[DaemonSire]

   
Agreed, but what planar are you really trying to drive SE?   The PM1 with stock cable actually sounds respectable even at that power (very efficient) and people with HE-6's are using balanced, so...
 
And I am reading the power output specs the same way unless someone wants to correct me.
 
Edit: You snuck in an Edit!  Agreed with you on the power.

haha ya, sorry about that

 

[Rossliew]

  In single ended mode, it seems a bit underpowered no?
 

Specification	Condition	XLR Input - Balanced Output	RCA Input - 6.35 mm Output
Maximum Output Power (Per Channel)	Into 600 Ohm	2400 mW	600 mW
Into 32 Ohm	3000 mW	3500 mW
Rated Output Power (Per Channel)	Into 600 Ohm	800 mW	200 mW
Into 32 Ohm	2000 mW	500 mW

 
32Ohm @ 500mW isn't enough to really drive some planar's to the best of their ability (if you follow the 1W guideline for HFM...).  I'm taking the Rated Output Power as RMS... and Maximum Output Power as Peak.  Or am I off?
 
I suppose if you take the easier to drive Oppo PM-1 (which I'm sure this is designed for), it would probably be fine.  But if you are looking at this as a amp/dac for an HE-500/Audeze, it doesn't seem like it would have enough power.

My feelings too...would it be possible to have RCA Input - Balanced Output? What would be the rated output power then?

 

[belisk]

a snip from project86's review of the TAURUS MKII, i think this applies to the HA-1 as well.

The astute reader will note the balanced and single-ended headphone outputs have differing behavior based on load. If you spotted that, good catch, pat yourself on the back. The TAURUS output stage has four sections in total. When operating in "STD" mode (the 1/4" jack), two outputs drive each channel in parallel. This results in maximum output current for low impedance headphones, with less voltage swing for high impedance loads. In BAL mode (the 4-pin XLR jack), two sections operate in a bridge-tied load configuration. The result? Much higher voltage swing at the expense of output current being comparatively limited. AURALiC is quick to point out that MOAR POWER is not always the answer. Just because you'd think planar headphones would do best from the 1/4" jack while high impedance Beyerdynamic models should use the balanced output, it doesn't necessarily always work out that way. I'd also add that "limited" output current or voltage swing, in this context, simply means "limited" compared to the max this device is capable of. Realistically the BAL output is still quite powerful into low impedance loads, and the STD output can still swing plenty of voltage. There's really nothing I can think of which the TAURUS can't handle (short of electrostatic models, obviously). Output impedance is low enough not to be a factor—less than 1 ohm from the STD jack, and somewhere between 3 and 4 ohms from the BAL output. Users of multi-driver, balanced armature IEMs may want to avoid the BAL output but all other headphones should be fair game.

 

[hikinokie]

Regarding HA 1 power output I've got the Audeze ldc xc closed back plugged into an Oppo 105 with a rated output of 187mw into 32ohms. The HA-1 is 500mw ( is that half a watt?) into 32 ohms. Most of the time I'm using my headphones I have the 105 cranked to 60-80% and I'm not hard of hearing. the HA-1 is more than double the output. That is considered weak? For people with hard to drive phones can't you use the "high" setting on the back of the unit? I'm a headphone newbie but LOVE the sound of my Audeze.
 
A lot of belisk's post goes over my head...

 

[smellyfungus]

will anyone be using the pm-1 into the balanced/XLR port? I'm curious to hear if there's any improvement since its $129 for the cable.

if I end up liking the pm1 over the he560 I may go full oppo as my end game and sell off my precious wa7.

just saw this for smartphone users.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oppo.ha1control

pretty cool to have an app based controller for an amp.

 

[docBliny]

will anyone be using the pm-1 into the balanced/XLR port? I'm curious to hear if there's any improvement since its $129 for the cable.

if I end up liking the pm1 over the he560 I may go full oppo as my end game and sell off my precious wa7.

 
I was going to try the balanced output with my Sennheiser HD800s. However, I only just ordered the balanced cable. To horror of many people here (I assume), I ordered the cheapest cable I could find, some "ZY Cable" from China, and it was still ~$150. I was originally going to go DIY with the cable, but I don't want to modify the original. The time, money, and effort to buy the parts and solder the cable just didn't seem like worth the effort in the end.
 
I considered going the WA7 route (mainly for aesthetic reasons), but the only tubes I'm willing to roll these days are the tubes in my microphones I'm also keeping my fingers crossed the DAC in the HA-1 is a notch above.
 
I'm curious about the PM1s, too, but I need to hold off any further purchases for a bit... As (another) side note, I'd really like to create an app that counts how much money it costs per post to be a member (or even long time lurker like me) on Head-Fi. The formula is seems pretty simple: # of posts read / $ spent. Anyway, back on topic.
 
//Tomi B.

 

[docBliny]

  Regarding HA 1 power output I've got the Audeze ldc xc closed back plugged into an Oppo 105 with a rated output of 187mw into 32ohms. The HA-1 is 500mw ( is that half a watt?) into 32 ohms. Most of the time I'm using my headphones I have the 105 cranked to 60-80% and I'm not hard of hearing. the HA-1 is more than double the output. That is considered weak? For people with hard to drive phones can't you use the "high" setting on the back of the unit? I'm a headphone newbie but LOVE the sound of my Audeze.
 
A lot of belisk's post goes over my head...

 
I'll let belisk answer, but some headphones, especially planars, require a lot more "oompf" than others for optimal performance. Then there's never-ending pursuit of perfection and pushing our gear to get the ultimate experience out of them. Have fun finding the balance between the tug of comparing reviews & specs versus simply trusting your own ears and enjoying the music! I think that's the real game here
 
In any case, yes, 500mW is half a Watt.
 
//TB

 

[zilch0md]

  [snip]
 
As a caveat - I was a beta tester.  In the interest of disclosure - if you were a beta tester, please disclose this in your first post, and in your impressions or reviews.
 
[snip]

 
My name is Mike and I am a beta tester.
 

  My feelings too...would it be possible to have RCA Input - Balanced Output? What would be the rated output power then?

 
I'd like to know the answer to this question, too.  (I never thought to ask, but specs hadn't been finalized, anyway.)   

 
 
We should seek clarification from OPPO, but I'm pretty sure that if you aren't using an external DAC - such that neither the RCA nor the XLR input jacks are in use - you'll get the power output shown in the specifications for the 4-Pin XLR jack, when using balanced cables.
 
In other words, if you're using USB input to the HA-1's own DAC section, I would think you'd get 2000mW into 32 Ohms (or 2400 mW into 600 Ohms) when using balanced headphone cables with the 4-Pin XLR jack.

 

[hikinokie]

There it is. Usb in, 4 pin xlr out= 2 watts, right?

 

[HasturTheYellow]

The output wattage is based on the impedance of the headphones and the type of connection used. Balanced allows for four times the available output power. So if you had a 32Ohm headphone and you were using the balanced outputs, you could get 2 watts of power.

 

[HasturTheYellow]

  My feelings too...would it be possible to have RCA Input - Balanced Output? What would be the rated output power then?

 
Yes. Anything that is passed through the HA-1 can be amplified through the balanced headphone output. So you can do RCA IN and Balanced Out.
 
As for the rated output power, I am going to assume that it is based on the output in used, and not determined by the input source. But don't quote me on this. The engineer I normally consult with is out on business, so I can't confirm the specifications at the moment.

 

[Foxjam]

This looks like it could be a real winner. Would love to read some more detailed impressions (especially with the LCD 2.2). Seems like it has everyone anyone could need at a reasonable price.

 

[HiFiAudio]

  Regarding HA 1 power output I've got the Audeze ldc xc closed back plugged into an Oppo 105 with a rated output of 187mw into 32ohms. The HA-1 is 500mw ( is that half a watt?) into 32 ohms. Most of the time I'm using my headphones I have the 105 cranked to 60-80% and I'm not hard of hearing. the HA-1 is more than double the output. That is considered weak? For people with hard to drive phones can't you use the "high" setting on the back of the unit? I'm a headphone newbie but LOVE the sound of my Audeze.
 
A lot of belisk's post goes over my head...

Please note that changing from normal to high headphone gain is done through software menu now, not the original beta version where a switch on the back was utilized.

 

[Dixter]

Just in case you guys need high res files to test out your new HA-1
 
A few true lossless files to test the capabilities. I don't think you can get much better than this site....( its free )
 
http://www.2l.no/           in the upper right hand corner is the drop down box... click on Test Bench HD      after the page opens up choose the file format you want to test for the song you are going to download...   it will ask you to log in...  just put in 2L  then  2L      the download will start...   after the file gets downloaded just extract the file and use a proper player for playback... for these types of true lossless files I use JRiver Media Center 19
 
What is nice about those files is the choice of formats and the fact that the recordings have been chosen for testing purposes...   if you hear any issues while playing these files then you need to examine your setup as there is most likely something wrong in your hardware chain... it wont be the file...  

 

[aamefford]

   
My name is Mike and I am a beta tester.
 
 
Snip

 
"Hi Mike... Welcome -"