Audiophilepure

Headphone amplifiers that use ESS chips are normally on the warmer side of the listening spectrum, and the XA-02 is no different. Using ELNA capacitors contributes to this warmish tonality, but not so much that the signature is too smooth.

Instead, the XA-02 exudes a mature sound that sounds good across various genres, without minimizing each genre’s impact on the sound.

In other words, a brighter, more energetic sound still comes across with a bit of verve, just not as much as a DAC/amp with a brighter tone to it, might. Instead, the signature still emulates the intention quite well.

Comments are closed.