[bcwang]

Straight into an Icon HDP. I haven't paired the two myself yet, but I believe HeadphoneAddict said it sounds very good.

 

[sunneebear]

NAD C325BEE, at under $400, I didn't want to sell mines but it was just too big to be used for just a headphone amp.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunneebear /img/forum/go_quote.gif NAD C325BEE, at under $400, I didn't want to sell mines but it was just too big to be used for just a headphone amp.

I've owned the NAD C521 BEE cd player before, and have heard it paired with their integrated amp. It's very warm and musical, but for amping the HD800? It seems to me you could do far better with a dedicated headphone rig than using an integrated.

 

[johangrb]

I'm ecstatic with my Audio-gd FUN driving my HD800's. I'm planning to go balanced later (as budget allows) with a ROC setup.

 

[bcwang]

Ok, I finally paired the Icon HDP with the HD800 and have to say that it will be really hard to beat as a budget rig. For $449 as a DAC and Headphone Amp, it is a really good deal.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcwang /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, I finally paired the Icon HDP with the HD800 and have to say that it will be really hard to beat as a budget rig. For $449 as a DAC and Headphone Amp, it is a really good deal.

What have you compared that setup to? Have you heard HD800 out of higher-end equipment? If so, how close does the Icon get?

 

[sunneebear]

Icon HDP.

Wonder how much better it's DAC/HP amp is compared to the old Icon integrated amp? I have the integrated and it's DAC and HP amp were just so so. I only use it because the chip power amp in it sounds pretty good. Its junk now because the DAC just died.

 

[sunneebear]

Woops. Just found Larry's review of the Icon HDP

 

[mattcalf]

I think John Mclean said he enjoyed my Jaycar with the HD800. Send him a PM to confirm specific conditions.

 

[Currawong]

The biggest surprise for me was the Elekit TU882R with the HD-800. Not sure if there is a 240V version available though. The Fun in A-mode is reasonable, that is, I could listen with the combo, but the HD-800s ask for more.

 

[vkung]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif The biggest surprise for me was the Elekit TU882R with the HD-800. Not sure if there is a 240V version available though. ...

[size=large]Yes, 230V TU-882R[/size]

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif The biggest surprise for me was the Elekit TU882R with the HD-800.

What source were you using at the time, Currawong?

 

[bcwang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif What have you compared that setup to? Have you heard HD800 out of higher-end equipment? If so, how close does the Icon get?

I don't know if it's considered high end or not, but with the HD800, the HDP fed by the computer seems to sound a little better than the Rega Saturn going through the XP-7 with AD797. I think it's the XP-7 is making things lose detail though. The short time I connected the Saturn directly to the HDP I didn't notice those loss of details and I think it sounded better than the HDP itself with computer audio files. I haven't done an actual controlled comparison though, these are just feelings about it from a short time with it. There are too many variables in my short time with it to really make it a fair comparison.

-big volume difference between inputs, so accurate matching not done
-one source was cd, one was from computer usb
-cable variations, etc...
-only heard 1 song comparing the two setups, so the difference with other songs may show different characteristics.

 

[Currawong]

Covenant: The Elekit CD player, of all things! Some or other madness caused me to buy an Audiovalve RKV instead of just getting one here, but I still wonder how the TU882R would go with better tubes, better internal wiring and whatnot. Unfortunately I couldn't compare it to my rig at the time, but maybe in the future.

 

[Covenant]

Bump, anyone have any other recommendations?