[Velomane]

Well, they do get quite warm, so be sure to allow for air circulation. i.e. don't stack one atop the other without some extra space. Otherwise, set up is a breeze. I have a Yulong DA-8 as a DAC, which I also use for volume control. The amps are set to max volume.

 

[zilch0md]

  Any quirks with the setup really. Also, what's a nice DAC to go with them? I was looking at the Emotiva XDA-2 2nd gen.

 
Going dual mono with the HA-200 requires some custom cables - DIY or pay someone else.  I bought two HA-200s, brand new, and liked the sound with just one of them driving my HD800 - so much that I sold the other HA-200 as new, in its unopened box - primarily because I wanted nothing to do with the cabling hassle.
 
As to a DAC, the HA-200 is very neutral, so there's no need to hunt for a "compatible" DAC.  Whatever you like.
 
Mike

 

[Armaegis]

  As to a DAC, the HA-200 is very neutral, so there's no need to hunt for a "compatible" DAC.  Whatever you like.
 
 

 
With the only exception being if you plan on pushing the HE-6, in which case you want a dac with a higher than average output since the gain on the HA-200 is rather low.

 

[ngkou]

Using it with the HD800, Are you happy with bass ? It seems from the specs that HA200 goes down to 10Hz while the HAP100 goes to 20Hz but according to reviews may have more clarity than the HA200. What about the volume? which is better?

 

[ngkou]

   
Going dual mono with the HA-200 requires some custom cables - DIY or pay someone else.  I bought two HA-200s, brand new, and liked the sound with just one of them driving my HD800 - so much that I sold the other HA-200 as new, in its unopened box - primarily because I wanted nothing to do with the cabling hassle.
 
As to a DAC, the HA-200 is very neutral, so there's no need to hunt for a "compatible" DAC.  Whatever you like.
 
Mike

Using it with the HD800, Are you happy with bass ? It seems from the specs that HA200 goes down to 10Hz while the HAP100 goes to 20Hz but according to reviews may have more clarity than the HA200. What about the volume? which is better?

 

[lvandrewazar]

Using it with the HD800, Are you happy with bass ? It seems from the specs that HA200 goes down to 10Hz while the HAP100 goes to 20Hz but according to reviews may have more clarity than the HA200. What about the volume? which is better?

I've had no problem with the bass on my HD600s. They'll drive them fine, and really bring out the headphones. If you're really looking to bring the most out of those cans I'd definitely look at the dual mono options. A for one unit you'd just have to try one. The hd800 gets picky about what amps it likes. The ha 200 is a very neutral amp, so it won't bias the sound.

 

[ngkou]

I've had no problem with the bass on my HD600s. They'll drive them fine, and really bring out the headphones. If you're really looking to bring the most out of those cans I'd definitely look at the dual mono options. A for one unit you'd just have to try one. The hd800 gets picky about what amps it likes. The ha 200 is a very neutral amp, so it won't bias the sound.

2 x HA200 would cost 700 euros here (pls the hassle with balanced cables, plus the need for balanced dac or cd player) . Why not to go for the better head amp Sennheiser HDVA 600 (1100 euros) then ? Anyway, I dont think the balanced connection will offer much of improvement unless you run more than 10 meters cable.
I am confused as to whether i should pair the HD800 with HA200 or HAP100 or DAC100 or UDH100 ???? or  maybe I should stay with my portable  Cayin C5 . I ordered but havent received the HD800 yet.

 

[lvandrewazar]

Sennheiser HDVA 600
[/quote]if you're looking at that route then look at a used HDVA 800. You can find one around 1100. Between those four I'd go with the ha 200. It has plenty of power and the most neutral response.

 

[ngkou]

thanks ! HA200 unbalanced is the most economical option (350 euros) , the rest cost more than 600 euros each. So, you think that HA200 competes the HAP100 ?? because in previous threads i read that the synergy between  HD800 and HAP100 is amazing, but again  I read that the HAP100 does not offer that good bass as the HDVA600/800. They say HD800 has already a weak bass as an open headphone, i wouldnt like it to sound aneamic. I am comming from the king of bass (JVC SZ2000).  I wouldnt like to be shocked negatively regarding the expensive HD800.

 

[Armaegis]

   It seems from the specs that HA200 goes down to 10Hz while the HAP100 goes to 20Hz but according to reviews may have more clarity than the HA200. What about the volume? which is better?

 
There is virtually no sound that exists at 20Hz, nevermind 10Hz.

 

[ngkou]

Well, that s right, but i noticed that when manufacturers mention lower frequencies in their specs sheet means that they want to indicate that their  product (headphone or amplifier etc) is producing deeper and better bass.  My JVC SZ2000 cans go down to 4 Hz  according to specs but in reality they are the king of bass even if the statement of 4 Hz is fake.

 

[zilch0md]

  Using it with the HD800, Are you happy with bass ? It seems from the specs that HA200 goes down to 10Hz while the HAP100 goes to 20Hz but according to reviews may have more clarity than the HA200. What about the volume? which is better?

 
I was very happy with the HA-200 -> HD800 bass.   But if you are looking for more bass energy vs. whatever amp you are using currently, I would say that in the end, an HD800 will always sound pretty much like an HD800 in terms of bass energy.  

 
The HA-200 didn't "fix" the HD800 bass energy any more or less than other amps I've tried. If you want more bass energy in the HD800, you'll have to go to an EQ (yuck) or, to a low-power amp - which tends to bloom the bass, for lack of control, making it sound as if it has more bass than it does.  Hint:  Try driving the HD800 directly with something like the Oppo HA-2. 
 
If, instead, you give the HD800 the power it needs to tightly control the bass, the bass amplitude will decrease as the resolution, speed and texture increase.
 
I've come to love the accuracy of the HD800, finding its bass to be "normal" compared to the excessive bass energy of my LCD-2.  

 

[ngkou]

Great ! it sounds like the NuForce HA200 is a good amplifier (at very good price) to match the HD800 . With this set up , Do you think that you get 80-90% performance out of your HD800 ?? I dont want to overpay thousands of $$$ in order to reach the 99%

 

[zilch0md]

I had selected the HA-200 as a replacement for the amp in my Oppo HA-1 - exclusively for use with the HD800 - having previously bypassed the Oppo HA-1's ESS9018 DAC with the NOS Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII DAC.
 
This was my desktop configuration, back then:
 
 
 
Note that only the HD800 was driven by the NuForce HA-200, which I much preferred to the HA-1's amp section, despite my preference for using the HA-1's amp with the power-hungry LCD-2.
 
 

 
The NuForce HA-200 sat above the the Octave MkII, which sat atop the HA-1 - within my recliner side table.  (To improve ventilation, I use wooden sewing thread spools that are affixed to the rubber feet of the gear, using Blu-Tack.
 
Having fallen in love with the low-feedback benefits of the HA-200's true, single-ended, Class A design... 
 
Quoting Nelson Pass' white paper on the benefits of single-stage amps:  https://passlabs.com/articles/single-ended-class-a
 

Regardless of the type of gain device, in systems where the utmost in natural reproduction is the goal, simple single-ended Class A circuits are the topologies of choice.

 
... I was convinced that a zero-feedback amp design would offer even less of that brittle edginess revealed by the HD800 when it is used with amps that use a lot of negative feedback to reduce the distortion brought on by multiple gain stages.  And I was drawn to the idea of completing the Metrum DAC/amp pairing, so I ordered the zero-feedback Metrum Aurix amp, to see if I could bring on any additional improvements over what I was hearing with the Octave MkII DAC + NuForce HA-200 DAC.
 
Quoting Nelson Pass' white paper on the perils of using negative feedback:  https://passlabs.com/articles/audio-distortion-and-feedback
 

Negative feedback can reduce the total quantity of distortion, but it adds new components on its own, and tempts the designer to use more cascaded gain stages in search of better numbers, accompanied by greater feedback frequency stability issues.

The resulting complexity creates distortion which is unlike the simple harmonics associated with musical instruments, and we see that these complex waves can gather to create the occasional tsunami of distortion, peaking at values far above those imagined by the distortion specifications.

 
The Metrum Aurix is unique - in addition to being a single-stage, zero-feedback design, it uses the inductive gain of custom-designed, broadband transformers, rather than using transistors, tubes, or op-amps for gain.  This parallels the Nelson Pass First Watt M2 and F6 designs, which also use small transformers for passive gain.
 
Not to diminish the brilliance of Cees Ruijenberg - the Dutch designer of Metrum Acoustic's amazing gear - can you tell I'm a Nelson Pass fan?
 
All that said, I've previously posted in several places here at Head-Fi, that the $1200 Metrum Aurix didn't do that much more for the HD800 than what I had with the much more affordable NuForce HA-200.  In fact, the HA-200 offers some traits that the Metrum Aurix lacks.
 
For more info on this, see:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-impressions-thread/16725#post_11299923
 
I sold the HA-200, but I miss it.  I really wish I could hear it again.  My tastes may have shifted since then - and it was a very close competition.

 

[ngkou]

Thanks for the detailed info ! It seems that i am in the right path I would need a DAC to feed the NuForce HA-200. What other decent DAC would you recommend ???
apart from the Metrum Octave MkII which is very expensive ($1000). Because Metrum Octave MkII ($1000) + NuForce HA-200 ($400) would cost totally $1400. In this case I d rather buy the Sennheiser HDVD 800  ($1500 here) which may be the best performance wise option.