AURORASOUND HFSA-01 INTEGRATED - REVIEW
AURORASOUND HFSA-01 - review
Shinobu Karaki, Aurorasound’s founder and CEO, brings his expertise as an engineer, for nearly three decades, a musician, and a music teacher to the entire line of Aurorasound products, from headphone amplifiers to phono preamplifiers to amplifiers (integrated, preamplifiers, amplifiers). Now having reviewed three of Aurorasound’s products across these categories, I can fully attest to their exceptional technical and musical acumen.
What I’ve also discovered in reviews of the Aurorasound components is they always hold their own, to a one, with far more expensive components. In this respect, the Aurorasound HFSA-01 right out of the box (with prior burn-in by the distributor) was giving notice to a noted preamp and amplifier duo, four times its price and a 300B integrated at five times its price! I will provide more on this later.
The Aurorasound HFSA-01 ($4,290) is a compact, light weight, multi-functional integrated, which incorporates a Moving Magnet Phono Section and a 6.33mm Headphone amplifier. The HFSA-01 provides 14-watts via four EL84 tubes and it paired beautifully with the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96. I’m told it also works well with marginally efficient speakers (90dB+).
How does the HFSA-01 actually sound as an integrated? How good is its Moving-Magnet phono stage and its headphone amplifier?
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start, below, with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Terminator, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Queen’s Gambit, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
The System
Shanling ONIX XST20 SACD/CD Transport
Bricasti Design M1SE DAC w/ethernet
Rega P8 Turntable w/Ania Pro cartridge
Rega P10 Turntable w/Apheta cartridge
Aurorasound Step-Up Transformer
Grimm Audio PW1 Phono Preamplifier
Allnic ASRA 7500 HPA/Integrated
Allnic HPA-300B Headphone Amplifier/Integrated
Atma-Sphere MP-3 Preamplifier
Atma-Sphere S-30 Amplifier
Aurorasound HFSA-01 Integrated/Headphone Amplifier
Lyric Audio Ti 100 MkII Integrated
Audience FrontRow Reserve Cables/Wires
BlackCat Level 2 Setsuna Interconnects
BlackCat Level 3 Setsuna Speaker Cables
BlackCat TRON AES/EBU and SPDIF Digital Cables
Grimm Audio SQM Interconnects (XLR, RCA)
Kubala-Sosna Realization Speaker Cables
RSX Technology BEYOND and MAX Power Cords
Devore Fidelity Orangutan O/96 Speakers
TORUS RM20 Power Conditioner
SEISMION Amplifier Stand (powered)
The Sound
The HFSA-01’s in-house betters were the Lyric Ti100 MkII ($9,290), the Allnic HPA-300B Integrated/Headphone Amplifier ($14,451), and the Atma-Sphere MP-3 preamplifier and the S-30 amplifier ($14,480) duo. All of which have distinguished themselves in outperforming far more expensive and noted amplifiers. Perhaps it is the reason I keep these over-performing underdogs. Would the HFSA-01 fit in? Given its heritage, I was of the mindset it would, though time would be the arbiter of this.
The Aurorasound HFSA-01 is refined, sophisticated, technically adept, and gloriously musical. One doesn’t expect to lavish such praise on a petite integrated, priced at mid-entry level, posing as a Jack-of-all-Trays. More often than not, the various ‘Trays’, can undermine or diminish the primary point of an integrated—its two-channel operation. Or, at least, they can. However, given the HFSA-01’s lineage and our experience with its Aurorasound siblings, there was confidence each ‘Tray’ would, at least, perform well and in this they exceeded far beyond expectations.
Amplifiers which utilize EL84 tubes are well known for their sweetness and their engaging personalities. The HFSA-01 embodies this and a good deal more There was wonderful refinement, its technical ‘chops’—transparency, resolution top to bottom, the resulting detail, dynamics—were superb. And while providing wonderful insight into the music, technically, the HFSA-01 was incredibly musical and immersive, which easily instigated long listening sessions. In this respect, the HFSA-01 put a good bit of distance between itself and a $20k, 300B integrated I recently reviewed! There was no comparison, as the HFSA-01 won the skirmish hands down.
The HFSA-01 was placed in the reference-level system and I can assure you that a component’s placement in the reference system does not always guarantee even modest results. In fact, some very highly rated, well known components have crashed and burned in the reference system and were, subsequently, sent home packing. They were sent home without a review, though not a bad word about them either. We don’t write bad reviews. What’s the point?
The HFSA-01 quickly distinguished itself among other amplifiers and came out on top in comparison to several more expensive amplifiers—again, the nearly four-times more expensive 300B integrated and a six-times more expensive, well noted preamplifier and amplifier duo! It wasn’t even a contest. It also nipped at the heels of the two-times more expensive Lyric Ti 100 MkII integrated, our resident and long-time ‘embarrasser’ of giants.
In listening sessions with the HFSA-01, though quite good, there was a question in mind, given Aurorasound siblings—HEADA (headphone amplifier) and VIDA (phono preamplifier)—products we continue to very much enjoy. Were the stock SOVTEK EL84s holding the HFSA-01 back? Well, this question was quickly answered, when I replaced the SOVTEK’s EL84s with the PSVANE Horizon EL84s. This is when I saw its ‘Peter Pan’ smile. “There you are Peter,” said the small child now beaming, as he shaped a wide smile in the all-grown-up face of Peter Pan (Robin Williams; Hook, 1991). This is when the HFSA-01 took flight. This is when I also began planning its adoption into the AKRMedia entry-level reference system. Please understand, I do not normally recommend after-market products when reviewing a component, however, with the HFSA-01 and given the low cost of tube rolling EL84s, I have and it has worked out beautifully.
I sat for hours happily listening to the HFSA-01 and changed out album after album, on the Rega P8 or P10, and then CDs one after the other, while other reviews waited patiently for my return. The HFSA-01’s very impressive headphone amplifier and its Moving Magnet (MM) phono section served me exceptionally well. Often, I’d simply have to stop the music, while shaking my head in wonder at just how good the HFSA-01’s MM phono section was and how its headphone amplifier, was definitely and closely related to the HEADA HPA. And with the Aurorasound AFE-12 MC Step-Up Transformer in place for the Rega P8’s Moving Coil (MC) cartridge, all was well and I was engaged and happy.
Bass
I doubt if anyone could imagine such potent bass coming from a petite, 14-watt integrated amplifier! Though this is what the HFSA-01 managed consistently across all genres of music and all sources, as it scaled beautifully with sources up to several times its cost! With Eiji Oue’s “V. Infernal Dance of King Kashchey” (Stravinsky, Reference Recording) the bass was potent, definitive, tight, with natural decay and reverberation. Charlie Haden’s upright bass on Heartplay (Naim) was dimensional, palpable, dynamic, his playing transparent, nuanced, with the various inner-details on full display. And this was consistent in all bass rich albums, whose music flowed easily and well, through the HFSA-01.
Midrange
Billie Holiday’s All or Nothing At All (Verve) plays now via the Rega P8 turntable and her voice is sublime, engaging, full-bodied, and natural. Perhaps the HFSA-01’s EL84 tubes have lent their sweetness to this album and others, via the HFSA-01’s phono stage, which is better than I had expected and it continues to show itself across countless albums, beautifully. Again, its many ‘Trays’—integrated, headphone amplifier, phono section—do not hinder it, instead they give weight to its various abilities, while solidifying the HFSA-01’s overall value.
Treble+
Tord Gustavsen Trio’s Changing Places (ECM) is a treble+ or treble-high album rich with drum cymbals, brushes passing over drum skins, etc. This album can easily identify poorly performing DACs, transports, etc, which turn the treble-high frequencies into something sizzling on a hot skillet or a sheet of paper being crushed into a ball. Many high-priced amplifiers can also have a hard time resolving or staying true to source, as they roll off treble+ information, while burying detail. The HFSA-01 does a superb job of resolving the treble+ elements easily, while presenting the detail, with sweetness and delicacy.
Design—Look and Feel
The compact, lightweight Aurorasound HFSA-01 in many ways harkens back to a time past in its functionality—tone controls and its included Moving Magnet (MM) phono stage. It has a push button On/Off control and a 6.33mm/ 1/4 inch headphone output.
Its aesthetic, replete with black knobs, two small levers, a brushed-metal facade, and wooden sides, present a clean look and feel. The HFSA-01 might be confused, at first glance, with a mid to late 20th century model integrated. Its rear face is utilitarian, straightforward, and simple, with basic speaker terminals (0,4, 8 Ohm), four inputs—MM phono stage, CD, Line-1, and Line-2, and an IEC.
The Aurorasound HFSA-01, again, comes standard with a Moving-Magnet phono stage and a 6.33mm or 1/4 inch headphone output. In this respect, it is a Jack-of-all-Trays and it is a convincing and proficient and capable performer of each.
Overall, it is petite, clean, lightweight, and attractively designed, which is well executed for a mid-entry level integrated.
Conclusion
With the Aurorasound HFSA-01 you really don’t have to spend a good deal, relatively speaking, to get exceptional sound, to check all the technical boxes, and given your speakers are efficient enough, to successfully mange its 14-watts. Should this hold true, you will hear the full frequency spectrum unfold before your ears. Further, you’ll get a very good headphone amplifier of, approximately, 1.4-Watts and an amazingly good phono section, which will wonderfully accommodate turntables with Moving Magnet cartridges. However, should you have a Moving Coil cartridge, then you’ll definitely want the Aurorasound AFE-12 MC Step-Up Transformer ($799), which worked exceptionally well with the Rega P8 and its Ania Pro cartridge.
There are some very expensive integrateds and amplification duos, I could not wait to send back and they were good, but not great. They did not engage, nor were they as technically adept, despite their prices, as has been the Aurorasound HFSA-01. Suffice to say, the Aurorasound HFSA-01 may well be home.
The Aurorasound HFSA-01 easily wins our GOLD KEYNOTE Award for its superb technical performance, its engaging personality, and its very good headphone amplifier and its Moving Magnet phono preamplifier. A Jack-of-all-Trays? Yes and one, I can imagine, most will be very happy to own.
Pros: Superb technical acumen and an engaging musicality. The inclusion of a very good Moving Magnet phono stage and headphone amplifier.
Cons: The stock tubes.
The Technical Specifications
The Aurorasound HFSA-01
Input: RCA unbalanced - CD, LINE-1, LINE-2, Phono-MM (Gain 40dB, load resistance 47kΩ, RIAA +/-1dB)
TONE Control: BASS +/-12dB, TREBLE +/-12dB
Output: 14W + 14W into 8Ω speaker
Frequency response: 10Hz ~ 40kHz, -3dB, Flat
THD+N: 0.08％, 1kHz, 2W, A-weighted
SNR: 93dB, LINE IN-OUT
Functions: TONE control pass DIRECT SW, Stereo/Mono, Headphones output
Remote control: for volume control only
AC voltage: USA model 120V, Europe/Asia model 220V, 240V
Upgrade to SR MASTER fuse available (+$250)
Power consumption: 150W
Size / Weight: W360 x D320 x H145mm / 10.3kg (14 x 12.5 x 5.7inch / 22.7lbs)
The Company
AURORASOUND
www.aurorasound.jp/english
AURORASOUND HFSA-01 Integrated $4,290
The Distributor
Alfred Kainz
High-End Electronics
highend-electronics.com
office@highend-electronics.com
Phone: 760-490-2410
