Cary Audio HH-1 Headphone Amplifier

“The HH-1 is very easy to recommend. Definitely offering highly competitive performance at its price point, with the right headphones, I could live very happily with the HH-1 as my main, or only, headphone amp. It deserves serious consideration if your goals are a highly musical experience. Enthusiastically recommended, as described.”  Inner|Fidelity

The HH-1 headphone amplifier from Cary Audio is an all-new hybrid design, featuring a tube input stage feeding a single-ended MOSFET output stage.  These MOSFETs were chosen as they have sonic characteristics very similar to tubes, and the entire amplifier operates fully in class-A at all output levels. Its single-ended design is patterned after our acclaimed CAD-300SEI integrated amplifier for superbly realistic sound. It is extremely simple to connect and operate, featuring a pair of RCA input jacks and a loop-through output pair, a power switch and a volume control. 

Top quality parts are mounted on a heavy gauge fiberglass circuit board, and only two stages of amplification are used for the shortest possible signal path. A power transformer, rated at three times what is required for the amplifier’s design, feeds a fully regulated discrete power supply for the best sound quality. It is designed to drive headphones with an impedance between 30 and 600 ohms. A 30-second muting circuit prevents any annoying pops and clicks when turning on the HH-1 headphone amplifier, and ensures that all circuits are fully stabilized before each listening session.  

All of the design and construction features would be meaningless if they didn’t contribute to both superb sound quality and long-term reliability. Like all Cary Audio equipment, the HH-1 headphone amplifier is engineered to provide accurate and lifelike musical reproduction, and to do so for many years. The HH-1 has beautiful cosmetics and contains the latest technology and quality components to ensure that you enjoy your music, whether used as a stand-alone system in an office or as part of a serious main music system.

Tubes make their best contribution to the overall sound when used in the input stage.  For this, we are using a pair of 6DJ8 tubes (one per channel). The output stage is a single-ended current-sourced MOSFET working in Class A at all times.
 
As in all Cary Audio products, much thought has gone into the power supply, which has a major impact on the sound quality and reliability. In the HH-1, the power supply is fully regulated for lowest possible noise, including the power supply for the tube heaters, and it uses a high performance audio grade toroidal transformer.

Top quality parts, excellent engineering, beautiful fit and finish, simple to hook up and use in any system configuration, designed and built in the USA, the HH-1 headphone amplifier will give you years of detailed and accurate musical reproduction with virtually any high-quality headphones.

Warranty Info

1. Power Amplifiers, Integrated Amplifiers, Surround Sound Processors, and Preamplifiers have a three (3) year parts and labor warranty from the date of the original purchase from Cary Audio. 

2. CD or SACD players, DVD players, or Music Servers have an eighteen (18) month parts and labor warranty from the date of the original purchase from Cary Audio. 

3. Vacuum tubes, if any are used in the component, are offered a 90-day exchange policy against defects with the exception of the CAVT 300B vacuum tube that has a one (1) year exchange policy from the date of the original purchase from Cary Audio.

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