Amp-related question - Those of you who live in Europe and cannot/do not wish to purchase American/Chinese products - what are the recommended amps for the HD800? Is Sennheiser's own HDVD 800 a recommended option? I have heard good things in terms of pairing with the following European amps:  ...

Does anyone use the Feliks Audio Elise with their HD800?

  Interesting personal opinion, thanks. I do not own the K1000 however I own a late SN HD800 (40K+) and about 20 recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas, including the DG Gilels box set the reviewer above has selected. I, too, am intimately familiar with the sound of a pianoforte as two members...

  My late SN (40K) HD800 work really well with a Violectric V200 and a Corda Classic, both readily available in Europe. No issues with ringing of treble peaks with most of my music (classical, ECM jazz) and these amps.

  I find that whenever that happens I tend to dislike the same recording on my speaker setup, too. So, as others have suggested, I chalk it down to poor recording technique.   Incidentally, I'm listening to Backhaus' Beethoven sonatas on Decca Original master - beautiful stereo recordings...

  That doesn't sound like my V200 I'm afraid. Any chance you might own a faulty sample? Mine renders micro-detail marvellously. I am lucky enough to have listened to the same performance live and on recording (Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI on AliaVox). I am extremely familiar with Jordi...

I have to disagree with the opinion below. My (late SN) HD800 works beautifully with my Violectric V200 - beautifully detailed, incredible microdynamics on well recorded acoustic music. The match is, to my ears, superior to the one achieved with the Schiit amp I had before (admittedly, one of...

Hi guys   I was wondering if there is a set of recommended settings for the V200 + HD800 combo. I'm using the Violectric USB 24/96 DAC module FWIW. The back jumpers on the V200 are currently at the -6db position - and my listening volume is mostly at the 11-13 o'clock range, depending on the...

  Hi thanks for the above - what music do you listen to, mostly?

  Have to disagree. Jascha Heifetz has been captured on excellent audiophile recordings (RCA Red seal SACD); Wilhelm Kempff has been served extremely well by DG (the mono and later stereo Beethoven sonatas for example are really fine imho). I have several CDs by both that sound astounding on my...

Anyone?

Any impressions on this? I'm trying to decide whether to go for a used V800 or shell out for the new 850. Amp would be their V200 and headphones are a pair of HD800.

  Ahhh, the good old "ipse dixit" of Pythagorean memory!    Between a "well known music reviewer" or an open community of people who actually sit down and measure the dynamic range of tens of thousands of recordings using a foobar2000 plugin - I know whose data I would rather trust.  ...

    I do not think you are experiencing an amplifier or headphone problem. I think it is more likely that the issue is with the poor quality (high dynamic range compression) of the recordings you are listening to. If you visit the Dynamic Range Database and input "empire of the sun", for...

    I see your point thanks. So could the HD800 S be considered, in your experience, a more 'forgiving' type of instrument compared to the HD800, designed to give satisfactory results with a broader range of recordings?

  Hi, interesting you find your HD800 sibilant. Apologies as I have not followed the full conversation - what music do you listen to? Could it be that the sibilance is in the recordings rather than the music, and the HD800 is merely offering a faithful representation? Else  could  it be an...

I own the following:   -Bruno Walter CSO -Abbado, BPO -Gardiner's 4th. -Bernstein, VPO cycle -Sanderling, Dresden [RCA] -Karajan, BPO, late 70s cycle -Karajan, BPO, 60s 2nd/3rd symphony -Kleiber 4th   For a full cycle, I would recommend either the Abbado or the Walter (two different...

  Hi, would you care to provide a link to the peer-reviewed scientific publication showing this? I cannot find any trace in the literature for what you state above - though I do find subjective measurements by enthusiasts on a number of forums.   To clarify, is the "well understood" and "well...

  This, 1000 times.

On another forum people are suggesting that without  balanced signal chain only 30%-50% of the HD800 potential is reached. Do people on here agree with this figure? It is rather higher than I expected I have to say.

  Hmm this is not the case in my experience. Based on my recently acquired HD800 (late 40K S/N) powered by a Violectric V200, the mids are extremely lush and organic, provided they are actually present and well captured in the original recording. I find these HD800 to be extremely revealing...

  Yep extremely happy with my recent  (SN > 40.000) HD800 sample. No sonic flaws I can detect and  they let me thoroughly enjoy my music. The first headphones in a long list that I will never sell :)

Quote:   Refreshingly honest post, thanks. Agreed 100%.

  No sibilance whatsoever here with stock, late SN, HD800s. Beautiful extended treble. Relatively young ears for me too, which can easily pick 17Khz :)   I would suggest the sibilance is in your music. What do you listen to? Overproduced pop/rock music mastered hot will sound sibilant on most...

Really tempted to buy a pair of the new MS Pro - e. Does anyone know how these compare to the current RS1/RS2? I have heard the RS1i at a local hifi fair (powered by a Graham Slee diamond amplifier) and they were absolutely stellar. I wonder if the Ms Pro-e would be comparable.