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Airist Audio Heron 5 Amplifier
01 / 08
Airist Audio Heron 5 Amplifier
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Product Description
A single-ended amplifier from newcomer Airist Audio, the Heron 5 caused quite a stir at this year’s CanJam expo—and for good reason. It boasts discrete circuits, outputs with both low and high impedance, and a high power output of 5 watts at 32 ohms Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downsockpuppy
451
Oct 31, 2016
It would be great if the audio drops could be more clearly labeled. "Amp" to most people means a power amp or an integrated amp for loudspeakers. "Headphone amp" means the kind for listening to FLACs of your favorite anime music alone, surrounded by empties of monster energy drink and Evangelion figurines.
Sometimes you can make some inferences, like, if it's $200 it's probably the anime kind and if it's $749.99 it's probably the regular kind. But sometimes you click and it's something else. Yeah, I typed all this out when I could have clicked "back", I recognize the irony of this.
Sometimes you can make some inferences, like, if it's $200 it's probably the anime kind and if it's $749.99 it's probably the regular kind. But sometimes you click and it's something else. Yeah, I typed all this out when I could have clicked "back", I recognize the irony of this.
Elsid
697
Jul 30, 2017
sockpuppyI realize that this is an old blog, but I think people need to lighten up a bit. I get your point and that you your joking a little. I diffenatly would not pay this much for just a heaphone amp, but different strokes for different folks. On another note. Some of that anime can be quite philosophical. My Son likes me to watch it with him sometimes. I also have a puppy that likes socks. Cheers!
Elsid
697
Jul 30, 2017
I bet all you can nail, is a crappy amp with a 1/4 inch output.(One of your most prized belongings). Just joking! Anime with a right hand? And all the girls look like their 10 years old dressed like hookers. I really can't understand why you cant find someone to love you. Just kidding! I'm sure your Mother loves you. We all need love and respect and a good amp. Sometimes you get what you give. Not joking.
DevAvidon
24
Apr 7, 2017
It sounds from a lot of the back and forth that there's a fair bit of confusion as to the design goals and purpose of an amp like this, so I thought I'd add my two cents as an owner of two of them. I run a commercial studio in New York, specializing in jazz and classical music production, mixing and mastering as well as post and ADR for film and television. I use the Heron 5 as my primary HPA for tracking and mastering, on account of its genuinely unparalleled technical performance. For those saying this is an inferior amp to something like the Jotunheim, consider the following.
My studio employs a Merging Horus as our primary converters, a 5-figure unit considered among the best and best measuring in the world. The Horus posts a dynamic range of 126db A-weighted. The Heron 5 manages 130db. A-weighted SNR IS 132db. Jotunheim quotes 109. The Horus achieves a flat frequency response within .3db out to 20khz. The Heron 5 manages .2db to 100khz and .05db to 20khz. Most importantly from my perspective, the Horus boasts a 5 degree maximum phase shift as one of its most impressive specifications. Phase linearity across all frequencies is I believe one of most important performance aspects of any high fidelity sound reproduction system, as it translates directly to perceived speed, clarity, soundstage and accurate imaging. Most companies won't even publish their phase deviation specs as they're often as bad as 45 degrees off at points. The Heron 5 manages 2 degrees.
I rely on my Heron 5/HE1000 combo more for fine detail adjustments especially at the mastering stage than even my PSI mains. It is a ridiculously accurate, powerful, fast and transparent amplifier. And my favorite listening combination for pleasure of any rig I've heard is the Heron 5 with the Ebony TH-X00 Fostex cans. This is an endgame amp, balanced outputs or otherwise.
My studio employs a Merging Horus as our primary converters, a 5-figure unit considered among the best and best measuring in the world. The Horus posts a dynamic range of 126db A-weighted. The Heron 5 manages 130db. A-weighted SNR IS 132db. Jotunheim quotes 109. The Horus achieves a flat frequency response within .3db out to 20khz. The Heron 5 manages .2db to 100khz and .05db to 20khz. Most importantly from my perspective, the Horus boasts a 5 degree maximum phase shift as one of its most impressive specifications. Phase linearity across all frequencies is I believe one of most important performance aspects of any high fidelity sound reproduction system, as it translates directly to perceived speed, clarity, soundstage and accurate imaging. Most companies won't even publish their phase deviation specs as they're often as bad as 45 degrees off at points. The Heron 5 manages 2 degrees.
I rely on my Heron 5/HE1000 combo more for fine detail adjustments especially at the mastering stage than even my PSI mains. It is a ridiculously accurate, powerful, fast and transparent amplifier. And my favorite listening combination for pleasure of any rig I've heard is the Heron 5 with the Ebony TH-X00 Fostex cans. This is an endgame amp, balanced outputs or otherwise.
DevAvidon
24
Apr 13, 2017
I'm referring to primary audible band only in regards to their published phase deviation measurements, 20hz-20khz. And I am very specifically referring to in-band phase deviation in common amplifier designs, especially in the 10-20k band and 20-100 band. Flat phase within the audible bandpass is really, really hard to achieve. I've seen 90 degree phase rotation measurements within the Fletcher-Munson band on a couple designs. Remember also phase shift is additive. Not all headphone transducers exhibit extensive phase deviation (piston drivers yes, planars or electrostats often much less so). That said, let’s say maximum shift at the frequency extremes for a high quality transducer is 45 degrees. That’s well within a quarter wavelength and not likely to be hugely problematic. But then lets say the amp rotates another 45-60 degrees in the same bandpass. Now you’re likely to have audible cancellation and artifacts. So I would argue it’s not negligible at all!
To your latter point, not really entirely sure what you mean. The point of trying to achieve relatively flat wideband frequency response is to achieve ruler flat in-band response; this is not like designing a transducer where magnitude deviation can be somewhat arbitrary. You're usually looking at a predictable first order rolloff at the extremes; pushing that rolloff point further out is largely how one achieves in-band linearity. As far as junk up there you don't want to be amplifying, it's either EM or RF noise which this amp does an admirable job of rejecting wholesale or it's aliasing, which one should reasonably expect to be removed by the DACs' LPF when we're talking about this level of technical performance and the sort of chain it belongs in. So in my opinion it's not really the job of the amplifier to limit FR, nor should it reasonably be, as without FIR digital filters, any analog filter employed to limit FR would necessarily induce phase shift, which would defeat the purpose of a flat-phase amplifier circuit. I'm honestly not sure how far the amp goes before F3 but I'm sure it's pretty far up there.
To your final point in your edit, quoted THD+N number is 0.0015%. That is simply not audible; the second and third order distortion of the transducers themselves on most headphone designs is going to be much higher than that. It's also important to remember that this is a very powerful amp - 5 watts into 32 ohms if I recall. Distortion is never a static measurement in amplifier design, it is always relative to power draw.
To your latter point, not really entirely sure what you mean. The point of trying to achieve relatively flat wideband frequency response is to achieve ruler flat in-band response; this is not like designing a transducer where magnitude deviation can be somewhat arbitrary. You're usually looking at a predictable first order rolloff at the extremes; pushing that rolloff point further out is largely how one achieves in-band linearity. As far as junk up there you don't want to be amplifying, it's either EM or RF noise which this amp does an admirable job of rejecting wholesale or it's aliasing, which one should reasonably expect to be removed by the DACs' LPF when we're talking about this level of technical performance and the sort of chain it belongs in. So in my opinion it's not really the job of the amplifier to limit FR, nor should it reasonably be, as without FIR digital filters, any analog filter employed to limit FR would necessarily induce phase shift, which would defeat the purpose of a flat-phase amplifier circuit. I'm honestly not sure how far the amp goes before F3 but I'm sure it's pretty far up there.
To your final point in your edit, quoted THD+N number is 0.0015%. That is simply not audible; the second and third order distortion of the transducers themselves on most headphone designs is going to be much higher than that. It's also important to remember that this is a very powerful amp - 5 watts into 32 ohms if I recall. Distortion is never a static measurement in amplifier design, it is always relative to power draw.
Jackula
1743
Dec 21, 2017
I bought my Woo Audio WA6SE because at $1.2k it was the "bang of the buck" of flagship tube amplifiers, and talking with Jack Woo - founder of Woo Audio - the WA6SE is still considered the TOTL single-ended amplifier in the Woo range. Tube amps are popular due to their characteristic sound, particularly tubey distortion, expansive soundstage and poor bass definition. Why am I talking about my Woo when this is a review for the Heron5? Well, I've been looking for a solid state replacement for my Woo due to hassles with tubes. And I've found the one - Airist Audio Heron 5.
My god this is a beautiful amplifier! It sounds almost as good as my much more expensive maxed out Woo (a $1.8k amplifier). I've read criticisms of the amplifier on SBAF so my plan was to flip it if I didn't like it. But after 8 hours of side-by-side comparisons, I hear none of those mentioned issues. My only guess is it's got something to do with the volume control problems from the initial production run, or simply a matter of poor synergy. Volume control from the SBAF review:
To address the main concerns of this amp from various forums, mainly SBAF which for some reason is the only place where this amp doesn't get recommended:
Bass It's there, it's meaty and it's extended. It makes my Woo feel bass light! Also remember this amp is phase perfect which can have a lower perceived bass quantity, for example, amps with an average 45 degree phase distortion will mean approx 2.5ms of bass delay at 100hz, this delay can attenuate higher frequencies, making the bass sound more pronounced. As an experiment, I tried applying high amounts of bass gain; as expected, my Woo exhibited significant amounts of distortion while my Heron5 sounded effortless with no excessive distortion (provided it wasn't clipping). Dynamics 130dB of dynamic range, what more do you want? Music have much blacker background and attacks hits fast and hits hard.
Smoothness My main criticism is although the macro-dynamics is great overall, micro-dynamics is slightly off in the upper octaves. I do like a smooth sound, however the Heron5 is even smoother than my Woo in the high frequencies making upper harmonics somewhat lacking in brilliance, but makes up for it with better transparency, resolution and timbre in the bass and lower mids. Some people might prefer the overly smooth treble, but coming from my Woo it will take time to get used to. ---------------- The main problem with the Heron5, IMO, is the build quality. I can confirm the volume control is absolutely a POS. It looks cheap and feels broken. There are two output jacks, one HIGH which is for better impedance matching and one LOW which is for lower damping, neither jacks are exactly centered. Reviews I've read suggests HIGH is for low impedance cans while LOW is for high impedance cans, but my experience is the opposite. When I first listened to the LOW output, the amp was a only slightly better than my WA6SE stock. But on the HIGH output, it easily outclasses stock and nears maxed quality! Maybe they've changed it, the amp has gone through a few improvement iterations.
My comparison rig, headphone jacks slightly off center:
---------------- Some might also ask, what's the point of a flagship amplifier if it doesn't have balanced output? And my response is, at what cost? Balanced output increases production costs which, at the same price point, makes it actually worse overall than amps designed purely for single-ended output. Balanced amplifiers are worth it for the extreme high-end, where possible improvements upon a single-ended design has reached saturation point, they are very expensive. Although it sounds amazing with my favorite headphone of all time (the HD650/6XX), I feel this amplifier was really made for my HD800, or headphones with similar peaky treble. The smooth treble really helps tame that annoying 5-6K peak. Overall, this amp is probably around 80% of my maxed out WA6SE, the Woo is simply lusher and exhibit more pleasing harmonics. I feel the original price of $2K for this amp is a tad overpriced, however it would compete very well at the $1.5K mark. MD's best price of $599 USD is an absolute bargain, at this price bracket, it literally smashes everything else into sub-atomic particles!
My god this is a beautiful amplifier! It sounds almost as good as my much more expensive maxed out Woo (a $1.8k amplifier). I've read criticisms of the amplifier on SBAF so my plan was to flip it if I didn't like it. But after 8 hours of side-by-side comparisons, I hear none of those mentioned issues. My only guess is it's got something to do with the volume control problems from the initial production run, or simply a matter of poor synergy. Volume control from the SBAF review:
To address the main concerns of this amp from various forums, mainly SBAF which for some reason is the only place where this amp doesn't get recommended:
Bass It's there, it's meaty and it's extended. It makes my Woo feel bass light! Also remember this amp is phase perfect which can have a lower perceived bass quantity, for example, amps with an average 45 degree phase distortion will mean approx 2.5ms of bass delay at 100hz, this delay can attenuate higher frequencies, making the bass sound more pronounced. As an experiment, I tried applying high amounts of bass gain; as expected, my Woo exhibited significant amounts of distortion while my Heron5 sounded effortless with no excessive distortion (provided it wasn't clipping). Dynamics 130dB of dynamic range, what more do you want? Music have much blacker background and attacks hits fast and hits hard.
Smoothness My main criticism is although the macro-dynamics is great overall, micro-dynamics is slightly off in the upper octaves. I do like a smooth sound, however the Heron5 is even smoother than my Woo in the high frequencies making upper harmonics somewhat lacking in brilliance, but makes up for it with better transparency, resolution and timbre in the bass and lower mids. Some people might prefer the overly smooth treble, but coming from my Woo it will take time to get used to. ---------------- The main problem with the Heron5, IMO, is the build quality. I can confirm the volume control is absolutely a POS. It looks cheap and feels broken. There are two output jacks, one HIGH which is for better impedance matching and one LOW which is for lower damping, neither jacks are exactly centered. Reviews I've read suggests HIGH is for low impedance cans while LOW is for high impedance cans, but my experience is the opposite. When I first listened to the LOW output, the amp was a only slightly better than my WA6SE stock. But on the HIGH output, it easily outclasses stock and nears maxed quality! Maybe they've changed it, the amp has gone through a few improvement iterations.
My comparison rig, headphone jacks slightly off center:
---------------- Some might also ask, what's the point of a flagship amplifier if it doesn't have balanced output? And my response is, at what cost? Balanced output increases production costs which, at the same price point, makes it actually worse overall than amps designed purely for single-ended output. Balanced amplifiers are worth it for the extreme high-end, where possible improvements upon a single-ended design has reached saturation point, they are very expensive. Although it sounds amazing with my favorite headphone of all time (the HD650/6XX), I feel this amplifier was really made for my HD800, or headphones with similar peaky treble. The smooth treble really helps tame that annoying 5-6K peak. Overall, this amp is probably around 80% of my maxed out WA6SE, the Woo is simply lusher and exhibit more pleasing harmonics. I feel the original price of $2K for this amp is a tad overpriced, however it would compete very well at the $1.5K mark. MD's best price of $599 USD is an absolute bargain, at this price bracket, it literally smashes everything else into sub-atomic particles!
Jackula
1743
Jan 4, 2018
Been gone for a few days, looks like a lot has happened! I'll likely just return mine instead of getting a replacement, the problem with the Heron 5 (or rather the problem with me) is, regardless of areas of improvement against my Woo, I only tend to focus more on where it's lacking. I think I'll need to find an amp that will completely eclipse my Woo, not one that is 80% of it.
The tube sweetness is hard to find on a SS amp, regardless of price. This is an unfortunate fact I'll have to accept when I switch to a solid state.
@DinoJoe Oh yes, absolutely!
The tube sweetness is hard to find on a SS amp, regardless of price. This is an unfortunate fact I'll have to accept when I switch to a solid state.
@DinoJoe Oh yes, absolutely!
ProfessorPat
380
Jan 5, 2018
JackulaFair enough. I was sort of looking at it from a, you’re still going to get a black widow when available, standpoint. In that case, the Heron being cheaper would make up for things a little bit in my book. But getting nothing new is cheaper still if you can just wait it out...
Jackula
1743
Nov 13, 2017
Been looking for a new amplifier for my HD6XX, trying to move away from tubes as it's caused me enough headaches to want to switch to a rich (read: non-neutral) sounding solid-state. I have been eyeing the Heron5 for awhile but my main interest is in a EC Black Widow, it will be my end-game amp, but that is out of stock until next year, so I'm considering getting this as a stepping stone as the performance will be very close. Before anyone asks, this is a huge upgrade from the Jot, it's not even in the same league considering the original MSRP was $2k and it was still considered good value. Anyone who knows me knows I don't put a budget on audio, I'd rather good sound than a Tesla - as long as my wife gives the approval. At $600 it's a steal but $130 shipping is a tad pricey! Now only if the wife will say yes...
Jackula
1743
Dec 22, 2017
The demand seems pretty good for Woo, trying to sell my WA6SE now but have had 5 different people tell me they're too broke for Christmas. Guess I might have to wait a few weeks :P
CasualSin
114
Nov 30, 2016
I don't know where you're getting your info but this AMP used to be 2grand when it was introduced and later on the price was reduced to 1grand MSRP.
AhmadHusaini
5
Aug 4, 2017
Not gonna go that far...
I will be happy enough if this gonna give the best SQ for my HD800 soon. :)
I will be happy enough if this gonna give the best SQ for my HD800 soon. :)
bigjim
162
Sep 6, 2017
In A/B testing, most audiophiles cannot reliably discern ANY difference between balanced and single ended signals, as long as power requirements are not exceeded. I tend to regard the whole "balanced" issue in headphone equipment as more of a sales feature than an actual technical improvement. Balanced circuits do reduce noise in very long line, low signal level connections, but when do you expect to have 50-100 feet of cable running between any two of your headphone audio components?
bootynugget
35
Feb 8, 2018
Only available in 220v? Talk about a FAIL! Says they're sold out of 110v model.
Decodaco
9
Jan 2, 2018
auditioned the Heron and was pretty blown away for $1k price point. $600 seems like a steal. Would love to see an equally impressive drop for a high end DAC preamp with XLR outs and remote (enough of the teac DACS already!). Lets get talking to AudioLab for an M-DAC /M-DAC+ deal!
Sythrix
302
Sep 6, 2017
Really there's only one. Wasn't the best word to use, but I was thinking of tube rolling when I wrote all that and of course that doesn't apply to the Heron 5.
Sorry about that.
Sorry about that.
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