I use an RME ADI-2 DAC FS in multiple roles: in combination with a TOSLINK feed from the TV and Primare i35 amp with floor standing Falcon Acoustic RAM speakers; as a DAC pre-amp for the Cayin HA-3A tube headphone amp; and also as a fine headphone amp in its own right. However, for classical music listening I like the warmth of valves. Quite apart from its stellar build, one of the beauties of this DAC is its ability to shape sound through its EQ operation. This is a byproduct of RME’s studio equipment heritage and may be off-putting to many people. I’d include myself in this category were it not for the ability to download relevant preset parameter definitions for many headphones which then merely require inputting. The ADI Remote app makes this a breeze to do. Simple bass and treble adjustments on the fly are easily done too, either with the app or with dedicated rotaries. So it should be possible to tailor many if not most headphones to the HA-3A. I have done this with my Hifiman Arya Organics and they sound great. RME is one of the top names in the studio business and its support is renowned. The HA-3A is a wonderful amplifier and certainly powerful enough for most headphones except possibly the most demanding planars. I have replaced the JJ 12AU7s with military grade Philips 5814A valves but the supplied AU7s are certainly excellent too. As for the build quality, I cannot fault it. I did consider the HA-6A and while this offers more flexibility it would have been overkill for my purposes and it is quite large and very heavy! I had a couple of operational queries which were addressed within hours by John Huang of Cayin’s support team. All round highly impressive!
I just recently tried the Cayin HA-3A with the Gustard DAC-X26Pro and the Sennheiser HD 660 S2 and HOLY SMOKES does it SOUND AMAZING! From today, I've officially started saving money to buy the Cayin HA-3A... 🤞Hopefully someday...
The HA-300 was beautiful and glorious sounding. The best tube amp I heard, better than my Eddie Current Balancing Act with KR Audio PX4 tubes. Controlled, detailed, holographic, and Cayin’s signature inner warmth.
@@droptables7663 I'll look into it. If I do it would more than likely be after the holidays. As for the BHC and AO - I sold both of them. I ended up loving the Atrium Closed more for my tastes and I have the Auteur Classic which in many ways like the AO. I moved on from the BHC because of getting the HA-3A.
Thank you for the video brother, really enjoyed it :) I have the ZMF Atticus and i am looking for a tube headphone amp. Looking currently the Cayin HA-3A mentioned in this video. However this headphone is extremely picky with amps due to its warm nature, for example i have a very good OTL amp and sounds dull with it. The only thing that pairs extremely well with Atticus is my Rupert Neve RNHP. Based on your experience with ZMF headphones would you recommend the Cayin tube amp?
Here's the thing...I can't fully endorse the HA-3A for the Atticus since I haven't personally heard that combo. However, Zach swears by the HA-3A among other Cayin amps he lists for his ZMF's. I would recommend reaching out to ZMF directly and asking them. That's what I love about them, they will answer you and be honest about it!
@@alexk1239hey just trying to help, I’ve never heard the Cayin tube amps, always wanted too, but another brand that pairs up really with the ZMFs is Felix’s Audio.
I can't speak on the Caldera, but for the Atrium the HA-3A opens them up further. It brings out the midrange more and thickens up that lovely sound! The iHA-6 will drive those headphones perfectly fine. Personally, I enjoyed the iHA-6 on the Caldera even more then the Atrium. Reason being is the high currant mode speeding them up a bit. I would imagine the HA-3A would only scale the Caldera up further.
@@Skeeb23 Thank you for the answers. This is a really useful information and I really appreciate it as it is hard to get answer like this with quite a specific headphone(s) and amp(s) combos. I will definitely check out HA-3A when I get the chance!
Thinkin an HA-3A is my next big purchase. Glad to hear you like it so much.
Hope You can make an HA-3A Review, haven't really considered it and it seems cool, wounder if ir would be better than a Woo Audio ay the same price
I use an RME ADI-2 DAC FS in multiple roles: in combination with a TOSLINK feed from the TV and Primare i35 amp with floor standing Falcon Acoustic RAM speakers; as a DAC pre-amp for the Cayin HA-3A tube headphone amp; and also as a fine headphone amp in its own right. However, for classical music listening I like the warmth of valves. Quite apart from its stellar build, one of the beauties of this DAC is its ability to shape sound through its EQ operation. This is a byproduct of RME’s studio equipment heritage and may be off-putting to many people. I’d include myself in this category were it not for the ability to download relevant preset parameter definitions for many headphones which then merely require inputting. The ADI Remote app makes this a breeze to do. Simple bass and treble adjustments on the fly are easily done too, either with the app or with dedicated rotaries. So it should be possible to tailor many if not most headphones to the HA-3A. I have done this with my Hifiman Arya Organics and they sound great. RME is one of the top names in the studio business and its support is renowned.
The HA-3A is a wonderful amplifier and certainly powerful enough for most headphones except possibly the most demanding planars. I have replaced the JJ 12AU7s with military grade Philips 5814A valves but the supplied AU7s are certainly excellent too. As for the build quality, I cannot fault it. I did consider the HA-6A and while this offers more flexibility it would have been overkill for my purposes and it is quite large and very heavy! I had a couple of operational queries which were addressed within hours by John Huang of Cayin’s support team. All round highly impressive!
I just recently tried the Cayin HA-3A with the Gustard DAC-X26Pro and the Sennheiser HD 660 S2 and HOLY SMOKES does it SOUND AMAZING!
From today, I've officially started saving money to buy the Cayin HA-3A...
🤞Hopefully someday...
The HA-300 was beautiful and glorious sounding. The best tube amp I heard, better than my Eddie Current Balancing Act with KR Audio PX4 tubes. Controlled, detailed, holographic, and Cayin’s signature inner warmth.
HA-3A is a beauty, there is something about tube amps that I adore. My dream would be one with 300b tubes but those are kind of expensive toys
my reference music player/amp/dac is the Sony DMP-Z1.
Absolute mad lad
Love my Bifrost and HA-3A! great selection. How come you got rid of your bottle head? Love your videos man! did you sell your AO's?
You should do a review on the Cayin HA-3A, not very many reviews on RUclips out there. Zach's was the only one I could find.
@@droptables7663 I'll look into it. If I do it would more than likely be after the holidays. As for the BHC and AO - I sold both of them. I ended up loving the Atrium Closed more for my tastes and I have the Auteur Classic which in many ways like the AO. I moved on from the BHC because of getting the HA-3A.
Thanks for the video, so what’s your source for your Dac’s? Thanks
Thank you for the video brother, really enjoyed it :) I have the ZMF Atticus and i am looking for a tube headphone amp. Looking currently the Cayin HA-3A mentioned in this video. However this headphone is extremely picky with amps due to its warm nature, for example i have a very good OTL amp and sounds dull with it. The only thing that pairs extremely well with Atticus is my Rupert Neve RNHP. Based on your experience with ZMF headphones would you recommend the Cayin tube amp?
Here's the thing...I can't fully endorse the HA-3A for the Atticus since I haven't personally heard that combo. However, Zach swears by the HA-3A among other Cayin amps he lists for his ZMF's. I would recommend reaching out to ZMF directly and asking them. That's what I love about them, they will answer you and be honest about it!
@@Skeeb23 Thank you very much for your response, noted 😉 Zach actually has recommended this amp to me, i just wanted also your thoughts! Take care 🙏
@@alexk1239hey just trying to help, I’ve never heard the Cayin tube amps, always wanted too, but another brand that pairs up really with the ZMFs is Felix’s Audio.
What are those feet on the IHA6?
Get a set of nice NOS tubes for that HA-3A down the line. :)
I definitely plan to get to tube rolling at some point.
@@Skeeb23just try to not get into tube rolling hell... It sucks lol
What do you use for splitter/switcher?
I'll link this video. Watch it if you want, but I have the links to the switch boxes I use here. ruclips.net/video/4rQrGJ10wNI/видео.html
Hi, can I ask for a comparison between IHA-6 vs HA-3A for ZMF Caldera/Atrium?
I can't speak on the Caldera, but for the Atrium the HA-3A opens them up further. It brings out the midrange more and thickens up that lovely sound! The iHA-6 will drive those headphones perfectly fine. Personally, I enjoyed the iHA-6 on the Caldera even more then the Atrium. Reason being is the high currant mode speeding them up a bit. I would imagine the HA-3A would only scale the Caldera up further.
@@Skeeb23 Thank you for the answers. This is a really useful information and I really appreciate it as it is hard to get answer like this with quite a specific headphone(s) and amp(s) combos. I will definitely check out HA-3A when I get the chance!
🤘