[jibzilla]

  A couple you may want to try Dire Straits Brothers in Arms and Steely Dan Aja.  Both are very well produced making them a couple of my favorites to audition new equipment.

 
I have only been to five meets but the Steely Dan and Eagles have all ruled the shows. Personally I think those 2 bands are a bit over rated but there is not much getting around Aja is a solid album from to top bottom.

 

[ColtMrFire]

 
That's overkill for the HD800. Plenty of HP amps drive them well enough already. 

 
What about all those people raving their 800s didnt come alive until they ran them off speaker taps?  Are they delusional?

 

[MattTCG]

   
What about all those people raving their 800s didnt come alive until they ran them off speaker taps?  Are they delusional?

 
Possibly. If you could borrow an adapter, that would be best. Try before you buy it is always best when possible. Best on my own personal experience, I'd say that it's not something that will be any huge benefit. I personally tried several vintage receivers off the taps and none of them equaled a good headphone amp. Although some of the vintage steel did sound great with the hd800 straight from the headphone jack. 

 

[Yoga]

   
What about all those people raving their 800s didnt come alive until they ran them off speaker taps?  Are they delusional?

Possibly! It depends on the dedicated amps they've tried previously
 
I'm not saying speaker amps don't drive them well, I'm sure they can. The basis of such comparisons/scalability are more useful from those who have run the HD800 through big/powerful dedicated HP amps.

More people need to hear the HD800 through the Phonitor 2! New models out too actually, the Mini and E. 

 

[bigfatpaulie]

   
What about all those people raving their 800s didnt come alive until they ran them off speaker taps?  Are they delusional?

 
No, they are misinformed.  They think speaker amps are better for the HD800 because they are comparing things like a First WATT J2 to a Schiit Asgard.  OBVIOUSLY the FW amp is better... But it's a stupid comparison.
 
I've lived with the HD800 with a variety of amps and both headphone and speaker amps and both can work well, but I always tend to gravitate back towards dedicated headphone amps for a variety of reasons - noise floor being one of the more notable reasons.  I would say this runs even more true if you are working with a $600 budget.  
 
Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to "over driving" headphones: It's possible with a headamp as well as a speaker amp.  Speaker amps bost big numbers in wattage...  into 8 ohm.  Into the 300 ohm HD800 that wattage drastically drops so it isn't quote as crazy as one would think: you aren't going to pump 100 watts though the HD800 with nearly any amp on the market, much less a $600 amp.  
 
100 watts into 8 ohm is actually a much more modest 2.6 watts into the HD800 and 100 watts into the HD800 would be a staggering 3,750 watts into 8 ohms...
 
If you are working with $600 don't waste $100 of that on an adapter.

 

[Yoga]

   
No, they are misinformed.  They think speaker amps are better for the HD800 because they are comparing things like a First WATT J2 to a Schiit Asgard.  OBVIOUSLY the FW amp is better... But it's a stupid comparison.
 
I've lived with the HD800 with a variety of amps and both headphone and speaker amps and both can work well, but I always tend to gravitate back towards dedicated headphone amps for a variety of reasons - noise floor being one of the more notable reasons.  I would say this runs even more true if you are working with a $600 budget.  
 
Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to "over driving" headphones: It's possible with a headamp as well as a speaker amp.  Speaker amps bost big numbers in wattage...  into 8 ohm.  Into the 300 ohm HD800 that wattage drastically drops so it isn't quote as crazy as one would think: you aren't going to pump 100 watts though the HD800 with nearly any amp on the market, much less a $600 amp.  
 
100 watts into 8 ohm is actually a much more modest 2.6 watts into the HD800 and 100 watts into the HD800 would be a staggering 3,750 watts into 8 ohms...
 
If you are working with $600 don't waste $100 of that on an adapter.

Spot on.
 
Out of interest—while you're here—which cable did you opt for with your HD800, and was it SE or Balanced?

 

[Thenewguy007]

What about all those people raving their 800s didnt come alive until they ran them off speaker taps?  Are they delusional?

I'll say the best bass I eve heard from the HD800 was from monster vintage receivers.

Of course not just any receiver will do. Just like now, there were levels of higher end stuff & they still cost in the thousands to buy.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

 
Spot on.
 
Out of interest—while you're here—which cable did you opt for with your HD800, and was it SE or Balanced?

 
An OCC copper Double Helix Complement 4, hardwired with an Eidolic 4 pin XLR connector.  
 

 

[13713]

An OCC copper Double Helix Complement 4, hardwired with an Eidolic 4 pin XLR connector.  

Very nice. Once you go 4 pin it is hard to go back.

 

[listen4joy]

nice cable, i read preety good things on Dana cable too.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I've never heard HD800 better than on WA5. It's a bit warm, of course, but the synergy was just perfect. I hope to get one...at some point. Tesla comes first.

 

[johnjen]

  just remembered that the MBP does output optical TOSLINK SPIDF though the headphone jack.  I guess I can just try that out before I drop $200-$2000 on a USB ->SPIDF converter.  The Gustard U12 does look appealing if I end up going that route.

Also consider the Singxer SU-1 DDC.
$400
 
JJ

 

[Thenewguy007]

Also consider the Singxer SU-1 DDC.
$400

JJ

There is one on eBay being sold for $360 shipped brand new. I bought it & it arrived in 2+ weeks.
The same seller sold it at $330 for a few days before bumping up the price.

Well worth it imo.

 

[Yoga]

   
An OCC copper Double Helix Complement 4, hardwired with an Eidolic 4 pin XLR connector.  
 

 
Nice!
 
Have you tried the Cardas Clear by any chance?
 
Waiting months for DHC always puts me off ordering
 
Did you specifically avoid silver? 

 

[johnjen]

There is one on eBay being sold for $360 shipped brand new. I bought it & it arrived in 2+ weeks.
The same seller sold it at $330 for a few days before bumping up the price.

Well worth it imo.

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised at how close it came to the D16 we were comparing it to.
 
It is a decent DDC for sure, and for the price, a bargain in comparison to  some of the competition.
 
JJ