In 2016, I was invited to listen to the Sennheiser HE 1 when it landed in Singapore for the first time. Dubbed the most expensive headphones at about 60,000 Euros, the entire system comes with its own marble-body amplifier and tubes that rise up when powered. It was an unforgettable experience.
When the Audio-Technica NARUKAMI Series first system of the line, HPA-KG NARU Headphone/Pre-Amplifier and AW-KG NARU Headphone arrived in Singapore one week before the HiEnd Asia Singapore 2023 (6-8 Oct), the A-T team called me up and asked if I want to listen to this extravagant audio equipment at their office. This headphones amplifier was first unveiled at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show by the A-T President himself Kazuo Matsushita on 11 Aug 2023, and the kagami-biraki ceremony took place in front of invited guests. The official model name is HPA-KG NARU and the companion headphones is AW-KG NARU, with a list price for Singapore of S$113,888.
The First Encounter
Even after doing some online research on this product, it still could not prepare me for the moment when I met the amplifier for the first time. Seated firmly on a wooden-grained table in the A-T audio room, the NARUKAMI system radiates an imposing presence with its outlandish yet harmonious element. It looks better than the press images, appearing more muted and less red. The metal mesh cover feels thick, dense, and not cold. Neither do I notice any heat radiating on the amplifier surface when I was touching all over it just to appreciate the attention to details.
Basically, Audio-Technica designed the NARUKAMI amplifier like a traditional Japanese garden, incorporating water flow and ripples at the top and sides, the metal mesh cover resembling Ayasugi tree pattern. I could spend hours staring at this amplifier and just appreciating the lines and pattern, just like how someone would stare at their backyard garden. It certainly has more character than any modern amplifier.
Named after “NARUKAMI”, the HPA-KG NARU headphone amplifier/pre-amplifier is carefully crafted to capture the intricate details and emotional depth of sound, offering a unique, refined, and natural listening experience. NARUKAMI intertwines the majesty of nature with human innovation, combining Audio-Technica’s expertise – over 60 years of pursuing the purest analog sound – with the transcendent aesthetics of KUROGAKI, an ancient “black persimmon” wood treasured by Japanese nobles and literati with a rare, ink wash painting-like pattern.
The circuit design incorporates the user of the finest components available. This includes the custom-made Lundahl Amorphous Core Silver Wire Output Transformer LL2765AgAM, high-quality TAKATSUKI TA-300B vacuum tubes handcrafted in Japan, the Alps RK50 metal shaft potentiometer. The circuit design is fully balanced using four ECC83S tubes in the front stage to amplify the signal using a “Shunt Regulated Push-Pull” circuit design known as SRPP, providing strong drive to the four TA-300B tubes in the rear stage. When using balanced XLR inputs, the signal is directly sent to the left and right balanced circuits. When using single-ended line inputs, the signal is converted to a balanced signal through the LL1532 input transformer before being sent to the left and right balanced circuits.
My Listening Equipment
To help me evaluate the NARUKAMI, I brought my best headphone equipment so that I can do some listening comparison.
- Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones
- FiiO FT3 headphones
- Burson Playmate headphone amp and pre-amplifier with 4x SS Opamp V6 Vivid
- LG Gram 13 laptop (digital file source)
For testing analog audio, A-T office has hooked up the VPI Avenger with AT-ART20 cartridge and driven with the Phasemation EA-320 phono pre-amp.
I also brought some of my personal vinyl records:
- Enya Orinoco Flow single 45rpm
- Karl Jenkins Adiemus
- Hoff Ensemble Quiet Winter Night
For digital , my usual tracks are:
- Hiromi “Player”
- Billie Eilish “No Time To Die”
- Robert Len “Brasilia”
- others as listed here
My listening line-up is as follows:
- Warm up my ears with vinyl
- VPI Avenger + AT-ART20 -> RCA -> EA-320 -> RCA-> NARUKAMI -> Balanced XLR -> headphones
- Compare the three headphones
- Switch to digital
- LG Gram 13 -> USB -> AT-DAC100 -> RCA -> NARUKAMI -> Balanced XLR -> headphones
- Compare the three headphones
- Switch to Burson Playmate
- LG Gram 13 -> USB -> Burson Playmate -> Pre-amp RCA -> NARUKAMI -> Balanced XLR -> headphones
- LG Gram 13 -> USB -> Burson Playmate -> -> 6.3mm single-end -> headphones
- Compare two headphone amplifiers
Instead of going step by step on my discovery of the sound difference, I will just go straight into identifying the important findings after spending over 2 hours.
HPA-KG NARU: Effortlessly Detailed, Outclassed Amp
The job of an amplifier is to amplify recorded sound while being able to bring out all musical data to the driver without sounding overloaded or tired. Powerful amplifiers like the NARUKAMI is certainly able to deliver more impactful sound compared to smaller amps. Compared with my Burson Playmate, the NARUKAMI lets me hear music details better as I turn up the volume without any hint of struggle or veil in expressing the content. The amp translates the source with amazing sensitivity and musicality. The music does not sound processed or digital. There is an air of realism and analogue even when listening to digital tracks.
To put it in an analogy, it’s like the bathroom shower head delivering the right amount of water pressure while maintaining the right pressure at different water levels. Even when increasing the water level, you won’t feel pain in the skin. How does the amp deliver louder sound that the headphones can handle without overloading the ears? That is what good quality amps will achieve.
The treble is precise but not intentionally airy, the bass similarly does not emphasize nor sound too bloated, the midrange is also clean. The sound staging conforms to the make of the headphones and does not overly alter. Even with cluttered distortion, like Billie Eilish “No Time To Die” climax passage, the harshness is transformed into a more musical presentation with more separated layering.
What I really like with the NARUKAMI is that I can use my choice of headphones, unlike the Sennheiser HE1. The HPA-KG NARU is a wonderful headphone amplifier that brings out the best capability of the plugged in headphones. It is a premium upgrade to maximise your headphones potential.
AW-KG NARU Headphones: Impression
The NARUKAMI package includes the headphones, whose design largely derives from the ATH-AWKT wooden headphones. It will come with a 2-metre gold-plated balanced XLR-M 4-pin cable and a 3-metre balanced XLR-M cable. The headphones follow an Audio-Technica signature tuning, which is elevated upper midrange which emphasizes vocals. Among the three headphones I compared during the listening session, the AW-KG headphones attain the widest sound stage with most expressive vocal transparency. Any vocal music lover will find joy with this headphones. However, it lacks the meat in the bass section, and instrumental arrangements sound recessed, so the headphones do not provide a full warm cosy sound. For orchestral tracks, the AW-KG presents great imaging and open stage even with its closed-back design.
I asked A-T whether the NARUKAMI headphones is designed to pair specially with the amplifier, they clarified that this was not strictly the case. Rather, the headphones is to provide a complete package with matching kurogaki wood ear cups. That is to say, the AW-KG is not designed as the definite headphones for the HPA-KG. Neither should listener judge the HPA-KG solely with the AW-KG sound signature.
And truth be told, I still favour listening the HPG-KG with my Sennheiser HD 800 S. The sound staging is closer but still very separated, immersive imaging, and less exaggerated than the AW-KG. Vocals sound more blended against all instruments. On the FiiO FT3, the sound stage is further shrunk, slightly more cluttered compared to the other two, but its bass is most satisfying. It works great for tracks with fewer instruments, like jazz.
If you have reviewed headphones long enough, you would realise that there is no one perfect headphones, hence audio enthusiasts often have several headphones. Ultimately, it depends on how particular you are in sonic enjoyment. I am quite lucky to have three headphones with different characteristics to let me experience the versatility of the NARUKAMI.
Incidentally, while the impedance rating on the AW-KG is 60 ohms, I find listening to the 600 ohm setting on the HPA-KG sounds best. At lower impedance, the audio sound harsh and compressed at loud volumes.
Difference between Balanced and Single-Ended Output
Technically, there is electrical signal difference between a single-ended (unbalanced) and a balanced circuit. On the NARUKAMI, this difference is very audible. When listened to an unbalanced signal, I felt a lack of space and dynamics. Once I switch over to balanced cable, the audio sounds more resolving and sensitive to dynamic expressions. It makes perfect sense to make full use of all the audio components by channeling the signal through the balanced circuits.
Supports Pre-Amplifier Balanced and Line-Out
The HPA-KG amplifier also serves as a pre-amplifier with preamp output functionality, driving using the TA-300B vacuum tubes to your next audio chain before hitting the speakers. I didn’t test the pre-amp function due to limited time, but it is good that owners can make use of the supreme all-tube preamp circuitry to connect to audiophile speakers.
Final Words
Music is art, and art is subjective. Each individual experiences audio differently. It is for this reason that the audio market has such wide variety of products, accessories, designs, features, and prices. It is one of the few consumer categories that offer products with price ranging from a single-digit price to six-figure value. There will be an audio product that you can afford.
Is the NARUKAMI extravagant? No doubt about it. Does it sound like it is worth S$113,888? I would probably say, it all depends on whether you feel the listening experience is worth that value. So, yes, the value is subjective. However, I know that the NARUKAMI is loaded with some of the best audio components in the industry, and from how it sounds, the sound quality is at its pinnacle.
Audio-Technica has announced that 10 units will be available for sale globally, and subsequent production numbers will be highly dependent on the availability of the Kurogaki wood. I was told that two units have already been ordered in Singapore. Whoever buys the NARUKAMI should be accorded with attention and benefits. Okay, it’s not mentioned anywhere, but if I were A-T, I would take care of these 10 owners. Hmm, I wonder if the 750 owners of the 75th anniversary Sennheiser HD 800 S gold edition will get any privileges.
The NARUKAMI is not just an audio headphone amplifier. It is a work of art that showcases the quality craftsmanship that Japan is famous for. If anyone wants one of the world’s best-sounding analogue headphones amplifier with an epic Japanese heritage design, the NARUKAMI is the one to get.
