What is the ATC Audio HDA-P1?
The HDA-P1 is a headphone amplifier and audio DAC from Hong Kong-based ATC Audio, most likely higher referred to as a producer of Apple equipment. It’s designed to support sound high quality via high-end headphones, however due to its compact design you’re now not restricted to lounge listening – strap it for your transportable participant and you’ll experience audiophile sound whilst you’re out and about too. Throw in an impressive spec and reinforce for a variety of audio codecs, and the HDA-P1 seems like respectable price for cash.
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ATC Audio HDA-P1 – Design and Connections
The HDA-P1 has been constructed to a excessive same old, with inflexible steel bodywork and forged, sturdy front-panel controls. The unit has a reassuring heft, however to not the purpose the place it compromises portability. At 75mm extensive by way of 139mm lengthy, it’s more or less the similar dimension as a pockets or telephone, making it splendid for wearing it in baggage or wallet.
The black styling is simple at the eye, with ridged aspects offering a pleasant cradle for telephones or track gamers – there’s a couple of rubber bands within the field for strapping them in combination. You’ll additionally to find stick-on rubber pads that take in vibrations when put on a tabletop.
Nestled a few of the entrance controls is a zero.91-inch OLED show, which presentations the chosen enter, audio pattern charge, DAC clear out mode and final battery lifestyles. It’s at the small aspect however proves very helpful, and lends a way of class that is missing in another transportable headphone amps.
Below the show are 3 switches that allow you to make a choice inputs or modify the bass and acquire settings. Bass spice up provides a +6dB building up, whilst 3 acquire settings be offering a +3dB, +6dB and +15dB spice up to pressure high-impedance headphones. The switches are flanked by way of a quantity/energy dial and a 6.5mm headphone jack. Three additional buttons are discovered at the right-hand aspect, permitting you to toggle via a sequence of DAC modes that modify the roll-off clear out (4 for PCM, 3 for DSD) and 3 sample-rate conversion settings for the coaxial/optical inputs (48, 96 and 192kHz).
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Rear sockets come with a three.5mm analogue enter, a USB port, three.5mm electronic enter and a micro-USB fee port. The electronic enter accepts optical and coaxial indicators as much as 192kHz/24-bit. When the electronic or USB ports are decided on, the analogue enter switches to an output. The USB port is sunk right into a recess, so that you’ll wish to attach the use of the provided cable; a small crimson mild signifies a a success connection.
Before connecting the USB port for your PC or Mac, you’ll wish to set up ATC’s USB motive force, which comes on a relatively old-school mini-CD. Alternatively, you’ll obtain it from the ATC website online.
ATC Audio HDA-P1 – Features
USB processing comes courtesy of an XMOS XS1-U8 chip, which helps PCM and DXD as much as 384kHz/32-bit (in asynchronous mode) and DSD as much as 11.2MHz. Optical and coaxial indicators are treated by way of a Cirrus Logic CS8422 chip, whilst digital-to-analogue conversion tasks fall to AKM’s AK4490 – once more with reinforce for DSD, DXD and PCM.
Using a Lightning-to-USB digital camera adapter, you’ll attach Apple units and play 192kHz/24-bit PCM and DSD128. The identical indicators can also be performed from Android units over a USB OTG cable.
The HDA-P1 makes use of Texas Instruments’ OPA1612 amplifier and BUF634 high-speed buffer to generate 500mW of energy right into a 32-ohm load.
The battery provides roughly 11 hours of playback by the use of USB, 16 hours by the use of electronic enter, and 23 hours when the use of the analogue enter. That will have to simply see you via a couple of days of commuting.
ATC Audio HDA-P1 – Performance
With a computer attached by the use of USB, enjoying songs throughout a spread of resolutions, the HDA-P1 proves its price with a heat and weighty sound. Music has extra energy and presence than it does in the course of the computer’s personal headphone connection, making for a totally gratifying concentrate.
Play ‘Insanity’ by way of Gregory Porter and his vocals are splendidly wealthy and velvety, including better intensity and texture to his unique baritone, whilst beefing up the piano and double-bass.
There’s simply sufficient muscle right here to pressure hard high-end headphones, and also you don’t have to move loopy with the amount dial, both. The HDA-P1 without problems brings scale and weight to epic musical crescendos and rocking guitar riffs. Listening to ‘I’ll Be Around’ by way of Tristan is an exhilarating, vigorous enjoy due to the forged bassline, lively drums and punchy horns, whilst ‘Jesus Walks’ by way of Kanye West bangs with would possibly and risk.
The agile bassline in ‘My Mama Told Me So’ by way of The Crusaders synchronises seamlessly with Stix Hooper’s metronomic drumming, making it unattainable to stay your head nonetheless.
Admittedly, the P1’s heat, bass-heavy method is usually a little overbearing every now and then, in particular for lovers of a leaner presentation. Even with bass spice up and acquire at the lowest settings, there’s a thickness to the sound that isn’t at all times suitable – however fortunately, it by no means descends into full-blown dust.
The ATC creates a huge soundstage, during which tools pan easily and decisively between cans. Placement is spot-on, supplying you with a resounding sense of your place throughout the efficiency. It generally is a little extra spacious, most likely – all that heat is usually a little constricting – however the other tools are cleanly separated.
Overall, the HDA-P1 provides a clean, listenable sound with quite a few element – no doubt sufficient to set it aside from my computer’s electronics. Treble has a blank, incisive high quality, which aids rhythmic precision and promotes a way of airiness. It’s nowhere close to as finessed and insightful as pricier headphone amps such because the Moon 230HAD, however the truth that it isn’t a ways at the back of at a fragment of the fee could be very spectacular.
Also satisfying is the ATC’s talent to stay composed as you push the amount upper. There’s little proof of straining or hardening up as you progress into the higher part of the amount vary.
Should I purchase the ATC Audio HDA-P1?
The HDA-P1 is a great headphone amp at a really perfect worth. It’s solidly made, simple to move, and gives long battery lifestyles. A variety of supported codecs and resolutions plus a number of helpful sound modes supply satisfying flexibility and regulate over track playback, and it’s all obviously displayed at the crisp OLED display.
It’s an impressive performer for the cash too, injecting quite a few bass punch, heat and element. Rival headphone amps would possibly be offering extra perception and a leaner bass stability, however the secret is that the HDA-P1 represents an enormous step up out of your telephone or computer’s personal headphone output, and due to this fact warrants severe attention at this worth.
Verdict
The HDA-P1’s giant, beefy sound, respectable spec and forged construct high quality upload as much as an excessively spectacular headphone amp.
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