šŸ”· Cayin iHA - 6

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories [Official] Headphone Amps
21

I donā€™t understand this. Iā€™ve seen this said about many balanced amps, that the single ended sucks. Would it really make the amp that much more expensive to have a great singled ended side as well?

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22

You would have to pretty much design an amp with separate se and balanced circuits if you wanted equally good quality on both imo (but Iā€™m no amp designer) , so it would most likely add cost. If you didnā€™t use the balanced, they would just expect you get an unbalanced amp lol

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23

Of course, but like some headphones donā€™t have the ability to run balanced, like the NDH20. Guess Iā€™m back to just getting the Neve and being happy without balancedšŸ˜

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24

Imo amps like the rnhp that only have a se option are fine. itā€™s when theres a balanced and se on the amp that the se typically is an afterthought.

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25

Yeah it seems that way for sure

26

So in a cagefight between the IHA-6 and the Liquid Platinumā€¦who wins? How would your opinion change if the IHA-6 had a tube pre built into the DAC? How does the balanced performance (aside from power) stack up against the single ended of the RNHP?

27

So personally I think it would come down to the headphones used, and if you wanted something more colored or not, I think if you wanted something not as colored as the plat but wanted the power and drive, the iha6 would be pretty solid imo.

It would depend on what you are going for sound wise and what dac it is, same with the lp

Much more impactful for sure, can drive more hungry planars a bit better imo, I donā€™t think itā€™s got as naturalness of sound, but it does have a bit more forward sound compared to the rnhp. I think the iha-6 doesnā€™t recreate space as accurately as the rnhp but I also think it might be a bit more aggressive in itā€™s staging which some may prefer. I donā€™t think either the rnhp or iha6 are harsh amps, but again imo it would come down to pairing for the headphones

28

Everything I have can be balanced, except for the X2HR, which Iā€™m going to sell. Nighthawk, Elegia, Elex, Helios, 58x, Argon, Aeon X, Ether CX, HE4XX, LCD2-F, M1070, M570ā€¦I tend toward somewhat of a warmer natural sound, with good extension on the upper end, but without being piercing. I also have more planars than dynamics, and probably prefer the planar sound slightly.

Itā€™d be the IDAC-6 MkII. Does the tube pre somewhat enhance the naturalness the IHA-6 can achieve?

Would the same apply to the LP against the RNHP?

29

So I think the liquid plat is a bit less forward, but still is a bit more colored than the rnhp, the liquid plat would throw a larger and more expansive stage than the rnhp but a slight less accurate. The play is more impactful ofc. Detail wise they are both pretty natural but the lp is a slight bit rolled in the treble eversoslightly

I havenā€™t heard it so I canā€™t really say, but a tube pre doesnā€™t necessarily enhance naturalness but it can change the sound, it would most likely lean a bit warmer here. If I were to go based off the older idac-6 I would end up preferring the ares ii or bifrost 2 if you wanted more naturalness, but I canā€™t say for sure not having heard the mk2

Hmmmm, I think you would like the plat for the most part but also appreciate the forwardness of the ha6, I think both would be pretty solid for the most part imo.

30

Ok, so now to throw one more wrenchā€¦Questyle CMA400i. As a combo, how would it stack up in the natural warmth category, and quality of DAC relative to the IDAC? The original IDAC had the same AKM 4490 chipset as the 400i, but the new one has the ES9028Pro, which tends to be implemented in a way that is more harsh, but from what Iā€™ve read has maintained more of the signature of the original in this implementation.

Essentially trying to narrow down to a single DAC with maybe two amps that will hold over for quality for a while. I have all of the stated gear now, but donā€™t have the time (or honestly experience) to go through a critical listening process of elimination since I need to get some stuff liquidated to get out of the dog house.

ATM, Iā€™m slightly leaning toward keeping the Cayin stack and selling everything elseā€¦except perhaps one other amp.

31

So I do think the iha6 + idac would be an upgrade over the questyle overall imo, but it is going to be a tad less relaxed than the questyle but overall personally I would easily prefer the cayin stack for what you have

Gotcha, well I mean the cayin stack would be very flexible and have good synergy, so in this case imo it might make the most sense with the least amount of hassle

32

I experienced first hand how garbage the fiio k5 pro pre out is. Currently Iā€™m using my laptopā€™s headphone out and am looking for a dac preferably under 500 that compliments the iha6. Any suggestions?

33

Iā€™m using the IDAC-6 mkII, which Iā€™m really enjoying and is made for the IHA-6, but that might be tough to find under 500. You can sometimes find the mkI in that vicinity. New, the Schiit Modius, SMSL SU-8, or Geshelli Enog might be good balanced options in the sub-500 range, with the Modius being the warmest leaning.

34

Thanks i guess ill save up for a idac6 hopefully they dont discontinued like the og version.

Although smsl su8 at 200 does look temping though.

Btw is there any significant advantage to using full balanced?

35

Most of the advantage is related to higher voltage output from the DAC being essentially double that of single ended. That means that as the amp increases gain, it should take a bit longer to introduce distortion. There are also some crosstalk advantages in keeping the channels separated through the chain, but more noticeable is likely the lower distortion.

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36

In most home setups, theoretically no. However, gear that is balanced is most often designed around being balanced. The engineers put more time into getting the balanced sections right. So, if you buy gear that is balanced, you should use its balanced features.

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37

Thanks WaveTheory, just curous while I need to save up for the iDAC6 would double amping at 50% at low gain though the k5 pro headphone out work for now?

At least this setup seems to give a cleaner signal to the iha6 than my laptop audio out or the k5 pro line out.

38

Double amping meaning using the headphone output of the K5 Pro to go to the Cayin? No. Donā€™t do that. Good chance youā€™ll burn both units up if you do that much.

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39

I have just found Resolveā€™s review of this amp and it interests me. This amp introducing a greater sense of dynamics particularly. How would this IHA-6 compare to my Singxer SA-1?

40

Having owned the IHA-6 for a year and demoed the Singxer SA-1 I would say the dynamics are about the same. The IHA-6 is better in that it has more grip over the driver but generally that is only important for high impedence dynamics. Also the SA-1 has better electrical noise filtering. That being said the IHA-6 can go really black if you are willing to invest in power filtering gear.

All in all I would rec the Singxer SA-1 anyday over the IHA-6 because its less tempermental even though the IHA-6 if given the correct treatment is alot better in playing back brickwalled multi layered J-core and I wouldnt trade my IHA-6 for a SA-1.

That being said I feel that the IHA-6 is truely one of the best amps for cable memes as its practically a garbage in garbage out kind of amp with minimal filtering.

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