[Paul Graham]

Hey, the HA-2 even does an amazing job with the LCD-2 rev.1 (not to mention the PM-1, PM-3, and HD800.) I don't have a lot of headphones compared to some people, so I'm not trying to take anyone on a tour of my profile, but the fact is those I've just listed all sound great on the Oppo HA-2.

The HD800 amazes me the most, because it's incompatible with so many desktop amps that I bought and sold, yet not only do I like the way it sounds with the HA-2, I actually prefer how the HD800 sounds on the HA-2 to how it sounds on the Oppo HA-1 desktop rig, single-ended or balanced out. The HA-1 is king, however, for the inefficient LCD-2 rev.1. Those two are married for life.

In truth, even though the little HA-2 competes well against his big brother, beating him with the HD800, I can squeeze out noticeably better dynamics, with a only a slight loss of transparency by taking a Line Out from the HA-2 to an iBasso PB2, as shown here:



And while I'm throwing the HA-1 under the bus (neglecting to sing its due praises) I'll add that the HA-1's USB receiver is every so slightly grainy compared to the ultra clean USB input of the Oppo HA-2, with every USB source I've tried, including my cleanest - an iPad 3 with CCK > UpTone Audio USB Regen.



iDevices for streaming Tidal Hifi, USB from a Sony Walkman for my FLAC collection, or USB from a Win7 laptop for Tidal or FLAC, I frequently switch between sources and headphones with the HA-2 and it always pleases.

HOW did you make that hirose to 4 pole xlr pigtail? Im trying to make the same and am stuck on what wire goes where.

 

[zilch0md]

HOW did you make that hirose to 4 pole xlr pigtail? Im trying to make the same and am stuck on what wire goes where.

Hi Paul,

I bought that cable when iBasso was still making them, but here's a link to a post that has the pin out you need:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/iba...-op-amps-page-16.528149/page-76#post-11020431



Mike

 

[zilch0md]

Oppo Digital will stop manufacturing all of their hardware, shortly.

See this page posted a couple of hours ago at the Oppo Digital web site:

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

 

[koover]

Oppo will stop manufacturing all of their hardware, shortly.

See this page posted a couple of hours ago at the Oppo Digital web site:

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

That's really unfortunate. I was just getting ready to upgrade my Bluray player to their latest/greatest. Streaming, digital downloads and 2018 is rearing it's ugly head. The kids nowadays just aren't interested in quality audio and video and they're the now and future. I have close to 3000 Blurays and everyone that's younger then 30 thinks I'm psychotic and don't understand why I don't stream and tell me it looks just as good as 1080P and 4K AND on their phone. I try explaining the benefits of physical media and it's quality to ownership and they just don't get it and laugh it off. They also look at all my headphones and gear and think exactly the same as they do with my blurays. They say a barebone phone with Beats HP's or included Samsung galaxy/IPhone earbuds is great and why do I need all that. It's all passing me and all us "older" enthusiasts by. This is sad news as they have quality products. I just bought a like new to me HA-2 and love it. Damn! You know what they say? You can pry my physical media/gear from my cold dead hands.

 

[zilch0md]

My advice would be to go ahead and order whatever you had in mind, while you can.

If you can find a functioning "Buy" button on an Oppo Digital store page, that product is still in stock.

Note that I was also told they will be supporting the products all the way through warranty expiration.

 

[timbukktwo]

Woa-

Didn’t know this! Godspeed. I wonder why?

 

[y0da_cod3r]

Guys, The Oppo HA-2 still a good investment if I find used? Better than the Fiio Q1 m2?

 

[koover]

Depends on how much you can get it for. I dont have nor heard the Fiio Q1 or m2 so I can’t comment nor in the position to make a recommendation.

What I can say is that I own both the HA-2 and DFR (highly regarded for its DAC) and I most certainly like the Oppo better by a large margin. The upside with the DFR is its portability and ergonomics.

The Oppo has more power and the ability to drive higher impedence HP’s because of the high/low gain switch. That’s nice. The bass is nice and tight, mids are pretty much spot on and the treble on my Meze’s brings it up just a bit as they are a pretty warm sounding HP. It also has a bass boost that I never use as it really goes after a mid bass boost that can sound bloated and much slower with poor decay. The Oppo has a nice rich sound signature that makes both my Meze’s sing. They’re a great match with awesome synergy.

I know when they originally came out it was pretty much one of the best you could get. It’s STILL is a great unit and I thouroghly enjoy it.

If you can get this unit for under $200 it’s an attractive unit that sounds really great. My 2 cents. Good luck and maybe someone can compare the Fiio and Oppo.

 

[DrunkSaru]

I have to agree with @koover completely. Also my personal opinion but I bought the First gen HA-2 a few months after it came out while there was only one review out but I loved the form factor so I bought it, only to realize afterwards that it was amazing.
I used to have the Fiio Q1 first gen but sound quality wise, I prefer the HA-2 hands down.
Now things could be different with the mk2 but with mk1, it had an outstanding DAC for the price and the implementation was great but I had my issues with the amp. at low levels, it just didn't power certain HP's well and when you increase the volume, depending on the HP used, it would start distorting a lot so I only recommended to friends who were really on a budget but wanted something beyond what their phone could power. I understand the MK2 has a different amp now (so I think I'm not the only one who had the issue with the amp) but I have not heard it so I can't give you my impressions on it but i recall hearing or reading somewhere that it's the same amp as the AM3 module so I would assume it's gotten a lot better. Most of my headphones are warm so it pairs very nicely with my HA2 to get that slightly brighter sound but I remember with the Q1, it just maintained the warmth or got a bit darker and I feel FiiO has always been like that. The last thing I have to throw out there is the MK2 has a 2.5 balanced it looks like. Most manufacturers, when including a balanced jack, will generally try to make the balanced sound better making the regular 3.5 jack a secondary thought. This is something I hate about astell and kern because they always do this to me. IF! Fiio is doing something similar, and you don't have any 2.5 balanced HP, the HA-2 would be more recommended. Ok, that's my 2 cents.

All that said, if my HA2 ever broke, I am highly considering the Fiio Q5 (Just saying since I feel like I kinda totally bashed Fiio, but I do like their products for the price)

 

[y0da_cod3r]

Thanks, both of you for the insights! It was more than 2 cents for me. I bought it at a good price and in good shape. I will test when it arrives. I don't have balanced cables and for the price of a balanced cable, I will try the Oppo. The Q1 is good but I think with the HD600 the Oppo will perform better. I really like neutral signature.

 

[franz12]

I owned oppo ha-2, though gifted to my father, am a currnet owner of fiio q5.

If the price difference between the two is $100, I would suggest you to get fiio q5, solely based on bluetooth and a better amp section. To my ears, even with a single end output, fiio q5 drives my ether c flow better than the oppo ha-2. Also, your appetite for a desktop setup will diminish, once you realize how convenient bluetooth function is which the q5 offers.

If the price difference is $200, it is your choice.

 

[GiullianSN]

I had the OPPO HA-2SE and now I own the FiiO Q5. Both are being sold for similar price here in AUS.

Oppo is clearer and has a bit more power on the single ended output. I used to like the form factor and sound signature of the Oppo more than the Q5, but I sold it as I lost completely my patience with the signal drops using any iDevice. It's freaking annoying. So if you're planning to use it with any iDevice, think twice and runaway from the Oppo.

Q5 is a really good one and you can upgrade the amp if you need. I didn't have any problem with it as I had with the Oppo and the Bluetooth on the Q5 is really good. I'm now using the balanced output on it and I have no problem at all.

 

[DDDYKI]

Just received a used HA-2, haven't had much time with it. I have the 10cm left-angle Micro-USB to C cable everyone is talking about (bought when the Shanling M1 came out in 2016 and their included micro to C cable wasn't working properly) and it only works with the HA-2 occasionally. But again, I need more testing.

Anyway, my HA-2 didn't come with the AC power adapter. I know the USB cable supports VOCC charging, and the AC adapter is supposed to. Does it matter what adapter I use, or should I try and seek out an HA-2 VOCC power adapter?

 

[koover]

I had the OPPO HA-2SE and now I own the FiiO Q5. Both are being sold for similar price here in AUS.

Oppo is clearer and has a bit more power on the single ended output. I used to like the form factor and sound signature of the Oppo more than the Q5, but I sold it as I lost completely my patience with the signal drops using any iDevice. It's freaking annoying. So if you're planning to use it with any iDevice, think twice and runaway from the Oppo.

Q5 is a really good one and you can upgrade the amp if you need. I didn't have any problem with it as I had with the Oppo and the Bluetooth on the Q5 is really good. I'm now using the balanced output on it and I have no problem at all.

Old post I know but I had the same dropouts with my IPhone 7+ and almost threw it against the wall out of frustration. Didn’t do it because I wouldn’t be able to sell it then.
But I found that all I had to do was toggle to airplane mode and it was perfect after. Have never experienced a dropout since.
Of course the downside is, you’ve now rendered your phone useless and can only be used as a player. Also, only what’s downloaded from your music service will Work since no internet.

 

[PetZoundz]

Just an FYI, with the latest iPhone X iOS updates, I've had no dropouts with the HA-2.