[Solude]

Ya that's a bit of a jump =)  Hopefully you like the stat sound.

 

[preproman]

Did the B22 get there yet?  Saw it - looks really nice..

 

[Solude]

Shipped yesterday, should be here by Friday.
 
http://solderworksaudio.com/Portfolio.html
 
Middle row is mine =)

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

So I spent last night listening to the BHA-1/HD800 combo after a conversation with another forum member. It occurred to me that I've never really given this pairing a fair shake, since I've always recently had a tube amp that was ostensibly "for" the HD800.
 
Well, I must say that the BHA-1 drives the HD800 extremely well. Some recordings were harsher the treble than with the Super 7/HD800 combo (which itself is not overly lush or lacking in transparency), but on the whole I found the pairing quite respectable.

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

So I spent last night listening to the BHA-1/HD800 combo after a conversation with another forum member. It occurred to me that I've never really given this pairing a fair shake, since I've always recently had a tube amp that was ostensibly "for" the HD800.
 
Well, I must say that the BHA-1 drives the HD800 extremely well. Some recordings were harsher the treble than with the Super 7/HD800 combo (which itself is not overly lush or lacking in transparency), but on the whole I found the pairing quite respectable.

Quite respectable sound like not exceptional. I am also curious to see when I get the review sample of the Taboo Mk111 next week if they will scale much higher than the csp2 I have in house or even the v200. I like the CSP2 more so than the v200 but its slightly above not a leap and bounds level up.  I do prefer the lcd 2.2   on the v200 slightly more than the csp2. Do you find the Bryston bright in the treble? is it a warm sounding amp?

 

[jtinto]

Quote:

So I spent last night listening to the BHA-1/HD800 combo after a conversation with another forum member. It occurred to me that I've never really given this pairing a fair shake, since I've always recently had a tube amp that was ostensibly "for" the HD800.
 
Well, I must say that the BHA-1 drives the HD800 extremely well. Some recordings were harsher the treble than with the Super 7/HD800 combo (which itself is not overly lush or lacking in transparency), but on the whole I found the pairing quite respectable.

 
Olias, I really like the BHA-1 / HD-800 pairing too.
I've only been running single-ended to date, until I find a balanced cable.
Did you get a chance to compare those two connections on the BHA-1?
I've read quite a few reviews and posts that say balanced is much better...

 

[jtinto]

Quote:

Quite respectable sound like not exceptional. I am also curious to see when I get the review sample of the Taboo Mk111 next week if they will scale much higher than the csp2 I have in house or even the v200. I like the CSP2 more so than the v200 but its slightly above not a leap and bounds level up.  I do prefer the lcd 2.2   on the v200 slightly more than the csp2. Do you find the Bryston bright in the treble? is it a warm sounding amp?

Frank, IMO very respectable.
A bit brighter and livelier than the Burson Soloist it replaced.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Frank, IMO very respectable.
A bit brighter and livelier than the Burson Soloist it replaced.

 
 
 
 
What didn't you like about the soloist?

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Frank, IMO very respectable.
A bit brighter and livelier than the Burson Soloist it replaced.

Not sure I would like the brighter than the Soloist. I seem to prefer more warmer amps than others.  The Soloist I led but it was not what i would consider as d=good as my csp2 with the hd800 and I even preferred the V200 with the hd800. i will have to hear one. The question also is the power rating seems lower than both the Soloist and V200 making it not as ideal for planars. Has anyone experienced it driving the planars. Usually with balanced I hear louder volume over single ended but I have balanced cables for balance damps also.

 

[Maxvla]

HD800 and BHA-1 is my favorite pairing so far. Will be trying a GS-X v2 this Saturday. Still need to find a way to hear an EC amp.

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

Quite respectable sound like not exceptional. I am also curious to see when I get the review sample of the Taboo Mk111 next week if they will scale much higher than the csp2 I have in house or even the v200. I like the CSP2 more so than the v200 but its slightly above not a leap and bounds level up.  I do prefer the lcd 2.2   on the v200 slightly more than the csp2. Do you find the Bryston bright in the treble? is it a warm sounding amp?

I find the Bryston to be just a bit on the warm side and extended but not overly bright in the treble, especially in comparison to the Mjolnir (I know others disagree). I've long since sold my v200 so I won't speculate on how they'd compare, but I would say that if you like the essential character of the HD800 and you're not trying to find a synergistic match to "balance out" a perceived flaw, then you could do much worse than the BHA-1.

 

[jtinto]

Quote:

 
 
 
 
What didn't you like about the soloist?

preproman, it wasn't that I disliked the Soloist, it was that I liked the BHA-1 more with the HD-800 and LCD-3.
My RS-1i was a bit bright with both of those amps, so the Mapletree still wins there ...

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

 
Olias, I really like the BHA-1 / HD-800 pairing too.
I've only been running single-ended to date, until I find a balanced cable.
Did you get a chance to compare those two connections on the BHA-1?
I've read quite a few reviews and posts that say balanced is much better...

 
I'm running balanced inputs from my m903 to the BHA-1, then single-ended output to the HD800. I'm contemplating sending my Black Dragon cable back to Moon to be reterminated in 4-pin XLR but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
I did find that I like the BHA-1 much better with balanced input vs. single-ended input, though that may be as much a function of my source as anything else.

 

[jtinto]

Quote:

 
I'm running balanced inputs from my m903 to the BHA-1, then single-ended output to the HD800. I'm contemplating sending my Black Dragon cable back to Moon to be reterminated in 4-pin XLR but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
I did find that I like the BHA-1 much better with balanced input vs. single-ended input, though that may be as much a function of my source as anything else.

Thanks Olias, I should compare the balanced vs. single inputs in my setup. Should be easy to do with the input switch on the front.

 

[NightFlight]

Quote:

I've heard some people say that Sennheiser tweaked something for the "new" version of the HD800. Is this true? If so, what is it? I have serial number 15905, bought in April of 2012. Was the tweak made after that?

 
I have serial 20433. It has a weeee bit of breakup at the dredded 6.5k, but I could be imagining it. That was with a 6.5k test signal through a Lyr. But that was also with brand new tubes on the brand new Lyr on brand new phones, so I can't vouch for my test conditions. The headphones don't have more than 100hrs on them yet. No spring sound from mine either.