Xenos 3HA Headphone Amp mini-review

[Skylab]

The Xenos 3HA is a portable headphone amp of medium size. It has one input and two outputs, all 1/8" mini-jacks. It runs on 4 AA batteries, or with provided AC adaptor. It's a plastic housing, and is well built, but not really pretty, and the retina-searing blue LED could be toned down a bit. It's also quite a bit bigger than many portables -- probably twice as thick and 1.5 times as long as my Total Airhead. Full info and specs for the curious are here: http://www.aptecpro.com/Xenos-Prod/X...ntro-page.html

I bought this headphone amp for one reason only -- it has bass and treble controls, and I have given up on the iPod's lousy and troubled EQ, so I was curious if this amp might provide a useful alternative. And the results were generally good.

First of all, this amp has LOTS of gain - maybe too much. Used with my Sennheiser HD280Pro's (80 Ohm), I had to use the volume control at the very beginning of it range only. I would have perferred a bit more play on the volume control. In general, though, I found the sound of the amp to be very good. I am a big fan of Headroom's crossfeed circuit, and I missed that, but otherwise the amp sounds very good.

The tone controls work well as long as you want just very subtle adjustments. Both the bass and treble control affect the midrange more than they should, especially if you are goosing either by very much. However, using just a small amount of bass boost, and an even smaller amount of treble boost, provided a very full, robust sound with a variety of cans. The bass control does seem to extend down to the very bottom, so both upper bass and deep bass are boosted (a good thing). Used judiciously, these controls are effective and helpful, although I wish the point at which they kicked in was well above and below the midrange (for the treble and bass respectively).

But if you want tone controls in a portable amp, this is a more than adequate amp for the $129 asking price.

 

[johnjac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab size. But if you want tone controls in a portable amp, this is a more than adequate amp for the $129 asking price.

I concur with your review.The volume control seems to have most of its useable range in its first quarter rotation.I'm not very good at describing the various intracacies involved in bass,mid,and treble sounds but the Xenos does seem to provide greater " space" between instruments than does my Xin Superdual.
If the 3ha had crossfeed capability I would likely sell the superdual,but for now the superdual will be used with my portable players and for those times I feel like using crossfeed.
There are only about 5 hours on the Xenos at present so my opinion may change over time.
The only thing that bothers me is that the price I paid was in American dollars.One would think a Canadian company could do a bit better than that for its Canadian buyers.

 

[spinali]

I've had this amp for about half a year, and I find the treble and bass controls extremely useful. I wish it had more "transparency," but I can doctor unlistenable recordings into nice-sounding pieces.

With the DT880, there's a lot to work with, and its versatility is strong. With an IEM, you have to be more careful with levels.

I wish it were half the size, too.

 

[sghoughton]

I also find this quite nice. The size doesn't bother me much as it only sits on the desk. I'm running hd650s with it and use it anywhere from 0 to half way or a bit more - mostly 0-1/4 range for casual listening.

steve

 

[rich s]

I have been using a 3HA for a couple of months with my DT880's. I also have HD590's, HD280's & Nakamichi SP-7's (21 yrs old, in great shape) and a variety of consumer level CDP's as source.

Sounds very good, I have no complaints. Considering the price, I must say that the 3HA has exceeded my expectations. I am suprised it has not been mentioned much around here. I use it at home only though. I wouldn't consider it a portable, due to it's large size. In addition, the input/output jacks are located on the sides of the unit making it awkward in a bag. Besides the tone controls, the battery power is an additional convenience.

I have been considering buying another home amp for a different location in the house. Some amps in the $300-$400 price have interested me. The Gilmore Lite seems to be just right price wise, highly regarded here, by many, and good looking, but maybe not a good match for the 880's (too bright?). The WooAudio 1 has caught my attention. And the CIAudio VHP1, most likely candidate. I really don't want to get too extravagant.

I saw a favorable review of the 3HA that said it didn't stack up to a very expensive amp (I certainly hope not!). How do you think it compares to more moderately priced amps? I have not had the pleasure of listening to the others.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Sounds very good, I have no complaints. Considering the price, I must say that the 3HA has exceeded my expectations.

Yeah, I agree completely with your assessment. I would say it sounds at least as good as my Headroom Total Airhead, but the TA is really more portable, and has the crossfeed circuit I really like.

The 3HA is not as good sounding as my much more expensive Headroom Maxed Out Home, and I would not expect it to be. The MOH is quite a bit more transparent.

But for the price, the 3HA is KILLER, and the tone controls are handy. I'd like it if the 3HA were either a little smaller, or had a crossfeed, or both, but I am certainly keeping it -- I do like it quite a bit, and makes a good amp to take on longer trips like vacations.

Sorry I do not own any $300-400 amps I can compare it to. I have only the $200 TA and the $1200 MOH.

 

[drarthurwells]

Looks good for the money.

I myself hate crossfeed - this is interaural distortion used to expand the soundstage, but it blurs the tone image and inner detail (reduces resolution) and muddies the sound in one expanded mass by merging different instruments playing at the same time (reduces the space around the instruments). The natural timbre of the instrument is thus colored.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells Looks good for the money. I myself hate crossfeed - this is interaural distortion used to expand the soundstage, but it blurs the tone image and inner detail (reduces resolution) and muddies the sound in one expanded mass by merging different instruments playing at the same time (reduces the space around the instruments). The natural timbre of the instrument is thus colored.

Which amp's crossfeed are you referring to?

 

[rich s]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab But for the price, the 3HA is KILLER, and the tone controls are handy. I'd like it if the 3HA were either a little smaller, or had a crossfeed, or both, but I am certainly keeping it -- I do like it quite a bit, and makes a good amp to take on longer trips like vacations.

I am happy to hear (no pun intended) that, having purchased one myself. I did get a big WOW, let's hear that again, a few times with the 3HA/880 combo.

Thanks for your reply and the comments on your MOH. Enjoy.