Zähl HM1 Reference Headphones Mixing Amplifier

I love the aesthetic. It looks so purposeful, and I’m sure it’s gonna sound great.

Looking forward to your impressions.

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You have any idea when? 6 months or less?

Last update I got was in early January when they said shipment is planned for mid April but that can change.

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Oh nice! Hopefully you’ll get it around the quoted time. Should be awesome.

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Yeah that would be awesome but I’m mentally prepared for it be delayed until at least June so anything before that will be a nice surprise.
I have an amp coming in this week that’ll keep me happy at least until then and perhaps stay alongside it so I’m in no rush but obviously the sooner the better.

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A little off topic, but does anyone else think that Cameron looks like Clark Duke?
(I loved Hot Tub Time Machine)

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It looks like Cameron loaned out his HM-1.

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Yah. They love close by and swap gear all the time. Just for my personal take, Koji has been fairly on the train of calling hm1 analytical and while I do think servo is more “neutral” than not, I wouldn’t call it analytical even when I was suing bricasti m1se (no mdx) or Weiss 502 (2ch). Other than that, I think I’m fairly on the same page as him (haven’t watched the video yet, but we chatted a lot the entire time he had the amp)

Oh, also, Boi loves him some slam

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Well thats the point of servo. I’m probably one of the few that plan to use it mostly in pure class A. Or at least that’s what I think might happen

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Tbh, I think most owners I know care less about the tonality shift and care more about the increased incision and image sharpness. Tbh, as just a sus user, idk I’d ever switch it off of class a, but I am also litteraly the only person I know that seems to prefer class a over sevo for sus (maybe a dac thing but not positive)

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Yeah, I like his reviews.

It looks like a really nice amp. Hopefully I’ll get ears on one some time.

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I like his reviews, I just often find we don’t hear even remotely the same things tbh

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Part 2, very interesting take. Made me even more excited. I like his focus on electronic music in some of the comments, like if he’s reviewing it for me personally lol
I wrote in the head-fi thread that everything I read about the HM1 and my time with it at Canjam make me think it’s the ideal electronic music amp and he seems to agree. That fits perfectly with why I wanted one and helps me think about what to have around it too.

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I think his comments specifically an the amplification stage vs. Bliss were very interesting. It seems like the HM1 feature set really puts it across the finish line but perhaps not the best SS amp out there at least per his preferences. I wish I had the funds and access to perform my own observations but we must live vicariously through others.

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I’ve played with the idea of buying the Bliss to compare on my own at home but decided it’s better to first listen only to the HM1 and see how I feel if it’s my true end game amp or not and worth the money I paid for it personally.
I’m sure the Bliss is awesome, might well be better for some stuff as he’s saying and preferring.
It’s down to the full chain, headphones, music and preferences at this level.
I watched a lot of his reviews, I agree with some of his takes and less with others as expected.
I can already tell you one winning factor for the HM1 over the Bliss for me and that’s the physical design lol. I don’t like the Holo designs.

If it weren’t so f’ing expensive and rare I’d send the HM1 on a Sonus tour. Anyone in the NY metro area is more than welcome to try it here once it arrives.

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Knowing what he tends to like I think his views on hm1 more come down to his tastes and dacs in hand as opposed to actual performance of the amp tbh

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The source mixer alone is absolutely a major selling point of this amp. Espcaielly for someone who works from his desk all day.

Can listen to my audio chain and mix in the random PC audio when needed and without switching headphones or plugging into a different device.

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Did you try sliding the stand below the back of the HM1?

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It actually fits perfectly under the amp and between the amps feet, but you can’t really do it from the back since all of the interconnects and power tether are there. Plus it doesn’t give enough room for the headphones to hang.

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More QOL things like that would be great especially if it didnt impede performance.

What is the big unit above the LTA if you dont mind me asking.

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