OPPO HA-2 Portable Headphone Amplifier/DAC Discussion Thread
Today I paired the iPhone -> HA~2 with the Grado RS-1, when compared to my Desktop rig of iMac 2011 -> Modi Optical -> Schiit Asgard 2. As I commented in my HA-2 review using the Oppo PM-3, my initial impression was that the RS-1 pairing wasn’t as happy.
On Samuel Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra, the file was Apple’s 256k in both instances. The HA-2 pulled in the soundstage a bit, thickened the mid-bass (the upper register in the stand-up basses) a bit, and pulled some of the sweetness and clarity from the violins and trumpets in upper register. This is interesting because my perception of the pairing with the PM-3 was that it helped the PM-3 deliver more treble clarity and soundstage than the iPhone alone, more than the Sound Blaster e5 (without DSP). But clarity and an open soundstage are the reason-for-being Grados in general, and the RS-1 was once the top of their line.
The Grados do not, as a function of their essence, deliver the whomp of electric bass, even though they can reproduce the depth of the note with great precision. The sound wave dissipates into the air behind the driver rather than slamming into your head. Every once in a while, Joe Walsh has tried his hand at portraying an unabashedly beautiful love song, and his cover of “I’ll Tell The World About You” (Apple lossless from CD) is one of those, with a spine-massaging bass in the opening notes. (As in, “Sure, honey, I’ll give you a back rub.”) The HA-2 rig provided a firmer massage, but the acoustic guitar notes overhanging that bass were not as angelic. The bite in the electric guitar interlude was very satisfying on the HA-2 rig. The sincere Walsh whine was equally plaintive in both rigs. Again, a more spacious sense of soundstage was heard on the Desktop rig.
In all, I’d say its a good thing that I think of the RS-1 as a desktop-specific listen, because my Desktop rig brings out what makes the RS-1 a worthwhile option in my collection. But no one who has experienced Grado only through an iPhone will walk away unimpressed from an HA-2-enhanced listen. As I’ve said in my HA-2 review, I just think the Oppo PM-3 pairing brings the better part of both headphones and amp/DAC when using the HA-2 with an iPhone.
On Samuel Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra, the file was Apple’s 256k in both instances. The HA-2 pulled in the soundstage a bit, thickened the mid-bass (the upper register in the stand-up basses) a bit, and pulled some of the sweetness and clarity from the violins and trumpets in upper register. This is interesting because my perception of the pairing with the PM-3 was that it helped the PM-3 deliver more treble clarity and soundstage than the iPhone alone, more than the Sound Blaster e5 (without DSP). But clarity and an open soundstage are the reason-for-being Grados in general, and the RS-1 was once the top of their line.
The Grados do not, as a function of their essence, deliver the whomp of electric bass, even though they can reproduce the depth of the note with great precision. The sound wave dissipates into the air behind the driver rather than slamming into your head. Every once in a while, Joe Walsh has tried his hand at portraying an unabashedly beautiful love song, and his cover of “I’ll Tell The World About You” (Apple lossless from CD) is one of those, with a spine-massaging bass in the opening notes. (As in, “Sure, honey, I’ll give you a back rub.”) The HA-2 rig provided a firmer massage, but the acoustic guitar notes overhanging that bass were not as angelic. The bite in the electric guitar interlude was very satisfying on the HA-2 rig. The sincere Walsh whine was equally plaintive in both rigs. Again, a more spacious sense of soundstage was heard on the Desktop rig.
In all, I’d say its a good thing that I think of the RS-1 as a desktop-specific listen, because my Desktop rig brings out what makes the RS-1 a worthwhile option in my collection. But no one who has experienced Grado only through an iPhone will walk away unimpressed from an HA-2-enhanced listen. As I’ve said in my HA-2 review, I just think the Oppo PM-3 pairing brings the better part of both headphones and amp/DAC when using the HA-2 with an iPhone.
In my review of the HA-2, I noted that my one brief listen to the HA-2 paired with my (original version) Sennheiser Momentum On-ear wasn’t a great pairing. Recently I set out to test that first impression more thoroughly.
Topline: the HA-2 does improve over the iPhone alone with the Senn Momentum On-ears, just enough in the bass to justify the extra fuss of taking it along.
The Senn Momentum On-ear are my go-to phones once the Central Florida weather turns too icky for my better headphones’ ear pads. The Momentum On-ears have the Alcantara material, and whatever the heck it is, it avoids creating a sweat storm while walking around in the heat. (If it were an option on the over-ear Momentum I would have bought a pair by now.)
So this means the transport for music is my iPhone. These Senn cans have a somewhat U-shaped frequency response, so if anything, the mid-bass and mid-treble should be pulled back with an eq. But for walking about, that perkiness is often just the ticket. Consequently, my Sound Blaster e5 never seemed to improve the Senn sound enough to justify the extra fussing (in contrast to how I felt the e5 DSP/eq helped improve the NAD Viso HP50).
Today I kept jacking and re-jacking along my walk from the iPhone -> HA-2 -> Senn ( Option A) to the iPhone -> Senn (Opt B). With Opt A, I found I preferred the High setting on the HA-2 because it seems to lend a greater clarity to the treble (at comparable volume).
On Maynard Ferguson’s “Carnival” cut, which I have owned on vinyl played by mid-fi equipment, my thrills with the brass rendition of “Birdland” has always been a bit tempered by the recorded sound of the electric bass - a bit too muddy and indistinct on vinyl. I lucked out with iTunes Match and was able to download their AAC file rather than my rip-from-vinyl. With Opt B (no HA-2), the bass remained as I had remembered, not so great. But with Opt A, the HA-2 brought some string tremble to the instrument, a texture I welcomed. So does the HA-2 just boost the mid-bass compared to the iPhone alone? (I checked, and “bass boost” was off, so it wasn’t that.)
Hearing the Ellington Orchestra on Digital Duke play “Sophisticated Lady” reassured me about the “rightness” of Opt A. When a tenor sax goes low and honks, it shouldn’t sound like an alto with extended range. There’s an oomph and growl in the tenor’s lower register. The HA-2 brought that out in a way I felt true to what I’ve heard “live."
Other comparisons were less dramatic, but generally the HA-2 provided a more robust sound that seems more musical and true. Diana Krall’s voice isn’t thickened unhappily as a consequence, either.
The pairing with the Senn isn’t as stunningly “right” as the pairing of Oppo HA-2 with Oppo PM-3 headphones. But it is a fine DAC/amp and I expect I’ll use it more often in the summer heat than I would have thought at first.
Topline: the HA-2 does improve over the iPhone alone with the Senn Momentum On-ears, just enough in the bass to justify the extra fuss of taking it along.
The Senn Momentum On-ear are my go-to phones once the Central Florida weather turns too icky for my better headphones’ ear pads. The Momentum On-ears have the Alcantara material, and whatever the heck it is, it avoids creating a sweat storm while walking around in the heat. (If it were an option on the over-ear Momentum I would have bought a pair by now.)
So this means the transport for music is my iPhone. These Senn cans have a somewhat U-shaped frequency response, so if anything, the mid-bass and mid-treble should be pulled back with an eq. But for walking about, that perkiness is often just the ticket. Consequently, my Sound Blaster e5 never seemed to improve the Senn sound enough to justify the extra fussing (in contrast to how I felt the e5 DSP/eq helped improve the NAD Viso HP50).
Today I kept jacking and re-jacking along my walk from the iPhone -> HA-2 -> Senn ( Option A) to the iPhone -> Senn (Opt B). With Opt A, I found I preferred the High setting on the HA-2 because it seems to lend a greater clarity to the treble (at comparable volume).
On Maynard Ferguson’s “Carnival” cut, which I have owned on vinyl played by mid-fi equipment, my thrills with the brass rendition of “Birdland” has always been a bit tempered by the recorded sound of the electric bass - a bit too muddy and indistinct on vinyl. I lucked out with iTunes Match and was able to download their AAC file rather than my rip-from-vinyl. With Opt B (no HA-2), the bass remained as I had remembered, not so great. But with Opt A, the HA-2 brought some string tremble to the instrument, a texture I welcomed. So does the HA-2 just boost the mid-bass compared to the iPhone alone? (I checked, and “bass boost” was off, so it wasn’t that.)
Hearing the Ellington Orchestra on Digital Duke play “Sophisticated Lady” reassured me about the “rightness” of Opt A. When a tenor sax goes low and honks, it shouldn’t sound like an alto with extended range. There’s an oomph and growl in the tenor’s lower register. The HA-2 brought that out in a way I felt true to what I’ve heard “live."
Other comparisons were less dramatic, but generally the HA-2 provided a more robust sound that seems more musical and true. Diana Krall’s voice isn’t thickened unhappily as a consequence, either.
The pairing with the Senn isn’t as stunningly “right” as the pairing of Oppo HA-2 with Oppo PM-3 headphones. But it is a fine DAC/amp and I expect I’ll use it more often in the summer heat than I would have thought at first.
By the way, coming from more mid-fi headphones driven by receivers experiences, I once though all this talk of "pairing" being better or worse to be hype. Once an amp is better, its better for all phones, I thought then. Thanks to the community, I opened my ears to the possibility of pairing, and I've come around to that way of thinking.
RCBinTN
Headphoneus Supremus
Hi All,
Testing my mobile rig getting ready for some travel. The rig is: AK120ii DAP -> Oppo HA-2 amp -> Shure SE846 or LCD-X.
I find this to be a tremendous mobile rig. The AK120ii has superb DACs and delivers very resolving music. The Oppo HA-2 is a very competent/smooth amp with plenty of punch and a black floor. Totally silent. IMO, this rig can drive any IEM or low-impedance HP to a very nice SQ.
With the SE846, the sound is sublime. With the LCD-X, the sound is quite good, not as much punch as my home rig but there's a nicely controlled bass and the mids/treble are just great. I listened at length tonight to the LCD-X and was impressed. I was also using my Wywires Red HP cable that is fully broken-in...makes a difference!
While I am not impressed with the HA-2 as a DAC/amp, when using it purely as a mobile amp it's very excellent. That's why I bought it
.
FWIW,
RCB
Testing my mobile rig getting ready for some travel. The rig is: AK120ii DAP -> Oppo HA-2 amp -> Shure SE846 or LCD-X.
I find this to be a tremendous mobile rig. The AK120ii has superb DACs and delivers very resolving music. The Oppo HA-2 is a very competent/smooth amp with plenty of punch and a black floor. Totally silent. IMO, this rig can drive any IEM or low-impedance HP to a very nice SQ.
With the SE846, the sound is sublime. With the LCD-X, the sound is quite good, not as much punch as my home rig but there's a nicely controlled bass and the mids/treble are just great. I listened at length tonight to the LCD-X and was impressed. I was also using my Wywires Red HP cable that is fully broken-in...makes a difference!
While I am not impressed with the HA-2 as a DAC/amp, when using it purely as a mobile amp it's very excellent. That's why I bought it
.FWIW,
RCB
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Hi All,
Testing my mobile rig getting ready for some travel. The rig is: AK120ii DAP -> Oppo HA-2 amp -> Shure SE846 or LCD-X.
I find this to be a tremendous mobile rig. The AK120ii has superb DACs and delivers very resolving music. The Oppo HA-2 is a very competent/smooth amp with plenty of punch and a black floor. Totally silent. IMO, this rig can drive any IEM or low-impedance HP to a very nice SQ.
With the SE846, the sound is sublime. With the LCD-X, the sound is quite good, not as much punch as my home rig but there's a nicely controlled bass and the mids/treble are just great. I listened at length tonight to the LCD-X and was impressed. I was also using my Wywires Red HP cable that is fully broken-in...makes a difference!
While I am not impressed with the HA-2 as a DAC/amp, when using it purely as a mobile amp it's very excellent. That's why I bought it
FWIW,
RCB
Glad to hear your setup is working well for you. That's especially hard for road gear.
I must mention that I have been using the HA-2 with the SE846 as well. In my experience, there is a noticeable hiss coming from the HA-2.
I think we might have discussed this earlier; or was that in another thread?
Mine with a iPhone 6s does it occasionally not very often though. I assumed it was RFI if I seperate them an inch it so it goes away. Can out if airplane mode but then can't stream Tidal.
andreiru
100+ Head-Fier
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Yeah, when in airplane it stop. Thats not an option since it's a phone meant for receiving calls. Lucky i don't use it on the go.
RCBinTN
Headphoneus Supremus
Glad to hear your setup is working well for you. That's especially hard for road gear.
I must mention that I have been using the HA-2 with the SE846 as well. In my experience, there is a noticeable hiss coming from the HA-2.
I think we might have discussed this earlier; or was that in another thread?
I do remember discussing the hiss issue - and don't remember that it was ever resolved, unfortunately.
One thing to note - I am not using an iPhone as the source - I am using an AK120ii. Mine is a dedicated music system. The AK is the DAC, and the Oppo HA-2 acts only as the amplifier (setting "C") so it receives an analogue signal from the AK. Not sure that many folks out there are using the Oppo in this way. With this set-up, what I experience is no hiss, a very black floor (silent), and nice power from the Oppo to drive the IEM or cans.
Hope this helps,
RCB
stilleh
100+ Head-Fier
Just got an Oneplus3 mobilephone that I want to pair with my ha-2. Anyone know of a good USB micro to USB C cable that will work?
sergio789
New Head-Fier
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hi all, usure as to whats happening. Acquired ha-2 and trying to hook it up to PC as external DAC. Installed oppo driver. Next... how do I make my WIN Media Player play it via USB into HA-2? "Open with" menu doesn't give an option to play via HA-2... please help.
Thanks
Thanks
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Did you change your default audio device in for Windows?
On your status bar, on the far right, there is the speaker icon. Right click it and go to audio devices. Then select the HA-2 and make it the default audio device. It should then play all of your sounds through the HA-2.
Alternatively, you can use foobar2000 to play your music and it allows you to select your output device so you don't have to change the default player in Windows. Music plays out of the HA-2 and other Windows sounds still play out of your speakers.
myemaildw
Headphoneus Supremus
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Ive heard this dac oppo ha2 yesterday in a hifi store, and i didnt feel that it was any upgrade to the zuperdac zorloo, and it wasnt all that loud as it looks, design is a copy of iphone 5 5se, if hugo mojo sounds as ha2 thats really nothing that good. im disapointed by the dac and hype, its cheaper just to buy a zorloo zuperdac. but it is not worse than zuperdac, but ha2 sounds dry and plain for a device at the price today its so so. but maybe people use it for other reasons like to charge iphone at same time. but today we have otg apple cable with lighting port to power iphone while you listen to a usb dac.
Jimmy101
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So I've had the HA-2 for a couple of weeks now and today the radio interference becomes so bad that it is actually stopping the Tidal stream frim my 6s. The static is present even with no music streaming so not a Tidal issue.
I switched to the HifiM8 and no problem. I assume there is some kind of sheilding built into these devices and my ha-2 has a problem there. Airplane mode cures the problem as does separating the phone from the amp neither of which is an acceptable fix.
Any suggestions?
I switched to the HifiM8 and no problem. I assume there is some kind of sheilding built into these devices and my ha-2 has a problem there. Airplane mode cures the problem as does separating the phone from the amp neither of which is an acceptable fix.
Any suggestions?
Jimmy101
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Just looked backward on the thread and see that the issue of RFI has already been posed but no cure suggested. Looks like it may be going back. Shame...
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