[warrenpchi]

I say this with peace and love , but tube rolling and cables aren't really my jag - though I can respect folks who go down this route. My brother tells me repeatedly that he can't hear the difference between my ATH-M50's and LCD-2f's...I think he's crazy (or deaf), so I can respect folks who think I'm crazy for not being able to hear the difference between power cables

This is the way it should be. We hear what we hear (or not), we like what we like (or not), and that's all that should matter to each of us. Personally, I do not buy gear for the purpose of using it as a precision tool. I do not record/mix/master/produce music. For me, it is very nearly 100% about the enjoyment of music (and occasionally spoken word via podcasts and such).

There are quite a few outdated things in my signature as I just haven't bothered to keep it updated. However, one fixture that I imagine will always be there is: "Your ears are the best measuring rig for gauging personal enjoyment. So if it sounds good, it is good."

 

[Crowbar44]

This is the way it should be. We hear what we hear (or not), we like what we like (or not), and that's all that should matter to each of us. Personally, I do not buy gear for the purpose of using it as a precision tool. I do not record/mix/master/produce music. For me, it is very nearly 100% about the enjoyment of music (and occasionally spoken word via podcasts and such).

There are quite a few outdated things in my signature as I just haven't bothered to keep it updated. However, one fixture that I imagine will always be there is: "Your ears are the best measuring rig for gauging personal enjoyment. So if it sounds good, it is good."

Warrren …

 

[Crowbar44]

Warrren …well put

 

[ThanatosVI]

I asked this in the announcement thread but maybe it fits better here.

What are the tubes it gets shipped with.
They are branded McIntosh, but that is only a branding right?
And can you replace the 12BH7A with 6SN7 when using an adapter?
I know one is Noval the other Octal but electrically I heard they were identical.

 

[Crowbar44]

My understanding is that they are modern Russian tubes, specially selected.

Tubes are a pair of 12AT7 and 12BH7A dual triode vacuum tubes - I don't know if adaptors can be used with other tubes.

 

[Crowbar44]

I'll be adding to my original impressions post from time to time via edits, I'm really enjoying this amp with my HD660S's...

 

[Crowbar44]

So I've lived with the MHA200 for around a week, and I have noted some nits that I'd like to point out. None of these nits relate to sound quality.

I've updated my original impressions post with the information below as well:

1) On my unit, the volume pot is a tiny bit loose in the chassis...not bad, but as the pot is the only thing we touch on an amp, if the feel of the pot is not great, perceived quality suffers. Jason Stoddard at Schiit has noted this repeatedly in his blog posts here on Head-Fi, which is why Schiit pays a lot of attention to pot performance and feel.

2) I find the volume ramp up on the pot to be VERY steep past 12:00 - to the point that I have to press my fingers against the chassis when I'm increasing volume past 12:00 to insure I don't deafen myself, in fact, the "usable" volume range on my unit is only between 12:00 and 1:30...very tight.

It seems that in designing the MHA200, McIntosh put a premium on the ability of the MHA200 to integrate into existing McIntosh systems, specifically McIntosh pre-amps. So as the user manual states, they recommend keeping the MHA200 pot at 12:00 (it has a detent at 12:00 to help with this) and using your pre-amp volume control to control volume. I'm using a similar setup with my Asgard 3 multibit, I'm using the pre-outs from the Asgard to feed the amp. But I find I don't get enough volume with the amp volume pot at 12:00 and using the Asgard's volume pot. So I'm just keeping the Asgard pot at 12:00 and using the MHA200 to adjust volume...but as I said above, with this setup the "usable" volume is only between 12:00 at 1:30..which makes volume adjustment touchy.

Maybe things will be better once my Bifrost 2 arrives, perhaps the setup using the Asgard 3 as a pre-amp/DAC isn't ideal with the MHA200. Would appreciate input from Warren or other owners if they have similar issues.

The thing still sounds fantastic though...still glad I bought it...

 

[Nostoi]

So I've lived with the MHA200 for around a week, and I have noted some nits that I'd like to point out. None of these nits relate to sound quality.

I've updated my original impressions post with the information below as well:

1) On my unit, the volume pot is a tiny bit loose in the chassis...not bad, but as the pot is the only thing we touch on an amp, if the feel of the pot is not great, perceived quality suffers. Jason Stoddard at Schiit has noted this repeatedly in his blog posts here on Head-Fi, which is why Schiit pays a lot of attention to pot performance and feel.

2) I find the volume ramp up on the pot to be VERY steep past 12:00 - to the point that I have to press my fingers against the chassis when I'm increasing volume past 12:00 to insure I don't deafen myself, in fact, the "usable" volume range on my unit is only between 12:00 and 1:00...very tight.

It seems that in designing the MHA200, McIntosh put a premium on the ability of the MHA200 to integrate into existing McIntosh systems, specifically McIntosh pre-amps. So as the user manual states, they recommend keeping the MHA200 pot at 12:00 (it has a detent at 12:00 to help with this) and using your pre-amp volume control to control volume. I'm using a similar setup with my Asgard 3 multibit, I'm using the pre-outs from the Asgard to feed the amp. But I find I don't get enough volume with the amp volume pot at 12:00 and using the Asgard's volume pot. So I'm just keeping the Asgard pot at 12:00 and using the MHA200 to adjust volume...but as I said above, with this setup the "usable" volume is only between 12:00 at 1:30..which makes volume adjustment touchy.

Maybe things will be better once my Bifrost 2 arrives, perhaps the setup using the Asgard 3 as a pre-amp/DAC isn't ideal with the MHA200. Would appreciate input from Warren or other owners if they have similar issues.

The thing still sounds fantastic though...still glad I bought it...

This is all very helpful info to know in advance.

Probably I will pass on the MHA200. One of the things I love about my current SS amp - the Sparkos Labs Aries - is not only the beautiful feel of the volume knob, but also it's 64 step reed relay attenuator, which is a pleasure to use - it's precise and smooth. I've gotten use to that and moving to something where there's a sudden leap from 12:00 to 13:00 sounds a challenge, especially with IEMs.

I also don't really understand the design policy of volume knob here. I'm not aware of any other amp that is designed in this way, such that one controls the volume with a pre-amp. Why did they not just make it as a pure power amplifier, and do away with the volume knob altogether? I'm asking this question as someone who isn't familiar with the McIntosh eco-system, so there might a good reason I'm not aware of.

In any case, if I see it locally, I remain keen to demo it, but otherwise not for me, alas.

 

[ThanatosVI]

So I've lived with the MHA200 for around a week, and I have noted some nits that I'd like to point out. None of these nits relate to sound quality.

I've updated my original impressions post with the information below as well:

1) On my unit, the volume pot is a tiny bit loose in the chassis...not bad, but as the pot is the only thing we touch on an amp, if the feel of the pot is not great, perceived quality suffers. Jason Stoddard at Schiit has noted this repeatedly in his blog posts here on Head-Fi, which is why Schiit pays a lot of attention to pot performance and feel.

2) I find the volume ramp up on the pot to be VERY steep past 12:00 - to the point that I have to press my fingers against the chassis when I'm increasing volume past 12:00 to insure I don't deafen myself, in fact, the "usable" volume range on my unit is only between 12:00 and 1:00...very tight.

It seems that in designing the MHA200, McIntosh put a premium on the ability of the MHA200 to integrate into existing McIntosh systems, specifically McIntosh pre-amps. So as the user manual states, they recommend keeping the MHA200 pot at 12:00 (it has a detent at 12:00 to help with this) and using your pre-amp volume control to control volume. I'm using a similar setup with my Asgard 3 multibit, I'm using the pre-outs from the Asgard to feed the amp. But I find I don't get enough volume with the amp volume pot at 12:00 and using the Asgard's volume pot. So I'm just keeping the Asgard pot at 12:00 and using the MHA200 to adjust volume...but as I said above, with this setup the "usable" volume is only between 12:00 at 1:30..which makes volume adjustment touchy.

Maybe things will be better once my Bifrost 2 arrives, perhaps the setup using the Asgard 3 as a pre-amp/DAC isn't ideal with the MHA200. Would appreciate input from Warren or other owners if they have similar issues.

The thing still sounds fantastic though...still glad I bought it...

What is the output voltage of the Asgard3 on the preamp output?

I personally really like this feature of the MHA200, since my preamp has a remote and relay volume control. Therefore I am happy to know that I can easily use it without overloading the input.

The MHA can take up to 8V in the RCA. (Line level Standard is 2V)

 

[Crowbar44]

What is the output voltage of the Asgard3 on the preamp output?

I personally really like this feature of the MHA200, since my preamp has a remote and relay volume control. Therefore I am happy to know that I can easily use it without overloading the input.

The MHA can take up to 8V in the RCA. (Line level Standard is 2V)

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it's 2V...but Schiit doesn't have anything listed in the manual or on the website...I was thinking that a low output voltage could have been the problem as well...I thought most desktop DACs output 3V via RCA...I know the Asgard is considered "low output" by some...

 

[Crowbar44]

This is all very helpful info to know in advance.

Probably I will pass on the MHA200. One of the things I love about my current SS amp - the Sparkos Labs Aries - is not only the beautiful feel of the volume knob, but also it's 64 step reed relay attenuator, which is a pleasure to use - it's precise and smooth. I've gotten use to that and moving to something where there's a sudden leap from 12:00 to 13:00 sounds a challenge, especially with IEMs.

I also don't really understand the design policy of volume knob here. I'm not aware of any other amp that is designed in this way, such that one controls the volume with a pre-amp. Why did they not just make it as a pure power amplifier, and do away with the volume knob altogether? I'm asking this question as someone who isn't familiar with the McIntosh eco-system, so there might a good reason I'm not aware of.

In any case, if I see it locally, I remain keen to demo it, but otherwise not for me, alas.

I think they wanted to give users a choice of using a pre-amp or not...problem is, the design favors pre-amp users a bit too much. My guess is that most serious headphone audiophiles use a fixed output DAC and "integrated" headphone amp - not a pre-amp.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it's 2V...but Schiit doesn't have anything listed in the manual or on the website...I was thinking that a low output voltage could have been the problem as well...I thought most desktop DACs output 3V via RCA...I know the Asgard is considered "low output" by some...

2V is Standard line out.
3V is often found in more modern DACs
However you always have to watch out if your amp can take more than the Standard.

Pre Amps often cap between 8-10V on their respective pre amp out.

I think they wanted to give users a choice of using a pre-amp or not...problem is, the design favors pre-amp users a bit too much. My guess is that most serious headphone audiophiles use a fixed output DAC and "integrated" headphone amp - not a pre-amp.

While I personally wish that more manufacturers would implement something like it, I agree that the great majority uses line level DAC out into "integrated" Headphone amps.

 

[warrenpchi]

I've gotten use to that and moving to something where there's a sudden leap from 12:00 to 13:00 sounds a challenge, especially with IEMs.

Oh trust me, you'd never use unity gain (much less anything above that) for IEMs lol. You'd be trying to fine tune between 10:00p and 11:30p, depending on sensitivity.

My guess is that most serious headphone audiophiles use a fixed output DAC and "integrated" headphone amp - not a pre-amp.

That is exactly how I run my rigs.

 

[kahkityoong]

Very interested to see how this matches with the Utopia. I’ve held off pulling the trigger on a Niimbus till this was released.

 

[Crowbar44]

Very interested to see how this matches with the Utopia. I’ve held off pulling the trigger on a Niimbus till this was released.

I bought a set of Clears specifically for this amp (shipping next week)...I suspect the paring of higher end Focals and the MHA200 will result in a resolution monster. I know that many like to plan their systems so that the weakness of one component is mitigated by another (i.e. a "warm" tube amp paired with a set of treble forward cans, etc.). I tend to like the opposite, i.e. pairing components with similar strengths...