Oppo HA2

Any reviews/opinions on the OPPO HA2? Seems to be very well received afaik

 

i am not a fan of oppo products for the most part ( i dont mind the pm-3 for some fun listening) but the pm2 and pm1 are poop for the price, and the ha1 isnt great either as for 1100 you could get a Bifrost Multibit and a lyr2/valhalla2 which would be much better.

That all being said. I actually really like the ha-2, no brainer if your an apple user and still great for android, good alternative if your sick of waiting for the gov2+ which is over double the cost if you get the infinity version.

it uses the same ti chip for the headphone amp as the geek out v2+ does, also uses a 9018k2m as the dac as opposed to the 9018aq2m but similar non the less. it also uses hybrid digital and analog controlled volume as opposed to the strictly digital of the geek out v2+. The chassis is also a work of art, so slim and beautiful, yet amazing build quality and a nice genuine leather wrap that you feel no shame using in public. Has a lot of power as well, I tried with the hd650s and it would make you deaf if you have it on max volume, I had it around 4.5-5. Good sounding as well, its not an Yggdrasil or anything, but unless your listening to resolving cans on the go tbh I never found much difference with this kinda stuff. Enough for an UERM (no hissing that I can hear and I am quite sensitive) or any closed back cans you'd want to use on the gogo. havn't heard the geekout v2+ but id assume it has better sq, BUT AT WHAT COST?!?!?!


bargain overall at 299 id say. It also has a bass boost which is surprisingly really nice when your on a train or bus or something and it is really loud. You can also charge your phone with it as it has a battery backup mode. it also has line in, line out jacks for using it with different amps or DACS and also actually does have a trrs jack for "balanced grounding" if your into that sort of thing.

This should be on the wall of fame here IMOTBHIMO

This is some geek porn right here:

 

Versus the JDS element? It is roughly $469 for the HA2 and $550 for the Element here in Singapore.

 

There is a huge difference in portability between the two, not exactly apples and oranges.

 

A friend of mine loves it a lot. He pairs it with his 64 Audio Adel A12s, he bought a Mojo and returned it because it didn't bring him the same set of details.

Take that for what it's worth, I found it an awful pairing with my Shure 1540, but at the price you're looking at plus the portability, it's really a good value.

 

I really like mine as well, for many of the reasons Judeus mentioned. My main gripe is that as an android user you can't charge your phone with the same otg cable, and have to switch out to the full size to micro USB to charge.

Otherwise it's sleek, powerful enough, especially in a portable context, and it's the only bass boost I've ever liked, it's very polite

 

I was thinking of using it at the desktop as well, as I have found myself to be too lazy sometimes to carry out an amp/dac since I largely stream music primarily to block out the background noise.

 

Just a brief example I have previously bought a Fiio E07K and Sony PHA-1 to attach to my phone during transit but in the end both are now linked to my computer and used as a 'desktop' amp/dac instead of a portable one like initially planned. So in the event that I'll end up just leaving it at home, would the OPPO be worth it or should I just spring for the element instead. Just to note I'm pairing it with an InEar SD2 and am not looking to upgrade my IEMs for a bit. Perhaps a pair of headphones for home use in time.

 

Without hearing the Element (but I have heard the ODAC with and without an O2) I would guess quality wise they would be similar IF you continue to have IEMs/ easy to drive headphones. The HA-2 is much less powerful than the element, so current hungry planars (or 600 ohm dynamics I would assume) are possibly not ideal. Anecdotally, the my HE-500 and Alpha Dogs sound fine from the HA-2, but are improved out of a much more powerful desktop amp

 

I’ve got both the HA-2 and HA-2SE. Both are lovely portable DAC/Amps with great synergy with the PM-3s. I personally prefer the SE sound more, whereas my wife likes the og sound - so everyone is happy. I don’t feel either one is particularly more resolving, just the sound signatures feel slightly different.

The battery life could be better, I think it’s around 3-5h, so charging is required quite often - with Micro USB regrettably.

Since iOS11, I have been having this weird skipping problem though. It kinda sounds like old CD skips. I have tried to isolate the issue. It happens on both og and SE. It happens with new cables. It happens for streamed music and offline music. It happens in Apple Music and Tidal. But it doesn’t happen if my iPhone is locked, only if I am browsing the web or using apps, almost like the phone would choke under load. Really weird. Anyone else have this?