[marhol]

 At the end of it all I feel the HA-1 just lets the headphone signature show through.

Agreed. I´ve listened  HE-400i, HE-560, HE-6, HD 800 and PM 1 with HA-1 and felt the same way.

 

[imac2much]

Agreed. I´ve listened  HE-400i, HE-560, HE-6, HD 800 and PM 1 with HA-1 and felt the same way.

Out of curiosity, which of those headphones do you think paired the best with the HA-1? Or are you implying that if the HA-1 is transparent they all sounded good?

 

[marhol]

Out of curiosity, which of those headphones do you think paired the best with the HA-1? Or are you implying that if the HA-1 is transparent they all sounded good?

 
Yes, HA-1 was indeed very transparent with the mighty MacIntosh MCD 1100 SACD/CD player as a source 

 in that time of my listening session. All the headphones sounded from very good to excellent. I was impressed by all headphones and ended up buying HE-400i which in my opinion had the best price/performance ratio. The most harmonious match was to my ears HA-1+ PM1 with a balanced cable, it sounded sublime, very euphonic. Also HE-6 + HA-1 combo sounded stellar, even with a single ended cable. I personally did not find HD 800+ HA-1 combo bright sounding, although it was immediately obvious that the strenght of HD 800 lied in its midrange and treble (which I did not find hot on the recordings I listened to), especially in head to head comparison to planars which simply had more engaging/impactful bass. HE-560 was also a very good match, but for my most favourite genre (melodic rock) I prefered tonally richer/lusher mids of HE-400i. I would say Oppo HA-1 is a neutral head amp and as x RELIC x said it lets the headphone signature show through.  If you already like HE-400i sound signature I think you would be satisfied with that combo, because warmer /neutral headphones  seem to benefit from HA-1 airiness, excellent clarity and soundstage presentation. At least from my impressions...

 

[Zitro11]

I don't see too much discussion about it in reviews, but I just purchased an HA-1 and am using it as a preamp/dac into a McIntosh MC2105, and it's fantastic. Very open and airy sounding, clear and musical. It also makes my Sennheiser HD600's really open up, and that was with the lower-power single ended output. Can't wait to try the balanced output once I find an XLR cable for the Senns.

 

[DaemonSire]

  I don't see too much discussion about it in reviews, but I just purchased an HA-1 and am using it as a preamp/dac into a McIntosh MC2105, and it's fantastic. Very open and airy sounding, clear and musical. It also makes my Sennheiser HD600's really open up, and that was with the lower-power single ended output. Can't wait to try the balanced output once I find an XLR cable for the Senns.

If you are brave and don't mind changing the stock cable, you can just snip the end off of the stock cable and solder on a 4pin XLR connector.  The cable is inherently balanced but just terminates in a single-ended plug.

 

[P-Nation]

Yes. Take away the connectivity and the display and bells and whistles and I still feel it's top tier, in its price range. As Money4me247 has said there are competitive gear out there for sure, but not with these features. I'm quite happy with the LCD line on the HA-1 but fair warning, with something like the HD800 it can sound bright. Then again I don't like the HD800 so I have no issue there. At the end of it all I feel the HA-1 just lets the headphone signature show through.

I was told on another forum that the LCD-X has a tendency to lean bright with the HA-1. I'm finding much more evidence to allude otherwise, but that's something I'd definitely like to avoid as well. Bass is my friend

 

[akhyar]

I was told on another forum that the LCD-X has a tendency to lean bright with the HA-1. I'm finding much more evidence to allude otherwise, but that's something I'd definitely like to avoid as well. Bass is my friend

I used to pair the LCD-X with Oppo HA-1 before I sold the LCD.
It can sound bright, but it won't be as bright as pairing the HA-1 with HD800, which I still do now. Lol!
Anyway, to me the HA-1 tends to synergize better with warmer sounding cans like LCD2/3, Oppo PM-1/2, Sony Z7, etc.

 

[DaemonSire]

Love the HA-1.  My only complaint (along with the others) is the volume pot.  Being able to use the remote is nice, but the motor is fairly loud.
 
My other complaint is the bit of 'play' that I've found when moving the volume pot by hand.  For example, if you move it in one direction, stop and then move it in the other direction, it takes a (albeit minor) bit of movement for it to 'catch' and move.  If doing minor adjustments up or down repeatedly, it can be annoying.
 
I asked Oppo support about this and they said that it was normal and my unit doesn't sound like it is faulty.  They said because of the motors and gears that are in the volume pot, there is a bit of physical play.  They said about a couple degrees based on their experience.
 
The volume pot itself works fine, it is just the minor bit of wiggle or play when switching directions is a bit annoying.  But really, that and the motor noise are my only gripes with it at all.
 
Love the fit and finish and the sound.  The options are unmatched as well.
 
I know they went through a few iterations of the volume pot during beta testing, just wished they had fine tuned it just a bit more.

 

[AudioMan2013]

Love the HA-1.  My only complaint (along with the others) is the volume pot.  Being able to use the remote is nice, but the motor is fairly loud.

My other complaint is the bit of 'play' that I've found when moving the volume pot by hand.  For example, if you move it in one direction, stop and then move it in the other direction, it takes a (albeit minor) bit of movement for it to 'catch' and move.  If doing minor adjustments up or down repeatedly, it can be annoying.

I asked Oppo support about this and they said that it was normal and my unit doesn't sound like it is faulty.  They said because of the motors and gears that are in the volume pot, there is a bit of physical play.  They said about a couple degrees based on their experience.

The volume pot itself works fine, it is just the minor bit of wiggle or play when switching directions is a bit annoying.  But really, that and the motor noise are my only gripes with it at all.

Love the fit and finish and the sound.  The options are unmatched as well.

I know they went through a few iterations of the volume pot during beta testing, just wished they had fine tuned it just a bit more.

Anyone figure out how to replace the volume pot with a stepped attenuator?

 

[john57]

Anyone figure out how to replace the volume pot with a stepped attenuator?

The volume pot is a six gang motorize attenuator. It would be a challenge to put in a stepped attenuator.  

 

[AudioMan2013]

The volume pot is a six gang motorize attenuator. It would be a challenge to put in a stepped attenuator.  

I agree. Do you know of anyone doing any kind of mod to the HA1? Ive modded many other devices and would be interested in doing something.

 

[john57]

I agree. Do you know of anyone doing any kind of mod to the HA1? Ive modded many other devices and would be interested in doing something.

I have heard from a few that put in mods like different size caps but I was told that the protection circuit is quite sensitive.  Too many changes and the HA-1 will not power up. Have not done anything with mine yet. The built quality is quite impressive to begin with.  You could ask Dan Wright President, ModWright Instruments Inc. to see if he has any ideas on mods.
 

 

[AudioMan2013]

I have heard from a few that put in mods like different size caps but I was told that the protection circuit is quite sensitive.  Too many changes and the HA-1 will not power up. Have not done anything with mine yet. The built quality is quite impressive to begin with.  You could ask Dan Wright President, ModWright Instruments Inc. to see if he has any ideas on mods.

 

Thanks. There isnt much room inside either, it is well designed and dense. Im wondering if bypassing the electrolytic caps that power the class a amp with some films would make a difference. I know there is alot of room for improvement but it is not mod friendly. Im using mine with a Wyrd to clean up usb signal and then a DI-2014 to convert the usb signal to coax and feeding it into the HA1. Using it in bypass mode and then a stepped attenuator out to my power amps. Each step has made a huge difference.

 

[DaemonSire]

Can you guys confirm that your volume pot has a bit of 'play' in it as well when changing directions?  It's minor but it feels like it has to catch or grab when moving in opposite directions?
 
Mine has done it since I got it but just curious as to others.

 

[john57]

  Can you guys confirm that your volume pot has a bit of 'play' in it as well when changing directions?  It's minor but it feels like it has to catch or grab when moving in opposite directions?
 
Mine has done it since I got it but just curious as to others.

Mine has very little play you can detect. However you are moving six pot wipers at once with the motor shaft. It is more likely that the motor geartrain has a bit of play in it.