Wheatfield HA-2 - Who's got one?

[dstroot]

Possibly interested in one of these. Anyone care to comment on the sound, tube rolling it, anything at all... I would love to hear a few opinions. Thanks.

OBTW - yes I searched the archives but there wasn't a whole lot to review.

 

[dcg]

I don't have one, just wanted to let you know that I THINK I saw one on ebay this morning. Just wanted to give you the heads up.

 

[Driftwood]

neither do I, but here is the link.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1339489807

Driftwood

 

[Vertigo-1]

Well, he probably asked the question cause he saw the one on Ebay.

 

[dstroot]

Alright the secrets out - yeah I was asking because I saw it on eBay. But I've already gone crazy - I bought a SHA-1 two weeks ago and a SHA Gold last week. Sheesh...

You would think I at least would stop lookin'

 

[eric343]

I've heard the sound compared to a Big O.

 

[Driftwood]

well, the guy who is selling it is a member here... plxd. It is also listed in the Gear For Sale/Trade forum, so I guess you could ask him about it and why he is selling it...

Driftwood

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

First, I would like to say that it doesn't surprise me that someone would buy this amp, and then decide to sell it. It has a sound that you will love, or hate, and there is no in-between.
In the end, for me, this amp will have saved me thousands of dollars. After the purchase of the Wheatfield HA-2 I have no desire to obtain a speaker system at all.
As for the sound, and this is strictly using the HD-600s with the Clou Red, it has a wide, airy open soundstage. There is definitely no mistaking this amp for solid-state. It sounds very tubey, smooth, and powerful.
I think that the HA-2 is one of those certain amplifier types that will not sound good with a wide variety of headphones, but the ones that it does, OH MAN!

 

[Tuberoller]

Hey dstroot,
I have one.I love it and as far as tube amps go I indeed think that the Orpheus is the next step up.I have owned an Orpheus and have heard most of the other tube amps.I think this is the best sounding tube amp out there right now.I don't understand why more people didn't buy them.I bought mine direct from Pete Millet at Wheatfield and he gave me a bunch of extra tubes.I have rolled lots of other tubes through it but i have found headphone bliss using a CBS 5692 brown base driver tube,either a 6528A(for low impedance phones)or a 7336 RCA (for Senns or other high impedance phones)output tube and the stock sovtek 5U4G rectifier.I use this amp with high end phones only(Grado RS-1 and Senn HD600 with Nightpath Cable).I also use a interconnect that is designed for use with a tube amp,in my case a Modern Audio Design Silver Pro.I love my HA2 and I think you should grab one up if you can since they are no longer being built in the current configuration and Pete Millet has quit the business and will no longer build or design amps.

 

[steinie]

That sucks that Pete is gone from the business.

He was extemely helpful to me when I bought my HA-1, suggested tubes, gave me places to look for buyng them, etc. I stlll marvel at how well built this amp is, and how cleanly put together it is inside. The parts inside look like they could run forever without any problems, very robust.

Love the sound too.

 

[smokey]

I too am sorry to hear that Mr. Millet has retired from the field of battle. I bought one of these beautiful amps awhile back. I alternate between these and a Cary SLI-80. If you are a tube geek, you'll love this unit.

I purchased the amp with the upgraded tube option, and have not rolled since. Though Kevin Deal (Upscale Audio) and I have been talking about a bunch of new (NOS) tube possibilities. Where there are tubes there is a way to play.

Good luck with your bidding if you choose to compete.

 

[dstroot]

Thanks for the opinions everybody!

 

[KShaft]

I used to own one as well.


The only thing this amp might not do as well is bass. Not quite as fast and impactful, very slight but noticeable.

The mids are beautiful and the treble sweet and plentiful in detail.
bass is full, but like i said not quite as tight as melos but still nice.

I was using a tung sol 5998 power tube, a cryovac 6ns7, and a g.e. rectifier. I had a tung sol 6sn7 and for a little while a w.e. 421 (that blew up....). I didnt like the senns, and the rs-1s and msp's i were using were bright (man if i only used flat pads on the msp's). Im looking into picking that one on ebay up as well, But im wondering how well they drive w100s, and maybe r10s, and im thinking of going all out or not on an amp, (say cary or zeus or something...).

Maybe you should get that upgrade on your melos. You can even sell one to finance the upgrade, and get the ha-2, or just keep both and compare before and after(or whatever).

Its a warm yet sweet (lots of detail without being bright) sounding amp. Swithing tubes is sooo much fun, and makes a substantial difference.

k.s.

 

[dngl]

I think it's funny that people call the Zeus an all out amp just because it costs a lot. No one has actually heard it, right?