Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amp Review

[sq225917]

Wouldnt it make sense to measure the amp at just a hair under the max 3.2v input level?

Isn't measuring at 2v at bit like testing a dac with the volume set half way?

As it doesn't meet specs I'd at least mention it to Nelson. He does after all care hugely about his brands and customer experiences.

 

[Jimbob54]

That's nothing compared to this:

6moons audio reviews: Naim DAC

As I always do, I first inserted the Naim DAC into my usual chain. Though dispatched preconditioned, 24 to 48 hours of warm-up noticeably relaxed the sound.

so.. whats in a Naim ?

Hi, here goes.. this is a continuation of http://www.hifivision.com/what-should-i-buy/34645-here-we-go-again-7.html#post460009 rgds, mpw

www.hifivision.com

I have tried it many times with all my Naim gears. Naim says 48 hours of warm up is required to get them sound their best and they are absolutely correct. The sound is so much more alive after about 2 days of warm up (just switched on), after that experience when you try listen to it cold you can immediately recognize the loss of life and excitement in sound. It is very obvious.

Too bad if you arrive at a Hifi dealer on a Monday morning, and want to listen to a DAC or amp.

- Sorry, but you can't listen to a cold Naim. Please come back i two days.

There is a guy on YouTube (I shall refrain from linking but it's Jay's audio lab) who is very fond of hi end gear that insists (50k) CABLES need to "settle" for days when inserted into a system. Even if the cables themselves are burned in already, they somehow need to adjust to the components they link.

I do wonder if these people leave their cars running on the drive.

 

[Ra1zel]

I had a sense that Nelson Pass was some kind of audio engineering genius.

At best he is really good at pandering to audiophile nonsense, he knows exactly what audiophools want

 

[amirm]

Wouldnt it make sense to measure the amp at just a hair under the max 3.2v input level?

Isn't measuring at 2v at bit like testing a dac with the volume set half way?

As it doesn't meet specs I'd at least mention it to Nelson. He does after all care hugely about his brands and customer experiences.

No. By far the most common output voltage on RCA is 2 volts.

 

[Palladium]

Seeing a ribbon cable with a BoM of maybe like $0.50 inside a $3600 box tells me all I need to know about "high-end" audio.

 

[Sokel]

Pass delivered his famous recipe of distortion and that's OK,it's deliberate, he's strongly supporting this,people ask of this fanatically,etc.
What's disappointing is the mains noise and lack of power.
It could do a lot better,it's a pity.

 

[Jas0_0]

At best he is really good at pandering to audiophile nonsense, he knows exactly what audiophools want

Audio marketing genius is maybe more accurate then.

 

[lordhumungous]

Big difference between Benchmark and Pass Labs ! Lol

 

[Sokel]

Seeing a ribbon cable with a BoM of maybe like $0.50

More like 300$ (for the whole BoM) excluding case at a quick glance.
Still expensive with that performance though.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Seeing a ribbon cable with a BoM of maybe like $0.50 inside a $3600 box tells me all I need to know about "high-end" audio.

Ha yes it's funny when they tell you to use high end RCA/XLR/power cables for thousands but actual cable with signal inside amplifier is a ribbon one, just like an old floppy disk drives used. Hahahha

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Goodness me!
Just replace the linear powersupply for a decent SMPS, and half the issues get solved.
But not all!

 

[poxymoron]

I'd love to hear from the two people that voted great.

 

[Deleted member 19122]

What did PT Barnum say.Thanks Amir for shining another bright light on a total failure of an audiofool product.

 

[Deleted member 19122]

I'd love to hear from the two people that voted great.

You can probably find them over at TAS or some such blathering on about cable differences and lifter heights!

 

[Waxx]

This is a Wayne Colburn design btw, not a Nelson Pass (who only does the power amplifiers). But that psu is bad, the rest is what to expect from Pass Labs. High low order harmonic distortion in their amps is their signature, and their selling point. But normally that is in a outside that harmonic distortion, a very low distortion amplifier for it's class. And this is not the case here.

The psu seems to be not really regulated as far as i can see in the picture of the inside (i could have missed something). That should be standard these days, and is something Nelson Pass insist on in every diy design he presents. So it would be strange that it's not done in this one.

And i think it's better to use an wel build SMPS for this, much easier these days to make the noise they make so low it does not matter anymore. And for that pricepoint the cost to do it should not matter.

 

[okok]

time to humiliate Mr. Nelson!

Mr. Nelson is famous for intentional 2nd distortion pure class A without using any feedback (nfb), to try to mimic tubey as much as possible with solid states.

basically Mr. Nelson is the defacto grandpa in the audio world

 

[Koeitje]

Can somebody explain the advantage of a locking headphone socket? Seems like a really stupid idea on a headphone amplifier, unless you like pulling your equipment from your stack or breaking something on your headphones because you stood up not remembering you had headphones on.

 

[DACs_Lover]

I want to see Pass Labs / D'agostino amps measured with AudioPrecision.

 

[JayGilb]

I bet it runs hot, they should put a vent in the top.

 

[iLoveCats]

@amirm is NOT getting a Christmas card from Pass.