[MattTCG]

  Was your Crack speedballed? They're pretty much the same price with SB for me. I'm leaning way towards Val 2 because of Purrin's feedback... I might grab an Amazon card this week and order already.  

 
First no SB and then later added the SB, nicer pot, better tubes ect. Just never had the right synergy with the 800 for me. Damn good for the 650 though. 

 

[kothganesh]

First no SB and then later added the SB, nicer pot, better tubes ect. Just never had the right synergy with the 800 for me. Damn good for the 650 though. 

Now I remember. After a similar conversation , I switched from the Bifrost to the Gungnir and was able to get better SQ (IMO of course).

 

[RUMAY408]

Can anyone on this thread give a subjective/objective guess about pulling out the potential of the HD800 via amp:
 
For example FiiO E11 = 50%
 
ALO MKlll = 80%
 
Once you get above $2K are you getting 95% 
 
and above 3K = 97%
 
I know the HD800 scales with the quality of the amp, but what is the end game? 

 

[BournePerfect]

Leviathan, apparently. Hopefully.

 

[drez]

Tubes would end me, so...

 

[OJNeg]

To other bearded HD800 listeners:
 
As we all know the HD800 is quite the facehugger and messy hair can interfere with a headphone's seal and soundstage. What amount of facial hair do you guys feel is most synergistic for HD800 listening? Do you guys keep it as clean as possible around the ear or do you roll with a little fuzz to absorb that excess energy?
 
This is dead serious BTW

 

[BournePerfect]

SS, maybe an LAu?

 

[sandab]

 
EDIT: Also, this assumes at least some sort of basic room treatment. Like corners, first reflections, carpets, dead objects, desk reflection (which mess with the low mids), positioning within the space of the room and of course how big the room is.

And herein lies the problem.  Real estate here is about $1000/sq ft - even a $20k rig pales in comparison to the cost of the room itself - and then there's the spousal factor....  "You're going to do what to the living room?  Over my dead body!"  To my wife, turning the living room into a listening room full of speakers, sound modifiers, and technical looking audio gear is about as appealing as I'd find turning it into a yoga room...

 

[Hopup]

Can I get something better than Valhalla 2 and Bifrost at the same price?

 

[kothganesh]

And herein lies the problem.  Real estate here is about $1000/sq ft - even a $20k rig pales in comparison to the cost of the room itself - and then there's the spousal factor....  "You're going to do what to the living room?  Over my dead body!"  To my wife, turning the living room into a listening room full of speakers, sound modifiers, and technical looking audio gear is about as appealing as I'd find turning it into a yoga room...

You know you can listen to your HPs in the lotus pose. Problem solved.

 

[magiccabbage]

  Can anyone on this thread give a subjective/objective guess about pulling out the potential of the HD800 via amp:
 
For example FiiO E11 = 50%
 
ALO MKlll = 80%
 
Once you get above $2K are you getting 95% 
 
and above 3K = 97%
 
I know the HD800 scales with the quality of the amp, but what is the end game? 

When I get the DNA Stratus I can add in some like 
 
Fiio E11 
 
Schiit Vali / Modi
 
Graham Slee Ultra Linear
 
Woo WA2 + tubes 
 
DNA Stratus + tubes 
 
I'll give the percentages when I get it
 
 
Are you thinking of getting a new amp?

 

[Sorrodje]

   
Once you get above $2K are you getting 95% 
 
and above 3K = 97%
 
I know the HD800 scales with the quality of the amp, but what is the end game? 

 
 
HD800 seems to scale to the quality of the amps indeed so why this ranking based on price range. There's nothing that guarantee without any doubt that a 3K amp will offer a better result that a 100$ amp.  no ?
 
Moreover I really can't use such percentage to restranscribe my feelings but that's personal. I much prefer words.

 

[whirlwind]

  My current setup makes my HD800's sound as good as I've heard them!
 
Foobar200 with all dat flac/DSD
AudioGD NFB29
Glenn OTL (5998's, Mullard GZ32, RCA 5692/Tung-Sol 6SN7 mouse ears... kinda depends on my mood)
 
AND it's not that expensive! lol

 
I still have Glenn's OTL firmly in my sights.
 
The tube rolling options seem to be off the hook, and it seems many can be had for a very reasonable price

 

[kvtaco17]

Whirlwind,its a very good amp, and so far my favorite.

 

[Zoom25]

This is getting blown out of proportion. While you can go all in to get the perfect room, there are still a lot of simple, cheap and effective ways to get decent sound, even in a typical rectangular room, which is what most people have. Play around with the positioning, height of the speakers, throw in a book rack and case in the corners and at the point where the first reflection is. If your room is carpeted then that's great, if not pick up a rug from IKEA for real cheap (the thicker the better, but still better than tiles and wood bouncing off). Make sure your stands are heavy - put weights on it, or use sand. All cheap.
 
Next time you go around looking for furniture, you can easily find specific designs that will integrate perfectly in to your room that will seem aesthetically and sonically pleasing. If you can't get different stuff, there are still multiple things you can accomplish by strategically relocating your current furniture. I guarantee it. I mean I see people spend thousands of dollars here on cables, dacs, amps, headphones and so on to get the best sound. I'm sure if people were interested enough in getting a rig right, they could play around with some basic positioning, furniture and carpets and still drastically improve the sound from before. It's genuinely not that hard to get decent sound if you put in a few hours planning and moving.
 
Also, now there's EQ and DSP room corrections that work quite effectively, taking phase and FR into account. You can get decent results with little to no spent money. All it requires is a bit of your time.