[Bostonears]

I’ll give some other 12DT5 tube a go, but as long as it’s not indicative of a real issue I’m not really bothered.
Anyone have a good source for 12DT5 tubes? Where I have bought in the past don’t stock them.

eBay?

 

[Pictograms]

I will check eBay out
I wonder if it’s a frequency response thing with my T90/zen since I have no him with my Eikon or my UM Maestro iem (which is far more sensitive than anything else).... I guess this is just puzzling me more than anything, very confusing for me.
Yea more than anything I would just like to understand why.

 

[wadi]

Whatever you do, you will hear that annoying hum. That is the problem with Cayin tube amplifiers.

 

[Pictograms]

I don’t think I remember hearing about hum on other Cayin amps?
Have you had other occurrences?

 

[wadi]

Check out their new flagship Ha-300 thread.

 

[cfranchi]

Is someone listening to the Kennerton Vali with the HA-1A mk2 ?

 

[Pictograms]

Doesn’t seem like many people in the thread have a huge variety of headphones.
If anyone was on east coast Canada they are welcome to try my amp with whatever headphones.
I personally would love to try it with more...

 

[talmadge]

I have no annoying hum with my
Cayin HA-1A MK2
using the following:

Tung-Sol 12AU7 / 6189 New Production Preamp Vacuum Tube (2)
Mullard EL84 / 6BQ5 New Production Power Vacuum Tube (2)
Shipping USPS Priority Mail - Delivery in 2-3 Business Days:
[Balanced Triodes]: Tung-Sol 12AU7 / 6189 New Production Preamp Vacuum Tube -
[Low Noise & Microphonics]: Tung-Sol 12AU7 / 6189 New Production Preamp Vacuum Tube -
[Matching (up to 5 tubes)]: Tung-Sol 12AU7 / 6189 New Production Preamp Vacuum Tube -
[Matching (up to 9 tubes)]: Mullard EL84 / 6BQ5 New Production Power Vacuum Tube -

I took out the stock tubes and put these in before I ever listened to it the first time so I can't comment on the stock tubes. Also use a cheater plug on the power cord which removes the ground. (I've been doing this with my amps all of my 58 yrs, however you do so at your own risk)

Headphones tried with it include: LCD-X, LCD-2 closed, Sony MDR Z1R, Senn 58X Jubilee, Audioquest Nighthawk, Monolith 1060 V2

 

[talmadge]

This is a great amp/value

 

[cfranchi]

Do you know if the last batch of HA-1A mk2 have the internal structure defect that was described in this thread ?

For the Vali, Kennerton has confirmed me that HA-1A mk2 and Vali have a great synergy

 

[cfranchi]

Here is the answer of Kennerton about Vali and HA-1A mk2 :

Dear Sir,
Cayin HA-1A mk2 is a great amplifier. And it works excellent pairing with Vali.
In my opinion, they have better synergy than with a more expensive Auris HA2 SE, for example.
But the sound of this setup may seem a bit warm and smooth. If you like this sound - I highly recommend you Cayin for Vali.
If you prefer a neutral sound with an emphasis on high and medium frequencies, that will suit you more Violectric. They are great for Vali both, but they are absolutely different.
But in my humble opinion, Cayin and Vali are a great Duo. Maybe together they will not miss the analytical, but they are able to give the amazing pleasure of music!

 

[Bostonears]

Here is the answer of Kennerton about Vali and HA-1A mk2 :

Dear Sir,
Cayin HA-1A mk2 is a great amplifier. And it works excellent pairing with Vali.
In my opinion, they have better synergy than with a more expensive Auris HA2 SE, for example.
But the sound of this setup may seem a bit warm and smooth. If you like this sound - I highly recommend you Cayin for Vali.
If you prefer a neutral sound with an emphasis on high and medium frequencies, that will suit you more Violectric. They are great for Vali both, but they are absolutely different.
But in my humble opinion, Cayin and Vali are a great Duo. Maybe together they will not miss the analytical, but they are able to give the amazing pleasure of music!

I agree that Cayin's sound is smooth (lacking harshness), but I wouldn't describe it as overly warm (usually implying excess midrange bloom). Also bear in mind that the sound of the Cayin can be tuned by tube rolling.

 

[cfranchi]

Yep, I'm curious to listen to the combo Vali / Mojo / Cayin
Vali is actually great with Mojo, don't really know what to expect with the Cayin, however in France the cayin can be bought new for 700 EUR (a very good price I think) and 15 days return

 

[KC-130]

My initial attraction to the Cayin was driven by my affection for boating.
From my first glance at the Cayin, I sensed its source of inspiration:

 

[Andykong]

Here is the answer of Kennerton about Vali and HA-1A mk2 :

Dear Sir,
Cayin HA-1A mk2 is a great amplifier. And it works excellent pairing with Vali.
In my opinion, they have better synergy than with a more expensive Auris HA2 SE, for example.
But the sound of this setup may seem a bit warm and smooth. If you like this sound - I highly recommend you Cayin for Vali.
If you prefer a neutral sound with an emphasis on high and medium frequencies, that will suit you more Violectric. They are great for Vali both, but they are absolutely different.
But in my humble opinion, Cayin and Vali are a great Duo. Maybe together they will not miss the analytical, but they are able to give the amazing pleasure of music!

I almost forgot, Kennerton has kept our HA1Amk2 as one of their reference. I presented both iHA-6 and HA1Amk2 to Mr Valentin Kazanzhi (CEO of Kennerton) and he prefers the tube amplifier.

If you prefer Neutral sound, I suggest you consider iHA-6, they are at same price range as HA1Amk2. As discussed in PM, I personally prefer HA1Amk2 for Odin, and iHA-6 for Vali. iHA-6 can handle very different load, from IEM to Susvara/Abyss AB1266, it is transparent and neutral so your headphone and DAC determined the tonal characteristic of your setup. The HA1Amk2 is more musical, warm sounding and allow you to tube rolling to achieve tonal adjustment.