Ok, I’m reconsidering (but not decided yet) my amp choice. I’m going to give it another week or two, but I’m mentally exploring the idea of getting a lower power higher quality amp.
M0N has pointed out that the Pass HPA-1 has similar technical performance has a more fun tuning. I’ve never gone wrong with something M0N calls “fun” or enjoyable.
Anyone have any thoughts on a 2k-2.5k DAC to pair with an HPA1?
Also, thoughts on Aqua La Voce specifically?
Only that it’s the next amp I want to buy. 
I think it’d be a great compliment to the MZ3 (@NickMimi has both).
Would def agree with the mz3 description for sure, it’s such a great amp with the right pairings, and it’s an amazing preamp as well
@Andy77 Pass Labs thread, HPA / INT / X / XA / XS - #11
You can’t go wrong “settling” on an HPA-1. I enjoy it most w/ my LM-32 DAC, (tube buffer w/Quad 9028pro chips), the DAC allows me to be either fully SS or to inject tubes into the path. I get best of both worlds and allows some diversity.
The amp itself will somewhat color the sound, nothing negative mind you, I feel it has a lovely midrange warmth while maintaining a brutal and tight bottom end and top notch detail across the top. Nothing I have ever paired it with ever felt fatiguing or bright in a negative fashion.
It has enough power for everything in my stable minus the HE6 series (which let’s be honest, they play fine on it, but nobody here care about “just fine”
we want the best).
If I were you I would match it with a neutral or forward and most detailed DAC otherwise the amplifier signature along with a warm leaning DAC might feel too “liquid” or lean too rich in sound.
Think of the HPA-1 almost like a perfect W in its presentation, and I mean that, if you pushed me and forced me to keep just one pure headphone amp you would have to pry this one out of my clutches. For anything but the most picky TOTL level HP’s that really do require much picky levels of mating this is a “go-to” piece, you would be so very hard pushed to find a flaw with.
Good luck whichever direction you go 
That was my guess, going with a more neutral/forward DAC. I bet it’s a great amp.
Great synopsis. 
Thank you, i tried hard not to include any fantasy figure comparisons. It’s basically the HP amp equivalent of Superman though…hehehe 
I would have suggested the Bryston BHA-1 but given the price range you’re willing to pay, the Pass is a better amp in every way other than value when compared against the Bryston. As more of an end game, I’d go with the HPA-1. The MZ3 as stated is also wonderful and extremely versatile but I it felt with certain cans it didn’t have the same power reserves.
Choose your DAC wisely, you don’t want to go “too” clean. 
Oh yeah, what @dB_Cooper said, i adore my LTA MZ3 and it’s a damned fine piece of equipment BUT if your choice is ONLY one and you want quality across the board the PASS HPA-1 for under $3k used is really hard to beat as a general purpose do everything damned great amplifier. If you go and throw a stupid pair of HP’s on it that’s your own damned fault, stupid requires what you are selling off 
BTW, the BF2 despite having plenty of color mated well w/ the PASS. Go ahead and spend more money but i enjoyed that DAC immensely and it was easy to use. The stupid clicking was a bit annoying and my first one blew up but otherwise i would buy another in a heartbeat.
Last edit: I bet the newest version of the BF2 would be a pretty good compliment, especially if you are keeping a really good streamer for the source. And cheap…
Another pption is just to buy one from somehwere else. Or just email them and ask for a quote shipped to you
Great assessment, sir! I appreciate it.
And you’re right, I’m selling off the gear that does it all. This is about trade offs.
Agreed. I neglected to mention that I didn’t find the MZ3 very compelling with planars, but it excels with dynamics, imo.
Choose wisely… 
On the Qutest, I found its presentation the most intriguing. It presented things differently than what I was used to, pulling some things to the back and bringing others more to the front, in an unusual but not unpleasant way. It worked imo very well with real instruments, less with electronic music or hiphop, at least for my taste.
I encourage you to purchase a piece that you can use stress free. Having said this electronics repairs are a real pain in the ass. Is nothing interesting sold even remotely local to you so that you would have the support of a dealer?
Whom would you ship a used Chord dac into for repairs? England? And pay world wide shipping twice? i ask not knowing the answer but instead offer it as food for thought as you go about making choices. Be wise with your hard earned money, i know in some countries it is harder than others to enjoy this hobby 
Being an audiophile in mexico is tough as nails
Average wage in mexico is $6,671 per year, average wage in the US is $63,000 per year… Salaries here just plain suck. I never dreamt I would accomplish a system as good as I have at my age…
stress is just part of the hobby here, the shipping companies charging crazy amounts for import tax and handling, I have learnt a lot of tricks to save money but every single purchase has an amount of stress included.
DHL alway charges 40% the cost of the product in tax+handling. Other companies handle the products like a basketball or have massive delays.
Insurances here suck.
If the declaration cost is above 1000 dollars the product will be held at customs until you bring them an official document by an aduanal agent, and the you still have to pay the insane 40% tax rate. Which mean I cant buy directly from anyone unless they low declare, or I use a proxy.
Not declaring low or using proxy at this level is just not an option.
you are right, if it dies is more or less the same, the repair cost would be insane.
My proxy just confirmed he can help me… and I just sold a pair of headphones! I have the dough now.
I’ll buy the cheaper TMR one because I believe they have some sort of warranty and the cheaper one from usaudiomart doesnt.
Ill be an exogal comet plus owner!! I cant believe the hype!
@rgdelato Is a ddc recomended for this unit or using my spdif/toslink converter should be good enough?
EDIT:
Some very unexpected medical expenses came up so I wont be getting it until christmas, which is when my proxy comes to my city, I hope the TMR is still available by november
Hey hey, nice! 
So personally, I’ve tried a some iFi USB reclockers (iGalvanic, etc) and I’ve also tried a Singxer SU-2 DDC for USB sources on my Exogal, and the DDC sounded noticeably better to me, but my guess is that if you’re running S/PDIF or Toslink into the Exogal, you’ll probably be fine. It’s really the USB input that’s given me trouble. (I’ve also tried the Exogal with an iFi Zen Blue over S/PDIF and Toslink, worked fine.)
Could using a preamp change the tonality of an amp enough to turn a bad synergy into a good one?
For example I dont like the combination of the focal clears with the burson soloist 3xp+bf2, but could I make a much better synergy by coloring it with a preamp?
Do preamps actually color the chain?
All the preamps ive tried only introduced a bit of extra noise without changing the sound
I believe they can, especially tube pre amps. But in your case (and this is solely my opinion) just replace the Burson. I hated that amp.
The problem is, its my only way to drive the he6se, what would be a good replacement? Ferrum + oor?
Never heard the HE6 but I’m sure some can recommend options in different price points here. The Ferrum stack is quite good for its price used imo