amp was designed to run the HE-6. I also used to own it and it was a great amp for difficult to drive headphones.
Is there a version of the MHA100 with same amp but without the DAC section. I need an amp to drive Susvara off speaker taps without a DAC as I have a DAVE. Don’t want to spend much more than 3K. Is there any other amp that comes close via regular balanced output to the MHA via speaker tabs?
Hi, I think Mcintosh has a DAC in all their offerings with a viable headphone stage now a days. The only major difference I think between the two DAC's is the MHA150 can process DSD (and is newer).
If you want to use your DAC, just feed your source into your DAVE and then use the analog out into the MHA100 to bypass the internal DAC. I have no experience with using headphones directly from the speaker taps, sorry. Sent you a PM
I'm really curious about the headphone amp in the new Hybrid MHA252 tube/solid state integrated amp they released. Can never find too much specific data on their website about it and was wondering if it's output compares to the MHA100 or is it more like their lower power D100 type headphone out. Was thinking of getting a couple of the MHA252 one to run my maggie minis and one to run my 20.7s and for secondary use as headphone amps. If anyone knows about them also curious about how it handles auto-sleep when no audio is playing. Would be great if it drops into a ultra low power mode automatically when music is paused and instantly wakes back again when it is played without pops or weird startup artifacts. Currently my tube amps pull over 200 watts all day no matter if music is playing or not. Fine in the winter but hot in the summer. Electric bill reminds me every month.
I'm really curious about the headphone amp in the new Hybrid MHA252 tube/solid state integrated amp they released. Can never find too much specific data on their website about it and was wondering if it's output compares to the MHA100 or is it more like their lower power D100 type headphone out. Was thinking of getting a couple of the MHA252 one to run my maggie minis and one to run my 20.7s and for secondary use as headphone amps. If anyone knows about them also curious about how it handles auto-sleep when no audio is playing. Would be great if it drops into a ultra low power mode automatically when music is paused and instantly wakes back again when it is played without pops or weird startup artifacts. Currently my tube amps pull over 200 watts all day no matter if music is playing or not. Fine in the winter but hot in the summer. Electric bill reminds me every month.
I don't have a MA252, but re: the auto-sleep, according to the manual for the MA252, it has an auto shutoff function like the MHA100 by default. You can disable it. I believe the tubes also "warm up" rather quickly, they light up orange and turn green when "ready", which is in a few seconds.
On a slight tangent, I've also been searching for info about the headphone stages in their newer pre-amps and how they compare to their dedicated headphone amps, but I can't find much. Problem seems to be people shelling out for a system based around C2600 or C70 are probably more into 2 channel than into headphones and are not using it for such. With no evidence to support this, but I think Mac has started to up their quality on the headphone stages though. I can't imagine the MA252 stage would be bad, but it might not be as good as the MA100/150.
Using the Hugo 2 to the McIntosh as compared to the Hugo 2 alone and McIntosh alone really showed me that the Hugo 2 is an excellent DAC and McIntosh is an excellent amp and then they come together they combine both their strengths for an amazing sounding system. But each in its own shows its flaws, Hugo 2 in its aplilfier capabilities (yes, I know it doesn't have an amp stage, but you know what I'm talking about) and the McIntosh in its DAC section.
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