![]() This will be familiar to the MK1 owners though the target impedance has been tweaked a little more to suit a lot of headphones these days that have low impedance values. The HA-300MK2 also features an impedance control option which is something I am seeing more and more now, particularly on tube headphone amplifiers. Unmatched and with a 5-10 year life cycle should also mean a fairly low-cost maintenance budget if you decide to roll or replace these tubes. The choice of tubes and overall physical design look very much like the original HA-300’s PSU and given they have independent wiring and functionality you do not need to have them matched. Since the HA-300MK2 is a pure SET design, the PSU is driven by a quad set of NOS RCA 22DE4 rectifier tubes. Copyright Cayin 2022 2-Box DesignĮxternally, one of the unmistakable aesthetical features of the HA-300MK2 is the split between the power supply and the amplifier itself.Ĭayin calls this their two-box design and though it is by no means an exclusive design approach to the company it does allow them a degree of freedom to design a rectification stage whilst reducing the potential for electrical interference. Genelex is now under the ownership of the New Sensor Corporation combined with Electro-Harmonix in the US which also carries a lot of other big-name tube brands such as Mullard and Svetlana.Ĭayin refers to the PX300B tubes as a good all-rounder or a ‘common man’ upgrade 300B tube and one that remains faithful to the typical natural sounding 300B sound signature. Now, from what I understand Cayin deliberated the potential of a set of FullMusic 300B tubes but opted for a matched pair of Gold Lion Genelex PX300B tubes instead as it better matched their intended ‘house sound’. ![]() These are never cheap tubes to roll, especially a matched pair with some of the headline options costing as much as $700 in the open market. Originating as far back as the 1930s and originally developed by Western Electric, this is a large directly heated triode tube and one that ties in nicely with the purist or minimalist approach of the HA-300MK2 topology. The HA-300MK2’s 300B output or power tubes are the calling card, however. However, they are also valued for their ability to tease out some improved body and richness in the amplification tone to deliver a very natural sound signature. These are a favorite among desktop tube amp fans, primarily for good low-noise performance. The driver tubes are a pair of matched Tung-Sol 6NS7GTB dual-triode tubes. The amplification itself is handled in two distinct phases and both are underpinned by a set of tubes, driver, and power. A push-pull is more powerful given you can ramp up the number of tubes per channel but for some, the SETA smoothness is lost as a result. The general consensus is that due to this topology, the SETa is generally a smooth sound signature but more limited in potential power because you can only use 1 output tube. SETA means a design that uses a single-triode tube per channel that allows the signal to stay intact throughout rather than a push and pull design that splits the plus/minus of the signal mid-path via a pair of tubes, (or more), and then reforms to complete its output. This is also a single-ended triode amplifier for speakers usually referred to as SET or SETA as opposed to a hybrid tube amplifier or one using a push-pull design. The HA-300MK2 is a transformed coupled Class-A headphone tube amp for the purists. All of them, including the HA-300MK2, are competing for the high-end audiophile’s attention. It is also an ideal year also to assess stuff like this with the recent launch of some superb headphone tube amps such as the Feliks Audio Envy and laterally, the new dCS Lina solid-state headphone amplifier. So the arrival of the new flagship HA-300MK2 integrated headphone and speaker amplifier for review gives me an ideal opportunity to explore Cayin’s true legacy product range, their big rigs, or desktop amplification products. However, I was simply not in a position to dive into and listen in more detail to complete the picture. ![]() Sadly, it never arrived here for review.įrom the brief time I did spend with it, the sound was delightful. The original HA-300 from Cayin was a desktop amplifier I have encountered on more than a few occasions at some of the trade shows before Covid was a thing.
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