[Vangelis]

   
 
No, most of my time with Vega has not been in my own system. I had one come through briefly but only had time to use it with the matching Taurus amp. I see no reason why it wouldn't make a great combo though - I go the other direction and use Questyle's CAS192 with the Taurus all the time, with excellent results. 

Makes sense, the Vega would probably work fine with the CMA800. The CAS192 is likely voiced similar to the the Vega (not too tipped up) or it wouldn't work so well with the sometimes aggressive HD800s.

 

[project86]

 
Makes sense, the Vega would probably work fine with the CMA800. The CAS192 is likely voiced similar to the the Vega (not too tipped up) or it wouldn't work so well with the sometimes aggressive HD800s.

 
Yep, CAS192 is very similar. Wish I had the Vega here longer for direct comparisons. 

 

[roguegeek]

Quite interested in hearing more comparisons between the CAS192 and CMA800R, especially when paired with a couple different higher end cans.

 

[project86]

  Quite interested in hearing more comparisons between the CAS192 and CMA800R, especially when paired with a couple different higher end cans.

 
 
CAS192 is the DAC, and CMA800R is the amp, both from Questyle. Not sure what comparisons could be done. Did you mean Taurus versus CMA800R?

 

[roguegeek]

   
 
CAS192 is the DAC, and CMA800R is the amp, both from Questyle. Not sure what comparisons could be done. Did you mean Taurus versus CMA800R?

Been gone for the last week and a half and my brain goes to mush. I mean the CMA800R vs the Q192.

 

[dleblanc343]

   
 
CAS192 is the DAC, and CMA800R is the amp, both from Questyle. Not sure what comparisons could be done. Did you mean Taurus versus CMA800R?

I sent you a PM regarding this question.. It would be fun if you shared in depth thoughts either by private or public message.
 
If not, I'll have to buy two CMA800R's AND a Taurus MKII 

 

[jacal01]

Add the Cambridge Audio 851D to the list of DACs with digital volume control and a pre-amp (and headphone amp) stage with balanced outputs.

 

[deadie]

I've been reading up on the CMA800R to pair with my LCD-X and soon to arrive Chord Hugo.  
 
I recently demo'd the GSX-MkII and Senn HDVA600 at the SoCal meet, and the Auralic Taurus MkII at Stereo Unlimited here in San Diego.
 
At $1,500, the CMA800R and the Senn amp are the cheapest of the bunch.  The Master 9 is in that $ ballpark as well.
 
With my LCD-X the GSX sounded amazing, very full, and is just a beauty.  It's very expensive, and the wait is just too long.  The Taurus had massive balls, bass galore, and very musical.  
 
I currently have the Senn amp at home, and it sounds quite good, musical, has great synergy with the LCD-X and of course Senn's HD800, but the Taurus has considerably more power and is able to punch with greater bass impact at equal volume.  The bass is very strong, hits hard, hits fast and then fades instantly.  It's worth the $500 premium to me, and so the Senn is likely going back.
 
I only listened to the Taurus in balanced mode, and regret not switching over to SE given what I've read about that output's distinct character.
 
I've been chatting with Mr. Alden Zhao of Questyle and he informed me today that the company will be exhibiting at the upcoming T.H.E. Show next month in Irvine, CA. 
 
Hopefully the CMA800R will have that musical essence / character I'm looking for, with decent power.  As Project86 cited in his review, one can always add another unit for greater dynamics.  I'm really hoping Questyle will have that mono-balanced setup at THE Show.
 
Ah, such problems to ponder.  Buy a single CMA800R now, and perhaps scale up in the future.  Or pay a bit more for the Taurus... 

 

[project86]

Yes, it's a tough choice..... just yesterday I was using the Hugo alternating between Taurus mkII and CMA800R, driving LCD-XC, TH900, HD800, Alpha Dogs.... wow, both amps are extremely impressive. Honestly I think it's a win for the buyer no matter which way they go. 

 

[eantala]

I have a hd800 so was really looking seriously at the CMA800R, but I now have a LCD X coming in tomorrow.
 
Now wondering if CMA800R is still the best choice or the Taurus.

 

[project86]

  I have a hd800 so was really looking seriously at the CMA800R, but I now have a LCD X coming in tomorrow.
 
Now wondering if CMA800R is still the best choice or the Taurus.

 
 
I suppose it depends on which headphone ends up being your favorite. If it's HD800 then I'd go CMA800R. If it's the Audeze, stick with Taurus. Not that each one will still perform at a very high level at all times..... So Questyle still does Audeze very well, and AURALiC still does marvelous with HD800.

 

[kaesar94]

   
 
I suppose it depends on which headphone ends up being your favorite. If it's HD800 then I'd go CMA800R. If it's the Audeze, stick with Taurus. Not that each one will still perform at a very high level at all times..... So Questyle still does Audeze very well, and AURALiC still does marvelous with HD800.

The question is: in a score from 0 to 100...with Audezes, how much is better the Taurus than the CMA800R? With HD800, how much is better the CMA800R than the Taurus? That's the point if you have both Audezes and Senn.

 

[project86]

Dang, tough question! If I say my Stax Omega II is perfection, then I'd arbitrarily call HD800 on the CMA800R a 95/100. Taurus makes it a solid 90. LCD-XC on the Taurus is also a 95, and on the CMA800R it is a 90. 
 
Of course these numbers are silly, because it really depends on a number of factors. For classical, I tend to choose the HD800 every time. For electronic music, the LCD-XC is a better choice. Poor recordings do better with the Audeze. Etc, etc. Plus there's the matter of source matching, which brings a whole new set of variables. 

 

[Chodi]

  Dang, tough question! If I say my Stax Omega II is perfection, then I'd arbitrarily call HD800 on the CMA800R a 95/100. Taurus makes it a solid 90. LCD-XC on the Taurus is also a 95, and on the CMA800R it is a 90. 
 
Of course these numbers are silly, because it really depends on a number of factors. For classical, I tend to choose the HD800 every time. For electronic music, the LCD-XC is a better choice. Poor recordings do better with the Audeze. Etc, etc. Plus there's the matter of source matching, which brings a whole new set of variables. 

I wonder if you are comparing the SE to SE between the amps and headphones? If you were to do this comparison fully balanced (requiring 2 CMA800r) would your numbers change? I suspect they might.

 

[twsmith]

  I wonder if you are comparing the SE to SE between the amps and headphones? If you were to do this comparison fully balanced (requiring 2 CMA800r) would your numbers change? I suspect they might.

Good question -- I believe project86 was commenting on the CMA800R used SE (i.e. one amp) since at the time of his original review of the CM800 (not R), he did not have 2 of them.   I am using just one Questyle with my HD800 and the SE sound quality is simply incredible.  I have used my HD800 balanced with other amps, including the MkI version of the GS-X as well as the direct balanced output from my Invicta DAC, and I can unequivocally say that the SE CMA800R is better than either one.  So to put this in perspective, I would say that the HD800 with 2 CMA800R would probably result in marginally better SQ improvement, considering that the SE is probably already about 95/100.   I might add that usually the situation is not so much that balanced is "better" but often just different - some may like this difference, others may not.   Having used various headphones in both balanced and SE configurations over the years, I must say that SE done "right" can sound at least as good as if not better than balanced.   Relative to the Taurus MkII vs CMA800R, I do not have the Auralic, but I believe project86 did mention that with the HD800, the balanced output from the Taurus sounded very similar to the SE Questyle.   I would imagine though the using 2 CMA800R with the LCD-XC would pretty much equal things out.