Joe Grado HPA-1

[lupus]

i've seen a couple of these on sale recently, and was wondering if anybody has any impressions of this amp. google doesn't turn up much, except some HF threads which, because of the reshuffled urls, lead to dead links.

i remember reading somewhere that it shares the same circuit as the RA-1, which in turn has often been referred to as a glorified Cmoy. i'm not sure what to make of that, so if anyone can enlighten me, it would be much appreciated.

*and for anybody who might be interested, the person auctioning the one on eBay is also auctioning a pair of RS-1s. The picture of the HPA-1 shows a pair of RS-1s with the brown leather headband beside them, so i assume it is this same vintage set being sold.

[Dusty Chalk]

Hirsch had one for a while, perhaps you should ask him. IIRC, he prefered it to the RA-1, but not by much.

[postjack]

*and for anybody who might be interested, the person auctioning the one on eBay is also auctioning a pair of RS-1s. The picture of the HPA-1 shows a pair of RS-1s with the brown leather headband beside them, so i assume it is this same vintage set being sold.

I too assumed this at first, but upon closer inspection, the headband of the RS-1 that is for sale looks black.

[jinp6301]

I too assumed this at first, but upon closer inspection, the headband of the RS-1 that is for sale looks black.

[recstar24]

*and for anybody who might be interested, the person auctioning the one on eBay is also auctioning a pair of RS-1s. The picture of the HPA-1 shows a pair of RS-1s with the brown leather headband beside them, so i assume it is this same vintage set being sold.

The guy is a headfier - I believe his username is Wil, something like that. He has two sets - he is keeping the vintage, selling off his new stock. If you search headfi you will see his posts in regards to his particular vintage set.

My interest has been piqued as well by the HPA1. Supposedly the same circuit as the RA1 (or the RA1 is the same circuit as the HPA1 if your into semantics), but with better parts. Hirsch has commented I think on headfi in the past that the HPA1 is considerably smoother with less grain than the RA1. A lot of users have felt the amps are good with grados, but lack the bass punch of solidity of other amps.

[philodox]

There is a vintage RS-1 on head-fi right now, but the guy wants $1750 for it! Craaazy.

[grawk]

There is a vintage RS-1 on head-fi right now, but the guy wants $1750 for it! Craaazy.

holy crap on a cracker

[ojnihs]

There is a vintage RS-1 on head-fi right now, but the guy wants $1750 for it! Craaazy.

christ

[deepak]

Some pictures of the inside don't know if that will help you or not.

[grawk]

At least it's not a glob of glue like in the ra1

Some pictures of the inside don't know if that will help you or not.

[n_maher]

Looks well constructed to me and if that's an RK40 parked in there (like it looks to be) then that's $75 of the asking price right there

[spritzer]

You can get an RK40 for about 50$(edit:typo) and it was even cheaper when this amp was made. I wonder what those caps are?

[recstar24]

There is a vintage RS-1 on head-fi right now, but the guy wants $1750 for it! Craaazy.

Ah...the one he picked up on audiogon for $475. I love this country. I think I would rather pick up some PS-1's or HP1000's or even save up a little more and go with L3000's. I do love my vintage set but there are other cans for sure.

[philodox]

I'd love to get a vintage set at some point which is why I PM'ed him, but at that price, I'd save a bit more money and get a PS-1.

[recstar24]

I'd love to get a vintage set at some point which is why I PM'ed him, but at that price, I'd save a bit more money and get a PS-1.

I would agree - even though there is something really special about the vintage RS-1 sound that I almost prefer it over the PS-1. My set the bass on bowls is absolutely amazing, its full and goes really deep and you can hear it resonate, and the highs are so smooth. There is absolutely no glare up top whatsoever. The current RS-1's with bowls I just want to kill myself. harsh, grainy, ugh.

[postjack]

$1750 is a ridiculous price. The market simply will not bear it.

My pair isn't brown headband vintage, but its serial numberless, and I paid $445 for it.

[lupus]

...My interest has been piqued as well by the HPA1. Supposedly the same circuit as the RA1 (or the RA1 is the same circuit as the HPA1 if your into semantics), but with better parts. Hirsch has commented I think on headfi in the past that the HPA1 is considerably smoother with less grain than the RA1. A lot of users have felt the amps are good with grados, but lack the bass punch of solidity of other amps.

ok, i'll find Hirsch and maybe direct some of these questions to him. i did find one statement he made about the amp pairing very well with the HF-1, but no impressions with other Grados.

and thanks for the pictures deepak, though my my feeble mind doesn't know what to make of all that military industrial housing.

a quick glance at the eBay page shows that the HPA-1 has been pulled from the blocks. maybe someone offered his asking price.

*sorry about any confusion regarding the RS-1.

[n_maher]

You can get an RK40 for about 50$(edit:typo) and it was even cheaper when this amp was made. I wonder what those caps are?

Not in the US you can't and we're dealing with present market value, are you going to tell me that OOP Grado headphones are only worth what the original MSRP was? I would have thought that captain stax would have understood the nature of goods increasing in value over time.

[spritzer]

Not in the US you can't and we're dealing with present market value, are you going to tell me that OOP Grado headphones are only worth what the original MSRP was? I would have thought that captain stax would have understood the nature of goods increasing in value over time.

They are 50$ here in Europe... on ebay.... You can find them even cheaper in Japan if you know where to look.

I know full well about the recent price influx... it's making my collection so much harder to put together.

[philodox]

Well, I think $1750 is pretty rediculous as well, but apparently he has a $1600 offer on the table and they were 'appraised' at around that price. Whatever, if someone pays that much they're getting skey-rewwed!

[Salt Peanuts]

$1750 for HPA-1?

Will the wonders ever cease?

[philodox]

We're talking about a vintage RS-1.

Reks - Yeah, that struck me funny too. I appraise my pocket lint at $100. Any takers? $150 if you want it cryogenically treated.

[laxx]

$1750 for HPA-1?

Will the wonders ever cease?

I thought it was $1750 for a vintage brown headband RS-1.

[Salt Peanuts]

We're talking about a vintage RS-1.

Me stoopid - this is what happens when I don't read carefully.

And come to think of it, I remember those RS-1s when they were up on A'gon.

[n_maher]

They are 50$ here in Europe... on ebay.... You can find them even cheaper in Japan if you know where to look.

I'm sure that there are plenty of goods that are available for less $$ than they are in the US but the fact remains that Ebay is the cheapest way that I can get them to the US and by the time they get here they cost between $70 to $75.