[MONVMENTVM]

Hi,

I just got my Trafomatic Experience Head One and wanted to ask if I can use the iBasso D2 DAC/amp as a preamp for the Head One until I get my Havana DAC.

Thanks

 

[mellowbear]

Good to hear that you got your Head One - how does it sound with gs1000? I bought Musical Fidelity X-Can v8 as MF are only 7km from where I live in London - The v8 sounds wonderful with my gs1000's and good value for money at £324. I am still interested in Head one as I need another amp for my kitchen and it is not a good idea to have to keep moving X-Can-v8 from room to room (with warm tubes) also head One can also be used as pre-amp to drive my Pass Labs Aleph 3 power amp in place of my anthem pre 2l for a different sound .I saw that you are getting Havana Dac which looks interesting-I was considering getting new Cambridge Audio DacMagic which has had good review in What HiFi Mag, but i will wait to hear users comments and hopefully comparisons to other Dacs, this review in Endgadget seems hopeful if it,s as good as hyped.
Cambridge Audio intros DacMagic upsampling digital-to-analog converter - Engadget HD Then again how good can it be for £200

 

[MONVMENTVM]

I still have to test the Experience Head One a bit and also let it burn in for some time.

My initial impressions about soundquality is very positive. I'm sorry that I cannot compare it to any other tube amp out there but all I can say is that it really sounds great.

I think that it will also improve alot when used through a nice DAC... and I thought about lots of DACs out there. The DacMagic was for sure on top of my list. But I need a DAC soon and who knows how long it takes for the DacMagic to be available in the EU.
I also thought about a DIY DAC (the Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo DAC to be more specific) but it would also take too long... and of course about the other candidates like the Zhalou, Zero, Keces etc.

But I came to read about this Paradisea again and it seems that people like it a lot. On the MHDT homepage I saw this Havana and looked out for some reviews. There's quite some positive reaction about it and I like the idea of having no digital filter and no opamp in the signal... yeah that and the still bearable introductory price made me finally order it.

Anyway... back to the Experience Head One: It looks much better in person than in pictures . It's really a beauty of an amp and looks quite exquisite. I love it's looks.
It also comes in a solid wooden box screwed together (!) and packaged well in foam.

I'm really looking forward to see how it sounds through the Havana DAC, as atm I use it out of a modded iBasso D2 .
The interesting thing about that is, that when I move my usb mouse I can hear a buzzing and the USB bus in general. If I plug in the GS-1000 into the D2 directly I can't hear this though. So it seems that the Experience Head One is able to amplify every damn detail. As soon as I pull out the USB plug it's gone and when I play some music it's only noticeable in quiet passages.