[Andykong]

Just got this amp 2 days ago, am absolutely loving it. This thing is criminally underrated, it's got the looks, the performance even on stock tubes is very nice, got some genalex gold lions coming as per recommendations from much earlier in this thread, driver tubes only for now (12AU7), but looking into Amperex Bugle Boy EL84's in the future. This is my first real tube amp, wanted to go big with tubes right out the gate, no floundering around with hybrids trying to get something out of them they cannot do, and I already purchased a SW51+, so whenever that gets here I'll have an OTL to compare the HA1A-MK2 with, as well as a few more sennheisers that really benefit from tubes.

Cayin made a brilliant amp here, and Monoprice didn't even come close to doing it justice in their clone. This thing was worth every penny. Anyone have more up to date recommendations as far as tubes go?

Unfortunately, underrated is a common issue to Cayin headphone amplifiers such as your HA-1AMK2 and our iHA-6. I wish I can find the way to introduce these nice amplifiers to a larger group of audience. Maybe increase the price to $999 and spend $200 per unit on campaign and advertisement?

Just kidding.

I am interest in your OTL vs HA-1AMK2 example, come back and share your impression with us soon.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

The Monoprice looks better in person than in the ads. It is a big black box but the front panel is nicely done and has a taper on either side that really improves the looks. Considering the price difference between the Cayin and Monoprice I am very satisfied with the looks and the performance. I almost wonder if Cayin manufactures the Monoprice as they do have some things in common, specifically the adjustable output impedance and the overall look.

Is this the Monoprice amp you're talking about?

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=29511

 

[dpump]

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=29511

Yes, that's the Monoprice I was referring to. I replaced the stock input tubes with two 6N3P-DR and the output tube with a Toshiba 6080. Swapping out the input tubes is the best change to make and then use a 6AS7 or 6080. Really a very nice amp at a bargain price. Mine is totally quiet and like the HA-1A-MK2, (which I also have), works well with any impedance phones because of the switchable output impedance.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=29511

Yes, that's the Monoprice I was referring to. I replaced the stock input tubes with two 6N3P-DR and the output tube with a Toshiba 6080. Swapping out the input tubes is the best change to make and then use a 6AS7 or 6080. Really a very nice amp at a bargain price. Mine is totally quiet and like the HA-1A-MK2, (which I also have), works well with any impedance phones because of the switchable output impedance.

Interesting, thanks for the input. How does the sound differ when comparing the two amps?

 

[dpump]

Interesting, thanks for the input. How does the sound differ when comparing the two amps?

The Cayin is a little cleaner and clearer but I also have a better DAC and transport on the Cayin, so probably not much difference in the end. I did replace the 3 coupling caps in the Monoprice amp which helped clean up the sound which I think brings the 2 amps much closer together. The Cayin is more versatile with the 2 different headphone jacks on the front panel-the left jack is called 'dynamic' and the right is called 'soft'- and their sound reflects their labeling. The Cayin also has 2 sets of RCA inputs on the rear panel which are selectable on the front panel so I can have 2 sources connected and switch between them. I would say the parts quality is better on the Cayin, which is reflected in the higher price. I haven't used the DAC on the Monoprice amp so I can't comment on it. If I had to choose between them, I would definitely choose the Cayin, but the Monoprice is a fine amp for its price.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

The Cayin is a little cleaner and clearer but I also have a better DAC and transport on the Cayin, so probably not much difference in the end. I did replace the 3 coupling caps in the Monoprice amp which helped clean up the sound which I think brings the 2 amps much closer together. The Cayin is more versatile with the 2 different headphone jacks on the front panel-the left jack is called 'dynamic' and the right is called 'soft'- and their sound reflects their labeling. The Cayin also has 2 sets of RCA inputs on the rear panel which are selectable on the front panel so I can have 2 sources connected and switch between them. I would say the parts quality is better on the Cayin, which is reflected in the higher price. I haven't used the DAC on the Monoprice amp so I can't comment on it. If I had to choose between them, I would definitely choose the Cayin, but the Monoprice is a fine amp for its price.

Thanks very much for the comparo. There's an open box Monoprice clone for $199 on the site now but if my headphone history has taught me anything, buying something because it's the cheapest option doesn't necessarily lead to musical happiness (probably a better net worth though! ) I'll hold out for the Cayin

 

[Shane D]

I agree that the HA-1A is a very good amp, especially with planars. It is however somewhat noisy on low impedance phones like Grado and Denon. No noise on planars and higher impedance phones.

I disagree with the statement that the Monoprice tube amp doesn't come close to the HA-1A. I received the Monoprice 3 weeks ago and after switching to 6N3P-DR driver tubes and a Toshiba 6080 output tube I have been very happy with it. Totally silent even driving 32-ohm Grados and the 6080 output tube gives a very full and musical sound. The Monoprice amp is a bargain at the current price of $249.99. And if you buy it and don't like it you can return it for full credit.

So, are you saying that it is unusable with Grado's? I am looking for a tube amp that can play nice with low impedance headphones.

 

[jerick70]

So, are you saying that it is unusable with Grado's? I am looking for a tube amp that can play nice with low impedance headphones.

You will probably need to go to a hybrid amp to get what you want. The nature of tubes is noisy with low impedance transducers. I tried to find the same thing but never found it. I contacted a custom tube amp producer and he told me it would be near impossible to find something like that.

The iFi iCan Pro was very quite but there was still some low level noise when in tube mode.

Now this does play well with low imeedance planars like Audeze and Fostex. I have some Modhouse Argon MKIIIs that sound amazing with it without low level tube noise. They are 50 Ohms. The LCD-1 wasn't totally quite but still sounded good and tube noise was masked when paying music or listening to anything else. Of course YMMV.....

 

[Shane D]

You will probably need to go to a hybrid amp to get what you want. The nature of tubes is noisy with low impedance transducers. I tried to find the same thing but never found it. I contacted a custom tube amp producer and he told me it would be near impossible to find something like that.

The iFi iCan Pro was very quite but there was still some low level noise when in tube mode.

Now this does play well with low imeedance planars like Audeze and Fostex. I have some Modhouse Argon MKIIIs that sound amazing with it without low level tube noise. They are 50 Ohms. The LCD-1 wasn't totally quite but still sounded good and tube noise was masked when paying music or listening to anything else. Of course YMMV.....

I have actually found a few low impedance tube amps and am in the middle of making a decision:
https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/collections/amplifiers
http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/

Neither look as impressive as the Cayin unit, but one of the designers listens to Grado's on his unit, so that's good enough for me. The Tuba is $749.00, with wood sides and the Ear+ HD II (wood sides included) is $800.00. I am just looking around before I commit.

 

[dpump]

So, are you saying that it is unusable with Grado's? I am looking for a tube amp that can play nice with low impedance headphones.

First of all, the Cayin has 2 headphone outputs-they are not the same! In the manual the left output is called 'Dynamic' and the right output is called 'Soft'. The Dynamic output does have a small amount of tube noise, but it depends on the tubes you are using. My current tubes are Baldwin/Toshiba 12AU7A and Sylvania 6BQ5 and the tube noise is basically only really audible on
Grados if no music is playing. There is no tube noise thru the Soft output. On the Dynamic output headphones have their same characteristic sound quality. The Soft output makes the sound smoother and more mellow. Grados sound like Grados on the Dynamic output; Grados are more mellow on the Soft output and not as bright sounding. Gives you 2 different sound signatures to try and I think that's a good thing.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

I have actually found a few low impedance tube amps and am in the middle of making a decision:
https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/collections/amplifiers
http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/

Neither look as impressive as the Cayin unit, but one of the designers listens to Grado's on his unit, so that's good enough for me. The Tuba is $749.00, with wood sides and the Ear+ HD II (wood sides included) is $800.00. I am just looking around before I commit.

Is it just me or are there no specs on that Tuba amp link?

Someone is selling a MAD Ear Purist on the F/S forum if you want to check that out.

 

[Shane D]

First of all, the Cayin has 2 headphone outputs-they are not the same! In the manual the left output is called 'Dynamic' and the right output is called 'Soft'. The Dynamic output does have a small amount of tube noise, but it depends on the tubes you are using. My current tubes are Baldwin/Toshiba 12AU7A and Sylvania 6BQ5 and the tube noise is basically only really audible on
Grados if no music is playing. There is no tube noise thru the Soft output. On the Dynamic output headphones have their same characteristic sound quality. The Soft output makes the sound smoother and more mellow. Grados sound like Grados on the Dynamic output; Grados are more mellow on the Soft output and not as bright sounding. Gives you 2 different sound signatures to try and I think that's a good thing.

So, a change of tubes could eliminate the low impedance noise? I would think that a tube amp would reduce brightness at least a little?

 

[jerick70]

I have actually found a few low impedance tube amps and am in the middle of making a decision:
https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/collections/amplifiers
http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/

Neither look as impressive as the Cayin unit, but one of the designers listens to Grado's on his unit, so that's good enough for me. The Tuba is $749.00, with wood sides and the Ear+ HD II (wood sides included) is $800.00. I am just looking around before I commit.

FYI pairing well and noise floor are different animals. Maybe I misunderstood your post that I responded to. I was thinking noise floor. With the tube compliment used in the mapletree you are going to get some low level tube noise. I know JoeDoe here on head-fi used to own the Mapletree amp with grados. You may want to ask him for advice. Here is a thread about the Mapletree I thought you should read...

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dio-ear-hd-ii-amp-anyone-heard-of-them.11262/

Anyway I think the Cayin will knock your socks off with the right tubes. It may be a little noisy though.

You should also look at the Elekit TU-8200R. The Elekit is even better than the Cayin IMO. It competes with the likes of the Woo WA5. I own the 8200 and adore it. I've also owned the WA5.

 

[dpump]

I used to own a Mapletree Ear+ with upgrades I did myself and I have read about the Hagerman Tuba. The Mapletree is good with low impedance and efficient phones like Grado but doesn't have enough power to be a 'universal' headphone amp for less efficient phones. I believe the Hagerman is in the same category as the Mapletree. You are paying more for either of these amps because they come from small basically one man operations. The Cayin has enough power and versatility to drive almost any headphone and the adjustable impedance selector to match to any headphone, so you are almost future proof for any phones you purchase in the future. HiFiMan, Monoprice, Fostex, Brainwavz, and Quad planars all sound great from the Cayin. You will not get this usability from the Mapletree or Hagerman so be sure you will be okay with their limits if you go in that direction.

 

[Shane D]

Is it just me or are there no specs on that Tuba amp link?

Someone is selling a MAD Ear Purist on the F/S forum if you want to check that out.

Try this: https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopi...products/tuba-vacuum-tube-headphone-amplifier

The MAD amp is VERY modified. I am sure they are worth it to the right person, but I can get a brand new one, with warranty, much cheaper.