Zähl HM1 - Reference Headphone Amplifier - Official Thread

I’m super-excited to receive mine too.

Hoping they still make the October estimate!

Still have to decide what I’m going to drive it with … though it’ll probably be the latest Linn Klimax DSM (Organik).

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I’m looking forward to your impressions and reviews. I have one on order for next year but having second thoughts

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Yeah man. :slight_smile:

Consider yourself very lucky. Zahl does limited production runs for this amp. Mainly of course, due to the time it takes to build this thing. :wink:
Pretty exciting stuff.

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You should be very careful to not unbalance your chain too far. Im not the biggest holo fan tbh but the last one is the best option here by far. What specificaly are you trying to run and whats your current chain look like?

At the moment, this is more an academic question as I’m not currently weighed down by an excess of disposable income. My current system is Qobuz upsampled via HQP (iMac) => Topping D90 MQA => Topping A90 (as pre) => XDuoo MT-604 => Focal Utopia. I have to say, it’s a pretty fantastic sound. I know people have dismissed the D90 as thin and the A90 as sterlie, but the MT-604 is a tiny miracle in terms of filling out the sound and smoothing it out. If I had any sense, I’d never check any forums ever again and just enjoy the music, but I suffer from an expensive and time-consuming disorder.

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I’m planing on using a qutest as a DAC, would that be “too unbalanced” ?

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Imo, yes, but im also just not a particular fan of the chord sound. I would personaly really try and aim for a pretty significantly higher tier of dac before jumping up to the hm1.

If one is going to get what’s supposedly an endgame solid state amp, maybe the best there is, probably at least close to it judging by reviews, one should also think seriously of the system around it. Source, DAC, headphones, they all matter together and yeah sure the HM1 will still be super awesome, but you might get better results with a relatively inferior to it amp but a more balanced and synergistic system.

That said, if you already have everything else set up, go get one and share your impressions with the rest!

I already jumped on it, should I cancel my order?

I think what’s more important is the reason why to order the HM1 in the first place.
For me personally it’s not only to have the be-all end-all in solid state sonic performance but also the complete package it provides overall. The mixable inputs (Roon + PC in my use case), integrated EQ and Stereo control, pre outs etc. all in such a compact desktop solution. Normally I wouldn’t shop in this price range but it’s all those unique features that convinced me in the end. It’ll be the center piece of my setup for years to come and won’t be replaced in a blink of an eye with the next hotness on the market that might come around. For me it’s an investment for the years to come. And if the setup around it isn’t fully there yet, then this might be something to look forward to improving in the future.
I upped my DAC from an Ares II to a Spring 3 KTE recently in preparation for the HM1. But If you spent a good chunk of the available funds on the HM1 now and don’t want or can upgrade right away I don’t really see a problem if you run it with the Qutest for now and then get something better down the road if you feel the need.

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Nah. Hm1 wont tank in value or anything and if uou do cancel you probabaly wont be able to get one. I would just add a dac upgrade to your future list of uogrades. Assuming you are already runnin something like a sus, 1266, expanse, utopia, etc, i would put dac upgrade above basicaly all else after hm1

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Definitely would not do that.

HM1 is going to be very hard to get in future, if you have an order in keep it.
You can upgrade your DAC at any time.

But if you chose to cancel the HM1 and then get it later, at best you’d probably be waiting quite a while, and honestly given the demand I wouldn’t be surprised if the price goes up in future too.

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Trick or Treat! [Please be treat]

Any updates on when HM1 preorders will begin shipping?

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I can imagine your excitement! I’m in the next batch. By which I mean I envy your predicament. :upside_down_face:

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How do you know on which batch you are? How many batches are there going to be?

You’d need to ask your dealer - which, if you’re in the US or Canada, is headphones.com.

When I ordered, I wanted to make sure I was in the first batch, so I asked at the time. If I’d not made it for the first order batch, I’d have waited to place an order until after I’d gotten to hear the thing for myself.

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I meant the 2023 batch scheduled for next March. Headphones.com/USA sold out of 2022 units.

I know of only one person that has received it, so I would assume they were on the first batch. I’m on the 2022 “batch” but it seems like amps won’t be delivered at the same time for the 2022 batch.

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“… there’s still time to learn German…”

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In the US?

I didn’t think any production units had shipped to here yet, let alone made it into the hands of customers.

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