[skeptic]

Nice findings. I have a biased 12BH7 in my Crack, with a Bendix 6080 and its pretty darn good, but the CCCS (speedball) and film caps in the PSU make it ultra silent with gobs of reserves on tap. That's the achilles heel of the WA2 IMO --instantaneous power.

Very well said Brunk (as usual). CCS puts the crack in a higher league than the WA3 and its higher power higher resolution sibling, the WA2. Frankly, even minus the speedball, crack easily surpasses the woo otl's in detail and dynamics, to my ears.

The woos have a rich, warm, full sound, with a nice soundstage, but they sound a bit slow and perhaps the slightest bit blurry in comparison to more agile tube amps. If you want a stark contrast, listen to the same track back to back on a WA2, followed by a ZD

 

[nigeljames]

  Overstated that they could very much qualify as myth. The last thing I would recommend anyone spend their $ on. Oh and I speak from first hand experiences. Please feel free to look at my cable inventory. 

 
And I also speak from first hand experience, and I must of used 20 other cables ( not including the ones I currently use ) over the years that I can't even remember the names of.
 
But as was stated in a previous post this is not the thread for a cable discussion.

 

[longbowbbs]

  I'll plead the 5th and take my own advice (option b) right now.
 
So, what's everybody's favorite amp they've heard with the HD800 so far? Mine should come as no surprise:
 
ZDSE, although the P1u is definitely a close second.
 
-Daniel

Cary SLI-80...Lovin' it!

 

[longbowbbs]

 

   
Is Friday not a piss-up day in Ireland? I am concerned everyone will get back later on with "strong opinions".

Ha Ha - you are right. Unfortunately i could not convince any of my friends to go to the pub tonight so you people will have to entertain me. Im gonna get to hear this bad boy with HD800 shortly ¬
 

That will be a very happy experience! Enjoy.
 

 

[skeptic]

For those that have felt that the GS-X Mk2 is not top tier for the HD800's, what amps are in your opinion?

The gsx is a very well executed balanced dynalo. The obvious step forward among SS amps is a dynahi, a much higher power off board heatsink amp, also designed by Dr. Gilmore, with high ohm phones in mind.

Boggles my mind that there is a waitlist for HeadAmp while a couple of dynahis have been sitting in the FS forums for weeks at a fraction of the cost.

If my memory is accurate, some diyers/mots (eg qusp) have also expressed a preference for the wire over dynalo/dynahi.

 

[brunk]

The gsx is a very well executed balanced dynalo. The obvious step forward among SS amps is a dynahi, a much higher power off board heatsink amp, also designed by Dr. Gilmore, with high ohm phones in mind.

Boggles my mind that there is a waitlist for HeadAmp while a couple of dynahis have been sitting in the FS forums for weeks at a fraction of the cost.

If my memory is accurate, some diyers/mots (eg qusp) have also expressed a preference for the wire over dynalo/dynahi.

I have been eyeing "the wire" for some time now. That piques my interest even more

 

[rnadell]

  That will be a very happy experience! Enjoy.
 

Eric, did you listen to the CSP 2+ with 800's?

 

[longbowbbs]

 

  That will be a very happy experience! Enjoy.
 

Eric, did you listen to the CSP 2+ with 800's?

Richard I spent hundreds of hours with the CSP2+ and the HD800's. It is a wonderful combo! It is a great simple high quality rig.

 

[skeptic]

  I have been eyeing "the wire" for some time now. That piques my interest even more

 
Pretty cool that OPC's big batch of new boards just came in!  I've fallen a little behind in following the thread, but my understanding is that he ordered lots of extras and actually plans to setup a permanent shop in the not too distant future.  http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/237152-wire-official-boards-all-projects-available-here-bal-bal-se-se-lpuhp.html#post3516741
 
I ordered up a couple of se-se boards to try my hand at a build but only have a small amount of smd soldering experience.  I anticipate I will probably fail big time on the first go around, but I'm going to give it a go regardless.  Should make for an interesting learning experience and, if I pull it off, a very nice ss complement to my bottlehead amps. 

 

[preproman]

If my memory is accurate, some diyers/mots (eg qusp) have also expressed a preference for the wire over dynalo/dynahi.

 
Which "wire" specifically?

 

[thegunner100]

Reading this thread makes me kind of sad to know that I won't be able to afford any of these amps until I get out of college... I still have to pay off the HD800s xD. For now, I feel like the nfb-10es2 is doing a pretty good job at driving the hd800s, and the uha-6s mkii does a fine job as well. I was really tempted to try the stratus at the NY meet but I knew if I tried it, it would be hard to resist working my ass off to save up for it.
 
What would you guys say is a step up from the nfb-10es2, but before the end-game amps? Perhaps gungnir/mjolnir, reference 10.32, wa2? My hd800s are modded, so no treble problems here.

 

[kvtaco17]

the AudioGD 11.32 is pretty good with the HD800... I also use it as a stand alone DAC with my beloved little dot... simply its a solid, inexpensive amp... I actually prefer it to the o2 combo and Magni/Modi by a lot. the only amp I really lust after still is the Taboo MKIII... lucid mode is so amazing lol

 

[brunk]

   
Pretty cool that OPC's big batch of new boards just came in!  I've fallen a little behind in following the thread, but my understanding is that he ordered lots of extras and actually plans to setup a permanent shop in the not too distant future.  http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/237152-wire-official-boards-all-projects-available-here-bal-bal-se-se-lpuhp.html#post3516741
 
I ordered up a couple of se-se boards to try my hand at a build but only have a small amount of smd soldering experience.  I anticipate I will probably fail big time on the first go around, but I'm going to give it a go regardless.  Should make for an interesting learning experience and, if I pull it off, a very nice ss complement to my bottlehead amps. 

Thanks for the info!

 

[skeptic]

My pleasure brunk!
 
Quote:

  Which "wire" specifically?

Initially, I believe bal-bal, bal-se and se-se (all headphone amps) were the only "wire" amps available.  (See http://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/The_Wire_Headphone_Amp_Build_Wiki )  Out of the various options in the new release (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/237152-wire-official-boards-all-projects-available-here-bal-bal-se-se-lpuhp.html#post3516741 ) hp amp options are limited to bal-bal and se-se, but there are also new power amps.  A psu board is also required, and the current iteration is apparently much improved over what was available in the first gb a year or two ago. 
 
From his signature block, it looks like qusp went bal-bal.  I have tried but failed to google up the post I'm remembering where he briefly compared it to a dynahi (can't recall which forum it was on).  I was struck by it at the time because I was, and still am, sitting on a couple of dynahi boards as well as the discontinued semis.  Still have some learning to do (particularly re heat sinks and case work) before I feel like I can competently attempt that beast.  

 

[Currawong]

Damn about missing that build, it would have been something simple enough that I would have had time to do. I'm sitting on a bunch of dynahi boards as well I haven't had a chance to get around to doing anything with. There was a statement by KG somewhere where he said that I think National Semiconductor came out with an OPAMP that was basically a Dynalo or Dynahi circuit in a chip. That would make sense of why The Wire is so good if that chip was the one it is using.
 
The point though is that I've been wondering how close one could get to the big, top-end HP amps in a small package for use with the HD-800s. I think though that damping them removes some of their amp picky-ness, making it easier.