Hi Ikel,
Welcome to AudioCircle and the Red Wine Audio forum!
I want to personally thank Srajan Ebaen of 6moons for his thorough review of the Isbellina HPA.
Over the last few years, 6moons’ reviews have helped increase market awareness for our products. We are a small company in a big ocean of high-end home audio companies, so 6moons and other online reviewers continue to play an important role in helping Red Wine Audio reach new customers - we are always very grateful for this!
We are also thankful, and frankly humbled by the numerous awards 6moons (Srajan and other 6moons reviewers) have bestowed on Red Wine Audio products over the years, including the Lunar Eclipse Award of the Signature 30.2, Blue Moon Awards of the fully-equipped Isabella tube linestage and Sig 70’s, and the Realization Award of the original Signature 30.
The Isabellina HPA was born from customer demand (you can even see the history of that demand if you dig into the RWA forum posts here on Audiocircle as well as on Headfi.com), and has become a customer favorite. Since shipments began in July, 2009, sales have averaged over 10 units per month. We have been very pleased with customer acceptance of this product, demonstrated by all the great feedback found on Headfi.com, here on the RWA forum, and the numerous emails I’ve received from customers who simply prefer not to post in online forums. I cannot thank you all enough for all your enthusiasm and support!
Srajan did an excellent job of capturing key aspects of why we feel the Isabellina HPA has done so well with our customers, including:
“…it's eminently relevant in the real world where folks hope to enjoy all of their music and not just a small audiophile-approved section which steadily shrinks as their audio investitures increase and their components improve. If this describes you; and you're not just about the absolutely steepest value for money; and not too concerned with pushing your system too far uphill into the sun-lit areas where each minor misstep telegraphs brutally - then the black box from Durham/Connecticut is another slam dunk from the go-off-the-grid company.”
(BTW - the reference to Durham, CT instead of Meriden, CT is because of our upcoming move:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=75875.0)
And…
“(for) Those who run the HD800 off its 36-gauge stock leash are in fact predestined to consider the HPA a match made in heaven.”
(We indeed have a lot of Senn HD800 customers and the synergy is fantastic!
)
We find Srajan’s use of the terms “real world” poignant, because like all Red Wine Audio gear, Isabellina HPA has been voiced to provide a sublime listening experience, even from everyday Redbook recordings - and a listening experience that is enjoyable for many years.
Here are some additional "insider tips" that will help you understand the design goals behind Isabellina HPA’s development (some of these were mentioned in the review):
• In addition to being an integrated DAC / headphone amp, HPA can be optionally configured with variable RCA outputs. For anyone who favors digital sources, this configuration plus a stereo amp and speakers, and your HPA investment can be leveraged into a great sounding 2-ch rig. We deliberately housed the HPA in the same enclosure used for our Signature 30.2 and 70.2 power amplifiers ($2,600 as a stereo amplifier), making an elegant pairing with high SAF (spouse acceptance factor).
• For those of you already set with a preamp, HPA can be configured with fixed RCA outputs. Now you have a great DAC / headphone amp combo, plus you have a very musical DAC that can again be used in your 2-ch system. So again, double duty from a single investment.
• Approximately 50% of HPAs shipped are equipped with optional DC-out, allowing HPA to provide clean SLA battery power to units like the Wadia iTransport, Onkyo ND-S1, Empirical Off-Ramp, and even the many 12V T-amps. This feature has been a big hit with our customers. It is kind of like having a built-in Black Lightning power supply as well!
Like all Red Wine Audio products purchased directly from us, Isabellina HPA comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. And while I tend to keep pretty tight-lipped about our numbers, I’ll offer the fact that of all the Isabellina HPAs sold since shipments began last July, not a single unit to-date has been returned for refund. A handful have been made their way back to us to undergo a full-upgrade to be transformed into Isabella vacuum-tube preamp [see 100% Trade-up Program:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=64996.0], but hey, that’s a whole ‘nother review
Again, I want to thank Srajan of 6Moons for all his time and effort in reviewing the Isabellina HPA, and I especially want to thank all our customers who use their HPA to enrich their listening experiences - for headphone listening, home-audio listening, or both.
Happy Listening!
Vinnie
