OPPO HA-1 Headphone Amplifier Preview

What’s in a name? That line from Shakespeare has interesting implications for OPPO’s latest creation, the HA-1. Not a company to come up with flashy monikers for their wares, the HA simply denotes that this device is a headphone amplifier. Of course, that’s much like boiling down my smartphone’s functionality into the term “cell phone”. Yes, that’s part of the package, but there’s a lot more. In this case, for $1,199 you get a headphone amplifier, a stereo pre-amplifier, a high end DAC, and a Bluetooth receiver in a pint-sized package. What would we have named it? “Turbo HADAC-Zilla” has a nice ring to it.

The Particulars

So what does Turbo HADAC-Zilla…err the HA-1 bring to the table? First and foremost, it is a headphone amplifier utilizing a discrete, fully balanced Class A topology. 6.35mm and 4 pin balanced outputs are provided, with an impedance range of 32 ohms – 600ohms specified. Frequency response is rated 10Hz-200kHz +0/-1dB with both outputs, and 20Hz-20kHz +0/-0.04dB, which is practically perfect. Output into a 600 ohm load is rated at 800mW and 200mW into balanced and unbalanced outputs respectively, while that rises to 2000mW and 500mW into a 32 ohm load. Signal to noise ratio is rated at >111dB for both outputs, but the balanced output has superior channel separation (>120dB vs >90dB). Overall, the HA-1 looks like a very capable headphone amplifier, and should mate perfectly with OPPO’s 32 ohm PM-1 headphones, as well as most other headphones on the market.

Of course as mentioned, the HA-1 is much more than a headphone amplifier, something a glance at the rear panel will confirm.

In addition to balanced and unbalanced analog inputs and preamplifier outputs, the HA-1 offers coaxial, optical, and AES/EBU digital inputs as well as an asynchronous USB input. Digital to analog conversion is provided courtesy of the ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC, also seen on OPPO’s BDP-105 Blu-ray player. As seen from our review of the BDP-105, the Sabre32 chip truly does offer reference grade quality (technical highlights include a 135dB dynamic range, and THD+N of -120dB), and ensures that your digital sources sound their absolute best.

What about connectivity for mobile devices you ask? The HA-1’s front panel boasts a USB input made specifically for Apple’s iDevices. However, if you’re not an Apple aficionado, you’re not left out in the cold.  The HA-1 also includes a Bluetooth receiver which utilizes the AptX codec for optimal sound quality over wireless. As further evidence that OPPO designed the HA-1 for people in the 21st century, there’s also a smartphone control app to control volume, source selection, etc. Pretty nifty in our books.

Summary

If you thought that $1,199 was a lot to ask for a simple headphone amplifier, you might be right. However, this OPPO is much more: the HA-1 is a true 21st century, reference grade stereo preamplifier in a compact chassis which also happens to boast a high quality headphone amplifier. Viewed in that light, the asking price becomes a relative bargain; add a laptop or tablet and a quality set of headphones like the aforementioned PM-1’s, and you’ve got a recipe for audio nirvana. Anybody need one of these bad boys for their setup? Make sure to let us know on the forums.

For more information, go to: http://www.oppodigital.com/headphone-amplifier-ha-1/

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.