My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: US$1,199 Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier – Retro 80's Polished Portable HD Audio Sound System makes Live Music great with any Headphone

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

US$1,199 Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier – Retro 80's Polished Portable HD Audio Sound System makes Live Music great with any Headphone

What's a good pair of Headphones, even hand-crafted ones like the Master & Dynamic MH40 Headphones  as reviewed in my blog article entitled “Master & Dynamic MH40 Headphones – HD Audio just got Stylish Premium HD Audio Headphones support sans the Celebrities” if you don’t have great amplification to go with them?

The US$1,199 Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier is a must-have as explained in “The Oppo HA-1 headphone amplifier is definitely a slam-dunk for audiophiles”, published August 13, 2014 6:15 AM PDT by Steve Guttenberg, CNET News and “Oppo HA-1 Review: A Fantastic Headphone Amp”, published  8/11/2014 @ 11:26AM  by Geoffrey Morrison, Forbes.

Especially if you’re a DJ and you need quality amplification for your home sound system or for the next party you plan to MC.

It’s small and portable weighing in at 5.9 Kg (13lb) and has backpack sized dimensions of 254 mm by 80 mm by 333 mm (10 x 4.8 x 12.2 inches). For US$1,119 it comes with its own set of headphones optimized for use with the equipment, namely the Oppo's PM-1 headphones.

A straight aluminum deal unlike their line of Blu-Ray player which I’m familiar with, make it look and feel cool like my father's old 80’s Stereo Amplifier system and feel cool to the touch against the bare skin. It outer beauty belies what raw power it hides inside, from front to back.

Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier – Ample Display at front and Connections Galore at the back

The Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier bristles with connections with the regular standard 6.3mm headphone jack and the four-pin XLR "balanced" jack in case you wanna break out one of those high-end headphones in your collection like the  Audeze LCD 2 & LCD 3, AKG K812, the HiFiMan HE-560 or even some of the Sennheiser headphones.

The front panel display is a digital not analog one and is adjustable to show various displays such as:

1.      Audio format
2.      Digital VU meters
3.      Gain
4.      Input selected
5.      Spectrum display of frequencies

For the sound system peeps, this US$1,199 Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier is packing the heat at the back as well as inside. It's got a beast of a Class A Analog Amplifier with an optional 192kHz/24 bit or DSD digital converter.

Your Apple iPod, if you still love that player as I'd opined in my blog article entitled “Apple iPod Classic is Dead as Apple iPhone 6 Rises - Why a US$250 Apple iPod HD Music Player with Streaming Option is Possible”, and still use if for playing HD Music has a home on the Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier!

Aside from the USB connectors for music players like the Apple iPod, there's also connection ports for optical (Toslink), Coax (RCA), XLR and computer with the option for Bluetooth connectivity to connect all of your Bluetooth speakers as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple patents Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds as Wireless Bluetooth Speakers take Flight”.
 
There also ports for RCA and XLR analog inputs and outputs, making the Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier a really good decide to be packing in your backpack in case you need it as a preamplifier when you get to the session.

Heck this is such a complete system, all you’d need now is just to pack your laptop and the make sure there are speakers at the session you’re playing!

US$1,199 Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier – Sounds like Live Music with any Headphone

Its diminutive size is deceptive, but on the night it does manage to deliver, with exceptional clarity maintained across all frequencies and genres of music. The finer details of your HD Musical Tracks come to the fore with each instrument sounding distinct, meaning such formats will sound more detailed and pop with whichever RCA or XLR Headphones you use.


It’ll sound more and more as if the band was right there with you in the room with you, allow you to hear ever sound and very rasping breath of the artist, once your speakers can handle it. The Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier sound is very natural with little of the tinny sound typical of electronic preamplifier systems

But ultimately for you, what will make or break your decision to buy the Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier is whether it's worth the price. Trust me, for US$1,199 Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier plus the cost to ship it from the UK or Australia via a British Courier as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to ship things to Jamaica after you’re purchase them online”, it’s worth every dollar!


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