[martas38]

1A going excellently with Hugo 2 right now...really special pairing...pricey to use it as a DAC..but I use it transportable DAC/Amp mode elsewhere...With PSVane pre/amp it does not alter the presentation radically, just brings more holography and body/silky veneer to the mix.

It also sits on the back top part of the amp, and does not get hot with all that venting going on in the front area surprisingly.


Best desktop dac/amp combo I have heard to date - 8 years in this game. BOOM !

Your preamplifier and amplifier lamps only PSVane? I like warm tube sound, what would you recommend for a preamp? I'll get Cayin in a few days. My headphones are Audeze LCD-X.

 

[Lohb]

Gold Lions would maybe suit you...warmer and still better than stock tubes IMO.

I'm not familiar with testing any brands beyond stock ones/PsVane/Gold Lions

 

[Lohb]

Going to hook together a solder-less solid core RCA from Hugo2 to Cayin and try it out...from memory buying another coiled solid core brands years back (looked like a very oldschool landline cable)
I just felt it was noticeable in how it affected the sound vs multi-strand cabling...like a haze/veil was removed and further image improvement..if its purely imagination..fair enough..cheap trick !

 

[Lohb]

Anyone using different tubes to stock ones/PsVane/Gold Lions that they feel is particularly amazing with HA-1 ?
I'll be avoiding the vintage ones though..too pricey some of them.

@WaveTheory are you using stock tubes ? While I see what you are saying about low Z cans and my Flux Lab FA-10 did have a tighter low-end it does not come across as flabby on the tube with PsVane on pre and amp section, more filled out is what I would say....I guess my set-up is at the borderline for what you were experiencing and I know its best to have a hybrid tube for planars to really control that low-end strictly.

Edit : Yes, am hearing that farty low bass with Sundaras which I have not tried on this amp extensively.

Guess I could use Ha-1 pre into a flux amp but pricey on that combo...the Flux lab amps kind of sound like a very transparent tube amp but they have a brickwall on volume increases due to their volume pot incline...you go form medium volume to super loud over the tiniest of dial after 1pm on the pot..is why I reverted to HA-1.
Also Audio-gd Master 19 cannot compete with the Ha-1 IMO, it lacks the dynamics Ha-1 has - strangely...that amp is loaded to the gills with components...but it all added up to just an 'OK' nothing stand-out kind of sound IMO.

I'm guessing the difference in sound on the HA-1 two 6.3" volume ports is a difference in voltage.
The left has a very dynamic mids focused/saturated SQ and the right port is more balanced on focus and less dynamic at matched volume...but it does get dynamic once cranked higher than left port...anyone else got an idea on how the two 6.3" ports sound different ?

 

[Lohb]

Your preamplifier and amplifier lamps only PSVane? I like warm tube sound, what would you recommend for a preamp? I'll get Cayin in a few days. My headphones are Audeze LCD-X.

The old X and new X are quite different...I own both..they are either undershooting on 4k or overshooting IMO.
The old one is darker and relatively mellower, and the new one I find fatiguing after a while - in that the upper mids and lower treble are too forward....I wish Audeze had put the upper mids/lower treble between old and new FR plots..that would have been perfect IMO.

I have a modified pair of Monorprice M565C that sound more balanced than the Audeze cans..they just go so well with the Cayin..those cans were a real sleeper set and I think they got dismissed because previous M565 were awful...they are as good or better than Aeon 2C in all areas except absolute imaging in the male vocal region....dirt cheap planars.

 

[WillieB]

Anyone using different tubes to stock ones/PsVane/Gold Lions that they feel is particularly amazing with HA-1 ?
I'll be avoiding the vintage ones though..too pricey some of them.

@WaveTheory are you using stock tubes ? While I see what you are saying about low Z cans and my Flux Lab FA-10 did have a tighter low-end it does not come across as flabby on the tube with PsVane on pre and amp section, more filled out is what I would say....I guess my set-up is at the borderline for what you were experiencing and I know its best to have a hybrid tube for planars to really control that low-end strictly.

Edit : Yes, am hearing that farty low bass with Sundaras which I have not tried on this amp extensively.

Guess I could use Ha-1 pre into a flux amp but pricey on that combo...the Flux lab amps kind of sound like a very transparent tube amp but they have a brickwall on volume increases due to their volume pot incline...you go form medium volume to super loud over the tiniest of dial after 1pm on the pot..is why I reverted to HA-1.
Also Audio-gd Master 19 cannot compete with the Ha-1 IMO, it lacks the dynamics Ha-1 has - strangely...that amp is loaded to the gills with components...but it all added up to just an 'OK' nothing stand-out kind of sound IMO.

I'm guessing the difference in sound on the HA-1 two 6.3" volume ports is a difference in voltage.
The left has a very dynamic mids focused/saturated SQ and the right port is more balanced on focus and less dynamic at matched volume...but it does get dynamic once cranked higher than left port...anyone else got an idea on how the two 6.3" ports sound different ?

I'm new to the thread, but I've had an HA-1A mkii for a while now. I have collected a variety of tubes. Mostly European. I have a couple varieties of Tungsram driver tubes that I really like. They are very tight and controlled down low. I also have some Brimar drivers. They are great with tone/timbre, but not as special as one might think in other areas. I think the gain on them is a little lower than other typical 12au7 so that is noticed more when using the HA-1A as a preamp. I have Gold Lions for driver and power positions that I don't really care for. I guess mostly because they just lack the luster of tubes. They are quiet and well made tubes, but with GLs in both positions, it's almost like solid state, so what's the point? I haven't mixed and matched too much with them since I've had so much enjoyment out of the NOS tubes. For EL-84s I have some Polam tubes that I picked up. They are getting hard to find, but I think the ones that I found were late production and actually made by or on Tungsram tooling(not sure). They have the tags inside and everything. I wasn't aware of this when I ordered them. They are excellent though. Good solid power down low. I also have the Ei branded Tungsram that they still have for sale on Upscale. They are great tubes, but there are plenty of options for less money that perform as good or better. I got mine a while ago. I think my favorite EL84 so far, are a set of 1960s Funkwerk RFT. They are kind of new, but I listened to them a lot in this first few days with the amp on for over 10 hours a day. I think they have had plenty of time to settle in. I am using them with a set of 1980 Tungsram drivers out front. This is my favorite combo so far, no contest. I'll have to wait and see how this holds up over time. This amp responds greatly to tube rolling so there are a ton of options out there, but I can tell you that what people always preach about (Mullard, Amperex/Bugle Boy, Brimar, etc...) are NOT necessarily the best in this amplifier so you have to keep an open mind. Of course, it's all a matter of preference!

 

[Junkwisch]

For planars I'm using the Cayin with my Hifiman Arya and they are a match made in heaven I think. Never heard them with so much punch and dynamic sounding with spectacular 3D imaging and space. Since they are not very efficient noise in no problem with them.
For dynamics I'm using it with my ZMF Vérité Closed and Aeolus - both with 300 Ohms. They suffer a bit from an audible noise floor when nothing is playing. I got around that with a custom made 1/4 inch to 4-pin XLR noise-adapter made by @skedra (Viking Weave cables) which helps to bring the noise floor down so it's not audible anymore and they are also performing their best out of all my Amps on the Cayin (with upgraded tubes).
The only combination that didn't work out for me for now were the Focal Celestee. They are simply too sensitive in my experience and the Noise Adapter also works better with high impedance headphones so this combination just wasn't the best. For low impedance dynamics I prefer for example my ZDT. Jr tube amp which has a lot less power but also a much lower noise floor.

What headphones do you want to drive with the amp?

I borrow my father's old Hifi-man He-6 and surprisingly, the HA1A mk2 actually powered that headphone pretty well; definitely better than my T1 gen 2 in some genre. On my old (now burned, literally burned) Audiogd 11.38, HE6 is way inferior to T1.

 

[Lohb]

Yes, it is going to lift up the old heavy weight planars mostly and drive them well....LCD-2.1/HE-6
I have been lucky with 2 other cans that are easy to drive - being above the bass bloat effect..sundara though...I can hear it a mile away now..."rasp..rasp..rasp" and Sundara is harder to drive than the other 2 planars...so its a real X-factor on what is going on.

 

[Lohb]

Anyone had headtime with LCD-4z and Cayin...synergy and bass control OK for your ears ?
Another low z planar.....

 

[muths66]

Sound is great with my hiby rs6.

 

[No Disc]

Right now my HA-1A MK2 is pulling double duty as a headphone amp, and a pre-amp for my dedicated two channel near-field listening room. My headphone listening place is currently under construction, so the HA-1A MK2 will probably be relocated after that is finished. The Cayin sound pretty good as a pre-amp to my active speakers. Both being run though a new Dusun X600 Power regenerator.

 

[Andykong]

Sound is great with my hiby rs6.

R2R + vacuum tube, that must be a real treat.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

I did post before, but just checking again. Anyone had any of their LED's go out under the tubes?

 

[Lubak]

I did post before, but just checking again. Anyone had any of their LED's go out under the tubes?

Yep, two of mine went off about a couple of weeks ago - the right EL84 and the rectifier. Can't say it affected the sound in any way though.
Tbh I never was a big fan of the whole LED light thing, so if they could all go, that'd be best lol

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Yep, two of mine went off about a couple of weeks ago - the right EL84 and the rectifier. Can't say it affected the sound in any way though.
Tbh I never was a big fan of the whole LED light thing, so if they could all go, that'd be best lol

Yeah completely cosmetic, they do seem a bit delicate. I'm tempted to take it apart and solder the one that failed (it's intermittent so solder fractures I think). I worry about the resale value otherwise.