HA75 'TUBE HEAD' HEADPHONE AMP
Hafler
8
THe FoCuS ConTRoL
One of the particularly cool features built into the HA75 is the Focus
control. This enables you to simulate the effect of listening to music in a
free air space, as if playing music through speakers in a typical room. In
essence, you can adjust the stereo image to suit.
Here’s the point: When listening to loudspeakers, the sound emanating
from the right loudspeaker will be heard in both ears, not exclusively the
right side. But with headphones, you only get the left program material in
the left ear and the right program material in the right ear. This can make
extreme 'left right' imaging sound more dramatic than it was intended,
likely pushing you away from the artist’s intended mix.
The solution is the Focus control. This is an active matrix that mixes a
mono ‘blend’ of the two channels back into the stereo image. This control
is much more precise than a typical passive mono blend. Controlling the
amount of width brings the stereo image from wide to narrow as you
increase the control from counter-clockwise to clockwise. Upon listening
– depending on the program material - you will notice a greater sense of
realism. When recording in the studio, this allows the engineer to quietly
mix as if listening to nearfield monitors.
To activate, simply depress the Feedback ON switch and adjust to suit.
When engaged, this will cause the volume to increase slightly as you
are now combining multiple signals together to create a new stereo mix.
Simply lower the gain control to compensate.
Listening with headphones
Narrow field
Listening with speakers
Wide field
