AudioMan2013
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2013
- Posts
- 307
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- 55
When you say Ice Picks from the HA-1....did you hear it warmed up? I say this because my HA-1 sounds harsh if not up to temp ( Have determined about ~ 45 minutes)....also what HP's did you use? I think that Class A amp rocks and not the least bit harsh after warming up completely!...IMO!
HA-1 does sound harsh, sterile, uninvolving, and bright. It is the sound signature of all ESS dacs. I have the HA1, HA2, Ibasso DX100, Onkyo DP-X1, BDP105D, and the BDP95, they all have this signature sound. Not that this is a bad thing, it is just different because there are all different kind of ears. What makes a huge difference is pairing them with the proper headphones and speakers.
My favorite dacs use a Burr Brown chips PCM1704U and second favorite is PCM1792A. To my ears these are much more smooth and cause less fatigue. Perhaps I am a bit more sensitive in the high frequencies than other people. I've spent so much on ESS dacs and they have their place. I don't think I will be buying any more ESS based equipment for a while. There hasn't been anything new from TI/BB in a while. I would love to see a new version of the 1704. I will branch out to Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic, and Asahi Kasei Microdevices.