Amp for Sennheiser HD800

Hi and Welcome to Head-Fi,

 

I can attest that The SPL Auditor is a great match for the HD800 In my exprience, It is a very neutral and remarkably revealing amp which paired with the Senns will have a very high levle of transpancy and accuracy of the music being reproduced. I have one on sale right now, you can check my ad below if you're interested.

M^3 or Beta22 if you can afford it. Both amps are a bit smooth, warm, bassy, open and forgiving...qualities that I feel go well with the 800s.

 

Edited by Shahrose - 4/22/11 at 7:44am

I agree, M3 or b22.  Of course the HD800 is neutral and will work with most amps.  U might want to get a good used amp as a starter.
 

 

I would get a tube amp and roll the tubes for as warm a sound as you could possibly coax out of the Senns. The 800s need all the amp support they can get (for my ears at least). Try for a warm cable too.

From my experience the HA-160D is a nice match for them. If you want to spend less, there's the HA-160 (only headamp, no dac) 

I went with a Donald North Audio Sonett.  I read all I could for months to find what amp matched well with the HD800 headphones and decided on tubes, and I was very close to buying a Woo Audio.

 

But in the end decided that the DNA Sonett was a better option for me at the moment.

 

http://www.dnaudio.com/

 

 

I'm very pleased with the end result.  

 

Part of my decision for the Sonett was the fact there aren't too many tubes, and I knew I'd get sucked into the tube rolling thing.  And I did, but because there's only two tubes, it's not too painful on my wallet. 

 

As opposed to something like the Woo WA22, with its 5 tubes, or the WA2 with 6 tubes.

 

Edited by Eee Pee - 4/23/11 at 9:48am

If you search you'll find even more comprehensive lists and descriptions. The Woo Audio 2 is a great amp for the HD800. If you like a balanced amp from your balanced source, Audio GD's phoenix and DYI beta22 are great buys.

^^

I can attest to the WA2 + HD800 (and T1 for that matter) having great musical synergy. One of the very best amps I've heard with the HD800s as it seems to help keep the treble in control.

Quote:Originally Posted by jdegg79 

"Thanks all for the responses.  I acutally have started looking at the Wood Audio 2 but haven't quite pulled the trigger yet."


Don't overlook the WA6SE. I feel it's a great match.

Big thumbs up from me on the WA2 + Senn HD800. I did get a maxxed one tho that might be out of the budget parameters. Feeding with a NuForce Icon HDP.

 

I would recommend these SS with Sennheiser HD 800:

1. SPL Phonitor
2. Grace design M902 or M903
3. Violectric V200
4. Lehmann Linear

1. Any of the Grace Design (901, M902, M903)

2. SPL Phonitor

3. Benchmark DAC

The HA-160D is a nice choice for the HD800's...non fatiguing, lots of power.