questions about corda ha-1 headphone amp

[papaya86 0]

jus got one to try, i paired it with a grado sr225, the first thing i noticed is the difference in vol between the 120ohm socket and the 0hm socket, when i plug into the 0ohm socket, its vol is louder than when i plug into the 120ohm socket, the vol knob on 120ohm has to be in 11 o' clock direction to match the vol on 0 ohm in the 9 o'clock direction, why is it so? and i noticed theres slight background hiss when plugged into 0ohm scoket and not so in the 120ohm socket. help is greatly appreciated, thanks

[Blues 0]

120ohm>> 0ohm.. more resistance.. i thought this one quite simple?

some headphones do sound better when you use them out of the 120ohm...

 

[papaya86 0]

after some listening, i came to a conclusion grados and corda ha-1 doesnt go well with one another. its very bright, painfully bright. all the T'sss and S'ssss were killing my ears. its alot more detailed than digi01's diy amp, only problem now is the brightness. tinking of a power cable change for the corda to try to tone down the sharpness, you guys tink its feasible? my interconnects are pretty warm so i guess ill leave that alone.

[lengcm 0]

after some listening, i came to a conclusion grados and corda ha-1 doesnt go well with one another. its very bright, painfully bright. all the T'sss and S'ssss were killing my ears. its alot more detailed than digi01's diy amp, only problem now is the brightness. tinking of a power cable change for the corda to try to tone down the sharpness, you guys tink its feasible? my interconnects are pretty warm so i guess ill leave that alone.

It could be your source. I have used the similar combination, the SR225 with the Corda HA1 and silver interconnects. It did not sound bright or sibilant.

[[J]-ohn 0]

i agree with lengcm. Source is probably the problem.

[Rameish 0]

If the Grado SR-225 and Corda HA-1 (out of 120 ohm jack) is bright then it's probably your interconnects and/or your source. There is also such a thing as a bright recording. BTW the silver interconnect lengcm mentions above is the Kimber KS-1030 at around S$1,350 a pair. Lesser silver interconnect or hybrids can sound a little bright as well including Kimber own silver streak (esp those with the midline RCA plugs). The WBT Topline RCA plugs with Kimber Silver Streaks (a special order nowadays) help alleviate this problem. But I'm talk abut minute amts here, a slight top end glare. I have heard some diy silver interconnects (make with 95% pure silver wires) that actually sound worse than 99.999% OFC.

[Mackie 0]

Papaya source is a Sony X3000? Any user wanna verify that this is the culprit? Although I do agree that Sony cdps do sound somewhat clinical, even for its high end models.

[Absolute0 0]

I think there's a certain reluctance in changing sources, but you will have to decide which is the best component(s) to replace.

[papaya86 0]

the change to the corda is like removing this very thick veil from the music, its really bright now and i need to tame it, it isnt tolerable. on the plus side, its much much much more detailed than the diy amp, soundstaging improved heaps. the crossfeed function is pretty stupid imo. it makes listening more comfortable, but at the expense of a degrade in audio quality imo. can changing the power cable for the corda amp tame brightness? as for changing of source, i have another player the marantz 63mk ii (the one with the gold signature) which my dad got for pretty damn near free from a second hand shop as it was "spoilt", recently changed the lens and its now workin perfectly fine. comparing the sony with it, i prefer the sony. The marantz has bloated bass and is too warm for my liking.

Edited August 23, 2005 by papaya86

[papaya86 0]

oh yah guys isit normal for the volume knob when plugged into the 120ohm socket to be at 11.30 direction in order to match the volume when plugged into the 0ohm socket at 9oclock direction? the seller told me the volume difference is very slight, i dun tink this is considered slight?

Edited August 23, 2005 by papaya86

[Blues 0]

I had the corda ha-1 a long time ago.. I wouldn't call it bright. if anything it was (very slightly) warm. I too suspect that it is your source causing the brightness. Anyway it doesn't matter turning it to 11.30 to get the same volume for your 120ohm

[Charismatic 0]

Hi Papaya,

 

would suggest u to try to swap the Interconnect with any other pair you are having to hear if the brightness is still there.

 

[Mackie 0]

the crossfeed function is pretty stupid imo. it makes listening more comfortable, but at the expense of a degrade in audio quality imo

 

Pardon my words and tone if it comes across as offensive as I don't intend it to be so. Papaya, how wrong you were on passing this judgement. One the reasons why headphone systems seldom bode well with experienced hobbists in speaker systems is the "articifical" and "exhausting" soundstaging of reproduced music. More often than not, most complained about the "in-your-head experience" and the discrete "right-channel, left-channel" effects when listening to cans. There's some truth in it as all who own speaker systems strive or hope to reproduce the sound envisioned in real life environment eg. auditorium, concert venues etc, to a certain extent. One can get none of these with cans than speakers. However with the introduction of crossfeed, it's becoming more tolerant and attractive to those who swear by speakers. With crossfeed, one perceives (aurally) the soundstaging in front of you rather than right and left. Of course, this comes with a small detriment in sound quality but so does all systems and accessories because sound has to travel through several mediums to reach our ears. What's more crucial is the level of enjoyment the listener attains with his system, be it speakers or cans, expensive or cheap, low end or high end. Music is all about enjoyment and never about perfection, not unless you are the performer, that is. Just my opinion folks, peace.

[papaya86 0]

regarding the crossfeed, ill spend more time listening to it and see if it grows on me. To my ears right now, the difference with and without crossfeed is very subtle. On the other hand my friend tells me the difference is really obvious and he enjoys music with minimal crossfeed (1st lvl crossfeed). i found the cause of the brightness. Its the sony x3000 cd player thats causing the brightness. i changed to the marantz 63mkii and the brightness is gone, but i still dont like that player. man, at this point of time i do not have any intentions to down big money on a better player, so any other roundabouts?

[red_ryder 0]

papaya86, I used to have problems with bright sources too when I was using my dvd players as sources. After auditioning a few cd players, I eventually settled on the NAD 542. Its not too expensive (about $600+), with a warm and full-bodied sound, good bass. Try it out if you have an opportunity.