Review: T+A Solitaire P Headphones (and HA200 DAC / amp)

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xenithon

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The Dark Knight

?This is incredibly powerful?, I thought to myself the first time I heard the Hans Zimmer / James Newton Howard soundtrack to the 2008 Batman film. The brooding darkness, the raw intensity, the orchestral swells and reprieves.

?But it?s undeniably refined and oh so majestic ? it?s brilliant? I concluded. And that summation is a poignant parallel to my takeaway of the two components under review.

I want to personally thank the local importer of T+A, Elektro Akustic, for their generosity in giving me the opportunity to have the components on loan for what turned out to be a rather lengthy review period. That said, the views in this write-up are my own, and they asked for nothing in return other than my honest and unadulterated opinion.

Note - while this is primarily a review of the Solitaire P headphones, it was undertaken in conjunction with the HA200, as a complete T+A system.


Born in North Rhine-Westphalia

Before I get ahead of myself, it?s important to set some context and describe some of the history that led to the Solitaire P headphones and HA200 DAC / amplifier.

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In the lowlands between the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest in western Germany you?ll find the town of Herford, dating all the way back to the year 789. What you will also find there is the company T+A elektroakustik (pronounced ?T plus A?) ? which stands for "Theorie und Anwendung," or, in English, "Theory plus Application."

Founded in 1978, T+A produces a full range of electronics and loudspeakers. The team of approximately fifteen designers and developers create every device in-house, driven by a passion for sound fused with precision engineering and innovative technical expertise. Their products are placed rather high up the ladder of high end in terms of pricing but are backed by the uncompromising performance that is the beating heart of the company?s ethos.


The HA200

Two roads converged

While the market has many desktop headphone amps and digital sources, combination DAC /amp devices are less common. They usually take the form of small, budget-friendly systems with limited inputs and outputs. Cheap, cheerful, but rather restricted in function. But in mid-2020, a few months after the release of their first headphone offerings, the T+A HA200 headphone amplifier was launched. Its aim was to set new standards in sound quality, performance, and versatility. That brought together the two functions of DAC and headphone amp, while also merging T+A?s innovation and heritage.

The HA200 was developed to drive almost all headphone types spanning a wide range of impedances. Innovative technology and purpose-built circuit topology cater for both low-impedance transducers which draw high currents, through to the relatively low currents flowing in high-impedance headphones (which also require tremendous voltage stability. To further support optimal matching, the output impedance is independently adjustable for each of the amp?s three headphone jacks.

Modern versatility

The analogue section uses high-performance output stages operating in Class-A, deploying special MOS-FET transistors ? no op-amps and no chips in sight. The digital section is fitted with T+A?s sophisticated and proprietary converters ? featuring separate decoder architectures for DSD and PCM, powered by four PCM1795 DAC chips. The analogue and digital sections are galvanically isolated and each has its own dedicated toroidal power supply.

The fa?ade of the HA200 features 3 headphone jacks (6.3mm single-ended, 4-pin XLR, and 4.4mm Pentaconn), a large monochrome display showing volume and various other settings (such as the selected digital filter, output impedance, and cross-feed), two multi-purpose VU meters, and an array of push buttons. Volume adjustment is based on precise resistors and features Japanese relays, and the large volume knob doubles as a menu navigation control. For those who prefer, the HA200?s full functionality can be controlled from the included FM8 remote.

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Around back you?ll find a plethora of both digital and analogue inputs. This includes USB-B which can process up to DSD 1024 and PCM 768. Also present are AES/EBU and BNC sockets, two optical, and two co-axial S/PDIF inputs. There?s also wireless input via Bluetooth which supports aptX HD. Analog inputs include balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA. There are four Ethernet sockets, though these are not used for audio and are instead employed for connectivity to other T+A devices and system control. The HA200 can come with an optional HDMI panel (two HDMI inputs and one ARC output). As an aside, while there is no analogue output, the device can serve as a preamp using an adapter (which T+A offers separately) that connects to the XLR headphone jack and terminates in either RCA or XLR.

Built to last

The chassis has a confident heft to it, built completely from aluminium, with a thick front panel machined from a single solid plate of metal. The extruded heatsinks are recessed into the profile of the case so are cleverly hidden when viewed from the front and fulfil the important function of dissipating the immense heat that can be produced by a Class-A amplifier. Despite weighing in at a healthy 6kg, the amp has a relatively small footprint of 34x10x32cm.

There is neither a sense of opulence nor stark utilitarianism in its design, and in my eyes, it is a beauty to behold. Impeccably finished, form and function are both fulfilled with a reserved gravitas one might expect from a German component.

A finely tuned machine

The HA200 has several aces up its sleeve that I found rather useful, and at no time felt superfluous or gimmicky.

The first of these are bass and treble tone controls ? for adjustment of lower and upper frequencies respectively. I found this particularly beneficial to add weight when listening to headphones such as the Sennheiser HD800, and is conveniently defeatable using one of the front-panel push buttons which toggles tone control on or off.

The second is the balance control to alter the level between left and right channels. I used this to shift a notch or two toward the right to centralise the image ? especially when using IEMs, as they tend to exacerbate a slight imbalance in my hearing.

Crossfeed ? the process of blending left and right channels to reduce extreme channel separation ? can be enabled or disabled via the menu. This is not uncommon in headphone amps these days and aims to present the sound in a more natural manner, akin to listening to speakers. While I am not a particular fan of crossfeed in general, it has been well executed here and does not feel artificial.

The loudness setting was great when running a variety of head gear off the HA200, and there are four levels available to choose from. On the lower loudness settings, even sensitive IEMs could be played with sufficient granularity in volume adjustments and without any detectable hiss. Higher loudness settings worked a treat with harder-to-drive full size headphones.

When using a digital input, you can select from four oversampling filters, each having their own unique sound characteristics. Or if you prefer, you can select from one of the two NOS (non-oversampling) filter settings. I tended to use NOS1 for more forward and lively transducers as this renders the music slightly smoother and with more control over errant spikes in the upper registers. For everything else I defaulted to the BEZ2 filter, which per the manual aims to deliver optimal timing and dynamics.

I must add that, unlike filter settings in many modern DAPs ? in which any differences are practically inaudible ? sonic changes are readily apparent when cycling through the filters at your disposal on the HA200. This enhances the adaptability and thus facilitates achieving great synergy with your headphone of choice, and of course, your personal preferences.

Tell me a tale

The two analogue VU meters are multifunction and can be set to several configurations. This includes input and output levels, temperature (of the internal system and Class-A output stage), and stream quality (clock frequency of the incoming signal and error rate of the input). And if desired you can also disable the meters entirely.

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The changes are made in the system settings menu, accessed by pressing and holding the menu push-button. Other settings you can adjust in that menu include enabling / disabling sources, an energy saver mode that automatically switches the HA200 to standby mode after a period of inactivity, and adjusting display brightness.

You can also choose whether the display is switched on permanently or only temporarily (e.g., after pushing one of the buttons or changing volume). Call me old school, but I really liked the latter option ? it reminded me of some of my first Marantz CD players where the display could be toggled off, theoretically to reduce any electrical noise emanating from the screen.



The Solitaire P

You mean electrostatic?

Ahem, no, it?s ?magnetostatic?.

There are several transducer technologies in use across the headphone market these days ? including dynamic drivers (think Sennheiser, Focal), planars (the likes of Audeze and Final Audio), and electrostatic (Stax being the most notable). In the Solitaire P, T+A built on their tradition of using planar drivers which dates back to their active speakers in the early 1980?s, while introducing some ingenious technical designs to address the inherent disadvantages in traditional planars ? namely low efficiency, low impedance, and high mass.

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The unique magnetostatic driver further differentiates itself from electrostats in that you can drive them using a regular headphone amp ? and thus do not require a special electrostatic ?energizer?. T+A achieved this by designing a unique conductor array where the entire driver has been vapor-coated with conductive material. The driver is in turn driven by nineteen neodymium magnets which produce precisely calculated magnetic field lines. In addition to achieving sound that is highly dynamic and virtually distortion free, the Solitaire P is also comparatively easy to drive given its 80-ohm impedance and sensitivity of 101dB/V (92dB/mW).

Built with purpose

Physically the headphones are beautiful and timeless, exuding precision craftsmanship. Don?t expect exotic moon rock or mirror-polished burl wood, however. The designers took the approach of using incredibly high-quality materials and treating them with the utmost respect, as a Michelin star chef would the finest ingredients. Yokes and cups are milled from solid military-grade aluminium, the latter taking over an hour each to machine. They are finished in an understated anodised matte silver with a laser-etched T+A logo.

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The drivers, which make up the bulk of the weight, are seated inside the earcups, the back of which are covered in a tasteful black aluminium mesh. This protects the transducers, reduces weights, and has the added benefit of making the rear of the drivers and assembly entirely visible. Cleverly, this mesh features an opening for the headphone cable, which slides into a barrel and fits securely into a concealed socket.

The front of the driver has a red material cover that also provides dust protection, and the cups are finished off with firm but very comfortable Alcantara pads. A cushioned headband adds to the refined finish and overall comfort. Note that this is an extremely open construction ? this contributes to stage size, imaging, and resonance control, but bear in mind it also means you?ll hear almost all sounds around you (so best be listening in a quiet room), and whatever you?re listening to will be audible to anyone within a COVID-compliant proximity.

As an aside, the headband and pads are hand-made by a specialist German manufacturer using high-grade Alcantara and synthetic leather. They are amongst only a very small number of components that aren?t made in-house at the Herford headquarters.

The Solitaire P is sufficiently comfortable, though not quite at the same level as some of its competitors. The earpads and headband are relatively firm rather than being plush and pillowy. I also found that the headphone exerts a solid clamping force. As a result, some pressure points may form with extended listening. While this is only readily apparent after an hour or two, some may wish for a little more give in the cushioning to conform to the contour of the head.

The Full Monty

The headphone sits neatly in a sturdy and functional presentation box. Following a similar approach to the headphones themselves, the box is neither opulent nor made of exotic material. Virtually all black, the box has a large footprint; the headphones sit flat within a moulded and padded cut-out, and the top is covered in a luxurious faux black leather. Inside the enclosure, on either side of the Solitaire P itself, are discretely hidden cavities ? each holding one of the two supplied cables.

Speaking of cables, the Solitaire P comes supplied with two, with prospective buyers able to select from three possible options ? 6.3mm single-ended, 4.4mm Pentaconn, and 4-pin Neutrik XLR. All are made using the same ultra-pure OFC copper and each of the conductors in the cable is embedded in cotton threads and wrapped in a silver-plated woven shield. The aim of this topology, according to T+A, is to ensure low inductivity and capacitance, and optimum impedance.

Science and alchemy aside, the cables look and feel terrific, sound wonderful, do not tangle or twist, and exhibit no microphonics. And the reserved, elegant connectors are worthy of special mention ? clearly designed specifically to match the rest of the headphone?s stellar construction. No corners cut, and nothing off-the-shelf to be found here.

While I did not get to test this myself, I would be remiss in not mentioning T+A?s "Fresh-Up-Service?. Like a fine timepiece or automobile, the Solitaire P can be periodically picked up for a professional cleaning, including a replacement of the ear pads, dust cover, and headband. The headphones will then be tested for optimal performance before being returned in tip-top condition.



 

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