Sorry guys I have actually had them back for a while now but combination of laziness and giving myself a while with them before providing my true impressions has kept me from updating the thread.   In short, I'm really happy so far. Will try to get an update and some photos up soon.

So apparently today isn't quite the right day to think "better jump on Head-Fi and check when that meet is happening" :mad:

Reserved for update.

I've decided to have a go at sorting out my Sennheiser HD-800 headband and earpads once and for all (hopefully). Looking about on Head-Fi I was surprised that few others had posted with similar issues to the one I have experienced for the last couple of years: the deterioration of the material...

  He is no longer working with Benchmark unfortunately. If it is the same person I'm thinking of he used to respond to every question asked of Benchmark products here in the forums, incredibly helpful and clearly very talented/knowledgable in his field. It's a shame to have lost his advice on...

Yeah to be honest I'm sure single ended will give me enough of an impression of what to expect, if the sound is even half of what I've read it to be with the HD800 I'll be impressed. I'm very envious of that delicious stack of yours BTW!    Thanks for organising an NZ meet man. Have been to a...

Would really love to hear my HD800s through NZtechfreak's CMA800R monos but don't have a balanced cable. If anyone has an HD800 balanced cable that I can beg/borrow/steal/rent/hire/buy before the meet please hit me up :) 

I'll be along, great to see a few goodies in the list that I'd love to spend a little time with.    I can bring any of the following: Benchmark DAC1PRE, Sennheiser HD800/HD650, Burson HA-160 (which I'm happy to sell if anyone's interested).

I'm honestly shocked by the response of other posters in this thread. I'm clearly in the minority in terms of my opinion of the DAC1 as far as other people here, but I really think that the responses here in no way reflect the general opinion of the product, or more importantly, how it actually...

Thanks man, but I'm trying the DIY route. The standard pads are rubbish. I know they're made of amazing materials blah blah blah, it's ****, they just fall apart and make a hell of a mess once they're (not all that) old. I just can't justify throwing so much cash at replacement pads that I know...

It's technically obsolete in the sense that there are new models from Benchmark, but the DAC1 sounds awesome. If you're getting it for a good price and haven't previously used a DAC/headphone amp of this quality I'd be very surprised if you regret the purchase. Of course, if you can, listen to...

Hey Zorander :) Did you happen to solve your HD800 pad problem? I'm in a similar position and just curious what you went with in the end.

Sounds like you're at a point where the only person likely to be helpful in making a decision is you. As you've mentioned, these amps are all available in stores local to you, so take your gear along and go listen to them! Why would you want to have anyone else telling you what to buy?!

I should add that these are only quick impressions in a much less than perfect listening environment. Looking forward to getting one home some time soonish and really sitting down and listening to some albums.

Got to have a quick listen through HD800 today and was impressed. For me there were a few areas where the sound fell short, primarily in terms of soundstage specifically in comparison to my DAC1PRE. Also in complex passages I found things to muddy together a little more than I'd expect. These...

Would love to hear your impressions. Plan to audition in the next couple days but don't have balanced cable yet.

lol yeah it's a bit like that isn't it :)

I guess what I'm really after is a DAC out so I can use the volume control on my integrated amp, which only has RCA in.

I understand the Oppo has pre outs which can be used to drive a power amp. I have an integrated amp and previously used the RCA audio outputs on my Benchmark DAC1 to feed the amp a signal from the DAC. Can I do the same from the Oppo? Just send out from the DAC to my integrated amp?

Thankyou, now go enjoy your day off! ;)

Will the Sennheiser balanced cable for the HD800 work with the Oppo?

Huge thanks to John for being the finest of hosts yet again! Tom's generous decision to give me his KGSS & O2 rig has left me speechless! He could clearly see how much I loved it, so seized the opportunity to do his good deed for the day and made me the proud new owner. I can't image there has...

Looks like a great time guys. I had signalled my intention to come but couldn't on the day, so if there's any money owing anywhere at all, I'm more than happy to at least pay my way, to be honest I'd prefer to. No reason anyone should be out of pocket, especially yourself having put in so much...

Haven't read through whole thread, but assuming it's not too late I'd like to come along and can bring whatever's I my sig unless there's a change between now and then.

Well that's a very generous offer I would be a fool to refuse! Is it forward of me to suggest I just move in? Think of the amps if we combine our disposable incomes! GS-1 was a very nice amp, but didn't make much/enough of a difference to quality. I was quite surprised TBH, really expected I...