[Thrang]

The HA-1 is neutral, not bright.

 

[Badas]

I find comparisons to be worth while in an impressions thread. However, comparisons between a TOTL tube amp and a high value solid state amp/DAC are a little extreme as they are two different animals.

I personally don't find the HA-1 overly bright and I enjoy the amount of micro detail it presents to me. When going back to some less revealing gear I find the other gear to sound flat, slow and dull. But, when not being around the HA-1 for a while and going back I find the Oppo to be brighter with an insane amount of detail. My lowly Pan Am is warm and musical compared to the HA-1 but it doesn't present all the detail the HA-1 does. Depending on my mood I'll choose one over the other.

It's all relative.

Agreed.

 

[elwappo99]

 

Never been a sales pitch. Why would I????? I live on the other side of the world. Crikey I own 5 Oppo products. I love bloody Oppo.
 
Plain and simple Oppo HA1 is bright. Be prepared for it.
 
Also I bagged the Woo WA7 fireflies. If a product doesn't cut the mustard at least I talk about it.
 
Every time I put a slightly negative comment on one aspect of the Oppo you are on my back.
 
It is called a "Impressions Thread". Not tell us what you like only.

 
Thanks for your impressions. It's nice to hear the good and bad of every piece of equipment. I become very wary when all someone says about a product is positive.

  Everything I've ever heard has it's pros and cons.

 

[SpudHarris]

The majority of us don't think the HA-1 bright. I love my HD800's balanced....

 

[ImmaLizard]

lol @ HA-1 being bright

 

[Badas]

The majority of us don't think the HA-1 bright. I love my HD800's balanced....

 
Both of us ran the HD800 in the Oppo HA-1 in balanced and thought it was the worst music we heard all day. Different opinion I guess.

  lol @ HA-1 being bright

 
Well here is another comment. Not mine.
 
Oppo. I fully agree with you that the Oppo HA-1 is bright. Actually, it may be a little worse: it has the typical sound of mid-tier SS designs of 20 years ago: good bass, articulated but a little edgy with extended but somewhat harsh treble. It is however a good match for the Oppo PM-1, which tends to sound a little closed-in, lacking the ultimate transparency of other top-end HP. I was pretty much crucified by Oppo devotees for daring to say these things in the Oppo forum. I guess I was being honest but not too smart with the choice of venue.
 
Fact is for all the members that say it is not bright there is also a number that think it is. If you don't like bright headphones, DAC's, Amps or music be prepared.

 

[SpudHarris]

Guess we all hear things differently. Not many things more subjective than what people hear.

We have to respect opinions so let's move on from this emotive discussion....

I'm not a fanboy, I've been around a while and I rate the HA-1 highly. It's the only piece of kit that has kept my interest and never had me wanting for more after a few months use. Quite possibly end game for those on a fairly modest budget.

Let's move on :bigsmile_face:

 

[the-kraken]

My favorite quote re the Oppo HA-1: 1

...if your listening preference is for something on the lush side, that's not what you will find here. The HA-1 is for the crowd that wants no editorialization whatsoever from the amp. There are plenty of audiophiles that say they want that from their amp, but when it comes right down to it, they don't actually buy amps that prove it. The HA-1 will let you hear exactly what your headphones sound like on their own. So you better make sure you like your headphones! The Oppo isn't a "synergy" kind of amp. It's much more about presenting the truth. But please, dear reader, do not assume that what I mean here is that the HA-1 is bright. It's not bright. It's neutral—spot on neutral. Listening to Mastodon's "Curl of the Burl" from "The Hunter" never caused me to wince, and trust me, when the system isn't right, it will do that. Instead I could crank it up and really enjoy doing so.


I'd love to have both the wa22 and the Oppo ha1 though!

 

[Canadian411]

HD800 in balanced is perfect with ha1. Really like it too.

 

[Badas]

HD800 in balanced is perfect with ha1. Really like it too.

One thing we did do a couple weeks ago was paired the HD800 with this 25watt tube amp.
 

 
It was using the speaker wire into the HiFiMan speaker amp convertor. Then the HD800's plugged into it via XLR balanced. We were smashing 25watts per channel into the HD800's.
 
Damn that was a wet dream. I have never heard the HD800 sing or sound so damn good. It went past everything we tried.
It sounded better than the Audeze LCD3, LCDX and HE-6 (modified). Best setup I have ever heard.

 

[x RELIC x]

My favorite quote re the Oppo HA-1: 1

...if your listening preference is for something on the lush side, that's not what you will find here. The HA-1 is for the crowd that wants no editorialization whatsoever from the amp. There are plenty of audiophiles that say they want that from their amp, but when it comes right down to it, they don't actually buy amps that prove it. The HA-1 will let you hear exactly what your headphones sound like on their own. So you better make sure you like your headphones! The Oppo isn't a "synergy" kind of amp. It's much more about presenting the truth. But please, dear reader, do not assume that what I mean here is that the HA-1 is bright. It's not bright. It's neutral—spot on neutral. Listening to Mastodon's "Curl of the Burl" from "The Hunter" never caused me to wince, and trust me, when the system isn't right, it will do that. Instead I could crank it up and really enjoy doing so.


I'd love to have both the wa22 and the Oppo ha1 though!

Agree 100%'with this.

 

[x RELIC x]

One thing we did do a couple weeks ago was paired the HD800 with this 25watt tube amp.




It was using the speaker wire into the HiFiMan speaker amp convertor. Then the HD800's plugged into it via XLR balanced. We were smashing 25watts per channel into the HD800's.

Damn that was a wet dream. I have never heard the HD800 sing or sound so damn good. It went past everything we tried.
It sounded better than the Audeze LCD3, LCDX and HE-6 (modified). Best setup I have ever heard.

You should probably keep the tube amp impressions in the appropriate forums as they are taking up a lot of HA-1 pages. Nice amp by the way.

 

[Hooster]

Could some kind person please tidy this thread up? The repetition and OT is getting a bit boring.

 

[Skylab]

My favorite quote re the Oppo HA-1: 1

...if your listening preference is for something on the lush side, that's not what you will find here. The HA-1 is for the crowd that wants no editorialization whatsoever from the amp. There are plenty of audiophiles that say they want that from their amp, but when it comes right down to it, they don't actually buy amps that prove it. The HA-1 will let you hear exactly what your headphones sound like on their own. So you better make sure you like your headphones! The Oppo isn't a "synergy" kind of amp. It's much more about presenting the truth. But please, dear reader, do not assume that what I mean here is that the HA-1 is bright. It's not bright. It's neutral—spot on neutral. Listening to Mastodon's "Curl of the Burl" from "The Hunter" never caused me to wince, and trust me, when the system isn't right, it will do that. Instead I could crank it up and really enjoy doing so.

Thanks for the kind words. My opinion of the HA-1 hasn't changed since I wrote that. Not bright, in and of itself. But if one pairs it with bright headphones, then sure, bright sound will result. But guess what? Pair it with lush headphones, and lush sound is the result

 

[Dark Ayla]

 
One thing we did do a couple weeks ago was paired the HD800 with this 25watt tube amp.
 

 
It was using the speaker wire into the HiFiMan speaker amp convertor. Then the HD800's plugged into it via XLR balanced. We were smashing 25watts per channel into the HD800's.
 
Damn that was a wet dream. I have never heard the HD800 sing or sound so damn good. It went past everything we tried.
It sounded better than the Audeze LCD3, LCDX and HE-6 (modified). Best setup I have ever heard.

Dude what amp is this?!!!!! It looks sexy!