[jonstatt]

It has already been discussed in this thread.
The decision was made for visual practicality reasons

 
Oops. I must have missed that in this thread somewhere. Apologies. Nevertheless I am sure they can find some way to still make it look pretty!

 

[HasturTheYellow]

   
Regarding the USB port on the front panel, you said "primarily Apple devices". The manual specifically quotes only more recent iPod, iPhone and iPad devices. Are there in fact some Android devices that can provide direct digital transfer this way?

 
There are some Android devices that will work, but they are few and far between, which is why the manual talks about iOS devices exclusively, since these will be the primary devices which can take advantage of the USB input on the HA-1.

 

[SpudHarris]

Tried what I thought to be my most challenging phones (HE-6) tonight but the HA-1 just took it in its stride in balanced with plenty of volume to spare. This amp just keeps surprising me.

I do love the HE-6 sound but they are so uncomfortable over long periods Another late one on the cards, the HA-1 is as bad as golfing :rolleyes: divorce if I'm not careful

 

[x RELIC x]

Glad to hear it passed the HE-6 test! Normal or high gain?

We should all have a 'potentially divorced because of Head Fi' club. I'm already signed up!

 

[smellyfungus]

gonna disagree with some of the comments from earlier. although I do find the dac section to be stellar I think the amp portion falls behind. running balanced thru the ha-1 with my he-560 I lose some dynamics and micro detail vs my wa7(eh)/wa7tp(mullards). the extension falls short a smidgen on bass.

not a life changing difference but enough to keep the wa7 for sure. the value of the ha-1 still is good for what you get in one package but i just don't want someone thinking this a world beater like some of the impressions preceding mine.

on the fence whether or not to keep it but I haven't been eager to go back to the wa7 dac so I might just keep the ha-1 since I do like using the amp for short sessions and the remote control features are quite convienent.

 

[AnakChan]

I had the HA-1 for just over two weeks and I feel it's a good value for money desktop DAC/Amp. I did quite a bit of comparison with my Invicta v1.0, there are differences DAC-2-DAC feeding to an external amp (ZDSE) despite both being ES9018s.

In addition although the HA-1 amp's portion is decent, (not talking about $$ and return on value or the moment) there is room for improvement in the amp. If I ever bought the HA-1, I'd be more inclined to use it as a DAC-only feeding to an external amp of my choice.

Going back again to the DAC-2-DAC, despite both line out to the same amp, the Invicta's ES9018 implementation is a little more fluid, tonally balanced, & spacious than the HA-1's ES9018 implementation. Of course price wise it's not fair to compare the two & the return on investment, the improvements in the Invicta is not 4x the price of the HA-1 but nevertheless even DAC-2-DAC they sound a little different despite the same DAY chip. Implementation around the DAC is as important as the choice of DAC itself.

 

[x RELIC x]

gonna disagree with some of the comments from earlier. although I do find the dac section to be stellar I think the amp portion falls behind. running balanced thru the ha-1 with my he-560 I lose some dynamics and micro detail vs my wa7(eh)/wa7tp(mullards). the extension falls short a smidgen on bass.

not a life changing difference but enough to keep the wa7 for sure. the value of the ha-1 still is good for what you get in one package but i just don't want someone thinking this a world beater like some of the impressions preceding mine.

on the fence whether or not to keep it but I haven't been eager to go back to the wa7 dac so I might just keep the ha-1 since I do like using the amp for short sessions and the remote control features are quite convienent.

This is very helpful and somewhat what I was waiting to hear. Sounds like the differences between excellent SS and excellent tubes to me. I've been very interested in the WA7 for some more tube goodness (vs Pan Am) and haven't heard that many comparisons with the HA-1 so it's good to know they are somewhat close. I imagine the upgraded tubes help the WA7.

Urge to spend rising.

Still, I can't think of another one stop solution for all my audio needs that will beat the HA-1 at this price. If I wanted the best price is no object components I'd probably consider the ALO Studio Six or Phonitor2, and McIntosh M100 or Weiss Medus. Gotta put the brakes on somewhere and the HA-1 makes it an easy stop.

 

[Jimmyf1312]

Does anyone know how the amp section of the HA-1 compare in driving the hd800s to the hdvd600/ 800

 

[akhyar]

gonna disagree with some of the comments from earlier. although I do find the dac section to be stellar I think the amp portion falls behind. running balanced thru the ha-1 with my he-560 I lose some dynamics and micro detail vs my wa7(eh)/wa7tp(mullards). the extension falls short a smidgen on bass.

not a life changing difference but enough to keep the wa7 for sure. the value of the ha-1 still is good for what you get in one package but i just don't want someone thinking this a world beater like some of the impressions preceding mine.

on the fence whether or not to keep it but I haven't been eager to go back to the wa7 dac so I might just keep the ha-1 since I do like using the amp for short sessions and the remote control features are quite convienent.

As someone who has the WA7 with EH tubes, albeit without the WA7t, I auditioned the HA-1 with the hope that the superior DAC and the class A amp in HA-1 will easily beat the WA7 as a one box solution.
Without the opportunity to A-B with the WA7, I might have to buy the HA-1 and only sell the one that I feels sounds lacking

 

[olegausany]

You have 30 days to try HA-1 and return if you are don't like it

Sent from my LG-V500 using Tapatalk

 

[akhyar]

^ I wish I was in the USA to take advantage of the 30 days return

 

[olegausany]

But didn't they said that if you use offline order form you can do international purchase and return if you don't like but will have to pay for shipping back?

Sent from my LG-V500 using Tapatalk

 

[smellyfungus]

As someone who has the WA7 with EH tubes, albeit without the WA7t, I auditioned the HA-1 with the hope that the superior DAC and the class A amp in HA-1 will easily beat the WA7 as a one box solution.
Without the opportunity to A-B with the WA7, I might have to buy the HA-1 and only sell the one that I feels sounds lacking

I think if you listen to a lot of hi res flacs the ha-1 is gonna be better since the DAC will be able to extract all the goodness.

the wa7 amp section matches my headphones better. ha-1 having both XLR and 1/4" is more a jack of all trades kinda deal.

the wa7tp is a worthwhile upgrade if you're willing to roll tubes til you're satisfied.

 

[akhyar]

My local dealer offers me free balanced cable for PM-1 if I pre-order the HA-1, with stock coming in by end of June.
Tempting, in case I want to get the PM-1 or PM-2 in future

 

[olegausany]

In case you like them yes