A-100 vs XDA-2

[tomincle]

A couple of weeks ago I ordered an A-100 to solely use as an headphone amp, This week I have been listening to Tidal MQA titles and I have
been really been evaluating the A-100 in big way. A couple of nights ago I plugged my HIFIMAN HE-4XX into the XDA-2 and was amazed
how great the fidelity was, Then It got me thinking maybe the XDA is just a better match for my headphones. The A-100 has more dynamics
when the jumpers are installed but the XDA simply has more finesse but neither sound is head and tails above the other just different.

For the music I listen to mostly (jazz and acoustic rock) the XDA is what I want to listen too but if I was still a hard rocker or into rap the A-100 would
be the choice. So this lead me to the conclusion it was time to send the A-100 back within my 30 day trail, This morning I hooked up my T1 
speakers for the first time to the A-100 and was blown away by the overall fidelity of this little amp. The 4 ohm load of the T1 should not be tried with most 
50 watt amps but as most of us know the A-100 is not your usual 50 watt amp, So here I am pondering once again if I should send it back. 
It would just be a stand by amp, My question is the A-100 an entirely different beast sound wise than the PT-100 ? For another $70 I'd rather have its feature set.
The A-100 has the same sound signature as my XPA-2 and that makes me very happy. 

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[creimes]

What about getting some T0 or the T1 before they are gone and putting a little setup in another room ?

[tomincle]

Feb 15, 2019 10:24:24 GMT -5 creimes said:

What about getting some T0 or the T1 before they are gone and putting a little setup in another room ?

I have a set of T1. 

[creimes]

Feb 15, 2019 11:06:42 GMT -5 tomincle said:

Feb 15, 2019 10:24:24 GMT -5 creimes said:

What about getting some T0 or the T1 before they are gone and putting a little setup in another room ?

I have a set of T1. 

I know but for another room use the Mini A-100 for a second setup

[garbulky]

I gotta say I am really surprised by your impressions. I found the XDA-2's headphone amp inadequate - though clear. The A-100 amp was imo much better. Compared the XDA-2 had a smear to its dynamics and the soundstage was saturated as in everything was closer together. While the A-100 gave a bit more space and had nice dynamics. I was using high impedance Sennheiser (HD600, 6xx and 700). I've never tried the Hifiman though I've heard good things! The Hifimans are low impedance so the XDA-2 can probably swing a good deal of power into them. If you like the XDA-2, you are going to like the amp on the DC-1.

I haven't tried my curent A-100 with the speakers. But I did try the old A-100 with my speakers and I thought they sounded just fine. And yes they did sort of remind me of the XPA-2 gen 1 at the time. I think the XPA-2 does sound a bit better in overall heft but I was very surprised at how well this small amp was able to interact with some tough speakers. I bet it sounds great with the T1s!

[KeithL]

I think you'll find that different headphones have very different requirements in terms of which amps work best with them...

And some are far more demanding than others...

Feb 15, 2019 11:43:14 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I gotta say I am really surprised by your impressions. I found the XDA-2's headphone amp inadequate - though clear. The A-100 amp was imo much better. Compared the XDA-2 had a smear to its dynamics and the soundstage was saturated as in everything was closer together. While the A-100 gave a bit more space and had nice dynamics. I was using high impedance Sennheiser (HD600, 6xx and 700). I've never tried the Hifiman though I've heard good things! The Hifimans are low impedance so the XDA-2 can probably swing a good deal of power into them. If you like the XDA-2, you are going to like the amp on the DC-1.

I haven't tried my curent A-100 with the speakers. But I did try the old A-100 with my speakers and I thought they sounded just fine. And yes they did sort of remind me of the XPA-2 gen 1 at the time. I think the XPA-2 does sound a bit better in overall heft but I was very surprised at how well this small amp was able to interact with some tough speakers. I bet it sounds great with the T1s!