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Author Topic: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800  (Read 100596 times)

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ericfarrell85

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #530 on: September 01, 2015, 03:54:54 PM »

Sorry to bump this thread, but...

First priority in the amp I seek is too get rid of all the painful treble spike, sibilance & harshness from the headphones. That includes having zero noise from the amp itself.
Secondly, I want the soundstage, imaging & holographic feel of the HD800 to be improved & expanded.
Lastly, I know the HD800 will never be like the LCD-2 in bass, but if the amp can still improve upon it a little then that would be a plus.

Now if the Valhalla 2 or NuForce HA-200 will give me 90-95% of what the Questyle CMA 800R can give, then I don't want the Questyle.
But if the Questyle CMA 800R gives me like a 50-60% improvement over them, then I will strongly consider them.


Help :-S

I have never heard an amp that offers top-notch synergy for an ortho and a dynamic. From my experience, an ortho needs a powerful SS amp. The Dynahi is the best I've heard for the LCD series (though admittedly the LCD's are amongst the least capable when it comes to scaling). The T1 and HD800 is a different matter. In your price range, I would recommend the Decware CSP2+. Near perfect synergy with the T1's and pretty good with the HD800's (won't do much for staging, but a good tonal match). After a while you can purchase a Decware Taboo and paired with the CSP2+ plays well with an ortho.
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Thenewdude007

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #531 on: September 01, 2015, 05:09:26 PM »

None of those amps you listed will give you all three things you want and for those three headphones you mentioned (T1, LCD2, HD800) for the price that you want. What are you willing to sacrifice?

For reference, the Questyle you currently gives you 1.5 of those things. Non annoying in treble, great bass extension albeit without the slam the HD800 is capable of.

I have never heard an amp that offers top-notch synergy for an ortho and a dynamic. From my experience, an ortho needs a powerful SS amp.

Should have made it clear, the amp is mainly for the HD800.
My LCD-2 sounds pretty much perfect with the amps I have, it wasn't finicky with working with any of them.
Compared to my T1, it didn't sound good at all with any amp I used.

Can't afford the $3,000 Eddie Currents, if I could I definitely wouldn't be considering those sub $500 amps lol
So the Questyle or the Decware CSP2+ are the best among them?

Anyone tried those cheaper Chinese models, like the Little Dot 8 SE Balanced Headphone Amplifier
For $900, people have been saying it specs within $3,000 amps.

http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=871&sid=4053f0279c20c4d8d7db430705e8fcae
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ericfarrell85

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #532 on: September 01, 2015, 05:40:38 PM »

Haven't heard the Questyle CMA 800R, but generally, tubes are preferred for the HD800 and T1. Look to the used market, you may be able to snag a Super 7 for 1k and a CSP2+ much cheaper than that. Then play with tubes until you find your preferred sound.
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aufmerksam

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #533 on: September 01, 2015, 06:32:56 PM »

The list on page 1 of this thread isn't just a rambling of the messiah that has been adopted blindly. There is a reason the Valhalla 2 is on the list.

For the price, $350 new or 250-300 used, it simply cannot be beat. I loved the presentation with HD800, as well as HD600, DT880 ... you get the idea. Has all the good qualities of tubes for high z headphones, and is still very quiet and clear. Also, its comparably very affordable. If you are looking for a good, sub-$500 amp to get your feet wet with the HD800, I strongly recommend you start with Valhalla 2.

As a corollary, something to consider with the T1 "not pairing well" with any amp you have found so far: you might not like the T1. I would not use the T1 as a predictor of whether or not you might like the HD800, or even what you want an amp to do for the HD800 you don't have yet. General complaints about each ("treble!") are vaguely similar, but after that similarities end. HD800 images way better, and is less offensive in the high frequencies (in my opinion). Also, driver matching is a significant issue with some T1s, and would mess with your listening experience no matter what amp you have.

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drfindley

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #534 on: September 01, 2015, 08:35:06 PM »

I've had all three headphones. I'd sell the T1, the only thing it pairs well with is an equalizer and even then, I'm not a fan.

My current work setup is a Schiit Gungir to an Eddie Current Black Widow. The Black Widow or the EC ZD Super would pair fantastically well with the HD800. Just make sure to mod the HD800, but even unmodded the treble spike will sound like sweet nothings compared to the T1.
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Thenewdude007

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #535 on: September 01, 2015, 10:39:54 PM »

The list on page 1 of this thread isn't just a rambling of the messiah that has been adopted blindly. There is a reason the Valhalla 2 is on the list.

lol yeah I read through his recommendations several times, the options on those amps are strictly based off what can be bought.
Like flat out, which is the best price-to-wow factor for the amps being sold in the classifieds right this minute:

  • Questyle CMA 800R used for $1200

  • DNA Sonett 2 used for $1,075

  • Decware CSP2+ used for $675

I should note that I owned the stock Bottlehead Crack (no speedball) I found that amp way too noisy.

Another thing is zilch0md recommended the $350 NuForce HA200 over the Valhalla 2.
I think he said the V2 was too colored & the NuForce had a more open soundstage & also got rid of the treble edge.
His impressions were very positive, makes me want to try the NuForce over the Valhalla 2 if I go in that price range. Just wish someone else who auditioned both of them gave a second opinion.


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zerodeefex

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #536 on: September 02, 2015, 12:00:01 AM »

zilch0md has tin ears. The NuForce alone trails the Asgard 2 at best (coming from someone who bought two just to test it out in fully balanced mode which might have gotten close to the Asgard 2).
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Marvey

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #537 on: September 02, 2015, 12:35:04 AM »

V2 is neutral in my IMO. I think people thinking because it's a tube amp, it's going to have a warm sound. Not at all. The HD800 will sound bright on V2 because the HD800 is a bright headphone. This is why I advise mods for HD800: "Anaxilus Mods preferred with Valhalla." I find that amps (some exceptions of course) that roll-off the HD800 to make them palatable tend to also have some deficiencies in resolution, dynamics, attack, nuances, etc.

It's not just a matter of tonal matching and synergies of getting the tone right. The idea is to play to the HD800s strengths and address the HD800s deficiencies with $5 mods -not- address the HD800's deficiencies with an amp that smooths out or rolls-off everything.

Of course if you can't use scissors or don't have a source up to par, might be better off with V200, CMA, NuForce to at least make HD800 not so bright. Not denigrating others' tastes or gear, but just saying what it really takes (good amp AND good source) to build a good setup around the HD800.

90% of HF has no idea what the HD800 can do because most of them are stuck in mid-fi purgatory with their collection of half dozen sub $1000 amps with their sub $100 DACs. With all the combined shipping costs and the cost of their last amp, they could have gotten something truly fantastic.
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SoupRKnowva

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #538 on: September 02, 2015, 12:39:06 AM »

I would say that you should hold off, do more research, and decide what you really want. Rather than just buy what happens to be available in the classifieds right now. That isn't a good way to make purchases.

I will second the tin ears comment. And in addition point out that you can here basically with a list of the flavor of the months from head-fi. The Valhalla 2, specially once you upgrade the tubes is a stellar amp. Definitely a great place to start till you can maybe do some auditioning to find out what you want to really upgrade to.
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DubiousMike

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Re: Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800
« Reply #539 on: September 02, 2015, 05:21:36 AM »


I should note that I owned the stock Bottlehead Crack (no speedball) I found that amp way too noisy.


FWIW - noise would only be an issue if you had either an bad build or bad tubes.  For example, a lot of builders don't follow the manual carefully with respect to how tight you have to braid the input wiring and lose out on noise rejection.  If it isn't that, it is usually flawed tubes or, worse, the numb-nuts recommendations for 6sn7 adapters on the a-socket.  Talk about unbearable noise.  My 5 plus year old tweaked crack still runs dead silent.  Not the most refined amp on the block for hd800's, but it can still be very enjoyable with an anax mod in place.

That said, the mainline plays in a very different league, with the best out there to my ears, and has kept me totally happy with my hd800's for going on two years now.   Look elsewhere to drive HE-6's, but for high impedance/relatively high efficiency phones like hd800's, bottlehead's single gain stage, constant current loaded parafeed topology is really something and offers a beautifully simple signal path.  I upgraded the output caps in mine since a small number of ARC commissioned teflons with just the right specs were available for a short while, but although fun, this wasn't really necessary.  Having recently landed a yggy, my hd800 rig is done.

 
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