A New & Improved Cayin HA-1A

[headphonecrazy 0]

Your 12AX7 should be fine but I've tried 5751 in place of a 12AX7 & it worked fine with only at a little loss in gain because of their lower voltage. Some people actually prefer 5751 for their "more refine" sound.

[mychew 0]

can somebody come out with a full impression on this newly improved Cayin?

has been spotting on this thread..but not much full reviews done. can post somemore pic of it

[N@Z 0]

It looks the same as any of the other photos posted already mychew. If I can borrow my office's digital camera I'll try to post some again.

 

Concerning a more in depth write up, give it a little time as it's too soon right now as my amp is hardly burned in & it is still changing in sound. I haven't even tried the Ultralinear mode, let alone the integrated & pre-amp features which I won't even be able to test yet. I have yet to try it out with all my other headphones too. Be patient.

[mychew 0]

ok..i will

 

i'm sure would be quite impressive.

 

but now..no money for any upgrade yet..must be patient...in debt lah...sigh...must pay back money...so wat i can do now is to know more then later save enough money, can make a wise decision...have a listen..then..there i go

[Mackie 0]

Btw Naz, I've tried the cheaper Mullard ECC83 ($65) relative to the currently preferred CV4004 which costs nearly double. It's simply a no brainer in a direct upgrade to the latter. U'll get more bass oomph, warmer vocals and certainly better layering. The overall sound has a greater body to it. Of course, ECC83 still sounds decent but CV4004 does give great yield despite the high price tag.

[Rameish 0]

I personally prefer the CV series myself

[N@Z 0]

Rameish, CV4004 all gone from your stockpile kah boss..?

[N@Z 0]

OK a little update & hopefully a little more insight into the sound of this fantastic amp with the ever improving DT150.

 

Finally the amp has gone over the +100 hours mark & using the DT150 with over +200 hrs. I listened to it day before yesterday & last night I rolled the tubes from stock everything to Ei Yugo EL84 power tubes & the 12AX7 (front) position with 5751 Tung Sol & 12AU7 (rear) position with 12AU7A Tung Sol. There is very little reduction in gain due to the lower rated front output tube. This is in Triode mode only as I have only tried it briefly in Ultralinear mode with the stock tubes before the tuberoll. As it is, the Triode mode seems plenty powerful enough for me & I can hardly detect yet whether the sound is smoother as opposed to Ultralinear.

 

 

Prior to the tuberoll, the sound had settled into a less agressive presentation, highs not as harsh as before (still a little on the RS-1 but my, I'm finally beggining to hear the potential!), nice warmish mids, smooth yet powerful, very punchy & extended bass. And to my surprise, the DT150 finally has a more airy sound & depth perception. After the tuberoll the first thing I noticed was a bit of sibilance to vocals even after initial warm up & 1 CD played. Thankfully that went away after I let the CD play a second time. The overall weight of the sound didn't change significantly but it sounded tight yet unstressed. Making everything more prominent. Bass guitar & drums is more resonant & in your face. Bass detail & extension is clear. Mids sound as magical as the K501 especially female vocals on close miked acoustic sets, listening to the breathy vocals on Sarah McLachlan's Freedom Sessions & Peter Malick Group (feat Norah Jones) New York City CDs makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand! Highs sound just right for me - crisp, detailed & not bright. Although soundstage doesn't sound very wide compared with other headphones, you can pick out everything in the recording very clearly. The performers/instruments just take on a depth plane as opposed to greater width inbetween.

 

There is however a very faint background noise noticed from the rolled tubes as presently I have the casing removed from the chassis & I don't have tube dampers/rings fitted. This is not noticeable at all with music playing even at low volume.

 

To sum up, there is detail everywhere, no need for loud volume. A very up front intimate presentation of the sound made more so by the DT150 (it is after all a Pro monitoring headphone). I am liking this combination very much & find it hard to prise myself away from the music. CD after CD listening to different types of music... it works with everything for me (except for bad recordings, it can get annoying). Rock, Jazz, blues, pop you name it. Just partner with your favourite headphones & you're set! Last night I literally had to force myself to power it down & go to bed. Tonight is not going to be any different, I expect another CD marathon! I can't believe I'm listening to Micheal Jackson right now!!! The HISTORY Book 1 double CD sounds fab! Well recorded & lots of detail, I'm listening to music I don't normally listen to & my foot is tapping! It's that good!

 

P.s.

I had a chance to speak with my colleague at work yesterday & his amp also has passed the 100 hour burn-in mark. He's only used the amp as a preamp. His findings so far are also very favourable & similar. His setup: Krell CD source->Meridian DAC->McCormack MID preamp->McCormack DNA1 power amp->VDH silver speaker cables->Epos speakers. Based on his description, initially he also found the amp a little agressive sounding straight out of the box after a day left running. After burn in it slowly smoothened out. Unlike the MID preamp the Cayin makes the presentation/soundstage sound more intimate (closer) especially on Jazz & acoustic music. Previously his system had a slight problem with bass coloration (boomy) on very low bass. The Cayin seems to have addressed this problem with an improvement to bass extension. He still experienced a little harshness at the top end but overall is impressed with the results so far & is 'warming up' (groan! ) to the sound of tubes.

[N3w_Typ3 0]

nice preview !! man !!

[Q00 0]

What a massive write up N@Z!! Im glad that you seem to be approaching audio nirvana bro! (if it can ever be achieved..hmm). I must say that i too am leaning towards a setup with pro-monitoring cans. I seem to have heard quite a few pair of cans lately and esp the HD600 and monitoring cans like my 7506's just seem to grip me and wont let go. Perhaps your setup is what i should be working towards. Certainly the DT-150's are on my list.

[N3w_Typ3 0]

well from mackie's preview on the cayin and N@Z ... well i more or less going to compare with SS amp for a final decision between Ha-1 and cayin which is most towards my liking ... Hmm can't wait to try it out !

 

man bro Qoo ... you sure to have a good chance .. one day ... ( during the meet ) they are bringing at that time have a good try and decide .. too early now .. but at least you have a good aim !

[N@Z 0]

Working towards to upgrade my source for complete audio nirvana. The CDP has stood the test of time & is still going strong but I want to take it further. What impressed me so far about my CDP is that it's sonic performance is keeping up with the big boys, say compared with a McCormack Digital Drive as a Transport. It's not as good but it has the basic ingredients I look for, detail & musical performance. The fact that it has worked flawlessly with CD-Rs & the copy protected CDs just adds points to its reliability & fairly flexible system partenering. With the Cayin+DT150/RS-1 combination at least, I can enjoy it for some time more before upgraditis sets in!

[headphonecrazy 0]

[N@Z 0]

Again, I have you to thank for making it all possible with the Cayin. Beside rameish for advising me to hang on to the RS-1, Mackie & Norther Oak for their input with the Original Cayin & Mackie again for the DT150.

[Northern Oak 0]

Cheers N@Z! Moving a step closer to Audio Nirvana!