OPPO HA-2 Portable Headphone Amplifier/DAC Discussion Thread

[lextek]

So will this work with older iPhones with the 30 pin dock connector?

 

[50188]

Really interesting, I wait for reviews specially how it handles sensitive iems (why not put a 3 gain levels?)

 

[shigzeo]

  damn that price 

 even FiiO can't compete entirely, especially design. 

Honestly, the days racing to the bottom may be over for companies that have made a name by undercutting the competition. Oppo may well be the disruptor the market didn't know they were waiting for.

 

[IAMBLEST]

Honestly, the days racing to the bottom may be over for companies that have made a name by undercutting the competition. Oppo may well be the disruptor the market didn't know they were waiting for.

Agreed. They did it with the HA 1 as well. Their products are premium quality at very reasonable prices.

 

[shigzeo]

I worded the above poorly. While Oppo's prices are reasonable, their commitment to quality build, ergonomic designs, and ease of use, are bar none, the best in the price class. The problem is that looking at the rest of the market now that is billed at similar prices makes me want to clear my nose. 

 

[gavinfabl]

I've bought one. Imagine it will arrive by Wednesday. I currently using hifimediy-sabre-android-usb-dac with a Cayin C5 which sounds great but I don't like the wires as it's messy. Sound is excellent. Will be happy to answer any questions after I've had a listen ☺☺☺☺

 

[money4me247]

random question, wld the remote for ios/android still work if you use is as a dac+amp or just an amp?

im guessing no, but wld love some1 to test

 

[NZheadcase]

This may sound stupid, but if I attach my OPPO phone to this amp with those rubber bands, will that interfere with the touch screen interface permanently? Like how can you select songs if they are touching the screen?

Don't worry, the worst that could happen is they will obscure part of the screen. The bands won't activate the touch screen. It will still work.

Usually I prefer velcro. But that leather, dang! Have to think of a better way...

 

[HasturTheYellow]

So will this work with older iPhones with the 30 pin dock connector?

 
Yes, but you will just need to use your own cable.

 

[HasturTheYellow]

This may sound stupid, but if I attach my OPPO phone to this amp with those rubber bands, will that interfere with the touch screen interface permanently? Like how can you select songs if they are touching the screen?

 
No. Most touch screens will not recognize the bands as being an acceptable input, so you will just want to make sure that you put the bands in a location (like the very top and bottom of the phone) to allow for as much access to the touch screen as possible.
 
EDIT: Looks like I was 8 minutes too late, as NZheadcase had already correctly replied.

 

[lextek]

Yes, but you will just need to use your own cable.

Thanks. Great news. Loved the PM-1s on loaner program. Looks like a great portable option.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Has anyone tried this using the walkman Line-out? how does it sound?

 

[lukeap69]

@Iamblest
The rubber band may prove to be annoying. Look at your phone and see where you can place the rubber bands without affecting the functionalites. This will depend on the space your screen occupies and the music app you will use.

 

[gixxerwimp]

Been lurking for a while, but my research on USB DAC/amps and reading the original announcement thread in its entirety has me signing up to post here

 
I'm looking for a DAC/amp to use with my Samsung Note 3 and Galaxy S3. On paper, I've narrowed down my choices to the HA-2 and the Leckerton UHA760. The 760 has crossfeed, 3-way gain, and reviews say the background noise is nonexistent. The HA-2 is way sexier-looking, thinner, has charge indicator LEDs, and can double as a portable USB charger.
 
shigzeo said he heard some hiss. Can anyone sensitive to hiss comment, from either the beta units or a production unit? I'll be using my recently acquired ER•4Ps and would think I'll be able to hear it with those if there's any that's significant.
 
Regarding charging while playing, in the announcement thread zilch0md said:
 

zilch0md /img/forum/go_quote.gif

The HA-2 accepts digital inputs from USB, iOS and Android devices plus analog line level input from other DACs or even headphone out from DAPs (if you don't mind double-amping from a "weak" DAP, like a Sansa Clip+ or an Altman Tera Player).

Yesterday, I confirmed that the HA-2 can charge an iOS device while playing (or not playing) and while plugged into its 4.5 Amp charger (or not). That's right - while I was using my iPad Mini as a digital source, with the HA-2 on High Gain to my Audeze LCD-2, I turned on the option to charge the iPad and saw the lightning bolt symbol appear next to the green battery symbol, even though the HA-2 was not plugged into its AC charger!

Obviously, charging the iOS device while playing music takes a toll on the HA-2 battery's play time when not also plugged into the AC charger, but I was amazed that I could detect no impact on sound quality as I toggled on and off the charging of my IPad Mini, while it was streaming from Amazon Cloud player via WiFi.

Equally amazing is that with the HA-2 using the AC charger while charging and playing from the iPad Mini, it kept the IPad Mini pegged at 100% charge through about an hour and a half of "desktop" use in this mode. The HA-2 never got hot, as I had expected, and later, when I disconnected the iPad Mini, the HA-2's own battery topped off in just a couple of minutes. In other words, the 4.5 Amp charger can just about keep up with powering everything simultaneously even when the HA-2 is charging an iPad Mini while it's using WiFi.

 
But on p. 11 of the user's manual, it says:
 

CAUTION: When the HA-2 is being charged, it cannot supply power to an external device at the same time.

 
So it would seem that the HA-2 is supposed to be able to charge an external device during playback without its AC charger connected, and not supposed to be able to charge another device when it's AC charger is connected, contrary to what zilch0md discovered. It seemed to work for his iCrap Mini (USB A port), as the HA-2 is charged from its USB micro-B port.
 
I would be curious to know if the HA-2 can support USB DAC playback from an Android device through a powered USB hub, allowing both devices to charge while in use (I don't even know if this is possible, not having any experience with powered USB hubs). This would let me use it continuously on a trans-continental/oceanic flight. Although I suppose I could take a 30 min break and use the VOOC Rapid Charger!
 
I've never owned a dedicated headphone amp, but have done some (non-blind) comparisons between the S3 and the headphone output of my NAD D 3020 with DT 1350s and Redbook FLAC. The difference was far from night and day, but the D 3020 seems to have tighter, punchier bass, more open sounding mids, and cleaner, slightly more extended highs. Had a hard time volume matching and unplug/plugging from one source to the other with no A/B box.
 
Going down to my favourite headphone shop later today to convince myself it'll be worthwhile spending US$3-400 to make my music a bit less portable

 
 
[Edited formatting and punctuation]

 

[gerelmx1986]

I don't trust on VOOC Rapid charging technology at all
 
I've had a couple of DELL Laptops with rapid charging technology only to have ruined the battery in less than 2 years