McIntosh MHA200 Impressions
Jun 30, 2022 at 1:46 AM Post #871 of 1,139
I am thinking about replacing my MHA200 with the Feliks Euforia (AE or standard edition).

Can anyone who has experience with both talk me out of it?
Hello,
You have 2-3 headphones in your collection if they are correct where it might be a little suboptimal for the Euforia amplifier.
Especially with planar headphones, the Euforia is somewhat limited in this respect.

Strangely enough, the Euforia should have no problems with the Lcd X, but with the Aeon R/T it starts to distort.

Apart from that, the Euforia is very neutrally tuned with the house tubes.
There are enough tubes to tune it differently.
However, the tendency is that tube rolling can be a bit expensive.

That's a bit of a drawback to it in my opinion.

Otherwise, it's a good amp but not necessarily the best.
There are certainly other amps on the market that are better suited to your equipment.
QuickSilver,Decware,Woo Audio,Cayin mentioned might be more what you are looking for I guess.
The Mha 200 is certainly not wrong either I think it will have less problems driving the Stealth and Abyss I guess.

Maybe wait for the upcoming Zmf tube amp that is supposed to come soon.
Maybe that will be something too.
 
Jun 30, 2022 at 6:13 PM Post #874 of 1,139
Hello,
You have 2-3 headphones in your collection if they are correct where it might be a little suboptimal for the Euforia amplifier.
Especially with planar headphones, the Euforia is somewhat limited in this respect.

Strangely enough, the Euforia should have no problems with the Lcd X, but with the Aeon R/T it starts to distort.

Apart from that, the Euforia is very neutrally tuned with the house tubes.
There are enough tubes to tune it differently.
However, the tendency is that tube rolling can be a bit expensive.

That's a bit of a drawback to it in my opinion.

Otherwise, it's a good amp but not necessarily the best.
There are certainly other amps on the market that are better suited to your equipment.
QuickSilver,Decware,Woo Audio,Cayin mentioned might be more what you are looking for I guess.
The Mha 200 is certainly not wrong either I think it will have less problems driving the Stealth and Abyss I guess.

Maybe wait for the upcoming Zmf tube amp that is supposed to come soon.
Maybe that will be something too.
Thanks for the responses, folks. I guess I'll hold off for now.

I only plan to use the Verite with the tube amp, but if it could drive something like the stealth then that would be worth the wait
 
Jun 30, 2022 at 7:08 PM Post #875 of 1,139
Thanks for the responses, folks. I guess I'll hold off for now.

I only plan to use the Verite with the tube amp, but if it could drive something like the stealth then that would be worth the wait
You don't like the Stealth out of the MHA200?
 
Jun 30, 2022 at 8:20 PM Post #876 of 1,139
Nah not particularly. The bottom end is a little too loose for me
 
Jun 30, 2022 at 9:30 PM Post #877 of 1,139
Nah not particularly. The bottom end is a little too loose for me
Gotcha, sounds like the Stealth's might be better on solid state amps.
 
Jul 1, 2022 at 12:33 AM Post #878 of 1,139
Thanks for the responses, folks. I guess I'll hold off for now.

I only plan to use the Verite with the tube amp, but if it could drive something like the stealth then that would be worth the wait
So when we talk about the Verite.
Are there other ways to drive it well?
The Feliks Echo would be a good thing, the QuickSilver headphone amplifier will probably be better, which supposedly also supports planar headphones better.
That could possibly be interesting for you.

What Zmf has worked out with Decware is not yet 100% known.
I assume that it will be more geared towards Zmf headphones.

I am a bit surprised if you already have the Mha200, it should actually be reasonable as a tube amplifier, apart from the one cosmetic and operating thing that has already been criticised several times.
Or am I seeing it wrong?
 
Jul 1, 2022 at 4:19 PM Post #879 of 1,139
I am thinking about replacing my MHA200 with the Feliks Euforia (AE or standard edition).

Can anyone who has experience with both talk me out of it?
Maybe Jason will jump in but aren't we getting very close to the MHA300 he spoke about last year? I would wait to see what Macintosh drops.
 
Jul 4, 2022 at 11:13 AM Post #880 of 1,139
Maybe Jason will jump in but aren't we getting very close to the MHA300 he spoke about last year? I would wait to see what Macintosh drops.
Yeah I guess I'll wait to see what they come up with, but it would have to leave no question as to its superiority. Looking around for a used Auris HA2-SF or Cayin amp. Part of the MHA200 appeal is its aesthetic and small footprint on my small audio cart. I'm moving into a house finally and can afford a lot more deskspace so balling out on a larger, prettier amp is officially an option (but keeping price in the same 2-3K USD range since the house cost a fortune)
 
Jul 4, 2022 at 11:17 AM Post #881 of 1,139
Yeah I guess I'll wait to see what they come up with, but it would have to leave no question as to its superiority. Looking around for a used Auris HA2-SF or Cayin amp. Part of the MHA200 appeal is its aesthetic and small footprint on my small audio cart. I'm moving into a house finally and can afford a lot more deskspace so balling out on a larger, prettier amp is officially an option (but keeping price in the same 2-3K USD range since the house cost a fortune)
How much is your house ?
 
Jul 4, 2022 at 11:23 AM Post #882 of 1,139
So when we talk about the Verite.
Are there other ways to drive it well?
The Feliks Echo would be a good thing, the QuickSilver headphone amplifier will probably be better, which supposedly also supports planar headphones better.
That could possibly be interesting for you.

What Zmf has worked out with Decware is not yet 100% known.
I assume that it will be more geared towards Zmf headphones.

I am a bit surprised if you already have the Mha200, it should actually be reasonable as a tube amplifier, apart from the one cosmetic and operating thing that has already been criticised several times.
Or am I seeing it wrong?
I had the Echo MK1 and it was decent as my first foray into tubeland. Bass and detail could have been better for my tastes though, but a good start.

The MHA200 performs well with my VO but rounds off a bit of microdetail if I'm being honest. Bass sounds a little mushy, but it could be the mullard 6201 tubes I'm rolling (they only have 40-50 hrs on them though). With the stealth, I need that detail to be maxed out to further enhance the sense of space and dimensionality, and the bass needs to kick and I'm disappointed with the amp pairing here. I'll give it some more time for tubes to burn in before I try rolling tubes again.

The other little annoyance is that the RCA jacks are too close together, forcing me to reluctantly unscrew the barrels of my thicker Lessloss C-MARC RCA connectors to fit. It makes me pretty nervous to do so.
 
Jul 4, 2022 at 11:32 AM Post #883 of 1,139
How much is your house ?
1.23 million. To my surprise, we only paid 11% over asking, compared to approx 20% typical to this part of north NJ. It is in great condition though and really well cared for. This market is absolutely bonkers, with mortgage interest rates rising, inflation being what it is, and Covid driving families out of NYC, and my finances after resigning from my medical practice in March; it was just time to do it. The market may burst soon, but I got tired of waiting these past 2 years.

Interestingly, the former homeowners were into high-end audio. There were Rotel power amplifiers, Polk speakers, and Paradigm subwoofers scattered throughout the house. I made sure to mention this in the "buyer love letter." I promised to fill the home with gorgeous music from dope gear and we ended up getting the house despite being 20K shy of the top bid.
 
Jul 4, 2022 at 11:37 AM Post #884 of 1,139
1.23 million. To my surprise, we only paid 11% over asking, compared to approx 20% typical to this part of north NJ. It is in great condition though and really well cared for. This market is absolutely bonkers, with mortgage interest rates rising, inflation being what it is, and Covid driving families out of NYC, and my finances after resigning from my medical practice in March; it was just time to do it. The market may burst soon, but I got tired of waiting these past 2 years.

Interestingly, the former homeowners were into high-end audio. There were Rotel power amplifiers, Polk speakers, and Paradigm subwoofers scattered throughout the house. I made sure to mention this in the "buyer love letter." I promised to fill the home with gorgeous music from dope gear and we ended up getting the house despite being 20K shy of the top bid.
What ?! Sorry hard to believe. Just absurd. I have no right to talk about my house worth to you. If I were to shift house, my audio setup would be the same.
 
Jul 11, 2022 at 11:15 AM Post #885 of 1,139
MHA 200 Any good for HD800S?
 

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