 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
76.105.151.30
In Reply to: RE: REVIEW: Fournier HTA-1 Other posted by Adriel on December 18, 2011 at 13:40:46
I can't even imagine what kind of source you were using to get such awful sound out of this headphone amp. I can tell you that the DAC that comes built into the DAC2 connected to a properly configured PC sounds smooth, clean, and very detailed. I also was surprised to hear you say that it did not have much of a tube sound. To me it has so much of a tube sound that its hard to believe that it has solid state output. It sounds great with the supplied JJ tubes. Someday I might try something else, but I could just as easily see myself being happy with the stock tubes for the next 10 years.
The tube sockets are high quality ceramic and after having removed and reinstalled the tubes several times I have to believe that only the inexperienced would find the tubes difficult to insert. The tubes might have been a tiny bit harder to insert than in an amp where the sockets are on the surface, but I can't imagine actually bending the pins.
I do agree with you for the most part regarding the aesthetics. I like the simple clean design of the case and I don't even mind the color. What I hated was the lighting. The blue lights under the tubes were obviously intended for people that had never seen tubes before and the ridiculously bright blue pilot light was a real deal breaker. I decided to make my Fournier the way I said it should have been in my review. I removed the blue LEDs from under the tube sockets which required unsoldering and resoldering them. Then I traded out the blinding blue light for a much dimmer amber light.
Follow Ups:
"awful sound" is not what I had tried to say. I will try to explain better my personal biases.The HTA-1 is the 4th zero feedback amplifier I have owned. They are all special in that they present the full detail of ambient decay without truncation. But that occurs whether tube or solid state, so when I talk tube versus solid state I am using the generic stereotypical "dry vs wet" concepts.
Stuff I have used that have stereotypical tubyness:
EL34 monoblocks (tube)
300B monoblocks (tube)
Jolida integrated (hybrid mosfet/tube pre)
TAD Hibachi II monoblocks (solid state)Stuff I have that is drier, "solid state sound":
Charlize Tripath (solid state)
Topping TP30 (solid state)
Fournier HTA-1 (hybrid mosfet/tube pre)Stuff that is somewhat balanced:
Vintage 90s Rotel integrated (solid state)The one thing that gives away a solid state amplifier, to me, is those sharp high frequencies.
I took a quick look at my other stuff with tubes (monoblocks, preamp, phono, dac, hybrid integrated) but none are like the HTA-1 sockets. They have rounded top edges, concave slope toward the pin sockets, and the openings are seemingly pin-prick small at least for signal tubes. Impossible to misalign, easy to slide or rock in if needed. The HTA-1 has a flat top, wide openings, and requires a perfect alignment before pushing down. I haven't encountered anything like it before, and I admit I have had to perform some corrective re-straightening of bent stuff.
Edits: 12/19/11
Wow! Your experience with the tube sound has been somewhat different than mime. Assuming that the "Jolida integrated (hybrid mosfet/tube pre)" was a 1501 I owned one of those for awhile and though is to be the least tube like sound I had ever heard. I had just traded out a EL34 based amplifier and actually thought something was wrong with the Jolida because it was so flat sounding.
I still have it, the 1301 that I got immediately following boot camp in 2003. Ei 12ax7 was still available back then, as well as winged c svetlana. It had mosfet haze, about the only flaw I could think of. Now if only RAM was still modding it for class a operation that flaw could be corrected.I don't know why we heard it so differently. Maybe I'm just crazy.
Edits: 12/20/11 12/20/11 12/20/11
...the tube sockets are a bit tough to deal with because they are recessed (as you say) and because you can't see the sockets when inserting the pins due to the rubber tube dampers. I agree the quality of the sockets is just fine and I've never bent any pins.
I agree with you 100% on the sound. I find it very tube-like.
Although the silly lights don't bother me much, I do prefer the way yours looks and will probably mod mine when in the mood for a small project.
All-in-all, this little, affordable amp, has blown me away.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Post a Followup:
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
