[sunneebear]

This thread is about budget rigs for the HD800 which is either contradicting or buying the HD800 broke the bank. No HD800 with my budget but for the rig I can highly recommend the Matrix Mini-i DAC. Around $330 very versatile, balanced and excellent sounding. Paired with the LD MK VII+ SS balance amp for $379. My rig of the moment. Balance or SE, great sounding setup for the money.

 

[lordsegan]

Little Dot DAC I to LD MKVII++ or Audio GD FUN to LD MKVII++.

The MKVII++ is ok for HD600s and HD650s.. not SURE it has the power to drive HD800s .. but I think so. Are the HD800s 300 ohms or 600 ohms?

 

[dcpoor]

300ohms. you already received your MKVII+?

 

[hopkins]

I have an RW Audio Amp 1 which sounds absolutely fantastic with AKG K240 sextet. With HD650 the sound is not as balanced, emphasizing the weakness of those headphones. I would love to try that amplifier with HD800.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunneebear /img/forum/go_quote.gif This thread is about budget rigs for the HD800 which is either contradicting or buying the HD800 broke the bank.

I don't see how it could be condradictory. By "budget rig", I mean the rest of the system chain - the dac and the amp.

Frequently I see HD800 rigs where every item costs more than the HD800 itself. Beta22's, RSA B52's, TTVJ 407A, and so forth. Ideally I'd like to assemble a system where the connected equipment value is kept under a threshold of about $1400, that strives for maximum price/performance ratio and synergy with the HD800 in particular.

So far, probably the best concept I've seen involves running a HD800 from a Buffalo32S DAC direct, using an IVY and Volumite. I know the Buf32 sounds excellent with the HD800, the only question that remains unanswered is how well the IVY does at driving it, which I hope to find out myself soon.

But synergy can happen in some very unlikely places. At one of the early meets, for instance, we discovered that a simple iRiver > Xin Supermacro with Bass boost active > CD3000 setup sounded phenomenal with jazz and male vocals. Who'd a thunk it?

So, since the HD800 has been out for a while now and plenty of meet-enviroment experimentation has been done with them, I want to know which combos worked surprisingly well for their cost.

 

[jc9394]

Covenant, I thought you have a WA6SE?

Anyone wants to commends on WA6/HD800 combo?

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jc9394 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Covenant, I thought you have a WA6SE? Anyone wants to commends on WA6/HD800 combo?

Had a WA6SE, it was sold a few months ago. The 6SE > HD800 combo, from what I recall, is very refined, slightly euphonic, and smooth, but lacking the last word in punch and dynamics. I largely blame the drive tubes for that - 6EW7s and 6DE7s just cant slam sufficiently for me.

 

[St3ve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jc9394 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Covenant, I thought you have a WA6SE? Anyone wants to commends on WA6/HD800 combo?

I will be able to comment next week (hopefully)

Got a pair of HD800 en route.

 

[jc9394]

I got my HD800 today, I will try it with my fully maxxed out WA6 tomorrow. I'm enjoying it with my HA5000, this combo got pretty good review in Asia. The soundstage is much better than my W5000 or HD600. The angled drivers really put me in front of the artist.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jc9394 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got my HD800 today, I will try it with my fully maxxed out WA6 tomorrow.

Congrats, I'm envious

Please do post impressions on the combo. What source are you using?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, after having my socks blown off by a Buffalo 32S > Balanced Beta22 > HD800 rig at the last meet, I want to find out just how picky the HD800 is with it's amps and sources, and if there are any systems out there which can get the HD800 "most of the way" to what I heard out of the above, with a more modest price tag. So, for those who have heard the HD800 at their best out of top-tier amps and sources, have any cheaper systems pleasantly surprised you?

Macbook > Nuforce uDAC $99 > Grahm Slee Solo SRG II $700 > HD800 = very nice. Punchy, powerful and dynamic, with good detail. Could go a while without upgrading.

Macbook > HiFIMan EF2 $169 with Raytheon tubes $40 > HD800 = not bad until you can buy the rig above.

 

[pearljam5000]

Where does a
PC >Nuforce HDP >HD800
fit here?
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Macbook > Nuforce uDAC $99 > Grahm Slee Solo SRG II $700 > HD800 = very nice. Punchy, powerful and dynamic, with good detail. Could go a while without upgrading. Macbook > HiFIMan EF2 $169 with Raytheon tubes $40 > HD800 = not bad until you can buy the rig above.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where does a PC >Nuforce HDP >HD800 fit here?

It's only a couple of percent below the uDAC > SRG II. (1) The uDAC > SRG II is slightly warmer and can be cranked up very high without fatigue. (2) The HDP bass with HD800 is only a couple percent below the SRG II bass levels. With EVERYTHING else I prefer the HDP hands down, but the SRG II just had that tiny bit of extra bass and tiny bit of refinement with HD800 that I still remember.

The uDAC > EF2 is well below this.

 

[bcwang]

 
Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, after having my socks blown off by a Buffalo 32S > Balanced Beta22 > HD800 rig at the last meet, I want to find out just how picky the HD800 is with it's amps and sources, and if there are any systems out there which can get the HD800 "most of the way" to what I heard out of the above, with a more modest price tag. So, for those who have heard the HD800 at their best out of top-tier amps and sources, have any cheaper systems pleasantly surprised you?

Macbook > Nuforce uDAC $99 > Grahm Slee Solo SRG II $700 > HD800 = very nice. Punchy, powerful and dynamic, with good detail. Could go a while without upgrading.

Macbook > HiFIMan EF2 $169 with Raytheon tubes $40 > HD800 = not bad until you can buy the rig above.

You really feel the SRG II is better than the HDP amp enough to make up for the deficiencies in the uDac DAC portion vs the HDP DAC?
 
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

You really feel the SRG II is better than the HDP amp enough to make up for the deficiencies in the uDac DAC portion vs the HDP DAC?

The HD800 are fairly picky about what amp you use.  I have not compared the two amps directly, as I got my HDP soon after I returned the loaner SRG II, but I explained my logic as to why I said what I said over 6 months ago.  I love the HDP but as I recall from memory, the SRG II had better synergy with the HD800.  The HDP is not bad with HD800, but it just isn't my first choice.  The SRG II is much noisier than the HDP and not good with IEM, and I feel that with most other phones the HDP would be quite competitive. 
 
Certainly the HDP is better than the uDAC or uDAC-2, and using the later to drive the SRG II will result in a little loss of detail, ambience or air vs the HDP's DAC.  But the tone of the SRG II suited the HD800 slightly better that I could forgive the negatives.  With the HDP I prefer to listen to my HE-5 LE, LCD-2, HF-2 and HD600; but if all I had was an HD800 I'd still be happy to use the HDP, and it's almost half the cost of a uDAC-2 + SRG II.  
 
On a side note my maxed WA6 beats all of these mentioned amps, and I would take it over the HDP and SRG II for my HD800, but with the maxed Blackgates and Vcaps and expensive tubes I have $1250 invested in the amp.  I have no idea how the standard WA6 would stand up to these amps, but it's possible that with some nice 6FD7 and a GZ34 rectifier that the stock WA6 could take the top place for a "not too costly" HD800 rig.
 
Lastly, I have a new Warren Audio X10 cable for HD800 that improves their warmth and smoothes the HD800's upper registers, and I will be trying it with the HDP amp this weekend at RMAF.  This cable makes the HD800 very enjoyable on my SAC KH1000 amp, which wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the SRG II or HDP when I had a different cable and compared them.  Also, I should note that the original SRG 1 wasn't a good match for the HD800 when I borrowed it last summer - the SRG II is much better.