UntilThen
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
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Went to a meet yesterday. Alot of nice gear. Took the Euforia ( stock tubes) and the Hegel dac. Got to try out the yggy and rag. Huge footprint, loads of power, sterile sounding., expensive. No thanks, I will keep my lowly system. I loved the 800s with the Euforia. Lots of slam, great soundstage.
A few things I like to comment on here. When I was at the Sydney meet in April 2017, I listen to Yggdrasil and Ragnarok with HD800 for the first time, with music unfamiliar to me. This immediately after listening to a 'borrowed' pair of HD800 and listening to it on Euforia. Jumping from Euforia to the Yggy and Rag combination, I too came to the same conclusion as you. That it is clinical and analytical. I wouldn't call it sterile because that combo is impressive in it's resolution and fast transient response.
Fast forward a few months later, I went to Addicted To Audio to audition Yggy / Rggy / HD800 again. This time I put aside any preconceived ideas and bias. I was pleasantly surprise how good 'Sultans of Swing' sounded that day. There is a liquidity and even wetness to the tone. HD800 from that combo sounded very clear and detailed and yet very natural. I imagine that the setup will be very ruthlessly revealing of bad recordings.
I have long been a tube amp lover, in particular Elise and Euforia. However I am beginning to see the Yggy Rggy and HD800 in a new light now. I can't believe that my once 'sterile' impressions of ss amp have changed to one of admiration and love. It's a different tone for sure but not one to discard as 'sterile'. If anything, it has great clarity and details, fast transient response and great slam too with your rock and roll. Haven't even tried classical with it.
Lastly, I cannot agree more with you on the last statement. HD800 sounds great with Euforia, fed by Yggy.... for me and my ears. It's my end game sound. Lots of slam and headstage is just one aspect of it. It's very refined when called for too. I still see HD800 as a TOTL headphone, even today.
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