So the HPA 9 arrived yesterday, had a good, long listening session cold out of the box because, well, it just sounded so good. Yeah, there were some typical unbroken in nasties, but even they were mild in intensity and confined to the upper ranges. Bass had none of that muddy, mushy, mess that you can get with a fresh amp, it was tight and extended. A little closed in when first turned on that opened up nicely in just an hour or so, and today after about 30 hours of yesterday's play and on repeat all night through today everything just blooms. All the bad stuff is gone or nearly gone, extended soundstage, very good imaging, sweet tone, tight bass, and good dynamics are in abundance. Listening done with Hifiman HE 400i's and Beyerdynamic T-90's, didn't get to the Grado RS-2i's, maybe next session. The sound through these phones is very detailed and clear, not a bit of problem driving either one.
Had a little time with the phono pre section from my VPI Traveler and the preamp function through my Meadowlark Audio Shearwater Hot Rod speakers. Nice depth, good dynamics, but it will need a lot more time on it to make even rudimentary judgements vs the PS Audio 4.6 preamp it's replacing. I'll just need a lot more time for comparisons across the board to form solid opinions, but I really like what I hear so far. It sounds, expensive, the best compliment I could give it so far. My only real complaint is plugging in a headphone doesn't mute the preamp, so you have to turn off your power amp to silence the speakers. C'mon NuPrime, really? I know it's a price point product meant mostly for headphones, but if you're going to market it as a preamp how much would a muting circuit cost to add? Regardless, I'm really smitten with the HPA 9 and I'm doing the usual pulling out all the old records and cd's to see what new stuff I can hear.
