[Herbie151]

Hi to you all - please don't shout at me, I really don't know very much about the technical electronics side of the hardware!!
 
Question - I have some old Bose 201 passive "bookshelf" speakers rated:
 
1) Compatible with amps rated 10-120 Watts / channel"
2) Rated 4 to 8 ohms
3) IEC 60W continuous 6 ohms
 
Given that the 6.3mm Jack output is rated as 0.7 Ohm output (i think??) could I power these speakers using a jack plug terminated in four plain open wires i.e. red, black, red, black
 
Such cables are available on ebay for small money...
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331207905199?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
I read about a 1/8th rule, so if output from the Ha-1 is 0.7 ohm it should be able to power 8 times that... 5.6 ohms.  These speakers are rated 6 so should be OK... or have I misunderstood.
 
Thanks for your comments - I'm grateful
 
Herbie

 

[BobJS]

  Hi to you all - please don't shout at me, I really don't know very much about the technical electronics side of the hardware!!
 
Question - I have some old Bose 201 passive "bookshelf" speakers rated:
 
1) Compatible with amps rated 10-120 Watts / channel"
2) Rated 4 to 8 ohms
3) IEC 60W continuous 6 ohms
 
Given that the 6.3mm Jack output is rated as 0.7 Ohm output (i think??) could I power these speakers using a jack plug terminated in four plain open wires i.e. red, black, red, black
 
Such cables are available on ebay for small money...
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331207905199?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
I read about a 1/8th rule, so if output from the Ha-1 is 0.7 ohm it should be able to power 8 times that... 5.6 ohms.  These speakers are rated 6 so should be OK... or have I misunderstood.
 
Thanks for your comments - I'm grateful
 
Herbie

 
There's probably not enough output power.  The amp is meant to drive headphones. If you look at the specifications, the output power of the 6.35 output jack is rated at .2 Watts into 600 ohms, and half a Watt at 32 ohms. The lower impedance of your speakers might coax a bit more power out, but you'd be at the low end.  
 
It's very doubtful, but I couldn't guarantee that nothing bad would happen if you try it to see what it sounds like.

 

[vnmslsrbms]

There's damping and all that involved and all you would get is a slight hum.  Short answer: get a proper speaker amplifier.  

 

[fidelioX2]

  I am seriously considering this aren't I? I just love the display. Every time I see it it's like I want one!

The display in "Status" mode is very handy for knowing what the rate and bit depth is. As a total audiophile noob I found it very helpful when first setting up Jriver Media Player on my PC because I knew if I was doing something wrong by what was showing on the screen. If the source format was FLAC/ CD quality, for instance, and the proper rates weren't showing on the screen then I knew the settings in Jriver and my PC needed tweaking. The OPPO wil automatically seek the proper rate if the settings in Jriver are configured properly.
I am still learning, but have finally reached a point where the sound is routinely quite wonderful.
The other wonderful feature on the HA-1 is that when changing from low gain to high gain the analogue volume control automatically lowers so as to avoid blowing up the drivers in low gain headphones.

 

[fidelioX2]

The Jriver media player which I downloaded primarily for playing DSD files, FLAC files, etc. works nicely with the OPPO in the sense that specifying drivers for  the OPPO is more straightforward than it is within Windows 7 itself. Again the frequency and bitrate screen on the OPPO can often be a clue that things are not configured optimally. For quite a few audio files including some MP3's the OPPO will choose a 32 bitrate which makes quite a difference in sound quality when it is appropriate to the source. I have found that within Jriver settings it is of course optimal to choose the OPPO as the default player and to specify the WASAPI interface rather than the ASIO. It pays also to check in on the player options screen within Jriver periodically to make sure that the OPPO with WASAPI is still being selected rather than "Direct Sound." Last night during a violent local lightning storm I unplugged the Oppo from the system for awhile, and then when replugging it I could see on the OPPO screen that it wasn't being allowed to choose the correct bitrate - it was always defaulting to the 44.1/16  rates that I had chosen for the player within Windows. Re-specifying within Jriver that the OPPO should be the default player and be allowed to choose rates on its own corrected the problem and put sound quality back where it should be optimally for a variety of sources. It now will show the 44.1/16 bitrate for the average CD quality files, 44.1/32 for some MP3 files, and 96/24 for "Double DSD" files.
No doubt I am still not doing everything optimally, but I am learning...slowly.

 

[x RELIC x]

It's been confirmed that the bit rate and sampling rate on the HA-1 display is bit perfect to the incoming signal. If there are inconsistencies with the displayed information and what you expect to see its from the software feeding the HA-1. In other words, the HA-1 only displays what it is fed.

 

[Wharf Rat]

Would the HA-1 have any significant benefit with some Sennheiser HD650s and using an AK JR?

 

[fidelioX2]

Would the HA-1 have any significant benefit with some Sennheiser HD650s and using an AK JR?

I just started running Sennheiser HD-800's on the Oppo and they sound very good. Using Cardas Clear cables with 4-pin xlr connect means that the low gain setting on the Oppo drives the 800's fine and provides more sensitivity with volume adjustment than the high gain.

 

[Wharf Rat]

I've noticed on the spectrum screen it always seems to show the audio format at 44.1/16 even when I am playing a HD track. I download Miles Davis Bitches Brew on ALAC and when I connect through USB DAC or through my iPhone with FLAC Player plus, it still shows as 44.1/16. Should the format display 96/24? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[x RELIC x]

I've noticed on the spectrum screen it always seems to show the audio format at 44.1/16 even when I am playing a HD track. I download Miles Davis Bitches Brew on ALAC and when I connect through USB DAC or through my iPhone with FLAC Player plus, it still shows as 44.1/16. Should the format display 96/24? Am I doing something wrong?

Something is keeping the sampling rate at 16/44.1 before it reaches the HA-1. The HA-1 is bit perfect to the incoming signal and doesn't up/down sample when using digital input to the built in DAC. If you are using an external DAC and feeding an analogue signal it will display 'analog'.

 

[Wharf Rat]

I've noticed on the spectrum screen it always seems to show the audio format at 44.1/16 even when I am playing a HD track. I download Miles Davis Bitches Brew on ALAC and when I connect through USB DAC or through my iPhone with FLAC Player plus, it still shows as 44.1/16. Should the format display 96/24? Am I doing something wrong?

I think I figured the issue out myself. I did not know i needed to change the settings in Windows to output 24/96. I did notice the HA-1 manual says the mobile USB output will only do 44.1 and 48khz, so even if I am playing an HD track, the highest the spectrum will display would be 16/48? Is this correct? I played some HDCD tracks that I ripped with dbpoweramp and played it using the Onkyo HF app, but it still displayed as 16/44, even though the tracks were 20bit.

 

[Alphanewb]

I think I figured the issue out myself. I did not know i needed to change the settings in Windows to output 24/96. I did notice the HA-1 manual says the mobile USB output will only do 44.1 and 48khz, so even if I am playing an HD track, the highest the spectrum will display would be 16/48? Is this correct? I played some HDCD tracks that I ripped with dbpoweramp and played it using the Onkyo HF app, but it still displayed as 16/44, even though the tracks were 20bit.

The mobile USB input is the one in front that works with apple devices and android (if you have an OTG cable). The rear USB input has no such limitations. Sounds like you are connecting via an OTG cable in front; in which case you are correct.

 

[Megalith]

Does the HA-1 do any upsampling to the signal? 

 

[Dixter]

depends on how you have the playback software configured...   and what kind of format your playing...  for DSD type files they are played back native...  for other formats you have the option in the software to play them back native or to have them upsampled..  many many different options to choose from....  for me I like to utilize the DSD DAC and for non DSD files I opted to have them upsampled to DSD playback...  and of course the DSD files play back in native format.... works well...

 

[Dixter]

Wharf Rat...   I assume you have turned on the HF function on the Onkyo HF app ???