DSHA-1 came in last Thursday, but I had a serious dearth of free time to get any real listening done until the last couple days.  The skinny is it is very good.  I don't really like solid state for dynamics very much (meh on B22, Burson, Violectric, liked the LAu and to a lesser extent the GS-X) so this was interesting.  It doesn't really sound like any solid state I've heard before. 


This amp is not coltish.  Or, not colt 45-ish.  It doesn't grab you with slamming dynamics that hit like a truck.  It has a softness to the edges, not really a blur of details per se but... well, it sounds more like a tube amp than any competent SS I've heard.  Still sounds accurate and has great clarity like good SS but definitely has an unmistakable tube sound to it.  (Apparently it uses a tube output stage topology with mosfet in place of tube, so it seems this is sort of by design.)  Like the Black Diamond it is very quiet, but seems like it puts out less power.  At full attenuation it was driving the HP-1's super hard but I suspect they won't be a great match for the LCD-3 (out on loan at the moment.)  This amp didn't blow me away with soundstage either, it struck me as better than average but not on par with say the LAu, though I guess I'll have to go back and compare with the same headphones.









Macro shot of the wood grain.  More Pics


Obviously a lot of the "tube" sound has to do with the involvement of wood in the build.  Most metal amps sound stark and uninviting by comparison.  The DSHA-1 uses tone wood to give it a natural musky sound.


This is all with stock (better than average but still not crazy) PS.  I'll be updating it soon-ish (I'll be in Chicago for Axpona, maybe I'll drop it off by Doug then.)


I don't normally do stuff like this, always seems like I'm hyping something up, but Doug payed me, so I'm writing a review and will be starting a blog on my vitally important headphone journey shortly Doug deserves it.
 

Just discovered you updated this, Tari. Thanks for the impressions on the DSHA-1. It sounds like a very interesting amplifier indeed; I hope to get a chance to listen to it at some point.

Seems like a lot of designers are going for gobs of power when it comes to headphone amps. Which definitely has its place. However it's nice to hear about an amp that plays so nicely with extremely sensitive headphones and is so very quiet.

If I'm not mistaken, this amp has a single XLR output? Does it come with an adapter to use single ended?

Quote from: Tari on February 24, 2013, 06:17:19 AM

What's so cool about this amp?  Well, it is the only headphone amp I know of (Ari may have also experimented with this) that uses transformers for voltage gain rather than tubes or transistors (solid state.)  [Steve Eddy seems to be working on something similar but his facebook page where he updates the project has gone radio silent recently.] 

I designed an amp based on voltage gain by transformers back in 2010 

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?c2zqvacgq079dpw

No commercial amps or PCB's available.
It was just for the fun of it to see how it would behave.

You appear to have achieved some formidable performance with that amp. The frequency response alone is impressive. 

Well, the upgraded PS DSHA-1 is more silent with CIEMs than the BD, and makes the UERM's in particular sound more seductive than they normally do (standard disclaimer which is not to say syrupy and slow).  Better than average with the Audeze orthos but definitely on the polite side, seemingly both in presentation and power output.  Definitely not kicking arses and taking names with orthos like the LG but I don't think it would claim that's its sweet spot, at least without changing the stock gain.


L-2 incoming this week.