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The HA-2A is a member of Cayin's HA headphone amplifier series, which also includes the well-known HA-300MKii, the HA-6A and the HA-3A.
The HA-2A, which shares a common layout and panel style with the HA series, features two cold-light VU meters. The HA-2A is also one of the members of Cayin's new desktop system, which forms a four-piece package with the iDAP-8, iDAC-8, and iHA-8. The HA-2A is a single-ended Class A vacuum tube headphone amplifier.
NOS tubes
The HA-2A differs from the other HA series in that it is Cayin's first tube headphone amplifier made entirely of NOS tubes. NOS (New Old Stock) refers to a tube that has never been used and comes from an old production run.
The amplifier consists of a total of five tubes, with the RCA 17AX4GT serving as the rectifier tube, supplying current to the plate electrode of the preamp tubes. This allows the unique richness of overtones and the warm, delicate sound characteristics of tube rectification to come into their own.
Both the preamp and power amps feature Amperex's famous "Bugle Boy" tubes, a brand all too familiar to serious tube users. The two Amperex ECF82/6U8s in the preamp and the two Amperex 17BF11s in the power amp undergo a rigorous internal testing and tuning process before we can install them in our amplifier.
30 years of tube experience in one device
Cayin has been manufacturing tube amplifiers for 30 years, and we have accumulated years of expertise and development experience in the field of vacuum tube audio technology. Our extensive research experience and vast inventory of various types of audio tubes played a crucial role in the development of the HA-2A. The HA-2A uses exclusively NOS vintage tubes, which can be considered the use of the best tubes from our inventory.
The ECF82/6U8 and 17BF11 tubes used in the HA-2A were likely manufactured in the early 1950s, thus belonging to the American rather than the Dutch production period. They were used specifically in the audio section of early tube televisions and became almost the standard configuration for TV audio at that time.
The Amperex ECF82/6U8 is a hybrid tube that combines a high-gain pentode and a medium-gain triode. Cayin's designers take full advantage of the tube's low internal resistance and low noise by applying a unique and sophisticated design, wiring methods, and power supply arrangements to achieve a rich, warm, balanced, and harmonious sound experience.
The Amperex 17BF11 is a dual-pentode composite tube, originally used in early applications with one pentode for voltage gain and the other for power gain. However, in the HA-2A, Cayin engineers designed the tube to always operate in single-ended Class A mode. They carefully designed the amplification circuit and incorporated a proprietary Z11 iron-core EI output transformer, which is ultimately responsible for driving the headphones.
20Hz to 50 kHz
The HA-2A differs from previous HA headphone amplifiers in that the nominal frequency response of the HA-2A can reach 20 Hz–50 kHz at +/- 3 dB. This is a very impressive value among our HA series tube headphone amplifiers.
Like the other Cayin HA amplifiers, the HA-2A is constructed using point-to-point welding technology to ensure the shortest signal path and improve the transparency and refinement of the audio performance.
It features dual RCA and XLR inputs and is equipped with balanced 6.35 mm, 4-pin XLR, and balanced 4.4 mm headphone outputs. It also offers high, medium, and low impedance adjustment modes, allowing the user to conveniently pair headphones with different impedances and drive requirements (known as the impedance-matched output, which is featured on all HA series headphone amplifiers).
The device is compact and weighs only 10 kg, which makes it relatively small among tube headphone amplifiers and very suitable for use on the desk.
Highlights
- 5 NOS (New Old Stock) tubes from the 50s
- Amperex ECF82/6U8 in the preamplifier and two Amperex 17BF11 in the power amplifier
- Single-ended Class A mode
- 20Hz-50 kHz at +/- 3dB
- two cold light VU meters
- Point-to-point welding technology for the shortest signal path
- RCA and XLR dual inputs
- balanced 6.35 mm, 4-pin XLR and balanced 4.4 mm headphone outputs
- Weight approx. 10kg
Technical data
