User`s manual

Wheatfield AudioWheatfield Audio HA-2 User's ManualHA-2 User's Manual
11/19/99 Page 5
Listening with the HA-2
It’s best to start out with the volume control knob turned all the way down (counter-
clockwise) until you’re familiar with the HA-2.
Turn the amp on, using the font panel power switch. It’s OK to leave your headphones
plugged in when you turn the amplifier on and off – there is very little turn-on/turn-off
“thump” generated, since the amplifier warms up slowly.
Speaking of warm-up, the amplifier takes only a half minute or so to start working,
though you may find that it takes a couple of minutes for the sound quality to reach it’s
best.
Adjust the volume to your liking. The HA-2 doesn’t have a lot of gain, so most people
wind up listening with the volume control almost halfway up. Even with the volume
control all the way up, unless you have an unusually high-level source, you will still have
plenty of “headroom” before the HA-2 starts to distort.
All the musical detail is there, even at very low volume. Try listening in an absolutely
quiet room sometime, with the volume fairly low. It’s amazing!
About Headphones
To get good sound from the HA-2, you need good headphones. Cheap headphones
driven by the best of amplifiers will still sound like cheap headphones.
The HA-2 is designed to drive high-quality headphones of greater than 100 ohms
impedance. Pretty much all of the headphones made by Senheiser, AKG, and Beyer
Dynamic fit into this category.
The HA-2 will drive headphones of lower impedance, like those from Grado, Koss, or
Sony, but we don’t recommend it. The mismatch of impedance between the amplifier
and such headphones introduces larger amounts of distortion. Low-impedance
headphones are best driven from solid-state amplifiers, or conventional tube amplifiers
that use output transformers.
You can’t hurt the amplifier by plugging in any type of headphones.