[Fegefeuer]

The improvement w/ this V200 over the X-CAN is very obvious. I'm sure there are better amps out there for these HD800s, but I myself will end here  These are more than enough for me, look really nice too. 

The V200 is above with the very best, it's hard to get something better without having to pay a minimum of twice the V200s price or even much more. I have the Anedio D2 and while its amp is outstanding and measures very well compared to several questionable gear that is floating around in these forums, the V200 drives the HD 800 even better. It's that good with the Sennheisers.

 

[TwoEars]

Quote:

The V200 is above with the very best, it's hard to get something better without having to pay a minimum of twice the V200s price or even much more. I have the Anedio D2 and while its amp is outstanding and measures very well compared to several questionable gear that is floating around in these forums, the V200 drives the HD 800 even better. It's that good with the Sennheisers.

Interesting - what kind of difference can you hear between the Anedio amp and the V200 amp? Is there any loss of detail or muddiness because of the added components? Can the same results be obtained by using the anedio amp and doing some EQing?
 
You see - thing is I drive the HD800s directly from the anedio and I find the sound lacking absolutely nothing. Would be interesting to hear if you had done any back to back comparison.

 

[fengwei007]

Quote:

In my several years now of experience with the HD800s, I think the critical factor is recording quality. If a CD is bright, raspy, grainy, or piercing, I hear it loud and clear and usually switch to other phones
(Audezes or Fostexes or Hifimans). But if the recording is is well done, the HD800s can be king of the hill, with an eerily real texture and 3D imaging, as if you can see the components of the music.

Totally agree w/ you on this. It's the music that makes the music, not DAC/AMP or headphones. 
 
 
Quote:

The V200 is above with the very best, it's hard to get something better without having to pay a minimum of twice the V200s price or even much more. I have the Anedio D2 and while its amp is outstanding and measures very well compared to several questionable gear that is floating around in these forums, the V200 drives the HD 800 even better. It's that good with the Sennheisers.

 
Good to know that. Well, at least I'm very happy w/ how I hear from my current setup, don't think I'd change or upgrade anytime soon.

 

[Bolardito]

The V200 is an outstanding match for the HD800..I prefer it over the Mjolnir which I also own.. I think to get a substantial upgrade one should look for something like a Zana Deux at the least..I would love to try the Balancing Act one day but its price tag is out of my budget right now.

 

[rgs9200m]

Thanks Fengwei!

 

[Frank I]

I try only to get audiophile type recordings. But unfortunately there has and always be poor recordings especially from the compressed stuff today. i find out of all the amps I always gravitate back to my Decware CSP2 and its a perfect match and let me listen to those poor recordings for a better period of time on the hD800. I like warmer sounding tubes like the bugle Boys and the Matsusita tubes as they really sound great with the hd800. The Matsusita are bass monsters and the bugle boys are in a class of their own. My favorite tube with the hd800 .The CSP2 is a perfect match for me with my current headphones and enough to keep me happy long term. It the longest headphone amp I owned and has been a keeper.

 

[musiclife]

Quote:

I have a good assortment of headphones and enjoy them all, but every time I come back to the HD800 I really appreciate them!
Just chiming in because they're on my head at the moment, listening to some Nitin Sawhney.

 
 
 
Nitin is amazing, I listen to "London Undersound" all the time. How is it on the HD800???

 

[dallan]

Quote:

The V200 is above with the very best, it's hard to get something better without having to pay a minimum of twice the V200s price or even much more. I have the Anedio D2 and while its amp is outstanding and measures very well compared to several questionable gear that is floating around in these forums, the V200 drives the HD 800 even better. It's that good with the Sennheisers.

 
 
Quote:

The V200 is an outstanding match for the HD800..I prefer it over the Mjolnir which I also own.. I think to get a substantial upgrade one should look for something like a Zana Deux at the least..I would love to try the Balancing Act one day but its price tag is out of my budget right now.

Yep, i have both, the Zana Deux outperforms the v200 and it is a bit over twice as much.  The main difference is that the Zana Deux is awesome but the v200 is way more versatile.  Right now i am listening to the v200 happily while the Zana sits idle because i know that i will be switching headphones when tv goes on and the v200 works better with others.  Also i want a decent length of listening time if i am going to hit the tubes where as the v200 can go for shorter sessions.  Both are great, one is better but limited, the other is versatile and easier to deal with.

 

[Lan647]

 
Ring-radiator driver

 

[gmahler2u]

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy 800 Listening! 

 

[grokit]

I have a good assortment of headphones and enjoy them all, but every time I come back to the HD800 I really appreciate them!

Just chiming in because they're on my head at the moment, listening to some Nitin Sawhney.

Nitin is amazing, I listen to "London Undersound" all the time. How is it on the HD800???

I don't have that one. I have the Beyond Skin and Prophecy albums and they sound great.

 

[Hideto]

A Moderator is (naturally) free to relocate this post if deemed to be in an unsuitable location
 
Hopefully I'm not overstepping off the bat for my first post, but I felt compelled to Register and say a little something.
 
With a love for music and an interest to produce some myself, I have finally turned my head towards higher-end Audio equipment. I've done a fair bit of reading on these Forums the past week, and to cut a long story short I'm absolutely fascinated by Senn's HD800 - just by reading so much about how well they reproduce a faithful portrait of the original music, as it was intended.
 
Having lived on a Creative Fatality gaming headset and a Creative T3100 2.1 Speaker set for too long, I suspect I'm in for something really magical. I've booked some time at an audio specialist store on Saturday to hear the HD800's for myself (As well as the models preceding it as well), paired up with a few amp's that interest me based on what I've read (They stock the Burson Conductor, Senn's HDVD 6/800, among others).
 
I won't limit myself to these models, and naturally will check out the others they have, but it's certainly what I'm most keen to hear above all; the HD800's.
 
I'm travelling some way by Coach just to even get to this store. For a first listening of such high level equipment, I doubt I will walk away parting with 2 grands worth of cash straight away either. It may be for the best though, since there is still so much to hear (Audeze, Stax, AKG etc.), maybe even the popular Denon AH-D7000 and other closed back models.
 
But I'll find out in a couple of days, when I've finally heard for myself some Dream Theater and Rachmaninov through the epic HD800's I can report back on my experience, however ill-experienced it will be.
 
(Btw, I'm aware after much reading that Solid State amps aren't necessarily the best choice for HD800's, hopefully the Audio Store staff can demonstrate some demo Tube Amps too!)

 

[TwoEars]

Quote:

A Moderator is (naturally) free to relocate this post if deemed to be in an unsuitable location
 
Hopefully I'm not overstepping off the bat for my first post, but I felt compelled to Register and say a little something.
 
With a love for music and an interest to produce some myself, I have finally turned my head towards higher-end Audio equipment. I've done a fair bit of reading on these Forums the past week, and to cut a long story short I'm absolutely fascinated by Senn's HD800 - just by reading so much about how well they reproduce a faithful portrait of the original music, as it was intended.
 
Having lived on a Creative Fatality gaming headset and a Creative T3100 2.1 Speaker set for too long, I suspect I'm in for something really magical. I've booked some time at an audio specialist store on Saturday to hear the HD800's for myself (As well as the models preceding it as well), paired up with a few amp's that interest me based on what I've read (They stock the Burson Conductor, Senn's HDVD 6/800, among others).
 
I won't limit myself to these models, and naturally will check out the others they have, but it's certainly what I'm most keen to hear above all; the HD800's.
 
I'm travelling some way by Coach just to even get to this store. For a first listening of such high level equipment, I doubt I will walk away parting with 2 grands worth of cash straight away either. It may be for the best though, since there is still so much to hear (Audeze, Stax, AKG etc.), maybe even the popular Denon AH-D7000 and other closed back models.
 
But I'll find out in a couple of days, when I've finally heard for myself some Dream Theater and Rachmaninov through the epic HD800's I can report back on my experience, however ill-experienced it will be.
 
(Btw, I'm aware after much reading that Solid State amps aren't necessarily the best choice for HD800's, hopefully the Audio Store staff can demonstrate some demo Tube Amps too!)

 
As is customary: welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet!

 
As far as first posts go I've seen at lot worse - not bad at all. With some experience I think you'll blend in just fine.
 
About the HD800 - it will be very interesting to see if you like it or not. Some like it right away and revel in the detail, accuracy and soundstage. But for me personally it took me three years and many, many tries to finally warm to the HD800 enough that I actually wanted to own it.
 
Then it probably took me at least another 3 months of owning it, tweaking it and getting my ears dialed in to realize how good it actually is.
 
Now when properly dialed in the way I like it it's the best headphone I've ever heard - better than LCD-2/3 or any Beyer or Denon. But that was certainly not my initial impression of them.
 
Coming from almost anything else the HD800 can have a tendency to sound sharp, thin, clinical or lacking emotion. The LCD2/3 are MUCH easier to love at first listen but in the long run I vastly prefer the HD800.
 
The HD800s certainly wasn't love at first listen for me, in fact I hated them and for several years I prefered the HD650s for their warmer, more emotional and forgiving sound.
 
So - take it as warning if you can call it that. If you love them at first listen great - but if not don't be too hasty with your judgement either. I think you have to live with them, tweak with the EQing a bit, maybe try an amp or two to really be able to decide if the HD800 is for you or not.
 
If it's one tip I can give when auditioning the HD800s it is to compare the soundstage to other headphones. Almost all things you might not like about the HD800 in terms of tonal ballance etc can be fixed with the right setup and tweaking but no other headphone I know has such a speaker like presentation.

 

[Hideto]

Quote:

 
As is customary: welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet!

 
As far as first posts go I've seen at lot worse - not bad at all. With some experience I think you'll blend in just fine.
 
About the HD800 - it will be very interesting to see if you like it or not. Some like it right away and revel in the detail, accuracy and soundstage. But for me personally it took me three years and many, many tries to finally warm to the HD800 enough that I actually wanted to own it.
 
Then it probably took me at least another 3 months of owning it, tweaking it and getting my ears dialed in to realize how good it actually is.
 
Now when properly dialed in the way I like it it's the best headphone I've ever heard - better than LCD-2/3 or any Beyer or Denon. But that was certainly not my initial impression of them.
 
Coming from almost anything else the HD800 can have a tendency to sound sharp, thin, clinical or lacking emotion. The LCD2/3 are MUCH easier to love at first listen but in the long run I vastly prefer the HD800.
 
The HD800s certainly wasn't love at first listen for me, in fact I hated them and for several years I prefered the HD650s for their warmer, more emotional and forgiving sound.
 
So - take it as warning if you can call it that. If you love them at first listen great - but if not don't be too hasty with your judgement either. I think you have to live with them, tweak with the EQing a bit, maybe try an amp or two to really be able to decide if the HD800 is for you or not.
 
If it's one tip I can give when auditioning the HD800s it is to compare the soundstage to other headphones. Almost all things you might not like about the HD800 in terms of tonal ballance etc can be fixed with the right setup and tweaking but no other headphone I know has such a speaker like presentation.

 
Thank you for such a warm welcome!
 
Perhaps I'm at neither advantage or disadvantage, coming from such basic Headphones all my life (Well, a Gaming Headset, to call them Headphones on this Forum seems almost treachery), due to the following:
Indeed, I have nothing to really compare their sound to, certainly not years of experience behind me to cast any informed judgement like you say. If they are even half as good as I imagine, I will perhaps fall in love straight away, but yet I'd still not truly be aware of the possibilities offered from other "cans". Alternatively, if my hearing isn't as misinformed as I suspect, perhaps it won't be "Love at first Hearing" (wat), despite being a "virgin" to Legendary tier Headphones.
 
Thanks for the tip btw! I'd hope Classical music really reflects well with the Soundstaging it dispenses, I'd love to hear the Music naturally from like where the Conductor is standing. I suspect I may end up "air conducting" in front of everyone in the store if it goes so well... hehe.
 
Regarding the LCD's, I've heard so much about them projecting a smoother, overall more inviting sound. It's interesting how they can both (LCD3 & HD800) emanate such glorious sound, but still both remain true to the what the Artist intended to convey? Or is this where a very fine alteration in overall "EQ/Timber"(?) via Amps is acceptable, to skew towards one's own personal preferences? This is probably a delicate subject...
 
I'm probably derailing the thread at this point. I shall cease and desist if need be
 
Edit: Fixed structuring a bit, "can't basic english".

 

[kingcow]

What kind of DAC do you guys recommend for about 1400? I currently have WA2 amplifier. I like to listen to rock,alternate and classical music.