[Painterspal]

Quote:

 
What tubes are you using?  On stock tubes, I find the HD800 'okay' at best.  With Tung-sol 5998 and RCA 5693, I find it un-listenable.  Regardless, with each and every tube configuration on the LF339, I still preferred the V200 over it when it came to the HD800.  Give it a try some time!
 
Violectric V200 is an absolute winner with the HD800.  Tames the treble spike and has amazingly high resolution, while giving a slight hint of warmth needed to the vocals in order to generate that 'musicality' versus the analytical sound. (personal preference here).

How do you rate the bass response with the v200?

 

[vc1187]

Quote:

How do you rate the bass response with the v200?

The one word descriptor that comes to mind would be 'accurate'.  Not overbloated, or overly impactful, while remaining deep (on passages that call for it) and high quality throughout the entire spectrum.
 
The best way to describe my experience with the HD800 is that I was extremely disappointed when I first got it because I initially plugged it straight into my La Figaro 339.  I had heard so much hype about how great the HD800 ran with high quality tube amps, that I was almost certain that combination would be awesome.  I can't even describe why it was bad... it just was to my ears.  Music didn't flow, and I wasn't amused.  Sounded harsh in a way, and somewhat unnatural.
 
Then I plugged it into the V200, and it's like the headphone completely evolved.  The instant difference I noticed between the HD800 and the rest of my headphones (HE-500, HD650, LCD-2, HD598) was the extremely large and precise soundstage + imaging.  Everything sounded so effortlessly real, and smooth, while giving a very realistic treble, without sounding harsh.  Other than that, just know that the V200/HD800 is a great pairing, as I'm sure others can vouch for it as well.

 

[Lan647]

Quote:

The one word descriptor that comes to mind would be 'accurate'.  Not overbloated, or overly impactful, while remaining deep (on passages that call for it) and high quality throughout the entire spectrum.
 
The best way to describe my experience with the HD800 is that I was extremely disappointed when I first got it because I initially plugged it straight into my La Figaro 339.  I had heard so much hype about how great the HD800 ran with high quality tube amps, that I was almost certain that combination would be awesome.  I can't even describe why it was bad... it just was to my ears.  Music didn't flow, and I wasn't amused.  Sounded harsh in a way, and somewhat unnatural.
 
Then I plugged it into the V200, and it's like the headphone completely evolved.  The instant difference I noticed between the HD800 and the rest of my headphones (HE-500, HD650, LCD-2, HD598) was the extremely large and precise soundstage + imaging.  Everything sounded so effortlessly real, and smooth, while giving a very realistic treble, without sounding harsh.  Other than that, just know that the V200/HD800 is a great pairing, as I'm sure others can vouch for it as well.

 
How is the LCD-2/3 with the V200 then? Because I plan on getting either of those later on. 

 

[vc1187]

Quote:

 
How is the LCD-2/3 with the V200 then? Because I plan on getting either of those later on. 

Glad you asked. In all honesty, I haven't found a pair of headphones that did not pair well with the V200.  You can view my profile to see the headphones I've owned (not including the DT990 and HD25-1 IIs)
 
The LCD-2 paired exceptionally well with the V200.
 
(slightly off topic, but informational) Originally, I owned the Burson HA-160D, which is hyped to be great with the LCD-2.  I didn't like it at all, and ended up selling my LCD-2.  Bought the HE-500, and paired it with the 160D.  Sounded worse than the LCD-2 paired with 160D, so I thought it may just be that I don't like the HA-160D paired with planar magnetics.  Tried the HE-500 on the LF339 and V200.  They sound marvelous on either of those amps, so I ended up selling the 160D.  Re-bought the LCD-2.  Tried the LCD-2 on LF339.  Stock tubes sounded okay with LCD-2 but aftermarket tubes sounded bad with LCD-2.  Tried LCD-2 on V200.  It's the most I've ever liked the LCD-2, and I could instantly tell that they were a magical pairing.
 
Regardless, I'm still not a fan of the LCD-2 because they are uncomfortable to me (squeezes hard on the lower jaw area) and the vocal presentation seems a little too distant for my taste (and this wasn't due to the amp, as it was this way on all 3 of the amps I threw at it).
 
V200 is a great bang for its buck, which can be bought at ~$700 here on the for sale forums, when someone is actually selling it.

 

[Lan647]

Quote:

Glad you asked. In all honesty, I haven't found a pair of headphones that did not pair well with the V200.  You can view my profile to see the headphones I've owned (not including the DT990 and HD25-1 IIs)
 
The LCD-2 paired exceptionally well with the V200.
 
(slightly off topic, but informational) Originally, I owned the Burson HA-160D, which is hyped to be great with the LCD-2.  I didn't like it at all, and ended up selling my LCD-2.  Bought the HE-500, and paired it with the 160D.  Sounded worse than the LCD-2 paired with 160D, so I thought it may just be that I don't like the HA-160D paired with planar magnetics.  Tried the HE-500 on the LF339 and V200.  They sound marvelous on either of those amps, so I ended up selling the 160D.  Re-bought the LCD-2.  Tried the LCD-2 on LF339.  Stock tubes sounded okay with LCD-2 but aftermarket tubes sounded bad with LCD-2.  Tried LCD-2 on V200.  It's the most I've ever liked the LCD-2, and I could instantly tell that they were a magical pairing.
 
Regardless, I'm still not a fan of the LCD-2 because they are uncomfortable to me (squeezes hard on the lower jaw area) and the vocal presentation seems a little too distant for my taste (and this wasn't due to the amp, as it was this way on all 3 of the amps I threw at it).
 
V200 is a great bang for its buck, which can be bought at ~$700 here on the for sale forums, when someone is actually selling it.

 
Nice! Doesn't it sound overly mellow and chesty with the LCD-2? Amps that sound good with the HD 800 tends to be overwhelming for the LCD-2s (Leben CS300 for example). 
 
+1 on the comfort of the LCD-2 though, sadly I find them to be among the most uncomfortable headphones I've worn :/ The 3 is more comfortable though, enough so that I could live with it. If I were to get LCD-2s I'd order LCD-3 pads for them.

 

[vc1187]

Quote:

 
Nice! Doesn't it sound overly mellow and chesty with the LCD-2? Amps that sound good with the HD 800 tends to be overwhelming for the LCD-2s (Leben CS300 for example). 
 
+1 on the comfort of the LCD-2 though, sadly I find them to be among the most uncomfortable headphones I've worn :/ The 3 is more comfortable though, enough so that I could live with it. If I were to get LCD-2s I'd order LCD-3 pads for them.

Not at all.  The V200 is not a mellow amp by any means.  It outputs ~2.7W of power to the planar magnetic headphones.  The best description given to it when powering the Planar Magnetics should be an effortlessly powerful, full bodied sound.  However, powerful often implies that it sacrifices smoothness and natural decay on notes, which is what makes the V200 so unique.  While giving that powerful, full bodied sound, it still retains the 'hi-fi' sound that many audiophiles are so fond of (myself included).
 
The V200 does the HD800 justice by allowing it to remain revealing, (as the V200 by nature is quite a revealing amp) allowing that amazing soundstage to extend even wider with more precision, extinguishing any sibilance or sharp treble, keeping the bass honest, and giving it that extra bit of warmth in the mids to allow it to have a beautiful blend of musicality.

 

[Lan647]

Quote:

Not at all.  The V200 is not a mellow amp by any means.  It outputs ~2.7W of power to the planar magnetic headphones.  The best description given to it when powering the Planar Magnetics should be an effortlessly powerful, full bodied sound.  However, powerful often implies that it sacrifices smoothness and natural decay on notes, which is what makes the V200 so unique.  While giving that powerful, full bodied sound, it still retains the 'hi-fi' sound that many audiophiles are so fond of (myself included).
 
The V200 does the HD800 justice by allowing it to remain revealing, (as the V200 by nature is quite a revealing amp) allowing that amazing soundstage to extend even wider with more precision, extinguishing any sibilance or sharp treble, keeping the bass honest, and giving it that extra bit of warmth in the mids to allow it to have a beautiful blend of musicality.

 

 

[SladeWilson]

i have HD 800 and LCD- 3 with burson HS 160 , does V200 sound better ?

 

[vc1187]

Quote:

i have HD 800 and LCD- 3 with burson HS 160 , does V200 sound better ?

Never heard either headphones you listed above with the HA-160D, but I can very easily state that from my experience, the V200 is in a league or two above the HA-160D in terms of SQ as well as musicality.
 
I will say that the HE-500 was listenable when I plugged the HRT MSII+ as the DAC substitution into the HA-160D and plugged the HE-500 into low gain (with the volume knob maxed out), but it's nowhere near as pleasant as the current V200 setup.  My guess is that there was not enough power being output.  Max power output on the HA-160D is 0.25 Watts, which caused harshness in its musical reproduction.
 
Either way, from claims of it, I hear the HA-160 is sibilant with the HD800.  Might as well go with the V200, which gets rid of that and adds much of what this audiophile qualifies as 'great'

 

[Elizabeth]

Hi
(I have been absent for ages.. but here is my input)
I use a Rudistor RPX-33mk2 with my Sennheiser HD800.
I bought the Rudistor used a few years ago. When I bought it and tried it with my brand new Sennheiser HD800s it was not so great. Amazing detail, but the dreaded high frequency emphasis/tilt just did not please me.
I placed the Rudistor into the closet.
After about 9months or so (maybe a year) I decided to sell the Rudistor, and took it out. I then tried it 'one last time' and was amazed.
The Sennheiser had broken in, and now sounded wonderful with the Rudistor.
So the Rudistor is my only headamp now for my Sennheiser HD800.
Detail I never heard in any recording was coming through. Great balance, without the high frequency tilt complained about so often with Sennheiser HD800 (though that is just needing break in IMO)
So if you can find one, I recommend the Rudistor RPX-33 mk2

 

[Painterspal]

Quote:

The one word descriptor that comes to mind would be 'accurate'.  Not overbloated, or overly impactful, while remaining deep (on passages that call for it) and high quality throughout the entire spectrum.
 
The best way to describe my experience with the HD800 is that I was extremely disappointed when I first got it because I initially plugged it straight into my La Figaro 339.  I had heard so much hype about how great the HD800 ran with high quality tube amps, that I was almost certain that combination would be awesome.  I can't even describe why it was bad... it just was to my ears.  Music didn't flow, and I wasn't amused.  Sounded harsh in a way, and somewhat unnatural.
 
Then I plugged it into the V200, and it's like the headphone completely evolved.  The instant difference I noticed between the HD800 and the rest of my headphones (HE-500, HD650, LCD-2, HD598) was the extremely large and precise soundstage + imaging.  Everything sounded so effortlessly real, and smooth, while giving a very realistic treble, without sounding harsh.  Other than that, just know that the V200/HD800 is a great pairing, as I'm sure others can vouch for it as well.

Thanks, much appreciated. It's a combination I'm keen to try.

 

[SladeWilson]

Quote:

Never heard either headphones you listed above with the HA-160D, but I can very easily state that from my experience, the V200 is in a league or two above the HA-160D in terms of SQ as well as musicality.
 
I will say that the HE-500 was listenable when I plugged the HRT MSII+ as the DAC substitution into the HA-160D and plugged the HE-500 into low gain (with the volume knob maxed out), but it's nowhere near as pleasant as the current V200 setup.  My guess is that there was not enough power being output.  Max power output on the HA-160D is 0.25 Watts, which caused harshness in its musical reproduction.
 
Either way, from claims of it, I hear the HA-160 is sibilant with the HD800.  Might as well go with the V200, which gets rid of that and adds much of what this audiophile qualifies as 'great'

Tube AMP better with HD 800 and LCD-3 ?  or stick with SS amp and V200  ?

 

[SladeWilson]

its this thing
 

 
used with these
 

 

[TheManko]

Didn't see them mentioned in the thread, but the SPL Auditor and Phonitor are great with the HD 800. I personally have the Violectric V200 and SPL Auditor and the difference isn't subtle between them. The SPL Auditor clearly delivers a higher fidelity sound where the layers of the music are more separate from each other. It's like the entire sound is pushed further from your ears, wheras the V200 keeps them in a more planar field close to your head. I guess the character of the sound with the V200 might be nicer to some, but to me it just sounds more muddled.

There's no hint of harshness in the highs with the Auditor no matter what I listen to. The character of the sound might be a bit "colder" with the Auditor, but it's clearly better technically to my ears. I've had both amps and the HD 800 for a long time now and the difference when switching between them is always the same. The change in character of the sound is also clearly audible with the LCD-2 which the Auditor drives just fine, although the V200 might be giving it just a bit more oomph in the bass.

 

[vc1187]

Quote:

Didn't see them mentioned in the thread, but the SPL Auditor and Phonitor are great with the HD 800. I personally have the Violectric V200 and SPL Auditor and the difference isn't subtle between them. The SPL Auditor clearly delivers a higher fidelity sound where the layers of the music are more separate from each other. It's like the entire sound is pushed further from your ears, wheras the V200 keeps them in a more planar field close to your head. I guess the character of the sound with the V200 might be nicer to some, but to me it just sounds more muddled.
There's no hint of harshness in the highs with the Auditor no matter what I listen to. The character of the sound might be a bit "colder" with the Auditor, but it's clearly better technically to my ears. I've had both amps and the HD 800 for a long time now and the difference when switching between them is always the same. The change in character of the sound is also clearly audible with the LCD-2 which the Auditor drives just fine, although the V200 might be giving it just a bit more oomph in the bass.

So you're saying you get more soundstage depth with the Auditor compared to the V200?  How is the width, in the same context?
 
That's interesting... Hopefully I'll get to audition the Auditor some day.