The little transportable HPA-01M Bakoon amp, with its Satri design, is incredible in its own way. The Bakoon can’t compete with the A2 in terms of detail, clarity and sound stage but it is very good as well. It’s just a different kind of sound where bass gets a focus and where the mids are full bodied like on the V281. The Bakoon is especially good with orthos.
The Beyerdynamic A20, the amp I use at a daily basis in my office – mostly with the HD650 or Philips X2– is a lot darker sounding. It doesn’t have the sound stage, clarity or detail of the A2 amplifier. It does however have more warmth, bass and full bodied mids. Exactly the reason why I like it so much with the before mentioned headphones.
The Violectric V200, which I just sold, is completely different sounding. The A2 has more clarity and detail with a bigger sound stage. The V200 is full bodied on the other hand, with more bass and warmth. Basically it’s the same as the V281 when using the Single Ended out.
Headphones
The A2 was developed to be used with higher impedance headphones and as a result the A2 drives the Beyerdynamic T90 perfectly. It gives the Tesla just the right amount of bass body it needs. The T90 is known for its very good sound stage and the A2/T90 combo does not disappoint in that way. The T90 delivers an airy sound but in the most positive way I can mean it. The level of detail this combination delivers is insane. If anything describes the Beyerdynamic house sound, this is it. Clarity, detail, sound stage. All that while being musical and smooth. That also means you better like your treble though. If anything, I’d like the A2 to add a bit more body to the mids like the Bakoon International and Violectric V281 amplifier do, but the change is refreshing.
When using the Hifiman HE-560 orthodynamic headphone, the first thing you’ll do is turn the volume button up. The orthos of course are quite a bit harder to drive but the A2, even while it’s not developed with these technology headphones in mind, has no issues driving them. Personally I prefer the Hifiman’s on the even more powerful V281 in SE mode but that doesn’t mean the HE-560 combo doesn’t sound good. If I’m honest it sounds more than good and I’m sure that 90% of the HE-560 owners will love this combination as the A2 amp perfectly highlights all the HE-560’s strong points: speed, clarity, detail and sound stage. I’ve been using it with the brand new Charleston cable that has the exact same characteristics (more on that soon). I wouldn’t recommend the A2 if you want your HE-560 to have more bass or body though, you won’t find that in this combination. You would then, like me, rather listen to it on the Violectric amplifiers. That being said, the A2 and HE-560 combo is extremely good.
The Audeze LCD2.1 is a bit like the HE-560. Volume goes up a bit (but not as much) and you do get the same great match. Does the A2 like orthodynamic headphones that much? Well, the A2 simply excels in highlighting your headphone’s strongest points. For the Audeze this, contrary to the other headphones, means good bass body and full bodied mids. The A2 actually clears up the LCD-2 a bit and that’s something quite a few of you are looking for. The LCD2.1 is still one of my favorite headphones, and I have to admit it can sound a bit dark with the Forza AudioWorks cable. The A2 lifts all that and make the LCD-2 sound wonderful. That being said, I do prefer it on the V281 in balanced mode. Same goes for the Audeze LCD-XC. I found all Orthodynamic headphones to sound best on the +100Ohm setting.
When I plugged in the Beyerdynamic DT770 AE, I wasn’t sure what to expect. In theory it should do just fine with the A2 but after having seen what it does to the other headphones, I wasn’t sure anymore. My suspicion got confirmed. I love the DT770 AE/32 and I’ve recommended it hundreds of times already and I can’t remember anyone that didn’t like it. I however do always mention to use it with a warmer and full bodied source, and that’s something the A2 is not. This isn’t how I know and like the DT770. The mids are a bit thin, and while bass is quite alright, I’m still missing a bit of bass body and especially the musically just isn’t there for me in this combination. It do is very clear and open sounding with a good sound stage and I’m sure that will seduce a lot of listeners. I tried it on both impedance settings but it just isn’t the setup for me.
The A2 can handle headphones between 16 and 600Ohm but we often find out that isn’t the case. When I connected my custom inear monitors from CustomArt (Harmony 8 Pro), Cosmic Ears CE4P and Rhines Audio (Stage 5) after having switched the impedance setting on the bottom of the A2 amp of course, I heard mixed things. The Stage 5 (24Ohm) and CE4P (16Ohm) hummed immediately, and it was audible on silent passages so I wouldn’t recommend those. The CustomArt Harmony 8Pro however was dead silent and was an absolute joy to listen to. I really love the H8P and a review will be up shortly.
Conclusion
The A2 amp doesn’t come cheap, it will set you back €1,490 or $1699 USD. In return you get a fantastic looking unit that delivers what it promised: a transparent, detailed and airy sound while remaining musical all the time.
I have to say it’s one of the better solid state amplifiers I have reviewed here on Headfonia but at the same time I won’t be buying it like I did with the Violectric V281. For the price it is going for I do think it should have offered a full balanced circuit and then it could have been a whole other story.
That being said, the A2 is awesome sounding and you really should audition it if you’re looking for a new solid state headphone amplifier that also has a line-out (not pre-amp as I said before). The A2 hasn’t been getting a lot of attention in our special headphone world and I don’t think that’s correct. It’s a really great transparent amplifier with a top class sound and it should be talked about more.
It can be bought directly from Beyerdynamic and I’m pretty sure you’ll be delighted from the first moment you plug in your headphone.
Zoltan
If you are familiar with both: how does it compare with the Meier Corda Classic?
Thank you.
Headfonia_L.
I reviewed it here: http://www.headfonia.com/meier-audio-daccord-corda-classic/
To me the A2 is the better amp by quite the margin. While the Classic might be more analytical, the A2 is more musical and has more timbre/feeling. I found the Classic rather cold sounding, some would even call it boring sounding. The amps are both neutral and transparent yet one is musical and smooth and the other is anylitical and cold.
ohm image
The Meier Corda Classic and Block are my favourite amps for Beyer phones, meaning I can’t wait to hear the A2.
Tibor
Hello and thank you! Could you say more about “there do is an audible difference when two headphones are connected together” please?
Headfonia_L.
IT means the output volume and quamity drops when using two harder to drive headphones like an LCD2 and a T90 at the same time
Jinx
Great review! I am really happy that you compared it to the A20 and to see that I made the right choice buying that over the A2. I’m currently using the A20 with DT990 600 ohm and it sounds great, but I will probably buy the T1 at some point if Beyer doesn’t release anything else within a year. Do you think the A20 will pair well with the T1?
If Beyer makes an improved A20 I will probably buy it 🙂
I am always looking forward to reading your reviews eventhough I’m not gonna buy half of it. Keep up the good work.
Headfonia_L.
Thank you Jinx. I’m glad you like the A20. However I do feel it would be sort of “wrong” to use the T90 or T1 on an amp that’s holding it back
Jinx
I think I’d rather buy the T1 instead of T90, but can you explain more detailed what you mean that the A20 will hold it back? Do you also think it holds my DT990 back? So far I really like it with the A20 but maybe it’s different with the T1.
You ask if T1 are the headphones for me – that is hard to answer but from all my research my guess is yes. Can never know untill I try it though. HD800 are regarded as a really good headphone but from what I read it is too analytical where the T1 is more musical with a little more bass and slightly less soundstage. TH900, apart from being expensive, probably has too much bass for me to use it for all the genres I enjoy – if I only listened to EDM it might be a homerun though. The Audeze series are too heavy for my liking and “might” be too dark for my taste (I don’t know about the new EL-8 though). Hifiman are too uncomfortable. Don’t know if that is accurate or if I’m missing some worthy headphones but that’s what I’ve gathered so far.
I have heard from some guy that knows an insider at Beyerdynamic that says they will release new mid-fi and hi-fi headphones this summer – wether that is true or false I can’t say but will be very interresting if it’s true.
dalethorn
The T1 I had sounded very crispy and “harder” than the HD800 I had, and while some of those properties are more musical, I’d use a tube amp to soften it some.
Jinx
But isn’t that what A20 could do? It’s a warmish solid state after all.
Regardless I’m probably gonna start out by using the T1 with the A20 and take it from there. I’m planning on upgrading my DAC though. I’m currently using Henry Audio USB DAC MK II. I have no idea what to look at. Meier Daccord?
dalethorn
If the T1 sounds good with the A20, then you’re home free. I don’t know the Meier amps, but some people here do. The only other amp I remember mentioned that is or was as recommended as the Meiers was one of the Lehmann Audio amps. Between Mike** and Lieven I’d take their advice as gold.
**Mike is featured on some of the older reviews.
Jinx
Bad recordings as in compressed music? I’ve just learned about the Loudness War and it’s really a shame. I mostly listen to EDM and Mainstream music. That being said I also listen to other genres as Classical etc. From what I understand is that listening to 320 kbps files are good enough but it also matters how they are mastered? So compressed files are bad recordings as you speak of?
From my understanding most EDM and Mainstream these days are sadly compressed so maybe the Daccord isn’t for me 🙁 Do you have any recommendations?
dalethorn
Lieven could probably steer you toward a better amp choice if you put your constraints (budget, taste, current source and music etc….) in a concise post. 320k CBR MP3s or equivalent can sound pretty good if …. you ripped the CD to lossless uncompressed (i.e. WAV) and then converted the WAV yourself. But play those 320k’s on much better gear and you’ll eventually understand what’s missing.
Headfonia_L.
He’s looking for a DAC, Dale 🙂
dalethorn
DAC, amp, it’s all the same thing when you’re playing 320k, yes?
Jinx
I payed arround 270€ for my current DAC, I´d like to get one that is better than that if possible. You say the Daccord is very analytical so maybe I’m looking for a more musical one as you said?
@dalethorn:disqus I’m playing music from Spotify Premium. I’ve been told that this is good quality, but you make it sound like trash?
dalethorn
“Sound like trash” is not even close to what I said. What I said in effect is, when you have the better more expensive premium components, you will hear more of a difference between 320k and CD quality than you will hear with basic components like a computer with a FiiO E17k or similar amp.
Jinx
How do you suggest I upgrade from 320 kbps? I know there’s a thing called WIMP but that’s twice the cost of Spotify Premium.
dalethorn
For music streaming I wouldn’t be concerned, since other factors are the real limitation. If you buy any of the tracks to download and keep, then you would want a lossless copy, but it would be good to know where that copy came from – i.e. what kind of quality is it? Was it ripped from a CD and the full quality retained (not up-res’d from a lossy copy)? Was the source (CD?) the best available copy? Could it be an inferior pressing or master?
There are several things I do now when I select CD’s to purchase: I check the reviews to see if there’s any information on quality and versions. I compare tracks on Amazon or iTunes, and even though those are 256k, the quality differences are huge from track to track depending on which album they were taken from. There’s always a possibility of mislabeling when sampling Amazon’s or iTunes’ tracks, but most of the time you can make a much better choice of which CD to buy that way.
I’ve purchased a lot of lossless downloads from HDTracks, Blue Coast, Hyperion, Lynn, and a few others, but the selections are usually very limited, and in some cases you can pay more than the CD price for the same quality due to wrong labeling. I even see 96 khz and 192 khz (not kbps) downloads of ancient recordings from some sites, where presumably the 4 times CD resolution track has more detail than a 44 khz CD, since the download track came directly from a master, from the company that owns the recording. But 192 khz copies of old analog recordings, at twice the cost of a CD or even more is highly dubious in my opinion.
Jinx
Can you explain further what you mean when you say that you wouldn’t worry about streaming?
I don’t think I can afford to buy loads of CD’s but say I find some tracks on Spotify that I really like should I then buy CD’s on amazon and turn them into lossless?
How do I handle the compressed music? That term is kinda of new to me so I don’t know much about it. I mean even if I buy a CD chances are still that it can be compressed right?
I also listen to some EDM, either A State Of Trance by Armin Van Buuren but the best quality I can get is 320 kbps. And then I listen to some EDM from some music channels on youtube. The problem here is that youtube quality isn’t the best but alot of the artists being uploaded there are not very known so I can’t get my hands on good quality I think.
dalethorn
Just the experience you’ve had that you mentioned here is beyond the scope of this discussion. I’m not the best at typing so it would take lots of hours and 50 pages of typing to explain very much. Your ears and your experience are your best tools to get you what you want. When I say don’t worry about streaming, it’s because it goes away after you listen. What you do want to worry about is building a collection of permanent music tracks that later on you might regret you didn’t get the best quality. So now you know all the possibilities and you can ask the right questions to be sure your collection (if you build a collection) is going to be satisfactory in the long term.
Jinx
I guess I need to find out if I can hear a difference between 320 and the better quality files as a start. What quality comes after 320? I’m very confused about that – I’ve heard about lossy, lossless, FLAC and some more also. I think I need to get hold of a few good quality tracks and compare them to 320 and see what happens.
But what is your opinion on compressed music? Most of the mainstream seems to have that. Or maybe my ears are cheating me.
dalethorn
‘Compressed’ is used in at least 2 different contexts: One is the lossless compression that occurs in converting a WAV or CD track to FLAC – another is the lossy compression in converting the lossless WAV/CD/FLAC track to MP3. The second case is when the mastering people compress the music dynamics at the console, and then save their results as the music track that you buy. In my opinion, even when your hearing is excellent, the dynamics compression is usually worse than a good compression to 320k MP3. But those are very different processes, which if you think about it, make very different compromises in the sound.
I’m not against either type of compression when they’re done temporarily for certain purposes.
Jinx
Yeah I meant the dynamic compression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcKDMBuGodU
To my ears most of modern mainstream music is made that way (At least to my ears). And it’s really sad 🙁
What music quality should I listen to in order to find out if I need to upgrade from 320 kbps or not?
dalethorn
Rip some CDs to WAVs and then convert the WAVs to 320k MP3s, then compare those.
dalethorn
BTW, I didn’t mention the Daccord – Lieven did that.
Jinx
Do you have any recommendations for a DAC? My limit is arround 700€. I will use it with DT990 600 ohm (Later T1) and A20 (I might upgrade to A2 but time will tell).
Headfonia_L.
Check out Resonessence Labs!
Jinx
Thanks will check it out. Are there any contenders to this? And how does it compare to the Daccord? (I was about to ask if it was better but I’ve learned in this area it’s a very subjective thing)
dalethorn
Remember with separate DAC and amp, you will have extra wiring and jacks with the DAC output, extra wiring and jacks with the amp input, and extra interconnect cables. All of that degrades the sound – the sound that you pay extra for. So you’re not just looking for the “best DAC” and “best amp”, you also have to make sure all those extras have the absolute minimum negative effect on your sound.
Headfonia_L.
Each good dac will show you how bad recordings sound. I don’t think it’s the goal to get a less good DAC so your music sounds better.
Lot’s of great budget dacs out there, even the E10K, E17K, Herus, Stoner Accoustics UD120, etc
dalethorn
But don’t let the DAC hold back the amp, although the DAC can be a lot better if you’re going to upgrade the amp later.
Headfonia_L.
The Daccord is very analytic and will show you everything in the music. Bad recordings will sound bad. Very good for classical but missing a tad musicallity
Headfonia_L.
I’m a big fan of the T90 and at the same time I really don’t like the T1. It’s too aggressive and sharp for my taste. I do think the A20 holds the T90 back because I know how the T90 sounds on better amps like my 300b amp or the Bakoon international, or even a bottlehead Crack. So that makes me believe the T1 will be the same on the A20, but I might be wrong. The A2 amp has a big sound stage, lots of detail and is perfect for this type of headphones, imo.
I have both the open and closed EL-8 incoming. The new Hifiman’s (He-400i and HE-560) are extremely comfortable though, they’re not like the old Hifimans
dalethorn
I think your observation about the handling of the T1 and T90 on the A20 is spot on – they sound different and the T1 has more ‘potential’ detail, but the A20 won’t help it.
Jeroen Wijnands
You got a slight language error there. I don’t think the “do” is necessary in this sentence:
so that two people can enjoy the selected music at the same time but
there do is an audible difference when two headphones are connected
together
Headfonia_L.
Thanks, I corrected the second one
Jeroen Wijnands
glad you didn’t take offence.
dalethorn
I looked at the context and wondered if there was something intended but not fully communicated, then I decided that these were extraneous and nothing was left out.
theswordofdoom
I am pretty new to the audiophileverse…just got an HE-560 and was considering this for my headphone amp to pair up with my Resonessence Labs Concero HD. How would this pairing work out? Or is the V281 a better match? Will I regret not getting a balanced out on the A2?
Yes I saw you compare them in this article, But was just looking for a little direction here as a newbie.
Headfonia_L.
I found the 560 to sound a lot better on the V281 in the end. The V281 is one of the best amps on the market and its balanced output is sublime. Ask anyone who has (listened to) one. The A2 really missed balanced but is is almost half the price. V281 is the way to go.
theswordofdoom
Thanks. I will go with the V281. My preference is to try and get the right solid state amp the first time. Will I be ok with the default volume control option?
Headfonia_L.
I have the RC option but haven’t used it a single time…
matthew36
Could you use grados with this amp?
dalethorn
Beyers and Grados both have an intense upper end, so it seems logical they would tune for that.
matthew36
Yeah makes sense!
matthew36
Should have done my homework before asking this question. Will not happen again.
Headfonia_L.
Don’t worry
Aaron
Hi Lieven. I have buyed A20 after reading your review some time ago to pair it with HD650 mostly. I really liked bass punch, naturallnes and mids of it, but clarity, speed details, soundstage and especially upper mids of it was disappointing… Sometimes i even prefer my Fiio e12, because of much better speed, more exciting upper mids(Sometimes just touch too much), bass tightness and overall more clean signature. Do you think A2 can deliver Sound signature that is something between E12 and A20? In short A20 is too boring sometimes and E12 is too exciting sometimes… Thanks.
Headfonia_L.
The A2 is more clear, faster, lighter bass, cleaner but it is a whole lot more expensive as well. The A20 is a mid fi amp, A2 is reference. HAve you tried something like the O2?
Aaron
Yeah, it was too cold. Besides, later am going buy T90, so it whould be nice if A2 can pull it off. My problem with A20 and HD650 pairing that extension stops at upper mids all the way to highs. Do you think A2 have more crisper mids and especially upper mids than A20? I dont even like A20 with my DT990, because it stole character of it “make it smooth”.
Headfonia_L.
The A20 does that to all headphones. The A2 does not. Have you tried Burson?
Aaron
Which model exactly i should try?
Juan
Wonder how this would pair with a chord hugo 2. I got Hd 800 S and the chord hugo 2 does well with it but I feel like the volume gets to like 85-90% so is defiantly taking the hugo 2 some effort to lift my 800 S
Lieven
That doesn’t sound right. If you need to turn your H2 up that much, then there’s an issue with your input signal/level. That or you’re really deaf 🙂