[Allanmarcus]

Here's another option. Get a shiit sys and set the oppo to fixed.

 

[EDN80]

HA-1 in bypass DAC mode chugging along with SPL Phonitor 2 & K812... amazing desktop setup for all kinds of music from classical to jazz to hip hop to EDM.

 

[craftyhack]

  As a new owner of Oppo HA1 I was hoping that you cold help me with some guidance on volume levels. 
 
I use Oppo to drive the Sennheiser HD800S through its balanced XLR headphone output on the front, but I also attached Bang & Olufsen Beolab 3 active speakers to the RCA preamp outputs on the rear.
 
My music source is an iMac, connected to Oppo with an USB cable. The music is played by Audirvana software; the volume control in Audirvana settings is set to "DAC only", meaning that I control the volume only by the volume knob on Oppo, and not by digital volume control in Audirvana or iMac. 
 
The problem is that the Beolab 3 speakers sound very loud already at low Oppo volume knob levels, I can only use the knob range between 7 and 9 o'clock position (between -60dB and -27dB).  I read the Oppo instructions on using the volume knob (Understanding the HA-1's Analog Volume Control) and by using many repeated single clicks on the volume buttons on the remote control I now rarely overshoot into uncomfortably loud volume, but moving within such a narrow range of volume is still a nuisance. 
 
Further, if I listen to HD800S headphones (by muting the preamp output through Mute button on the remote) at normal gain setting, the volume knob can go up to 2 o'clock position (about -5dB) before the music gets too loud. If I forget to turn down the volume before clicking Mute button again to unmute the speakers, the loud music blast from the speakers wakes up the entire neighborhood  If I use the high gain setting on the headphone out, I can go up to 11 o'clock position on the volume knob (about -16dB), but this is still higher than the range that I can use for speakers. 
 
I have two questions:
 
1. If I do nothing and continue listening to speakers at such low volume levels (on average -40dB), am I getting the same sound quality as if the volume level was higher (e.g. -10dB)? 
 
2. Is installing an attenuator between preamp outputs on the rear of Oppo and these active speakers a viable option to allow me to use a wider range on the volume knob? For instance, I found  this attenuator for Beolab line of speakers at soundsheavenly, but  as a complete novice to audio gear I am not sure if such a device is suitable also for my case. 
 
Any advice would be much appreciated.

 
Normally what you are dealing with would be handled with an input gain control (switch or dial) on your speakers to help account for different line level outputs, but from what I could find, there is no gain for your B&O's, other than internally which was used to level match the tweeter and main driver.  You don't want to mess with that.  Also, that attenuator you linked really isn't an attenuator, it is a powered to line level converter, basically it converts an amplified output to a line level output, commonly needed when you want to run a signal from an integrated amplifier to another amplifier (pretty commonly used in car stereos).  These also normally have adjustable gain as well, again to match the line level voltage with the amp you are sending the signal to.
 
What you want is something like this, and the good news is that they are cheap :  http://www.parts-express.com/axxess-aalc-2-ch-remote-level-controller--266-008?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla.
 
Or, you can get Sys preamp from Schiit to get a bit higher quality and utility as you now have a way to easily send another input to your speakers:  http://schiit.com/products/sys

 

[craftyhack]

Here's another option. Get a shiit sys and set the oppo to fixed.

Whoops, when I replied to his question I didn't even notice the thread had moved to a new page, where you beat me to the punch, with 1/100th of the words.  So yeah, what you said .

 

[yaccobo]

   
Normally what you are dealing with would be handled with an input gain control (switch or dial) on your speakers to help account for different line level outputs, but from what I could find, there is no gain for your B&O's, other than internally which was used to level match the tweeter and main driver.  You don't want to mess with that.  Also, that attenuator you linked really isn't an attenuator, it is a powered to line level converter, basically it converts an amplified output to a line level output, commonly needed when you want to run a signal from an integrated amplifier to another amplifier (pretty commonly used in car stereos).  These also normally have adjustable gain as well, again to match the line level voltage with the amp you are sending the signal to.
 
What you want is something like this, and the good news is that they are cheap :  http://www.parts-express.com/axxess-aalc-2-ch-remote-level-controller--266-008?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla.
 
Or, you can get Sys preamp from Schiit to get a bit higher quality and utility as you now have a way to easily send another input to your speakers:  http://schiit.com/products/sys

 
 

Here's another option. Get a shiit sys and set the oppo to fixed.

 
Dear both, many thanks for pointing me in the right direction, much appreciated! I know that I am departing from the Oppo discussion now, but before I order the Schiit Sys potentiometer, a followup question:
 
If I set OPPO HA1 to fixed level bypass, as you suggested, and only use the volume button on the Sys, I am loosing the remote control option.
 
Will it be fine if I leave the Oppo on variable signal ouput option, set the Sys volume knob to a certain level of attenuation (and from this moment on simply leave the knob as is), and continue using the Oppo remote control to control the loudness of the speakers?
 
Apologies for my newbie questions!

 

[Allanmarcus]

 

   
Normally what you are dealing with would be handled with an input gain control (switch or dial) on your speakers to help account for different line level outputs, but from what I could find, there is no gain for your B&O's, other than internally which was used to level match the tweeter and main driver.  You don't want to mess with that.  Also, that attenuator you linked really isn't an attenuator, it is a powered to line level converter, basically it converts an amplified output to a line level output, commonly needed when you want to run a signal from an integrated amplifier to another amplifier (pretty commonly used in car stereos).  These also normally have adjustable gain as well, again to match the line level voltage with the amp you are sending the signal to.
 
What you want is something like this, and the good news is that they are cheap :  http://www.parts-express.com/axxess-aalc-2-ch-remote-level-controller--266-008?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla.
 
Or, you can get Sys preamp from Schiit to get a bit higher quality and utility as you now have a way to easily send another input to your speakers:  http://schiit.com/products/sys

 
 

Here's another option. Get a shiit sys and set the oppo to fixed.

 
Dear both, many thanks for pointing me in the right direction, much appreciated! I know that I am departing from the Oppo discussion now, but before I order the Schiit Sys potentiometer, a followup question:
 
If I set OPPO HA1 to fixed level bypass, as you suggested, and only use the volume button on the Sys, I am loosing the remote control option.
 
Will it be fine if I leave the Oppo on variable signal ouput option, set the Sys volume knob to a certain level of attenuation (and from this moment on simply leave the knob as is), and continue using the Oppo remote control to control the loudness of the speakers?
 
Apologies for my newbie questions!

yes, your approach to using the remote should work

 

[craftyhack]

   
 
 
Dear both, many thanks for pointing me in the right direction, much appreciated! I know that I am departing from the Oppo discussion now, but before I order the Schiit Sys potentiometer, a followup question:
 
If I set OPPO HA1 to fixed level bypass, as you suggested, and only use the volume button on the Sys, I am loosing the remote control option.
 
Will it be fine if I leave the Oppo on variable signal ouput option, set the Sys volume knob to a certain level of attenuation (and from this moment on simply leave the knob as is), and continue using the Oppo remote control to control the loudness of the speakers?
 
Apologies for my newbie questions!

Yep. it will work fine, that is pretty much exactly what I am doing.  In my case, the "preamp" components are built into the studio monitors that I run from the  XLR preouts on my HA-1, which I adjusted once and I don't touch any more.  I use the HA-1 controls for everything (mute, volume, etc.).  Also, I have the mute on the HA-1 set so that when I mute it only mutes the pre-outs turning off my speakers, but the headphones still work.  If I want to mute the headphones, I just turn them down all the way.  Now that I type this I wonder if I didn't have it set this way, instead making the mute global, if it would auto-mute when I have headphones plugged in... that would be even better... 

 

[WayTooCrazy]

Could the RCA out and the XLR out be used at the same time, going to different things? Such as XLR to balanced Tube amp and RCA to Active Speakers?

 

[Allanmarcus]

  Could the RCA out and the XLR out be used at the same time, going to different things? Such as XLR to balanced Tube amp and RCA to Active Speakers?

yes

 

[MozartMan1201]

Pardon me if this has been asked already, 10,000 posts ago....

Did anyone compare the HA-1 with the 105D headphone amp? How much 'weaker' is the 105D amp?

 

[hikinokie]

I have both. The HA-1 is a lot stronger. I have the Audeze LCD XC and not only does the HA 1 have more power for whatever reason it also sounds better. Tiny details hidden in the mix are clearer. Oppo knows just where the point of diminishing returns is and I'm very happy with mine.

 

[MozartMan1201]

  I have both. The HA-1 is a lot stronger. I have the Audeze LCD XC and not only does the HA 1 have more power for whatever reason it also sounds better. Tiny details hidden in the mix are clearer. Oppo knows just where the point of diminishing returns is and I'm very happy with mine.

 
What kind of music did you play?  I play classical & opera and cannot really tell the difference between the 105D headphone jack and my high-end tube amp.

 

[hikinokie]

   
What kind of music did you play?  I play classical & opera and cannot really tell the difference between the 105D headphone jack and my high-end tube amp.

Whatever takes a boatload of talent to play. I listen to classical, contemporary jazz but mainly focus on strings like Strunz and Farrah and Acoustic Alchemy. With my Ha 1 and Audeze you can really tell the difference between poorly recorded and excellently engineered music.

 

[Canadian411]

  Could the RCA out and the XLR out be used at the same time, going to different things? Such as XLR to balanced Tube amp and RCA to Active Speakers?

Should work, I connect my Oppo RCA out to Marantz power amp to my tower speakers.

 

[andrewcox79]

I've had an HA-1 for about a year now, but used it only for headphones so far. I am starting to think about hooking it up to some powered monitors (but haven't bought them yet). I'd really like to be able to toggle only one or the other on, without having to disconnect anything.

I see peoples' complaints that it always outputs to both headphones and pre-outs at the same time, so just removing the headphones from the jack does not do the switching. Not really a big deal for what I want to do, since I don't want to have to disconnect headphones to switch (it makes things simple, sure, but I just don't want to have to do it). Having to hit a mute button that's only on the remote (configured to mute the pre-outs only) when I want to listen to headphones doesn't bother me... I've always got the remote handy anyway, but is there I can output only to speakers w/o pulling the headphones from the jack?

Is there a way using just:
 
 digital source (e.g. usb from computer) -> oppo ha-1 -> headphone out to headphones AND pre-out to powered monitors
 
to switch back and forth between speakers only and headphones only, without having to disconnect/reconnect my headphones all the time?
 
And if the answer is no w/ just that setup, if you have home theater bypass on, does mute still mute the pre-outs? If not I guess I could use mute to turn off headphones and use speakers, and put a schiit sys in between ha-1 and speakers to be able to turn off the output to the speaker inputs while I'm using headphones...?