[M Rael]

I went from having no amp to having 3 amps! I've been listening to the HeadRoom Little More Power, the Little More Power Premium, and the Wheatfield HA1- with a HeadRoom Static providing the crossfeed.
The first few minutes with the Wheatfield/Static combination, after having spent a few days with the Little's, was a revelation. Or if not a revelation, it at least was extremely cool. This is my first experience with a Class A OTL triode amp (the HA1 also doesnt use feedback) and now.. Now.. NOW I know what you tubemeisters have been talking about all this time. I much preferred the user friendly sound of the HA1 over the Little, including the Premium.

I'm using the HeadRoom Static module, which is an active (you plug it in) crossfeed unit. HeadRoom's approach to crossfeed is to include the mono information (thats the stuff that both channels have in common- which images as being in the center.) On most rock music, the bass information (kickdrums and bass) are usually always in the center, and thus those are crossfed too in the HeadRoom process. This accounts for the added warmness compared to the Meier process. Its worth noting that the bass is also increased by our natural crossfeed when listening to speakers. When you listen to speakers your right ear will hear left speaker bass information with very little, if any, attenuation.

Anyway, I still love the crossfeed as much as ever, but the real reason for posting all this was to thank the guys that come here time and time again to remind us newbies how much difference a good amp can make. I like the Little's, they were worth exclaiming about. But I like the OTL HA1 better. Thank you very much. Thank you. And thank Pete!! (the person, not the expression.)

 

[steinie]

I've been using a Wheatfield HA-1 since my old Creek OBH-11 died, and I love mine. I admit I haven't heard too many tube amps, and none of them were dedicated Headphone amps, just old tube audio gear, but this one I love.

Doesn't seem to have any of the bad tube qualities people talk about, slow, languid sound, doesn't respond fast enuff, no punch, etc. The HA-1 seems to have a great deal of quickness to it, and I loved that tube sound from the first listen after I got it, since before that, I really only had the Creek to compare it to.

In fact, I have never listened to my CD-3000's or HD600's without this amp, I'm afraid to see what they sound like without it.

The other thing that got to me was when I pulled the cover off to peek inside and also to check the tubes to see if fhey were seated after shipping. The build quality in this thing is superb, it looks like it's built to run forever.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by steinie In fact, I have never listened to my CD-3000's or HD600's without this amp, I'm afraid to see what they sound like without it.

Thats pretty funny.. I have certain little habits like that myself.
I like it that the HA1 is meant to handle low impeadances. Your CD3000 and my W2002 are very close that way. I agree that the build quality is very good. It even comes with some printed information, unlike the Little's.

I noticed a grounding problem with both Little's: if I put a finger on top of the chassis I got a buzz over the headphones. I tried floating different plugs but nothing worked completely. I expected the HA1 to be even buzzier, but to my relief they were as quiet as a mouse.

Hey Steinie, let me know if you have any good tube experiences like with the Amperex, or whatever. I have a feeling I'm going to have this amp for quite a while.

 

[markl]

Now you're cookin'! I bet you are in for a whole new world of sonic pleasure. I bet you'll get a whole new appreciation of both your headphones and your music.

Good for you on the Wheatfield and welcome to the the wacky but wonderful world of tubes.

markl

 

[steinie]

Quote:

Originally posted by M Rael Hey Steinie, let me know if you have any good tube experiences like with the Amperex, or whatever. I have a feeling I'm going to have this amp for quite a while.

Funny you mention that. The first 2 days I had mine, I started to look for tubes to keep it running 'cause I already knew I wanted to keep this thing going for a long long time. I Emailed back and forth with the owner of Wheatfield before his website went away and HeadRoom took over all marketing, etc. He gave me some recommendations, and I bought several sets of tubes that very first week.

I got some NOS GE 7044's just like are in the stock unit, and also some NOS Amperex PQ 7119's, which he said are killer replacements if you can't find 7044's. I bought 2 different 12Ax7's as well, JJ and Electro-Harmonix, which is supposed to be more musical. I figure with 4 sets of tubes, I'm set for a litttle while at least. I do have to admit though, I haven't even done any tube rolling since this thing sounds so good. I bought the other tubes as spares.

I'll have to dig thru my stuff and see if I kept the info about where I got them all.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl I bet you are in for a whole new world of sonic pleasure.

Yeah, so far its been.. well its something like Tomcat was getting at in his review of the W100. Its weird, but its as if a kind of veil went away. But I mean that in an emotional sense; I felt at one point that I could let my eyes water up with feeling, if I had wanted to. Or I suppose even had tears come out.
And it wasnt that I was emotional about having got a good deal on the amp (!) or that I was happy I hadnt wasted a bunch of money. It just felt as if it was easier to be touched by my different songs- and a wave of feeling that headphones are a blessed way to relax from the crush of daily life, and that you guys know that already. It was a kind of pay-off after all the things I've done lately.

Steinie: thanks for the feedback.

 

[steinie]

Music is supposed to be emotional, I thought that was the whole point of listening.

Sorta like when I got these CD3000's from MarkL. I 'literally' got shivers and goosebumps down the ole spine the first time I fired them up. (with the HA-1 of course)

That's why I don't wanna listen to the CD3000's without the HA-1, I don't want to lose or not have that wonderfully good feeling of enjoying and being 'with' and 'in' the music I listen to.

I'm so glad that having the amp has increased your listening experience and enjoyment, that's the whole point of having an amp after all.

 

[dhwilkin]

Kinda off-topic, but has anybody heard both the Melos and Wheatfield? They both seem to have that hybrid tube/solid-state sound, wonder how close they are in performance... Headroom should've sent one of those to the Dallas meet. Oh, and glad to hear you're finally enjoying the benefits of a great amp, M Rael.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by steinie Music is supposed to be emotional, I thought that was the whole point of listening

Yes.

 

[arrowmark]

Anybody ever compare the Wheatfield HA-1 to the MicroZotl or Earmax-Pro? I have the HA-1 and love it. I use the CIFTE tube from Upscale Audio. Arrowmark

 

[Tomcat]

Quote:

It just felt as if it was easier to be touched by my different songs

Yes, that's what it's all about, isn't it? I am glad you're happy with your new tubes, Mark!