lockjaw
100+ Head-Fier
4500 dollars, are you kidding me, for a headphone amp? Why would anyone spend that kind of money?
I started my journey into the world of headphones with the goal of putting together a system to maximize that elusive price vs. performance ratio curve. Given the lack of local high-end stores, I went to Audiogon and stocked up on what the reviews suggested were quality products at a good price. I decided to spend about 1,000 dollars or less for each piece of the chain: DAC, AMP, headphones. Figured it's worth trying a bunch of gear in the comfort of my home even knowing I'll lose money on the re-sale. What a great opportunity to host a hifi party, crack open a few bottle of pino, burn a few Cubans <cigars that is, we head-fi rs are mostly pacifists>, and play with super-cool equipment.
The stuff:
Benchmark DAC1 ($450 used)
Audiolab MDAC ($600 used)
McIntosh MX 121 pre/pro (already own, 6k)
Ray Samuels Audio Raptor (800 used)
Lehmann Black Cube Linear (499 used)
Senn HD800 (1000 used)
Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime (1000 new)
I'm sharing this information to let everyone know the care in hopefully forming a great system and eventually how the McIntosh fits in. I went with a 1,000 dollar retail range as that seems to be the price point where one gets great quality without total bankruptcy. Time and time again I've gone below and wish I spent just a little more or above and wondered why.
Some quick take home points before I launch into the amps. I've found the DAC plays the least significant role in overall sound quality. All the DACs I tested were about the same except the Benchmark which was clearly of lower fidelity. One can hear SLIGHT nuances between the pieces and that is only with direct and near instantaneous AB comparisons. If blinded and not going instantaneously AB, I doubt I could tell the difference. Amps are a TOTALLY different story. The Audio Labs MDAC perhaps is the best of the DACs I had, by an angstrom!
As far as headphones, I went with the HD800s for their amazing detail and wide soundstage. Their brightness is really fatiguing, and bass is lacking, otherwise amazing. The Alpha Primes are also superb, great bass and detail, a smaller sound stage as expected with closed back cans. You really can't directly compare them given their completely different sounds, strengths, and weaknesses. I'd be happy with either. I'm into jazz and classical now so I reluctantly sold the Primes. Took a hit at 850 (ouch).
Comparing the solid state Lehmann vs the tubed Raptor was a fascinating exercise is design and taste. I was hoping to find an amp that adds some bass and removes treble from the HD800s without robbing their amazing detail. If you're reading this, it's a forgone conclusion that neither amp was perfect. Tubes were wonderful and smooth with great bass, perhaps a little bloated, still but enjoyable, definitely an initial "wow" factor. The highs were tamed but fine detail was ever so slightly missing. I know this describes many tube amps and makes sense when you read up on how tubes work. The Lehmann sold state was completely different. Superb detail but thin bass, somewhat fatiguing. I could listen to the HD800s / Lehmann for about 30 minutes before switching back to the Raptor. 30 minutes later I felt I was missing something and was back to the Lehmann! Sounds schizophrenic. I could have lived with either amp but felt there must be something else out there. I figured, hell with it, what does $4,500 dollars get you??
My heart raced as I released the Mac from its cardboard prison. Mostly I was tachycardic for fear of dropping the dam thing. It's heavy..... and expensive. I Foobar'd over my favorite test track via ASIO USB and returned my HD800s to their rightful home, on my head. I expected the clouds to part, a conical beam of white light shining down upon me as the angels sang out in audiophile bliss. What I got?........ a very good "polite" sounding $4500 dollar amplifier, where's my 4500 dollar "wow" factor?!!! Time to calm down, let's give it a longer listen. 10 hours later I was still listening with no intention of stopping. I realized my tympanic membranes weren't spilling HD800 treble induced red, the bass was deep and tight, image was precise and large, treble detailed, relaxed, no fatigue! The McIntosh did everything well without the limitations of either the Lehmann or Raptor. How does one describe the McIntosh sound? I would say laid back, refined, balanced. This amp simply does everything well, and consistently so. High quality tracks are magical, lesser quality rock-and-roll still sound great. Somehow the Mac manages to de-emphasize recording flaws. This same rock collection sounded terrible on the Lehmann as every detail, good and bad, were piped out for my HD800s to brutally reproduce. I honestly think this amp was designed with the HD800s in mind. Great synergy. (I had already sold the Alpha Primes to help fund this purchase).
I sum my thoughts this way: On a first listen, the rock-and-roller takes the Raptor, the Jazz guy favors the Lehmann.......... the audiophile buys a McIntosh.
I'm not trying to be arrogant, that just sounded too cool.
So what does 4500 dollars buy you? One word, refinement. I'm going to be honest, both the Raptor and Lehmann amps are great and I could have lived happily ever after with either. Audio is my hobby and I don't mind spending extra for that last bit of fidelity. In the case of the MHA-100, you are working with a gorgeous piece of tech which will last you a lifetime. It's a headphone amp, an analog pre-amp, a DAC, and even powers a set of bookshelf speakers at 50 watts. I'm driving KEF ls50s with no problem. The speaker amp in the MHA100 is every bit as good as any larger solid state McIntosh, save for the limitation regarding speaker size.
A few words on the DAC in the MHA-100. It's very good and one doesn't have to spend another small fortune on an external. I did a direct AB comparison between the MHA100 dac vs an overachieving Audio Lab M-DAC. Of course, both sounded great, like I said, the DAC made the least difference to my ears. The MDAC is ever so slightly better. I had to go back and forth 50 times until I was able to convince myself of this. It's really that close. Would I turn down a D100 or Lampizator, no, but I don't feel I need to buy one either.
I hope this review wasn't too useless. If you're on the fence about spending this much money, I totally understand. Don't even try rationalizing the price such as: calculating total cost per minute of listening over 10 years, stellar re-sale value, or the cool-as-hell dancing blue meters!
For me it's been worth every penny.
Thanks! -Steve
I started my journey into the world of headphones with the goal of putting together a system to maximize that elusive price vs. performance ratio curve. Given the lack of local high-end stores, I went to Audiogon and stocked up on what the reviews suggested were quality products at a good price. I decided to spend about 1,000 dollars or less for each piece of the chain: DAC, AMP, headphones. Figured it's worth trying a bunch of gear in the comfort of my home even knowing I'll lose money on the re-sale. What a great opportunity to host a hifi party, crack open a few bottle of pino, burn a few Cubans <cigars that is, we head-fi rs are mostly pacifists>, and play with super-cool equipment.
The stuff:
Benchmark DAC1 ($450 used)
Audiolab MDAC ($600 used)
McIntosh MX 121 pre/pro (already own, 6k)
Ray Samuels Audio Raptor (800 used)
Lehmann Black Cube Linear (499 used)
Senn HD800 (1000 used)
Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime (1000 new)
I'm sharing this information to let everyone know the care in hopefully forming a great system and eventually how the McIntosh fits in. I went with a 1,000 dollar retail range as that seems to be the price point where one gets great quality without total bankruptcy. Time and time again I've gone below and wish I spent just a little more or above and wondered why.
Some quick take home points before I launch into the amps. I've found the DAC plays the least significant role in overall sound quality. All the DACs I tested were about the same except the Benchmark which was clearly of lower fidelity. One can hear SLIGHT nuances between the pieces and that is only with direct and near instantaneous AB comparisons. If blinded and not going instantaneously AB, I doubt I could tell the difference. Amps are a TOTALLY different story. The Audio Labs MDAC perhaps is the best of the DACs I had, by an angstrom!
As far as headphones, I went with the HD800s for their amazing detail and wide soundstage. Their brightness is really fatiguing, and bass is lacking, otherwise amazing. The Alpha Primes are also superb, great bass and detail, a smaller sound stage as expected with closed back cans. You really can't directly compare them given their completely different sounds, strengths, and weaknesses. I'd be happy with either. I'm into jazz and classical now so I reluctantly sold the Primes. Took a hit at 850 (ouch).
Comparing the solid state Lehmann vs the tubed Raptor was a fascinating exercise is design and taste. I was hoping to find an amp that adds some bass and removes treble from the HD800s without robbing their amazing detail. If you're reading this, it's a forgone conclusion that neither amp was perfect. Tubes were wonderful and smooth with great bass, perhaps a little bloated, still but enjoyable, definitely an initial "wow" factor. The highs were tamed but fine detail was ever so slightly missing. I know this describes many tube amps and makes sense when you read up on how tubes work. The Lehmann sold state was completely different. Superb detail but thin bass, somewhat fatiguing. I could listen to the HD800s / Lehmann for about 30 minutes before switching back to the Raptor. 30 minutes later I felt I was missing something and was back to the Lehmann! Sounds schizophrenic. I could have lived with either amp but felt there must be something else out there. I figured, hell with it, what does $4,500 dollars get you??
My heart raced as I released the Mac from its cardboard prison. Mostly I was tachycardic for fear of dropping the dam thing. It's heavy..... and expensive. I Foobar'd over my favorite test track via ASIO USB and returned my HD800s to their rightful home, on my head. I expected the clouds to part, a conical beam of white light shining down upon me as the angels sang out in audiophile bliss. What I got?........ a very good "polite" sounding $4500 dollar amplifier, where's my 4500 dollar "wow" factor?!!! Time to calm down, let's give it a longer listen. 10 hours later I was still listening with no intention of stopping. I realized my tympanic membranes weren't spilling HD800 treble induced red, the bass was deep and tight, image was precise and large, treble detailed, relaxed, no fatigue! The McIntosh did everything well without the limitations of either the Lehmann or Raptor. How does one describe the McIntosh sound? I would say laid back, refined, balanced. This amp simply does everything well, and consistently so. High quality tracks are magical, lesser quality rock-and-roll still sound great. Somehow the Mac manages to de-emphasize recording flaws. This same rock collection sounded terrible on the Lehmann as every detail, good and bad, were piped out for my HD800s to brutally reproduce. I honestly think this amp was designed with the HD800s in mind. Great synergy. (I had already sold the Alpha Primes to help fund this purchase).
I sum my thoughts this way: On a first listen, the rock-and-roller takes the Raptor, the Jazz guy favors the Lehmann.......... the audiophile buys a McIntosh.
I'm not trying to be arrogant, that just sounded too cool.
So what does 4500 dollars buy you? One word, refinement. I'm going to be honest, both the Raptor and Lehmann amps are great and I could have lived happily ever after with either. Audio is my hobby and I don't mind spending extra for that last bit of fidelity. In the case of the MHA-100, you are working with a gorgeous piece of tech which will last you a lifetime. It's a headphone amp, an analog pre-amp, a DAC, and even powers a set of bookshelf speakers at 50 watts. I'm driving KEF ls50s with no problem. The speaker amp in the MHA100 is every bit as good as any larger solid state McIntosh, save for the limitation regarding speaker size.
A few words on the DAC in the MHA-100. It's very good and one doesn't have to spend another small fortune on an external. I did a direct AB comparison between the MHA100 dac vs an overachieving Audio Lab M-DAC. Of course, both sounded great, like I said, the DAC made the least difference to my ears. The MDAC is ever so slightly better. I had to go back and forth 50 times until I was able to convince myself of this. It's really that close. Would I turn down a D100 or Lampizator, no, but I don't feel I need to buy one either.
I hope this review wasn't too useless. If you're on the fence about spending this much money, I totally understand. Don't even try rationalizing the price such as: calculating total cost per minute of listening over 10 years, stellar re-sale value, or the cool-as-hell dancing blue meters!
For me it's been worth every penny.Thanks! -Steve
