How would YOU amp the HD800? - Page 13

whilst i havent used the pico, i am convinced that the benchmark hpa2 amp will be a lot more powerful, in fact it must be! what am i talking about...

the hpa2 manages to drive my k1000's relatively well, on the cusp, delivering 7.5 watts at the k1ks 120ohms, i also went one step further and removed the relevant jumpers in the benchmark to have higher gain on the headphone stage (ie, no minus db figure present) dependant on what dac1 version you have the options may not be as good as the pre for gain settings

in other words, if it can drive my k1000s, it can drive the hd-800!

besides, thats the dac/amp sennheiser were demoing the 800s with at one showing

FiiO E3 and Boss Overdrive pedal

Yeah, and maybe even put the CS-3 into the chain

One time I used a Boss Hyper Fuzz's gain/boost setting to amplify a PA in a pinch, we had a CD player and some speakers but no amplifier. It worked well enough to get the music out...but man, did it sound ugly.

Seriously, though, if I had an HD800, I'd love to custom-build an amp for it, even though I wouldn't know where to begin when it came to choosing parts. I wouldn't mind a used couple-year old Singlepower amp at all. My mind melted when I heard HD650's through one, I can only imagine what HD800's would be like!

So can the rest of us too

If I were to purchase the HD800s I would want to use the same amp that I already use for the HD650s; this way I could have a consistent A to B comparison of both headphones. I currently run all my dynamic Headphones through a regular hook up, not a Balanced Hookup, into my Headroom Balanced Max DAC ALPs Amp. MY HD650s sound great but when comparing them to my Stax Electrostatic Pro headphones, see my list below, I have found the HD650s to be a bit neutral in the treble. I am kind of waiting to go to CanJam 2009 so that I can audition the HD800s; then I will be better prepared to make a decision in regard to purchasing them.

Here is a question in regard to the price/improvement in sound ratio query. What percentage of improvement in sound between the HD800s and you current collection of headphones will force you to go out and purchase the new HD800s. Of course you know that you could tweak your headphone system through other methods. It seems to me that most of the improvements in sound can be made by improving the quality of your source. Why is it that some cds sound like garbage in terms of the way they are recorded, while others have great sound quality? This is truly the fault of the recording industry. Maybe there are other factors that audiophiles should look out before shelling out $1400 for a new set of headphones. I would think that the HD800s will only be a 3% to a possible 4% improvement in the over sound quality. Will this be enough to keep the audiophile happy for a while? Scottsmrnyc

I just got HD800 and I am happy with Earmax silver +HD800 but I'm curious if I can do better than this.

I'm now considering the Lehmann Black Cube Linear.

What do you think ?

Should I get Lehmann Black Cube Linear?

No. You should get the Luxman P1u.

Currently, my HD800 is driving by WA22 and Beta22 and am very happy with both they sounded with the HD800 in a different way.

I'm using a WA22 to drive my HD800's too.  I am using a Cardas balanced cable.  Although I am only about half way through my break-in period, I am really happy. 

 

It's my experience that the HD800 has a certian sonic signature no matter what you are mating it with.

Very happy w Audio gd Roc + Ref 5 via ACSS. Balanced, Double Helix cable.

My Mapletree Tube amp is more than up to the job of driving my HD800s to incredible levels!

You know what - everybody LOVES their amp. 

 

This is so cool to me.

I hear lots of recommendations for the Luxman P1u and the beta22 so maybe one of those. From personal experience I think the HD800s sound much, much better balanced.

That's great, seems the HD800 is a pair of very forgiving cans, it always reward with good sound no matter what amp you're feeding with.