Most expensive headphone amp ever? (HPA-KG NARU)

Holy shit, this amp is $108,000! The headphones are $4,200


https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/hpa-kg-naru

About the amp and headphones
https://audioxpress.com/news/audio-...h-end-tube-headphone-amplifier-and-headphones

 

I'd rather own 24.5 DNA Stratus (one for each room in my castle) and a JAR 650.

But, the headphones come with the amp at the $108,000 price so it's a pretty good deal.

 

It uses ZMF pads, so it has that going for it…

 

If you take out the cost of the headphones and tubes, we're down to 5 figures - real bargain territory!

It does look nice, anyway.

 

Someone over at the other place got a loaner of the headphones and wrote the most pained, generic writeup of it's sound (the absolute least they could say to stay in AT's good graces). AT has stopped being a serious audio company somewhere around the time of the W3000ANV. They haven't done anything remotely interesting since that headphone except push pricing to absolute insanity. I am just speculating but I wouldn't be surprised if AT has some private equity investment.

 

I mentioned this elsewhere but why Lundahls from a Japanese company? There’s Hashimoto, Tamura, Tango; all brands with incredible audiophile reputation and would easily find a place in a $$$$$$ amp

Edit:

Well at least it looks like they are using the most premium Lundahls with silver-wire transformers. From audioxpress

 

Pure madness, 108k usd for mid-fi stuff.

No DHT driver tube and mid-fi Lundahl transformers (no silver, no finemet core, etc)...should cost less than 10k, fancy wood chassis and all tubes included.

I get why some of the Kondo or Thomas Mayer stuff can cost 100k+, parts cost and labour justify the price. But what Audio Technica is doing is basically a robbery, charging Kondo/Thomas Mayer price with a BOM suitable for a mid-fi tube amp.

Chassis does look nice tho, the headphones too (albeit they are probably mid-fi too).

 

Did 9-moons feature a beautifully-composed photograph of the price tag?

 

What an ugly POS.

 

As they say, designed for people with more money than brains (or taste).

 

LOL, I'm sure the 9-moons guys will make it look great. Especially to the people @rlow mentions.

I don't usually like gratuitous wood on modern steel cabinets. Either make the thing out of wood or leave it out! But that grain is rather nice. Hopefully, at price, it might even be customisable. Like the interior of a Rolls Royce or Bentley.

 

Someone should airdrop about 2000 Portapros on AT headquarters

 

I don't see the blow-job socket anywhere. For $108000 I expect to be blown away, daily and literally.

 

Anyone going to CanJam NYC 2024 (March 9 – 10 at the Marriott Marquis, New York)? It's supposed to be there.

 

The wood is absolutely horrendous.

 

@YMO , we need a joke ...

 

Way too many disparate visual design elements. It's like it was styled by somebody who had too many ideas and decided to use them all in one (in)glorious orgasm.

 

looks vaguely like the Enigma code machine...

 

It's the only bit I like!

 

Except that the Enigma actually looks good.