[mammal]

I'm more into iems these days but am very interested in the Diana V2. Any chance that the Shanling M8 at 840mW can power these decently or is this a losing proposition?

I don't think it can. I used to own Hugo 2 and for EDM I found it underpowered. Had to add an external amplifier (BX-2 Plus) or use iFi Diablo to have enough power for Diana V2.

 

[SBranson]

Thanks.. I was hoping to avoid going down the rabbit hole of amps but there’s no other headphone that really interests me..

 

[julien-hifi]

Hello guys,

Just want to share my excitement over my search for the perfect amp for the diana v2.
Just a quick overview, i first tried some portable amp, like the Ifi signature, but was disappointed and returned it. I also tried the Burson Soloist 3xp, not bad, but nothing exceptionnal.
Then I took the chance someone opened a business nearby (in Paris), to try different amps (www.headonist.fr). I tried the Benchmark hpa4, the new Auris HA2SF for example, but my attention stopped when i tried the Paltauf HPA-100 SP.
This one kept my attention.
First let me give you some specs : let us remember Diana v2 is at 91db at 40 ohms. Well this amp delivers 20W at 32 ohms.
That's something.
Besides, Paltauf was going to design this amp also to drive speakers : 2*70w at 8ohms, 2*120w at 4 ohms. Myspeakers at 4 ohms would have plenty of juice.

I wish you could have a listen, but my Diana V2 is just another headphone, it's just there, where before it seemed asleep.
I can't be more excited about an amp before, have a try when you can, this headphone can scale up like i didn't expect.
Some pictures i took to share.



Cheers

 

[GiullianSN]

Hello guys,

Just want to share my excitement over my search for the perfect amp for the diana v2.
Just a quick overview, i first tried some portable amp, like the Ifi signature, but was disappointed and returned it. I also tried the Burson Soloist 3xp, not bad, but nothing exceptionnal.
Then I took the chance someone opened a business nearby (in Paris), to try different amps (www.headonist.fr). I tried the Benchmark hpa4, the new Auris HA2SF for example, but my attention stopped when i tried the Paltauf HPA-100 SP.
This one kept my attention.
First let me give you some specs : let us remember Diana v2 is at 91db at 40 ohms. Well this amp delivers 20W at 32 ohms.
That's something.
Besides, Paltauf was going to design this amp also to drive speakers : 2*70w at 8ohms, 2*120w at 4 ohms. Myspeakers at 4 ohms would have plenty of juice.

I wish you could have a listen, but my Diana V2 is just another headphone, it's just there, where before it seemed asleep.
I can't be more excited about an amp before, have a try when you can, this headphone can scale up like i didn't expect.
Some pictures i took to share.



Cheers

20W at 32ohm?! That's a beast. Glad you found "the one".

 

[skylinekursk]

Hi guys! Just looking to buy diana V1 for $1500 but warranty period is ended. How is durability of cans?
I have cayin ha6a amp and diy dac with 1862 onboard… how is Diana plays heavy genre music? May be I should consider v2 or phi?
Thanks!

 

[Spawn300Z]

Hi guys! Just looking to buy diana V1 for $1500 but warranty period is ended. How is durability of cans?
I have cayin ha6a amp and diy dac with 1862 onboard… how is Diana plays heavy genre music? May be I should consider v2 or phi?
Thanks!

Why by V1 for that price when you can find a nice used pair of V2s. For what I would consider not much more.

 

[Tsunzo]

Hi guys! Just looking to buy diana V1 for $1500 but warranty period is ended. How is durability of cans?
I have cayin ha6a amp and diy dac with 1862 onboard… how is Diana plays heavy genre music? May be I should consider v2 or phi?
Thanks!

The Cayin HA-6A pairs with Diana v2 very well.

 

[Slim1970]

I decided to give the Diana V2’s a go on my Hifi-M8 V2 and the pairing is surprisingly very good. I’m driving from the 4-Pin XLR output, on high gain and the sound is full and balanced sounding.

 

[Orlok]

Hello, Diana folks! An extremely satisfied AB-1266 TC user here and I had been raving it about it to my work's boss/owner/partner and also good friend in Sweden and he said that he'd be very interested in an Abyss HP but something more compact and portable. So I suggested the Diana Phi along with the WA11 and he agreed so I received this setup yesterday and I'm in the process of thoroughly checking it out before shipping it out to him on Monday.

Well, being a big fan of the "Abyss House Sound", I know I'll be getting this setup very soon for myself as well. I expect to start traveling a lot again for business once things return to normal and it'd also be nice to have this setup in the office. I take 7-mile nature hikes around the local mountain trails everyday and have been using the Audeze LCDi4 for this purpose so I was curious what it'd be like to take this little rig on on the hike today but, I must say, it isn't ideal for any strenuous physical activity. So, for that purpose, I'll stick with the LCDi4 but for travel and use at the office, I can really see this little portable setup working out great.

Very happy and impressed with how the Diana Phi sounds after a full day with it playing through the WA11. I don't have a way to connect it to my home desktop HMS/TT2/TToby system that I use for the TC but I did order the TC-to-Diana cable adapter so I'll eventually be able to do a proper A/B. My main purpose of getting the Diana Phi is to be able to take the Abyss sound with me wherever I go since the 1266 isn't something I'd want to take with me on long business trips to Asia and around the US. The same goes for short weekend camping getaways.

Looking forward to getting the Phi/WA11 combo for myself soon. I'm really glad I had this opportunity to check it out in person for a few days before committing to it. I was a little concerned about the comfort factor based on what I have ready here but I've found that it is very comfortable although I can imagine that I may want a headband pad after a while. Anyway, looking forward to fully joining the Diana club very soon!

 

[ufospls2]

Hello, Diana folks! An extremely satisfied AB-1266 TC user here and I had been raving it about it to my work's boss/owner/partner and also good friend in Sweden and he said that he'd be very interested in an Abyss HP but something more compact and portable. So I suggested the Diana Phi along with the WA11 and he agreed so I received this setup yesterday and I'm in the process of thoroughly checking it out before shipping it out to him on Monday.

Well, being a big fan of the "Abyss House Sound", I know I'll be getting this setup very soon for myself as well. I expect to start traveling a lot again for business once things return to normal and it'd also be nice to have this setup in the office. I take 7-mile nature hikes around the local mountain trails everyday and have been using the Audeze LCDi4 for this purpose so I was curious what it'd be like to take this little rig on on the hike today but, I must say, it isn't ideal for any strenuous physical activity. So, for that purpose, I'll stick with the LCDi4 but for travel and use at the office, I can really see this little portable setup working out great.

Very happy and impressed with how the Diana Phi sounds after a full day with it playing through the WA11. I don't have a way to connect it to my home desktop HMS/TT2/TToby system that I use for the TC but I did order the TC-to-Diana cable adapter so I'll eventually be able to do a proper A/B. My main purpose of getting the Diana Phi is to be able to take the Abyss sound with me wherever I go since the 1266 isn't something I'd want to take with me on long business trips to Asia and around the US. The same goes for short weekend camping getaways.

Looking forward to getting the Phi/WA11 combo for myself soon. I'm really glad I had this opportunity to check it out in person for a few days before committing to it. I was a little concerned about the comfort factor based on what I have ready here but I've found that it is very comfortable although I can imagine that I may want a headband pad after a while. Anyway, looking forward to fully joining the Diana club very soon!

I would seriously recommend checking out the iFi iDSD Diablo when you are shopping for your Diana Phi in the future. I really think its the best option of its type currently available for Abyss HPs.

 

[Orlok]

I would seriously recommend checking out the iFi iDSD Diablo when you are shopping for your Diana Phi in the future. I really think its the best option of its type currently available for Abyss HPs.

Thanks for your input. I have certainly heard about the iFi DSD Diablo. How would you compare it to the WA11 in terms of tonality?

 

[julien-hifi]

I also recommend the diablo, the best portable amp to drive my diana v2

 

[mammal]

I have certainly heard about the iFi DSD Diablo

I owned Diablo and Hugo 2 at the same time, hoping I could save 1k, yet ended up spending 1k more, haha. I liked Diablo for its ability to drive power hungry headphones, but did not find the sound natural, compared to Hugo 2. Which would have been fine for electronic music, but not for real life instruments nor human voice. I ended up keeping Hugo 2 and then adding BX2-Plus which is quite transparent so it did not change the sonic characteristics, while adding the needed power Hugo 2 lacked for Diana V2.

 

[slumberman]

I owned Diablo and Hugo 2 at the same time, hoping I could save 1k, yet ended up spending 1k more, haha. I liked Diablo for its ability to drive power hungry headphones, but did not find the sound natural, compared to Hugo 2. Which would have been fine for electronic music, but not for real life instruments nor human voice. I ended up keeping Hugo 2 and then adding BX2-Plus which is quite transparent so it did not change the sonic characteristics, while adding the needed power Hugo 2 lacked for Diana V2.

BX2+ is such a great device!!! Love it with my Diana Phis

 

[Orlok]

I owned Diablo and Hugo 2 at the same time, hoping I could save 1k, yet ended up spending 1k more, haha. I liked Diablo for its ability to drive power hungry headphones, but did not find the sound natural, compared to Hugo 2. Which would have been fine for electronic music, but not for real life instruments nor human voice. I ended up keeping Hugo 2 and then adding BX2-Plus which is quite transparent so it did not change the sonic characteristics, while adding the needed power Hugo 2 lacked for Diana V2.

I really like how the WA11 sounds and I've had this opportunity to audition it for 3 days so I'm inclined to go with it. The sound signature isn't anything like that of the Hugo and/or TT2 and I find that I'm enjoying its more "analog"-like character.