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Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amp Review

Rate this headphone amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 320 90.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 19 5.4%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 6 1.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 9 2.5%

  • Total voters
    354

zacster

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2020
Messages
11
Likes
5
I went to Burning Amp a few years ago and it was a Pass love fest. I wasn't impressed with much of anything. At least I got a good bike ride in the day before and the trip wasn't a total waste, not that it cost me much.

I don't trust DIYAudio.com for anything anymore, they are all shills.
 

Ken Tajalli

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To paraphrase an old saying: you can be a high-performer, but but not good looking, or good-looking and not a high-performer, but you can’t be an ugly low-performer.
Check out the house, the senate, UK Parliament . . . .
Plenty ugly low performers about.
As if ...
 

Billy Budapest

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Ah sorry in Italian it would be a purchase that generates a blood hemorrhage,sanguinoso Note
Ah, a similar (but not very common) idiom in English is when someone says that “something” gave them or almost gave them an aneurysm.
 

threni

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Can someone answer the question when would spending over $1000.00 for a headphone amp be a good idea ? I’m seriously asking.
It's like when you buy an expensive car, sunglasses etc - it's for when you want something that screams "I have literally no taste at all".
 

threni

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Check out the house, the senate, UK Parliament . . . .
Plenty ugly low performers about.
As if ...
"Politics is show business for ugly people" - Paul Begala
 

Robbo99999

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Can someone answer the question when would spending over $1000.00 for a headphone amp be a good idea ? I’m seriously asking.
I think the proper answer is "No!", ha!
 

bidn

Active Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
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821
Location
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Better objectively in these specific tests yes, but a poll isn’t needed to verify anything “objective.” Its like being shown a slideshow showing all the poor numbers of a product and then asking the audience whether the product is good or not. The poll has nothing to do with whether people have heard it so why does ASR need that reassurance? If its really a measurements focus then post them and leave it at that
If a car has a maximum speed of 10 km/h (or 6 mph), a maximum autonomy of 20 km (12 miles) and so on for all its performance, do you need to test drive it to know it is a piece of utter junk?
And in addition when that garbage car is twenty times more expensive than very well performing cars...?
 

voodooless

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If a car has a maximum speed of 10 km/h (or 6 mph), a maximum autonomy of 20 km (12 miles) and so on for all its performance, do you need to test drive it to know it is a piece of utter junk?
And in addition when that garbage car is twenty times more expensive than very well performing cars...?
You forgot the ugly door knobs ;)
 

_thelaughingman

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This amp signifies the profundity of Hi FI audiophiles, where bigger and costlier is always better.
 

Spkrdctr

Major Contributor
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Apr 22, 2021
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Image that everything tested in stereophile (John Atkinson measurements are still of great value to all of us ) is then sent by default to Seattle for amir’s assessment.

In 12 months this world will be cleaned. No more smoke sellers (cables, heavy speaker, heavy amplifiers,…) and audiofoleries.

This world will be tidy and value will be unleashed for all customers.

@amirm call John A. And Kalman… It is in their interest too right? Or not?
My Best
L.
You can have many people test a unit and people will still believe the YouTube glowing reviews. Everyone thinks that "just giving subjectivists the right information" will cause them to change their mind. Clearly a small few will, but the majority will respond that tests don't mean anything. Many audio people have dealt with this attitude, including Amir. Many times subjectivists come onto this site and when shown the data and testing, they want to say the data is worthless. Most double and triple down on this thought and do so with so much venom they are usually banned. So, you had a great idea but it has been done MANY, MANY times. We already know the answer. :)
 

Spkrdctr

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Apr 22, 2021
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But look at it from poor @amirm's perspective. He is like the Grinch bringing bad news to some member who was kind enough to pass his Pass to him.
Some thank you!:facepalm:
I said thanks to Amir when my pretty bad headphones were tested. I use them for tv, since the wife doesn't want to listen to my shows with all the cinema explosions, car crashes and such. They work for what I want them for, but they are not audiophile worthy yet. So, I learned from the test, even though it was not a glowing test.
 
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