[subtle]

  By approximate price give or take a few hundred - not in order of sound quality - and only in relation to HD800.
 

• DSHA-1 - solid-state but not solid-state amp. not tubey sounding, but treble charactersitics akin to tube. against the big boy tube amps, a just one notch below in terms of explosiveness an resolution. Really great for solid-state, but again properly implement tubes are always clearer and more resolving.

 
Lots of other amps, but I only mentioned the ones which gel well with HD800. Honorable mention is Woo WA5, but the time you are done with cap upgrades, and the necessary x2 mega regulator tubes to avoid HD800s from sounding limp-dick, plus x2 driver tubes, plus x2 300B... you get the point. and honestly, it doesn't compete as well with the other big boy toob amps. but its sound is considerable lusher than any of the others. keyword is lush, so certainly a consideration.

 
Purrin...excellent list and description of each amp.
 
I see your impressions regarding the DSHA-1.  Have you also had a chance to listen to the L-2?

 

[Sorrodje]

   
Purrin...excellent list and description of each amp.
 
I see your impressions regarding the DSHA-1.  Have you also had a chance to listen to the L-2?

 
 
Just shoot him a MP. I think he's still locked off this topic

 

[RingingEars]

I just joined the club. 
I started toying with the idea of a new set of headphones a few weeks ago. I started pining for my DT880(600ohm) and Crack combo I sold a couple years ago and started looking for a replacement.
I looked into the new HE-560 then the LCD-2 then my wife said "have you seen these Sennheiser HD800? They're beautiful" So needless to say I bought the HD800
I also bought the new Lyr 2 and the Bifrost Uber to pair with it.
I'm looking forward to getting back into hi-fi headphones again.

 

[koiloco]

  I just joined the club. 
I started toying with the idea of a new set of headphones a few weeks ago. I started pining for my DT880(600ohm) and Crack combo I sold a couple years ago and started looking for a replacement.
I looked into the new HE-560 then the LCD-2 then my wife said "have you seen these Sennheiser HD800? They're beautiful" So needless to say I bought the HD800
I also bought the new Lyr 2 and the Bifrost Uber to pair with it.
I'm looking forward to getting back into hi-fi headphones again.

Your wife has great taste and you are lucky to have her.

 

[Canadian411]

  I just joined the club. 
I started toying with the idea of a new set of headphones a few weeks ago. I started pining for my DT880(600ohm) and Crack combo I sold a couple years ago and started looking for a replacement.
I looked into the new HE-560 then the LCD-2 then my wife said "have you seen these Sennheiser HD800? They're beautiful" So needless to say I bought the HD800
I also bought the new Lyr 2 and the Bifrost Uber to pair with it.
I'm looking forward to getting back into hi-fi headphones again.

 
Welcome to HD800 club, next thing is to ask her which amp she likes
And you made a right "final" decision, 

 

[RingingEars]

 
Your wife has great taste and you are lucky to have her.

Yes. She is great
 

   
Welcome to HD800 club, next thing is to ask her which amp she likes
And you made a right "final" decision, 

Yep. A new amp will be in next years budget, but hopefully the Lyr and Bifrost will get me through until then. I'm thinking WA5

 

[blackwolf1006]

  I just joined the club. 
I started toying with the idea of a new set of headphones a few weeks ago. I started pining for my DT880(600ohm) and Crack combo I sold a couple years ago and started looking for a replacement.
I looked into the new HE-560 then the LCD-2 then my wife said "have you seen these Sennheiser HD800? They're beautiful" So needless to say I bought the HD800
I also bought the new Lyr 2 and the Bifrost Uber to pair with it.
I'm looking forward to getting back into hi-fi headphones again.

 
welcome. Next thing you should do is get some decent custom cables. After getting custom cables the the HD800 sound louder and has a richer audio audio quality.

 

[blackwolf1006]

I’ve been listening to the HD800 and the LCD-XC a lot lately.  The HD800 is like your booty call girl. She will do some things to you that will make your toes curl, but she lacks something that makes her good for a long term relationship (Listening for more than 2 hours).  She is the wine and dine type of girl (only the best amps and cables make her happy)
 
 The LCD-XC is the wife type. She’s good for the long hall but can get a little heavy (Literally) and boring at times (so true in a marriage).  It doesn’t take much to make her happy (No need for a pricy amp), But she will show her appreciation when she get gifts (Connect a decent amp)

 

[barid]

 
I’ve been listening to the HD800 and the LCD-XC a lot lately.  The HD800 is like your booty call girl. She will do some things to you that will make your toes curl, but she lacks something that makes her good for a long term relationship (Listening for more than 2 hours).  She is the wine and dine type of girl (only the best amps and cables make her happy)
 
 The LCD-XC is the wife type. She’s good for the long hall but can get a little heavy (Literally) and boring at times (so true in a marriage).  It doesn’t take much to make her happy (No need for a pricy amp), But she will show her appreciation when she get gifts (Connect a decent amp)

 
....yeah and then the Grado is like last call at the bar before they turn on the lights....

 

[RingingEars]

   
welcome. Next thing you should do is get some decent custom cables. After getting custom cables the the HD800 sound louder and has a richer audio audio quality.

I've already been looking into cables for it Not sure where to even begin though.
I have the BTG sunrise on my CIEMs and they look nice but I don't really notice a difference in sound quality over the stock cable.
I love the looks of the Norne cables so I'll probably end up getting those. Not sure if I should use copper or silver...

 

[lovethatsound]

I've already been looking into cables for it Not sure where to even begin though.
I have the BTG sunrise on my CIEMs and they look nice but I don't really notice a difference in sound quality over the stock cable.
I love the looks of the Norne cables so I'll probably end up getting those. Not sure if I should use copper or silver...

maybe you should keep the cable that's on your hd800s.At least home demo other cables before you buy, to really see if you can hear a difference for the better. You know the cable you get with your hd800s is quite good,better than alot of after market cables.Try before you buy my friend.

 

[kemal21]

Mods can delete the message

 

[White Lotus]

 
I’ve been listening to the HD800 and the LCD-XC a lot lately.  The HD800 is like your booty call girl. She will do some things to you that will make your toes curl, but she lacks something that makes her good for a long term relationship (Listening for more than 2 hours).  She is the wine and dine type of girl (only the best amps and cables make her happy)
 
 The LCD-XC is the wife type. She’s good for the long hall but can get a little heavy (Literally) and boring at times (so true in a marriage).  It doesn’t take much to make her happy (No need for a pricy amp), But she will show her appreciation when she get gifts (Connect a decent amp)

 
Hilarious post, but I actually disagree, I prefer the HD800 for long sessions.
 
Comfort reigns supreme. 

 

[MattTCG]

   
Hilarious post, but I actually disagree, I prefer the HD800 for long sessions.
 
Comfort reigns supreme. 

 
Comfort has continued to creep up and up on my list also. There is none better for comfort than the 800 IMHO. 

 

[zilch0md]

I just ordered a Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII.

If the following chain doesn't satisfy my quest for a less fatiguing HD800, I'll call it quits and sell it (maybe).

FiiO X5 coaxial out > Octave > OPPO HA-1 balanced out > unmodified HD800

Mike

 
For anyone who has been struggling with the bright, edgy sound of an HD800 on a typical solid state amp...
 
The Metrum Octave MkII (NOS DAC) has arrived and, fresh out of the box, it's already doing wonderful things with the unmodified HD800 on a neutral amp (OPPO HA-1 or even the DACmini CX with 1-Ohm output impedance mod). The Octave MkII has smooth yet still detailed treble, terrific separation, with everything sounding very natural. That's the part that's the biggest jaw-dropper. I'm listening to Jennifer Warnes at the moment.  Dynamics are awesome. It is WAY nicer than the ESS9018 in the HA-1 (for my tastes).  Me thinks I can actually listen to the HD800 for a few hours now, without fatigue, but that's just the half of it. Enough gushing, for now...