[George Hincapie]

Well, Headamp is coming up with the CF3 soon. Being a K Gilmore design, I’m sure even the Stax mafia guys are gonna like it.

I'm aware - it's on my radar

 

[Strayngs]

A) "The measurement crowd" a/k/a: 'Amirytes', 'asrians' ...
B) Their mantra? ... "music is for losers who don't listen to graphs" ...

Exactly right!

 

[fortunate son]

I received a notice from hifishark today about a HPA-1 listed on audiogon for $1,900 or best offer. I've enjoyed using a Pass preamp and Pass speaker amps with Magnepans for years and I was tempted to make an offer on the HPA-1 until I read this forum.

I considered the comments by head-fi.org members and the stereophile, asr and headmania.org reviews and I have decided to "pass" on the Pass.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread. It was very helpful to me.

 

[Duartisimo]

if anything you should try to audition the amp. If I did that more often I would have saved $$$ on restocking fees from the vendors. I can only assume returns are harder in the used market.

And please don't put too much stock in someone's review/opinion, no matter how reputable they might be. Your tastes probably differ from the reviewer's and one of the things I have learned after all these years as an audio nerd is that a product's "objective" strengths or weaknesses has very little to do with music enjoyment, which at the end that's what's all about, isn't it?

 

[tholt]

I received a notice from hifishark today about a HPA-1 listed on audiogon for $1,900 or best offer. I've enjoyed using a Pass preamp and Pass speaker amps with Magnepans for years and I was tempted to make an offer on the HPA-1 until I read this forum.

I considered the comments by head-fi.org members and the stereophile, asr and headmania.org reviews and I have decided to "pass" on the Pass.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread. It was very helpful to me.

You read some opinions, decided you wouldn't like it and therefore won't try it. And decided to post it to a Pass thread. Kind of a strange post.
I guess you'll never know...

 

[adydula]

$1900 for a really great amp!
Someones trash is someone else's gold...
IMO this is a great deal if in good condition and still operating ok.
Considering the high prices of new units this seems like a great buy.

Other sites think its a dud, specs etc...they are wrong as far as it being a good amp for listening to good music.
Built like a tank, should last for many years, class A....quality parts.
Simple and direct.

Mine will remain with me until I am gone....
Alex
:>)

 

[Strayngs]

When it comes to used equipment.... if I'm interested and it's at a price that I know I can resell. Then why not? You're going to find just as many positive as negative feedback about anything. Especially If there's a negative feedback from ASR..... Then that likely assures it's pretty damn good LOL.

 

[Duartisimo]

Just be honest about what you like and buy accordingly, when your budget allows.

Me, I listen to somewhat loud (compressed) rock n roll, i.e. Pearl Jam, The Strokes... having a super duper reference neutral set on my head seems besides the point. I want euphoric and slamming, some detail retrieval is of course appreciated; don't really need to hear Eddie Vedder's nose hairs move.

 

[JMD3254]

The sales ratings for Audiogon is not very good and the price seems to good to be true. Has anyone here used Audiogon or is it best to stick with Head-Fi classifieds for used equipment?

 

[tholt]

The sales ratings for Audiogon is not very good and the price seems to good to be true. Has anyone here used Audiogon or is it best to stick with Head-Fi classifieds for used equipment?

For buying or selling? For buying, I don't think it's shady or anything. It's been the premier audiophile used gear site for decades now. It's not very robust for headphone gear though. Personally, I've pretty much abandoned it after their website update rollout debacle many years ago.

For buying and selling I use Head fi and US Audio Mart almost exclusively. For headphone gear, Head-fi is the obvious choice.

 

[JMD3254]

For buying or selling? For buying, I don't think it's shady or anything. It's been the premier audiophile used gear site for decades now. It's not very robust for headphone gear though. Personally, I've pretty much abandoned it after their website update rollout debacle many years ago.

For buying and selling I use Head fi and US Audio Mart almost exclusively. For headphone gear, Head-fi is the obvious choice.

Thank you for the response. Audiogon had a lot of negative reviews from buyers. I just need to get over it and take a chance. The $1900 HPA-1 sold so I missed this one.

 

[tholt]

Thank you for the response. Audiogon had a lot of negative reviews from buyers. I just need to get over it and take a chance. The $1900 HPA-1 sold so I missed this one.

Interesting. What context are the negative reviews? Like, the site is hard to navigate? The site itself is perfectly fine for buying things from. The sellers are just regular audiophiles and some storefronts like you find on other sell sites, no different. In that way you just need to make sure the actual seller is legit. Audiogon is just the platform.

 

[chesebert]

I received a notice from hifishark today about a HPA-1 listed on audiogon for $1,900 or best offer. I've enjoyed using a Pass preamp and Pass speaker amps with Magnepans for years and I was tempted to make an offer on the HPA-1 until I read this forum.

I considered the comments by head-fi.org members and the stereophile, asr and headmania.org reviews and I have decided to "pass" on the Pass.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread. It was very helpful to me.

You didn’t miss much. $1900 is still too much for this amp. Not bad but not worth the price, especially if you want to drive more difficult loads.