[driftingbunnies]

LMAO once again...

With your honesty Drift why dont u start your own Discord and share your wisdom with all!

You will attract many fair and balanced people!!

Cant wait!!!

I actually do have my own discord. I welcome everyone to join and do not ban those who have a differing opinion than me.

 

[adydula]

Hey thats really great all the best with that!!

All the best!
Alex

 

[paradoxper]

Excellent review.

For the non-planar'ed world, this amp sits right there at the top.

I do feel they could have developed more market share with a lower price, however, their earned reputation is likely the tradeoff they were looking for.

 

[jonathan c]

Excellent review.

For the non-planar'ed world, this amp sits right there at the top.

I do feel they could have developed more market share with a lower price, however, their earned reputation is likely the tradeoff they were looking for.

Nelson’s response to more market share?...I Pass

 

[paradoxper]

Well, this is their first headamp.

I consider their response more to be "this is just the beginning."

 

[donato]

Excellent review.

For the non-planar'ed world, this amp sits right there at the top.

I do feel they could have developed more market share with a lower price, however, their earned reputation is likely the tradeoff they were looking for.

It's already the least expensive product they make, so maybe they're not looking to go too far "down" market and erode the hi end perception of their brand. It could certainly open up their brand to so many others and possibly be the gateway for others to their other products. Based on sound quality, I think most of this thread have found it worth the price of admission. I do also wish the HPA-1 would get more attention (I tried reviving the HPA-1 thread here on headfi just a week or two before Alex posted his review, but almost no responses).

For power hungry headphones, I've been raving about the Pass XA25 speaker amp, but it even works great with HPs with lower power requirements if you can manage the gain (it's also the quietest amp that Pass makes with only 50uv of noise. My X150.5 had 200uv of noise and it was intrusively audible on all but my least sensitive HPs). I'm using an XP-12 preamp now, but I really should try out the line stage in the HPA-1. To my ears the HPA-1 is more neutral than the XP-12/XA2 (Personally, I prefer a a bit of warmth).

 

[adydula]

I used to do lots of reviews across multiple sites but it got to be a real burden and often lead to disagreements between folks....I still comment and have a private discord.

But every once in awhile when I find a really stellar product, like the PassLabs HPA-1 well I have to give credit where credit is do.
I was abit shocked that this amp came out several years ago, like 2016! And it has many older reviews, most all are stellar.

Its not the nice new "shiny" thing any more and it costs $3,500. Not exactly cheap but all the good stuff is our there today, with even more power!

Today I would think many reviewers might contrast this amp against other lower cost more power amps in a negative light....always a new nice new shiny thing to fall in love with.

But this amp is indeed special and it has Nelson Pass's name on regardless of who designed it...and this keeps many of the wolves at bay. Nelson has done tons of good for many DIY's and helped advance many "appliance operators" to better educated and informed enthusiasts....

So I am glad to do my small part here to gain some attention to this stellar headphone amp....

I did contact Pass several times about "stuff" concerning the HPA-1 and always got a reply in a timely fashion from Desmond at Pass.

I did ask about a future balanced amp and I guess they are thinking of one....but its not on the drawing table according to them...my guess is in a few years...and then at what cost?

I dont know how many of these were made, but its probably not in the thousands would be my guess...??

Alex

 

[paradoxper]

Nelson’s response to more market share?...I Pass

LOL

I totally missed the ... beforehand.

 

[driftingbunnies]

How does the HPA-1 compare with other amps though? You mentioned you've tried so many different amps but you never compared the HPA-1 to them. If it's the best amp you've ever heard, what makes you think that? I know you're a huge advocator of the Jot 2. Is that $400 amp able to beat this $2400 used amp? If not, why not?

 

[adydula]

The amp i have is not a $2400 amp and its not used??????
Please define "beat"??

Alex

 

[driftingbunnies]

The amp i have is not a $2400 amp and its not used??????
Please define "beat"??

Alex

As you've seen in my previous posts on this thread, many have sold for $2400 or less. That's what I meant by "$2400 used amp". So when I look at gear to purchase, I see how much I can get the gear at regardless of if it's new or old. Currently there are no used Jot 2's on sale so I would still consider it a $400 amp. Since you've mentioned multiple times this came out in 2016, I would consider used pricing as a reasonable price point to look at it.

Beat - Merriam-Webster defines it as
4a: OVERCOME, DEFEAT
beat the insurgents in a bloody battle
beating your opponent in chess
They beat us 14 to 3.

also : SURPASS
She beat the old record by three seconds.—often used with out
Someone else beat her out for the job.


I don't believe it's unusual for people to ask the question, does one amp outperform the other. Since this question is directed to you, you can define how or if the HPA-1 beats the Jot. If it does not, maybe you can explain why you believe they are equal.

 

[adydula]

Drift what are you really asking???

Would stating the HPA-1 is typically heavier than most amps so this must mean that this beats them?

LMAO once again.

 

[driftingbunnies]

So obviously you don't want to answer the question. If you believe that weight is what defines an amp, then sure. That doesn't really help me determine if the HPA-1 is worth my time. If you truly wanted to shine some light on this amp for others to see, I'm not sure why this is such a difficult question for you.

 

[adydula]

Oh the front faceplate is 1/2 " think so another item that beats other amps...

Why isnt weight an objective measurement??
Dont some reviewers state light weight amps slide all over the place??

My advice to YOU. Is if many of these amps are selling so often. Buy one. And determine with YOUR own ears how good or bad it is and stop relying on others to do the work....

LMAO

 

[driftingbunnies]

Like I said, if you truly believe that weight is what defines an amp, then that's fine. I guess I shouldn't be entirely surprised since you spent a good portion of your review talking about how huge the knob is and how solidly built the chassis is. Thanks for your time. It seems like all this amp is good for is weighing down a desk.