[Sepp]

I want a short cable for my K812's, and would be perfectly happy with the same quality as the original cable, so no silver/copper craziness.
 
Does anyone know where to get affordable (sub 100,-) custom/replacement cables? 4 feet would be great.

 

[Dexon]

I decided recently to return to my original 2 channel roots. No more surround sound, roomful of speakers, etc. After doing a little research I went back to two brands I had fond memories of, NAD and Bose. So I set up a NAD C 375BEE Integrated Amp and a new pair of the BOSE 901 Series VI, Version 2. What all this has to do with this thread is I'm listening to a favorite jazz piece on the K812 using the NAD headphone socket. This sounds so damn good I'm beginning to think I really don't need a headphone amp. On my previous setup, using a Sony 5800ES AV reciever, the headphone jack never sounded that good. This NAD is a whole different story. This is only my first cd played like this, so I'll have to give it more time. But out of the box, it sounds like a winner. ( Anyone in the SoCal area interested in a great deal on B&W CM series speakers, please PM me).

 
 
Macbob, try your HD800 with Nad, turn 'tone defeat' off and set treble to - 20/30deg. Listen and judge for yourself. I was looking for something better than my Burson HA-160 and just out of fun tried the Nad. Now I'm sure I wont invest in any headphone amp for a long time.  There's something magical in Nad's midrange and HD800 finally have a decent punch. Dry mids and piercing treble are gone yet the damn phones remain most transparent thing I've ever heard.
 
Sorry for non K812 post.

 

[macbob713]

Macbob, try your HD800 with Nad, turn 'tone defeat' off and set treble to - 20/30deg. Listen and judge for yourself. I was looking for something better than my Burson HA-160 and just out of fun tried the Nad. Now I'm sure I wont invest in any headphone amp for a long time.  There's something magical in Nad's midrange and HD800 finally have a decent punch. Dry mids and piercing treble are gone yet the damn phones remain most transparent thing I've ever heard.

Sorry for non K812 post.

I was really shocked when I tried the NAD. Unfortunatly, it was damaged during shipping and I sent it back. Otherwise I would try your recommended settings with HD800. I hope to try another one soon. After having heard it, it seems rather silly spending your hard earned dough on the gem you might already own.
Keep us posted how this progresses. I tried the 812, but not the HD800.

 

[TwoEars]

   
 
Macbob, try your HD800 with Nad, turn 'tone defeat' off and set treble to - 20/30deg. Listen and judge for yourself. I was looking for something better than my Burson HA-160 and just out of fun tried the Nad. Now I'm sure I wont invest in any headphone amp for a long time.  There's something magical in Nad's midrange and HD800 finally have a decent punch. Dry mids and piercing treble are gone yet the damn phones remain most transparent thing I've ever heard.
 
Sorry for non K812 post.

 
I've always liked NAD. Whenever a non-hifi friend has asked my to help them build an "affordable" but "good" system I've always gone for the NAD amps since they sound fantastic and have outstanding bang for the buck. NAD amp and B&W or Dali bookshelf sized speakers, impossible to wrong with that combo. Real Hi-fi and works with all kinds of music.

 

[macbob713]

I've always liked NAD. Whenever a non-hifi friend has asked my to help them build an "affordable" but "good" system I've always gone for the NAD amps since they sound fantastic and have outstanding bang for the buck. NAD amp and B&W or Dali bookshelf sized speakers, impossible to wrong with that combo. Real Hi-fi and works with all kinds of music.

No question about it. I've owned several NAD Amps and CD players over the years and I always enjoyed their philosophy of sound quality first, with minimum bells and whistles most people will never use.

 

[macbob713]

I've always liked NAD. Whenever a non-hifi friend has asked my to help them build an "affordable" but "good" system I've always gone for the NAD amps since they sound fantastic and have outstanding bang for the buck. NAD amp and B&W or Dali bookshelf sized speakers, impossible to wrong with that combo. Real Hi-fi and works with all kinds of music.

+2

 

[Kees]

   
I've always liked NAD. Whenever a non-hifi friend has asked my to help them build an "affordable" but "good" system I've always gone for the NAD amps since they sound fantastic and have outstanding bang for the buck. NAD amp and B&W or Dali bookshelf sized speakers, impossible to wrong with that combo. Real Hi-fi and works with all kinds of music.

+3

 

[preproman]

 

[LugBug1]

I've always wanted a NAD appreciation thread.. Didn't think there would be much call for one. (I thought I was the only one to use these as hp amps! Seriously I own 3)
 
Think we could do with some more 812 impressions, even if it means plugged into NAD amps  

 

[TheManko]

I have a Nad C 375BEE so I could actually try it out with the 812 and compare with the other headphone amps I've got.

 

[macbob713]

I have a Nad C 375BEE so I could actually try it out with the 812 and compare with the other headphone amps I've got.

That's great, look forward to your updates.

 

[ubs28]

Is the AKG K812 worth 1200 euro with it's flawed treble and way too high %TDH that 200 euro headphone don't even have?

And is the soundstage and imaging much less than the HD800?

Or should I forget about the AKG k812 and go for the sennheiser hd800?

I'll order 1 of these 2 headphones this week probably, but I cannot demo them anywhere.

 

[TheManko]

That's great, look forward to your updates.

I had a look at the specs and the headphone output impedance is 68 ohm, so it probably won't be ideal with the 812. But it might be really good with the HD 800! Now I'm looking forward to testing it out properly. I've never listened to it, even though I've had the Nad amp for years. In a couple hours I'll have the time to do the listening test, so I'll get some impressions up later today.

 

[LugBug1]

  I had a look at the specs and the headphone output impedance is 68 ohm, so it probably won't be ideal with the 812. But it might be really good with the HD 800! Now I'm looking forward to testing it out properly. I've never listened to it, even though I've had the Nad amp for years. In a couple hours I'll have the time to do the listening test, so I'll get some impressions up later today.

Look forward to that. I don't own the k812 (yet) but I do use the HD800 with my NAD's. To me they make very good headphone amps and competitive with amps below the $1000 mark. Especially if you are after a smoother more analogue like sound. They are dark sounding but with no dullness that can be associated with some of my other darker sounding vintage amps. (*cough* Marantz..). Must stress that my NAD's are 80's models.
 
(I need to stop talking about my NAD's http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nads )  

 

[TheManko]

Ok, so I’ve listened to the Nad C 375BEE now a bit with both the 812 and HD 800. As expected the high output impedance boosted the bass compared to the O2 and Essence III that have lower output impedance. It wasn’t as bad as I expected though with the 812. The HD 800 also sounded pretty good, though the Nad has a problem with background hum. With both headphones in quiet parts I could hear humming in the background, and it was actually worse with the HD 800 than the 812. When playing music the hum disappeared into the background.
 
It’s a good match with the HD 800 tonally. I can see why someone could be happy with this sound, apart from the obvious background hum between tracks. It produced a warmer sound than any of my headphone amps. The warmth was at the cost of resolution and focus in the midrange compared to my other amps. But it wasn’t a disaster by any means, so I say if you have this amp and you like how it sounds with your headphones, just keep using it!
 
Note that I’m using the Xonar Essence III as a pre-amp for the Nad, so it’s possible the background hum might be reduced if I was using the one the Nad comes with. The way I’ve decorated makes it inconvenient to squeeze in behind the amp to reattach the jumpers between the pre-out and main-in to test. I used to have Dali Mentor 2 speakers, and now I’m using B&W CM8 with a Velodyne sub. I’m very happy with how the combo sounds. The only problem with the Nad when using it with speakers is the built-in pre-amp which uses an idiotic volume scale. All the volume comes in the first third of the scale, so you have to touch the volume very carefully to not blow your ears out. Using the Essence III as a pre-amp is much nicer. Not only because it sounds better, but mainly from a practical viewpoint since the volume control isn’t as crude.