I used to pair the LCD-X with Oppo HA-1 before I sold the LCD. It can sound bright, but it won't be as bright as pairing the HA-1 with HD800, which I still do now. Lol! Anyway, to me the HA-1 tends to synergize better with warmer sounding cans like LCD2/3, Oppo PM-1/2, Sony Z7, etc.

I came across those cable adapters, i.e. one end with HD800 connectors, another end with mini XLR etc so that you can use your existing LCD cable or HifiMan cable on the HD800. Try browsing some of the cable makers website like Double Helic, Norne Audio, Plussound, etc if they offer this adapter

The amp is good, pure class A goodness, but the DAC can be better. You'll be better off bypassing the internal DAC by connecting to external DAC

As I used to own the TH600 before, I can say technically the TH600 is a better headphone, but musically, the Z7 suits my taste better. If my music taste are EDM, techno, etc, I would have kept the TH600

If you can stretch up you budget, maybe you can find a second-hand Oppo HA-1. If not, Matrix mini-i Pro. Both these models have no speaker amps output but they do have pre-amp output (XLR and RCA) with the Oppo also has XLR and RCA inputs. The Matrix only has RCA input

It's a variable headphone/IEM out, just like the 3.5mm out

Like Jeff mentioned, the sound signature of the TH600 is very V shaped. If you listen to lots of vocals, especially female vocals, the voices seem to sound very distant. Not my cup of tea. Other than the sub-bass, the TH600 has strong and piercing high, so if you are a treble head, you might...

^^ excellent news. I'm looking for an after-market cable that can bring up a bit the treble of the Roxanne. The price is also quite reasonable, taking into account the cost of the ciem.

As the previous poster, to me sub bass is not the strong forte of Z7. The bass is more on the mid bass. If sub bass is what you looking for, for roughly the same street price, try the Fostex TH600. I had the TH600 before but sold it as the mids suck-out is a no go for me. But if you tend to...

  Personally for me, I'll go for the balanced output everytime, if possible. Of all my headphones that I can change the cable to balanced, i.e. HD800, LCD-X, Sony Z7, I always choose balanced. The balanced output on the HA-1 has more power than the single-ended. On some headphones...

TH600 is Made in China while the 900 is Made in Japan

  Treble head like me are happy with the combo  but I do agree with some opinions that the HA-1 is a better match to warmer cans like Oppo's own PM-1, LCD-2/3, Sony Z7 (which I also own), ATH woodies, etc.

  As the above poster mentioned, the HA-1 cannot power passive speakers. It can act as a pre-amp by using the pre-amp out to a power amp, and to the passive speakers. You can control the volume on the HA-1.   Or you can use active speakers just like my set-up below. As the Solo6 Be has no...

  Same experienced here, but with the Tralucent Ref 1 iem. The SE sounds much better over the balanced.   Those considering the balanced, maybe should aim for the 120ii

Time for me to put my HD800 and Sony Z7 in the classified :) Fell in love with the Ether from HA-1 balanced

  And don't discount the PM-2 just because their RRP are lower than the 2 headphones you mentioned. Having tried all 3 with the HA-1, I'll go for the PM-2 and play around with the different pads to get the sq that I prefer.

Thanks for the tips. Will definitely play with the positioning and angling once I have the real estate

I definitely need bigger table  

I believed the Nordost Heimdall 2 cable is silver plated solid core OFC. Having own the Heimdall speaker cable before, I would love to own the Nordost cable but the price is more than what I paid for my Z7. But some of the Nordost users that pair the cable with their Audezes' speak fondly of...

I used to own the SE535, and to me the SD2 is the better of the 2. The SE535 sounded too bloated, recessed treble and lacking clarity.

Not sure on the new Sirens series, but when I spoke to Jerry way back in Mook Headphone festival in 2013 when they just launched Roxanne, he told me that the bass adjustment starts from -1dB at 8 o'clock, becomes 0dB at 9 o'clock and becomes like JH16 bass level at 4 o'clock

I think it all boils down to user preference. If I can only have 1 headphone, I think I'll still have the LCD-X with me and won't be in the market for an LCD-3 to complement my HD800. The X still has the Audeze's house sound but with neutrality, transperancy and yet still sound fun and musical.

Listen to the HD800 a lot and get used to the sound signature with your existing gears. Once you're familiar with the sq, then you'll better appreciate the changes in your downstream equipment that can bring to your HD800.

^ having auditioned and A-B'ed the 560 and 800, I found that their sound signatures almost very similar. If I don't own an HD800, I think I would be happy with 560. But as the difference in prices between these 2 phones in where I come from is only about US$150, lots of headfiers here choose the...

If it has more mids and bass slam than the 3F and more similar to the Abyss, I'm game. I sold my LCD-X as I prefers the mids of 3F but the weight of the LCD's can be a bummer and the price of the Abyss are beyond my reach.