Усилители для наушников — Cayin HA-1A Mk3

The HA-1A MK3 is a valve headphone amplifier from the Chinese company Cayin, built around a Class A single-ended topology with no transistors in the signal path. Cayin presented it on 9 September 2026 in China and on 14 September 2026 in Germany, with a European price of EUR 1,298 and a Chinese price of CNY 4,980. Black and silver chassis versions are offered.

Key specs that matter

The single-ended 6.35 mm jack delivers up to 2.5 W per channel, and the four-pin XLR socket raises that to 2.8 W per channel. A two-position selector covers headphones from 8 to 150 ohm in the Low setting and from 151 to 600 ohm in the High setting. The quoted frequency response runs from 20 Hz to 24 kHz within 3 dB, Cayin gives 110 dB (A) for signal to noise, and distortion is given as 0.3 % at 1 kHz and 200 mW. The chassis measures 240 x 240 x 140 mm and weighs 8.8 kg.

Engineering and use context

The input stage relies on two JJ 12AU7, also known as ECC82, while a pair of Electro-Harmonix EL84EH, the 6BQ5 type, forms the output stage. Custom output transformers couple the pentodes to the headphone sockets, and the impedance selector switches between their taps so that low and high impedance models each see a suitable source. Level is set with an ALPS potentiometer. Around the back sit two pairs of RCA inputs, so two line sources can stay connected at once. A variable preamplifier output with 9 dB of gain and a maximum of 5 V lets the HA-1A MK3 act as a valve line stage for an external stereo power stage or powered monitors, which extends its role beyond the desk. The heavy transformer-based construction and the heat of the valves call for a ventilated shelf rather than a closed cabinet.

Pairing

Any DAC or streamer with a fixed RCA output can feed one of the two line inputs directly, since the unit contains no DAC. Planar headphones with low impedance fit the Low position, while high impedance dynamic designs use the High setting, and owners of cables terminated in four-pin XLR get the higher of the two power ratings. When the preamplifier output is used, the volume control governs a downstream power amplifier or active speakers as well.

Alternatives

The Cayin HA-300MK2 is a larger valve headphone amplifier using a matched pair of 300B output triodes driven by 6SN7 tubes.