running into a bit of a conundrum, setup wise, for my two desktop rigs. Wondering if anybody has any thoughts/suggestions that might trigger some ideas. Both rigs use HD800 as the primary listener (although occasionally the THX00 or SRH840 make guest appearances when closed cans are needed, but for the purposes of this, consider these to both be HD800 rigs).
I have two desktop rigs, one for my home office desk, and one for my "listening chair." THe office desk rig is mostly for passive rocking out while I work. The "listening chair" is where I go to critical listen, but also to relax.
Currently the office desk rig is: macbook pro -> jitterbug -> Modi Multibit -> HiFiMan EF2C (Voshkod 6ZH1P EF95)
Listening chair rig is: mbp -> Wyrd -> Cayin iDAC6 -> ECP/Beezar Topredo III (GE 5 star 12AY7)
Today, listening to the office rig, I got pretty amazed by how good it sounds. The "listening chair" rig is a $2700 setup, while this humble office rig setup was about $400. Basically the EF2C (voshkod tubes), while not the most finessed amp in the world, kicks like a mule in transient response. Definitely the cheapest amp I've found that really does justice to the HD800. However, its weakness is in micro detail, or lack thereof. For a tube amp it's pretty neutral, definitely not gooey like some little dots that use mullards from the same family are.
The listening chair rig is amazing, the Cayin iDAC6 is warm and comfortable as far as neutral DACs go, not a hint of harshness. It also really has some kick to its analog output stage. It is also very detailed, however, I sometimes feel that its intense output response, and intense transient response covers up details "inside" and "surrounding" transients. Like a kick drum can be so intense that it doesn't even allow my ear to hear details of the character of the kick drum. something like transient microdetail is either missing, or covered up by its intensity.
The Modimultibit is supremely micro detailed, warm, inviting. However, it does lack some of the "authority" of transients, and thus a touch of excitement, in some very aggressive music. It's like kick drums don't kick as hard, snares don't snap as hard. I can tell how heavy the drummer's sticks are (seriously, it has that much detail), but I can't feel the crack of the snare in the same way as with the iDAC6.
So, my conundrum, is do I switch out the MM and iDAC6, and have two different experiences for the HD800? Right now, both rigs sort of sound similar, although the "listening chair" rig does sound subtly, but noticeably better. But I think the fact that the punchier, less detailed amp is paired with the more relaxed, more detailed DAC, and vice versa, somewhat equalizes them (no pun intended). If I switched I could have an "ultimate in warm, inviting, yet supremely detailed" listening chair setup and a "holy schiit, i had no idea an HD800 could kick like this" work desk" setup.
I'm also open to any suggestions people might have on minor tweaks (tubes, USB decrapifier, power buffer, etc).
I've tried all 4 configurations, and they all have their merits. If I had to pick one single configuration as absolute best, it'd probably be MM -> TIII. but iDAC6 -> TIII comes really close and can surpass it on rock, which makes up the largest genre I listen to, and about 1/3 of my listening overall (Jazz, alt-country, Soul, metal, indie, alt rock, R&B, classical and rap make up most of the bulk of the rest, in roughly that order).
(also if anybody has any questions about any of these in relation to the HD800, just let me know)
![DT1990-ChSd-1024x555[1].png](https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/12230656.png)
