I have been working with the folks at BitPerfect and they have spent some time examining the high hiss problem that occurs on some 24/192 KHz tracks being fed to the HDVD800. They too have found the problem to be a "really weird" one. In summary, I was told by BitPerfect Support that:
 
"I am convinced the problem lies within the DAC.
"I will chase after Sennheiser and ask for a unit to test. I have not dealt with them before, so I don't know how responsive they will be"
 
 
They sent me another note a little later stating:
 
"I have raised this with Sennheiser Canada, and the manager there seems to be interested in taking this up with HQ in Germany. So we'll see what happens"
 
 
Anyway hope that they can determine that I'm not totally loco here 

Quote:

wisemanja said:

I have been working with the folks at BitPerfect and they have spent some time examining the high hiss problem that occurs on some 24/192 KHz tracks being fed to the HDVD800. They too have found the problem to be a "really weird" one. In summary, I was told by BitPerfect Support that:
 
"I am convinced the problem lies within the DAC.
"I will chase after Sennheiser and ask for a unit to test. I have not dealt with them before, so I don't know how responsive they will be"
 
 
They sent me another note a little later stating:
 
"I have raised this with Sennheiser Canada, and the manager there seems to be interested in taking this up with HQ in Germany. So we'll see what happens"
 
 
Anyway hope that they can determine that I'm not totally loco here 

Click to expand...

 
Interesting, please keep us posted.

Quote:

wisemanja said:

Not that I WANT to hear the graininess, but rather the DAC/amp combo no longer hides what is in the actual recording. This is great and as it should be.
 

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I appreciate the technical accomplishment of the combo.
It is just that I do not want to hear the graininess etc, as I would likely not enjoy the music (which is neither great nor as it should be - for me).
Fortunately there are other less revealing combos suitable for the few who could share my preferences.

Quote:

wisemanja said:

I have been working with the folks at BitPerfect and they have spent some time examining the high hiss problem that occurs on some 24/192 KHz tracks being fed to the HDVD800. They too have found the problem to be a "really weird" one. In summary, I was told by BitPerfect Support that:
 
"I am convinced the problem lies within the DAC.
"I will chase after Sennheiser and ask for a unit to test. I have not dealt with them before, so I don't know how responsive they will be"
 
 
They sent me another note a little later stating:
 
"I have raised this with Sennheiser Canada, and the manager there seems to be interested in taking this up with HQ in Germany. So we'll see what happens"
 
 
Anyway hope that they can determine that I'm not totally loco here 

Click to expand...

Wish they can fix it with software driver, otherwise, I will be a PR disaster~~~~~~

I would like to try it some day by my own.

I want to thank all the beta testers here who are helping Sennheiser identify the remaining pre-production glitches that remain with this release.
 
I am looking forward to possibly purchasing this amp after Sennheiser fixes the problems and publishes detailed specifications.

Well i haven't had any issues with mine...
 
 

 

my hdvd800 works fine so far, I am using the V800 as DAC though. Haven't really tried the build in dac for longer than an hour or so.

How does this compare to the more popular stuff on this site like Woo Audio, Violectric, and Schiit Audio?

Wondering if anyone has tried this and Headamp GS-X or GS-Xmk2? any opinion?

Quote:

wisemanja said:

I have been working with the folks at BitPerfect and they have spent some time examining the high hiss problem that occurs on some 24/192 KHz tracks being fed to the HDVD800. They too have found the problem to be a "really weird" one. In summary, I was told by BitPerfect Support that:
 
"I am convinced the problem lies within the DAC.
"I will chase after Sennheiser and ask for a unit to test. I have not dealt with them before, so I don't know how responsive they will be"
 
 
They sent me another note a little later stating:
 
"I have raised this with Sennheiser Canada, and the manager there seems to be interested in taking this up with HQ in Germany. So we'll see what happens"
 
 
Anyway hope that they can determine that I'm not totally loco here 

Click to expand...

Weren't they also screaming "true soundraisers" and other fancy speak? But they're using a crappy OEM DAC and from the look of it the unit has too many issues and limits that just shouldn't be there on a flagship DAC/amp combo. And then you have the glass... Are they trying to make it extra fragile or something?
 
Sennheiser may fix the problem for new units, but knowing them they're probably not going to recall all units to fix everything so you're kinda screwed.

Quote:

melvinv said:

Weren't they also screaming "true soundraisers" and other fancy speak? But they're using a crappy OEM DAC and from the look of it the unit has too many issues and limits that just shouldn't be there on a flagship DAC/amp combo. And then you have the glass... Are they trying to make it extra fragile or something?
 
Sennheiser may fix the problem for new units, but knowing them they're probably not going to recall all units to fix everything so you're kinda screwed.

Click to expand...

Too many issues?  It has one REAL issue and that is with the optical input not accepting all formats.  Are you really saying that this is fragile because of the window?   

I posted the concerns in an email with Sennheiser USA. They said they have not been able to duplicate the reported issues and i told them to post here so will see if they do.

Quote:

melvinv said:

Weren't they also screaming "true soundraisers" and other fancy speak? But they're using a crappy OEM DAC and from the look of it the unit has too many issues and limits that just shouldn't be there on a flagship DAC/amp combo. And then you have the glass... Are they trying to make it extra fragile or something?
 
Sennheiser may fix the problem for new units, but knowing them they're probably not going to recall all units to fix everything so you're kinda screwed.

Click to expand...

 
As far as the OEM DAC goes, on Sennheiser's website, the very first paragraph in the technical data sheet for the HDVD800 states "The HDVD 800 is able to connect with digital sources and is equipped with a high-quality Burr-Brown digital/analog converter..." I have had other equipment the used Burr-Brown DACs and in general they are very good IMHO. However, I thought that someone on this forum had earlier identified the DAC components as being something other than Burr-Brown parts, so I'm not sure what is really in it at this point.
 
Of course, the very next paragraph on the same data sheet states that "All digital inputs accept signals up to 24 bit at 192 KHz", and we already have evidence contrary to that one's accuracy.
 
The glass port is obviously there for style. Personally, I kinda like the look of it. On the other hand it makes me wonder why someone would cut a huge hole in the middle of a perfectly good Faraday cage! 
 
The glass, or acrylic, or plastic, or whatever it is that covers that opening does seem a bit thin. I can't guess how fragile it might be but I have not wanted to test it. Anyone out there accidentally break one of these? How much force does it take?
 
- Jeff

I tried a bunch of high bitrate files and they worked just fine over USB. They were DVD Audio rips with 96/24 5.1 tracks with bitrates of ~6900-13824kbps. Tried WASAPI and DS and they all played like they should. I haven't had an opportunity to try optical yet, but coax does support 192/24 here, so the only input I haven't tested is the optical one.