[lost&confused]

never heard the T1 before , I heard T90 at  the same time I demo the hd800 and hd700 but they all sounded so rubbish on this amp in the shop,  the hd800s sounded best of them all tho,  I just thinking my crack would make them much better.
i think the T1 will be my next headphone one day, I liked the comfort of the t90 a  big thing with me buying headphones comfort is.......and with the hd800 the headband kept moving forward when i leaned my head over , like typing on the keyboard , was real bad the hd600 I love the comfort , I get a bit of hot ears tho 
thanks atsq

 

[atsq17]

  never heard the T1 before , I heard T90 at  the same time I demo the hd800 and hd700 but they all sounded so rubbish on this amp in the shop,  the hd800s sounded best of them all tho,  I just thinking my crack would make them much better.
i think the T1 will be my next headphone one day, I liked the comfort of the t90 a  big thing with me buying headphones comfort is.......and with the hd800 the headband kept moving forward when i leaned my head over , like typing on the keyboard , was real bad the hd600 I love the comfort , I get a bit of hot ears tho 
thanks atsq

 
No problems. If possible always try before you buy. Otherwise, get it at a price you can easily resell at so that it's effectively a free trial (minus time taken and shipping expense). 
 
I'd like to share a couple of things with you regarding the T1. 
 
I first heard Loquah's T1 + Crack + Matrix X-Sabre DAC and it was like WOW. Awesome soundstage, details and imaging (3d sound). I went and bought one. It didn't sound as good out of my setup so I tried on a friend's Crack and WOW again. There it is... the magic. However, I was using a cheap $180 pupDAC which was fine for mid-fi but my ears hurt from too much treble (from the whole setup) after a while. I couldn't stand it and sold my T1. 
 
Then after reading many reviews I realized that I probably chose the wrong DAC and I hunted down a dark sounding DAC that emphasized low end. I then bought the Crack and T1 and WOW once again. Not only did I have the awesome 3d sound I wanted but now I had nice low end too. The treble emphasis was gone! 
 
Since then, I've fine tuned my setup by changing cables on the T1 to a Whiplash V3 Hybrid, upgrading RCA interconnects (I now use a Black Cat Lectraline silver one), upgrading tubes (was using winged Svetlana, now 5998), also was using cleartop 12Au7 and now e80cc). My Crack itself has a stepped attenuator and upgraded capacitors. Also changed USB cables and was using a Black Cat Silverstar Double Decker before changing to LH Labs Lightspeed cable (until I just sold it yesterday). I also changed the dark sounding DAC from a Neko Audio D100 Mk2 (with Audiophilleo2) to an Audio GD DAC-19 (with Audiophilleo2) and then to an Audio GD SA-1.32.
 
The point is... the setup is so good that I thought it worth upgrading and maximizing. I've since bought an LCD-X and have a good balanced setup at home but I never entertained the thought of getting rid of my T1 setup at work. It's priceless.

 

[lost&confused]

thanks mate
 
I like what you say about the T1 with the big soundstage 3d sound and low end   thats what I'm after,  
I looked at your profile and you've had and have lot stuff! looks like you had a real journey
 
what is the e80cc tube you like then and the film caps you have in the amp?  I have a couple telefunken 80cc and remember them being really bright them tubes,  I have the bog standard mcaps and think there great , I bypassed them with the little supremes mundorfs 
going have a listen to the telefunkens again now 

   
 
 
 
I really love the crack amp and my hd600   ...T1's will come some day and  going to do like you said get some  secondhand ones  
 
thanks again mate 

 

[Doc B.]

I think that is a very good post. The sonic attributes of the source can often dominate the overall sound of the system, so you need to keep the big picture in mind when combining components. One of my favorite FAQs is "what matters most in an audio system?"
 
answer: 
 
everything
 
@lost&confused lack of "in your head sound" with the HD800s... you have me smiling, as that's what headphone manufacturers have been trying to get away from for the past 30 or 40 years. My taste just happens to be a little different, and that out of the head effect is part of the reason I like the HD800s. For me they present a little bit more convincing sound stage than most cans -  not up to the level of K1Ks, but not bad. It seems that manufacturers are figuring out that to make it sound like the sound source is farther away from you it has to be - you guessed it - farther away from you. Hence headphones keep getting bigger and wider to accommodate moving the drivers farther from the ear. If that isn't your thing then I agree, HD800s are not the way to go. You might want to experiment with a crossfeed setup. It might help reduce the "all to the right and left" effect and get things a little more in the center for you.
 
I prefer HD800s with the Anax mod. In stock form I find them a bit bright.

 

[atsq17]

  thanks mate
 
I like what you say about the T1 with the big soundstage 3d sound and low end   thats what I'm after,  
I looked at your profile and you've had and have lot stuff! looks like you had a real journey
 
what is the e80cc tube you like then and the film caps you have in the amp?  I have a couple telefunken 80cc and remember them being really bright them tubes,  I have the bog standard mcaps and think there great , I bypassed them with the little supremes mundorfs 
going have a listen to the telefunkens again now 

   
 
 
 
I really love the crack amp and my hd600   ...T1's will come some day and  going to do like you said get some  secondhand ones  
 
thanks again mate 

 
MCaps here as well. High five!   I haven't bypassed them yet though. Maybe there's more I can eke out of my system!

 

[lost&confused]

yep the way you explain hd800 doc is just right. exactly like  my experience   and thanks for telling me about this crossfeed thing 
 
I think I like the mcaps more without the bypass atsq .....its just I've not had time to remove them  They  een installed now for over a month and I've tried some russian teflon before but I'm to impatient to wait for the burn in, and lazyhooking them up to something 
 
I tried the telefunken again and I could only stand 5 mins , spacious sound but a bit bright ,  I love the mullard tubes 

 

[JamieMcC]

I'm also a fan of the Crack and the T1 especially if the Crack has had a bit of hot rodding. The T1's just felt like they had been given a kiss of life and a dash of soul at the end.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  yep the way you explain hd800 doc is just right. exactly like  my experience   and thanks for telling me about this crossfeed thing 
 
I think I like the mcaps more without the bypass atsq .....its just I've not had time to remove them  They  een installed now for over a month and I've tried some russian teflon before but I'm to impatient to wait for the burn in, and lazyhooking them up to something 
 
I tried the telefunken again and I could only stand 5 mins , spacious sound but a bit bright ,  I love the mullard tubes 

 
 
If you are interested in crossfeed, here is the schematic for one of Meier's adjustable passive filters, the Corda Cross-1.

 

[JamieMcC]

Forgot to mention lady luck smiled on me yesterday I was doing some reading about the 6C45PI tubes for the Mainline and one of the hits came back for 4x 6C45PI Reflektor branded NOS Tubes all dated 1976 for $20 and only listed the day before here in the headfi classifieds. I couldn't help myself and snapped them as up its always handy to have a spare or three or four.

 

[skeptic]

Very good score!  

 

[JamieMcC]

  Very good score!  

These are the ones, posted today

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/760693/4x-6c45pi-nos-tubes-reflektor-brand-all-dated-1976

 

[NightFlight]

    big thing with me buying headphones comfort is.......and with the hd800 the headband kept moving forward when i leaned my head over , like typing on the keyboard 

 
Your typing will improve if you learn not to look at it.

 

[Loquah]

  Say Lachlan I have been wondering how the HD800 review of yours that was in the pipeline is coming along?
 
I noticed you had tagged a little on the end of the Mainline review on your website Passion for Sound (by he way the new site is looking good).
 
http://passionforsound.lachlanfennen.com/ 
 
I had been thinking about trying some planar's with the Sex but The HD 800 price has taken a bit of a tumble due to the weaker Euro and with the Mainline due to arrive soonish (good things come to those who wait)  my interest in the HD800 has been rekindled.

 
Hi Jamie,
 
Sorry it took me so long to respond - things are nuts for me so far this year - started on a huge high getting married and now am in my busiest work period plus getting hit with some nasty financial challenges so my time on here is limited at the moment

 
I am loving the HD800s with the Mainline and the X-Sabre. I had cooled a bit on the idea of writing an HD800 review because there are so many of them out there, but I'll provide a mini review of my setup here for the reference of all the wonderful Bottlehead fans out there.
 
Everything in my system has been tuned for musicality - my DAC is on the musical side of neutral (Matrix X-Sabre), my USB cable is slightly mid-centric (Chord Company SilverPlus USB), my interconnects are pretty neutral (Tara Labs Prisms), and my Mainline has some pretty neutral, but still musical 'output' caps (Auricaps). The end result is a very detailed, but always enjoyable rig that just sings with the HD800s.
 
I kept the T1s for a few weeks after getting the HD800s, but in the end there was just no denying that the HD800s (on my rig) were technically better and more enjoyable too. The Mainline is such a great amp choice for the HD800s because of its musicality (without losing detail and transparency). I've tried the HD800s now with a variety of setups:
 
Using the Mainline as an amp and these DACs:

1. iFi Nano iDSD
2. iFi Micro iDAC
3. iFi Micro iDSD
4. Various mid-level DAPs

 
Different amps I've tried:

1. Mainline
2. S.E.X. (my modded one with Mundorf Supreme Silver / Gold / Oil caps)
3. iFi Micro iCAN
4. Schiit Vali
5. JDS Labs O2
6. Various other amps at Melbourne Head-Fi meets

 
Without doubt, the Mainline is still the most enjoyable amp pairing I've found with the HD800s. To be completely open, the Mainline is also the most expensive amp I've tried with the HD800s (not including a Lynx Hilo DAC with amp built-in), but the comparisons aren't really close. Interestingly, the iFi Micro iCAN is probably the nearest competitor to the Mainline when it comes to transparency, musicality and pure enjoyment, but the Mainline is still significantly better thanks to the sense of space and note weight it produces (as discussed in my original review in this thread).
 
With all those different DACs, the Mainline has consistently shone. It's performance is limited by the quality of the output when paired with lower level DACs (as Doc discussed above), but it always sounds good - it's just able to give you even more quality and detail with higher quality sources.
 
In my setup I've found no need for the Anax mod which is surprising as a treble-shy listener, but the Mainline just hits the sweet spot for me because the treble is all there, but smooth and effortless. It might also have something to do with my choice of caps, but I don't have any way to A/B with a stock Mainline to confirm that.
 
I've tried a balanced cable, but interestingly there is very little difference between balanced and unbalanced operation when pairing the Mainline and HD800s. There was a noticeable improvement to the image clarity with the T1s in balanced mode on the Mainline, but not so much with the HD800s. I still choose to run the HD800s in balanced, but the unbalanced output is just as good to my ears.
 
In short, the Mainline / HD800 combo has successfully cured any itch I might have had to upgrade my amp / headphones (I know this is said often around here, but I haven't bought a desktop amp since getting my Mainline and it's been ages). My S.E.X. and LCD-2 setup still gets used for cruisy rock listening (The Yardbirds sound great through that rig!!) but the Mainline + HD800s are king!
 
I had hoped to be an early purchaser of a Bottlehead DAC to compare with the X-Sabre, but that plan has been shelved for a while due to finances and much to my dismay. That said, if I have to live with the X-Sabre --> Mainline --> HD800s for the rest of my years I'll be just fine with that!

 
P.S. thanks for the compliment on the new website! I'm trying to find some time for a few new reviews soon and maybe I'll review the HD800s after all if there's interest.

 

[NightFlight]

Thanks man. I've been toying with the idea of the T1's and potentially wife wrath as a result.... but I think I'll just wait until my mainline kit arrives and cool that notion for a while.  Currently I'm perdy happy with my XDA2/Crack/HD800 rig as of late. I can totally zone out after the tubes are warmed up.
 
The question is what is the upgrade path from the HD800? There's a new kid on the block with the HE1000 and I'd be curious to hear it on a Mainline.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.
 
Unfortunately, I am faced with a rather terminal case of  upgraditis.  I can in the same breath say things like "Wow! That's freaking amazing! How do you think we can tweak it?". I take my time, but I do eventually always upgrade. 

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  Thanks man. I've been toying with the idea of the T1's and potentially wife wrath as a result.... but I think I'll just wait until my mainline kit arrives and cool that notion for a while.  Currently I'm perdy happy with my XDA2/Crack/HD800 rig as of late. I can totally zone out after the tubes are warmed up.
 
The question is what is the upgrade path from the HD800? There's a new kid on the block with the HE1000 and I'd be curious to hear it on a Mainline.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.
 
Unfortunately, I am faced with a rather terminal case of  upgraditis.  I can in the same breath say things like "Wow! That's freaking amazing! How do you think we can tweak it?". I take my time, but I do eventually always upgrade. 

 
I honestly don't know if there is a true step up from the HD800's once they are driven right.  Different options, sure, but definitely better?  Not sure about that.