The name conrad-johnson is no stranger to traditional audiophiles, but the HVA-1 is the brands first venture into the personal audio world. Its clearly a product derived from the high-end audio line, with styling cues and circuit design alike hailing from the brands decades of high-performance audio. The HVA-1 is a bare-bones design, simply putting its money where it matters; in the design, execution, and build of a very good circuit. Its a valve design, with 6922 double- triodes for each channel, coupled to a high-current FET buffer stage/source follower that delivers a healthy 3W of pure single-ended Class A power per channel into a 20 load. This circuit layout is derived from the companys top GAT preamplifier. Components on that circuit are top-notch, with the companys own Teflon capacitors nestling alongside Vishay metal film resistors. Vishays are also used in place of a conventional volume control potentiometer, in a custom-made stepped attenuator behind the volume dial. Both channels of the HVA-1 are also fully and independently DC regulated. The amplifier has two RCA line inputs (a button with two yellow LEDs on the front panel switches between the two), and a single pro-grade 6.35mm headphone jack socket. The circuit is profoundly single-ended from stem-to-stern.Read the whole review here.
