New Headphone amp for use with my Dan Clark Audio Aeon2 Noire
(replacing a Burson Soloist SL MkI)
A Bakoon HPA-21 battery powered amp with a current output.
Reported to work well with low impedance Planar headphone designs, such as the DCA Aeon2 models with 13ohm and 92dB
And the Current output does sound better than the Voltage one with the Dan Clark’s.
Need to try the Current input from the Bakoon EQA-11R phono stage.
Presently using the PreAmp fixed level outputs (Tape Out) on the Sim Audio Moon I5 with volume at zero.
Digital source is still the same Roon based NDS with 555DR on Socket 1 for the Digital side, and a custom supply on Socket 2 for the Analogue stage.
Between the 2nd power supply for the NDS, a pair of Harmonic Tech Reference Silver mains cables with Synergistic Purple fuses for Amp and NDS Analogue Power supply, some further Room treatment and now the Bakoon HPA-21, it has been 6 months of considerable step-ups for my system.
Oh yes, and a custom cable for the Dan Clark’s. The 3m VIVO cable I bought for them, just wasn’t long enough (strange how the 3m cable for the B&W P5 headphone was), but it wasn’t touching the floor and spanned between the Headphone Amp and the headphones, dragging on them and making the cable microphonic. I tried to return and exchange for a longer one, but Dan Clark only take returns on headphones and not £400 (once you include shipping and Import tax & VAT) cables.
So I got Sky Audio to make an 8 core Silver dual mono cable in a 5m length to make sure! I supplied a Cardas 1/4 TRS plug.
Cable construction is excellent, reasonable price given the bespoke order.
So the sound, well on the HPA-21 on the Current output, very quiet, with very black background. Sweeter in the treble, some of slam & punch of the Burson gone, but replaced by a refined musicality in its presentation. Soundstage has much more extra detailed, with an additional sense of airiness to the picture.
Well worthy of the past reviews, able to be found on this amp.
The Silver cable, once burnt in, opened up and there was an additional sweetness over the VIVO cable. The supplier Dummer cable never came out of the box, as not a pair of headphones I would travel with, despite the beautiful folding mechanism.
Last night’s 3-hour listening session didn’t drain the battery, so must try harder.
Update
I have now connected up the Bakoon EQA-11R current output to the HPA-21 current input, the “Satri-Link connection” using a pair of BNC/RCA with a BNC adaptors (trying to find out what the original BNC/BNC cables were & whether still available), and WOW the presentation over this connection, makes the RCA connection through the Sim Audio Moon Pre-Amp sound splashy and ill-defined, more detail with even less noise.
So the Satari-Link connection is Current amplification from the cartridge to the headphones, worth the time to make this additional connection.
