T+A Solitaire P planar magnetostatic

[audionewbi]

By the sound of it, the headphone is a miss for that price, but I love to read more about HA-200.

 

[mike1953]

I'm currently auditioning the HA200/ Solitaire P at home (thanks Phil!). I've had the amp here for around a week and the headphones arrived yesterday. So here are some initial impressions of the combination. If I had a middling setup and wanted to go close to SOTA then this would be a no-brainer. I don't get all the criticism of the Solitaire's - I think they are across the board a very balanced headphone, I'm certainly not finding the treble recessed or lacking in any way. Indeed, I think the spatial imaging is superlative, placement of instruments is better than my Empyreans and it's just a really coherent sound. I've been driving the amp with my Audiocom Oppo 105D playing SACD's into the balanced inputs - really excellent sound.
My one area of misgiving is the fact the HA200 has a built in DAC - personally I would have preferred a standalone analogue amp and if that were available I'd probably go for the amp/ headphone combination. Don't get me wrong, the DAC is very good but not, in my opinion, at the same level as the analogue section. I'm now going to try the headphones with my other amps - Luxman P750U and Feliks Audio Euphoria Anniversary and I'll update this post with my impressions.

 

[ducanh712]

I'm currently auditioning the HA200/ Solitaire P at home (thanks Phil!). I've had the amp here for around a week and the headphones arrived yesterday. So here are some initial impressions of the combination. If I had a middling setup and wanted to go close to SOTA then this would be a no-brainer. I don't get all the criticism of the Solitaire's - I think they are across the board a very balanced headphone, I'm certainly not finding the treble recessed or lacking in any way. Indeed, I think the spatial imaging is superlative, placement of instruments is better than my Empyreans and it's just a really coherent sound. I've been driving the amp with my Audiocom Oppo 105D playing SACD's into the balanced inputs - really excellent sound.
My one area of misgiving is the fact the HA200 has a built in DAC - personally I would have preferred a standalone analogue amp and if that were available I'd probably go for the amp/ headphone combination. Don't get me wrong, the DAC is very good but not, in my opinion, at the same level as the analogue section. I'm now going to try the headphones with my other amps - Luxman P750U and Feliks Audio Euphoria Anniversary and I'll update this post with my impressions.

Yeah. Me too, i don’t find any “treble recessed or lacking” in this combo

 

[mike1953]

Some further thoughts. I've tried the Solitaire with my other amps and while it's very good with the Luxman it doesn't really work with the Euforia - there's a distinct lack of magic. I've been using the T+A mainly in my office and today I decided to go back to the Empyrean/ Euforia combo. That is a really excellent pairing - the Euforia was designed around the Empyreans so there's a great synergy between the 2.
I've been listening to the new GoGo Penguin album, 24/96with Qobuz via Roon & HQPlayer upsampled to 768KHz. It sounded good but there was something niggling me about the overall presentation so I went back to the HA200/ Solitaire and let's just say I had a OMG moment! The sound just transcended itself (is that possible?) - dynamics improved, spaces opened up and it just sounded like a totally different and better record. Then it was on to The Comet Is Coming and currently Miles Davis - Jack Johnson SACD rip. This combo is literally stunning. Maybe it has a propensity for fast, rhythmic jazz but I'm now seriously considering whether I can possibly invest an insane amount of money in my office system. In my main, open plan living space I have to use closed headphones for domestic harmony so I can't use the Solitaires there. First World problems indeed!

 

[Pastwa]

That is a really excellent pairing - the Euforia was designed around the Empyreans so there's a great synergy between the 2.

Euforia amp was designed around Focal Utopia headphones and had been available long before even the Empyreans were released.

 

[mike1953]

Euforia amp was designed around Focal Utopia headphones and had been available long before even the Empyreans were released.

oops - wrong way round!
"Having been intrigued by how well my own Euforia setup is driving my Empyreans, I contacted Meze themselves for clarification. And I could hardly believe their response (which I'm sure they won't mind me passing on here) :

Surprise, surprise...they did in fact collaborate early on with Feliks-Audio and their Euforia in particular, "soundwise". Hence this often used pairing to showcase their new flagship headphones."

 

[walakalulu]

I thought I read that on another post - thanks for the correction. Not sure if it makes any difference but I'm using the 20th Anniversary Euforia.

I’m using the Anniversary too albeit with stock tubes. Not bad at all.

 

[mike1953]

deleted

 

[brams]

How does the T+A HA200 pair with other headphones? I have not yet tried it with the Solitaire, but am now wondering based on posted comments if it is not compensating a bit for the deficiences I noted in the Solitaire/Bartok combination. For example if it is a forward sounding amp with a bit of emphasis in the upper midrange/lower treble, then the lack of jump factor might be ameliorated. The Bartok tends toward relaxed and smooth and perhaps that's just not a good match with the Solitaire.

A good test would be to use the HA200 with the Utopia. If that combination falls to the leaner, brighter side of neutral then that would explain everything. The lack of synergy between the Euforia and Solitaire is an indication.

This hobby is certainly designed to drain one's wallet!

 

[xxx1313]

I would like to share a few measurements from German-speaking magazine "AUDIO" of the Solitaire P, in comparison with measurments of SR-009S, Utopia and ATH-ADX5000 from the same source. They were originally posted at open-end-music.de:
https://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/forum/audiophile-kopfhörer/kh-kopfhörer-full-size/536769-t-a-solitaire-p-planar-magnetischer-kopfhörer-ha-200-kopfhörerverstärker-dac/page35#post551632

The measurement of the Solitaire P appears in edition 7/2020 of "AUDIO", which can be bought here for example:
https://abo.audio.de/einzelhefte/

The frequency response curve of the Solitaire P reminded me of Nomax' words: "...regarding mids and highs, there is something which does not sound right. It does not sound sharp or sibilant, but somewhere in the mids and highs there is a real roller coaster..."
Source: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/t-a-solitaire-p-planar-magnetostatic.924381/page-2#post-15535874

ADX5000 came to the market two years ago, with RRP of 2300 Euros,
Utopia reached us over three years ago, with RRP of 4000 Euros,
SR-009S is now two years on the market, with RRP of 4500 Euros (if I remember correctly),
Solitaire P is a product from year 2020, with RRP of 4800 Euros.

Cheers,
Bernie

 

[brams]

It is true that headphones do not always sound like one would expect from their frequency response curve. However, the dip in the upper midrange is definitely consistent with what I expected based on what I heard. If the HA200 is a forward sounding amp it might explain why some have not perceived this although it would need to be VERY forward to completely eliminate a dip of that magnitude.

I must believe that T&A know what they are doing so that dip might be a tradeoff to get a specific signature.

 

[mike1953]

HA200 & Solitaires now boxed up and being returned to the distributor. I've really enjoyed having the combo, indeed in some ways the sound has been quite revelatory (in a really good way!!). They will be missed.

 

[jonstatt]

I would like to share a few measurements from German-speaking magazine "AUDIO" of the Solitaire P, in comparison with measurments of SR-009S, Utopia and ATH-ADX5000 from the same source. They were originally posted at open-end-music.de:
https://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/forum/audiophile-kopfhörer/kh-kopfhörer-full-size/536769-t-a-solitaire-p-planar-magnetischer-kopfhörer-ha-200-kopfhörerverstärker-dac/page35#post551632

The measurement of the Solitaire P appears in edition 7/2020 of "AUDIO", which can be bought here for example:
https://abo.audio.de/einzelhefte/

The frequency response curve of the Solitaire P reminded me of Nomax' words: "...regarding mids and highs, there is something which does not sound right. It does not sound sharp or sibilant, but somewhere in the mids and highs there is a real roller coaster..."
Source: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/t-a-solitaire-p-planar-magnetostatic.924381/page-2#post-15535874

ADX5000 came to the market two years ago, with RRP of 2300 Euros,
Utopia reached us over three years ago, with RRP of 4000 Euros,
SR-009S is now two years on the market, with RRP of 4500 Euros (if I remember correctly),
Solitaire P is a product from year 2020, with RRP of 4800 Euros.

Cheers,
Bernie

Thanks for posting these. What is fascinating to me is that on a smaller scale the response of the Stax takes a surprisingly similar path to the Solitaire .

 

[manilein]

I would like to share a few measurements from German-speaking magazine "AUDIO" of the Solitaire P, in comparison with measurments of SR-009S, Utopia and ATH-ADX5000 from the same source. They were originally posted at open-end-music.de:
https://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/forum/audiophile-kopfhörer/kh-kopfhörer-full-size/536769-t-a-solitaire-p-planar-magnetischer-kopfhörer-ha-200-kopfhörerverstärker-dac/page35#post551632

The measurement of the Solitaire P appears in edition 7/2020 of "AUDIO", which can be bought here for example:
https://abo.audio.de/einzelhefte/

The frequency response curve of the Solitaire P reminded me of Nomax' words: "...regarding mids and highs, there is something which does not sound right. It does not sound sharp or sibilant, but somewhere in the mids and highs there is a real roller coaster..."
Source: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/t-a-solitaire-p-planar-magnetostatic.924381/page-2#post-15535874

ADX5000 came to the market two years ago, with RRP of 2300 Euros,
Utopia reached us over three years ago, with RRP of 4000 Euros,
SR-009S is now two years on the market, with RRP of 4500 Euros (if I remember correctly),
Solitaire P is a product from year 2020, with RRP of 4800 Euros.

Cheers,
Bernie

Hi
Otwien didn't forbid that

greeting
M

 

[xxx1313]

Thanks for posting these. What is fascinating to me is that on a smaller scale the response of the Stax takes a surprisingly similar path to the Solitaire .

Right, they seem to have verrrry low distortion.