[dukeskd]

There is no point for improving the amplifier in your system if you do not detect differences between a high-end amp and a built-in sound card. The most important fixture in a system should be the source/DAC, especially with cans like TH900/D7000/Ultrasone Edition 8, etc. I have to say, I started my head amp journey with the following:
E7 -> E9 -> Burson HA-160DS -> Lyr -> DACMini -> SPL Phonitor,and at each point I noticed differences between said amplifiers. The differences were very easily discernible when using a headphone like the HD800, but that is a 300 ohm can and when under-powered you should definitely feel that something is"not right". With the TH900, a low impedance and high efficient can, you will be noticing smaller differences at each junction, but they are there if you listen closely.
 
 
Another impression of the TH900s:
After using the TH900s for a few days now, and producing some music with them I have to say that my mixes with the TH900 are really good and easily translatable to speakers. The bass is always the hardest part to mix when using headphones, but the TH900 actually does something right in this regard (something the D7000 wasn't when I used them a couple of months back, my mixes always were with overblown bass when I played my mixes on speakers). My favorite can for mixing thus far was the HD800, but now the TH900s beat them. Also the music is more enjoyable when producing and examining elements in the mix, something the HD800 didn't allow that much for.

 

[tokendog]

I'm still attempting to decide which amp to pair with the TH-900s and HD-800s.  I'm trying to decide between the V200, the WA6SE, and the WA2.
 
Any one care to help me choose which of those 3 would pair best with the two headphones I'm keeping? 

 

[jsgraha]

Hi tokendog.
From your profile, you have a Schiit Mjolnir which is pair very nice with HD800 (when I had a chance to audition at my local shop).
Are you still unhappy with pairing Mjolnir and HD800?
 
If I have to choose one amp for both HD800 and TH900 from those three, I will personally choose V200 though.
I used to have V100 and it pair ok with TH900.
I've tried V200 and it's very good with HD800.
I was about to upgrade to V200, but decide to choose WA6SE and then Soloist (as these amps also good for LCD2 and RS1i).
 
WA6SE imo didn't pair too well with HD800 when I had a chance of auditioning it.
On the other hand, WA2 pair well with HD800, but I don't think it pair well with low impedance TH900 imo.
 
Hope it help

 

[Gandah]

Quote:

There is no point for improving the amplifier in your system if you do not detect differences between a high-end amp and a built-in sound card.

Hey dukeskd, I understand why you think it's a sound card with the name Asus.  A sound card would spring to mind for most people when both asus and sound are strung in the same sentence. Which is ok.  I liked your impression with TH900 and how they sound similar to loud speakers, I read this before for both LCD3 and TH900 just can't wait to hear this for myself.

 

[tokendog]

Quote:

Hi tokendog.
From your profile, you have a Schiit Mjolnir which is pair very nice with HD800 (when I had a chance to audition at my local shop).
Are you still unhappy with pairing Mjolnir and HD800?
 
If I have to choose one amp for both HD800 and TH900 from those three, I will personally choose V200 though.
I used to have V100 and it pair ok with TH900.
I've tried V200 and it's very good with HD800.
I was about to upgrade to V200, but decide to choose WA6SE and then Soloist (as these amps also good for LCD2 and RS1i).
 
WA6SE imo didn't pair too well with HD800 when I had a chance of auditioning it.
On the other hand, WA2 pair well with HD800, but I don't think it pair well with low impedance TH900 imo.
 
Hope it help

 
Thanks for the input.  I ordered the V200.  The Mjolnir doesn't work with the TH-900s, though I wish it did, but I'm not touching the stock cable to make it work.
 
I'm downsizing my collection because the TH-900 does most of what I want from the other headphones in one headphone, so no need for the others.
 
The V200 seems to work well with a lot of headphones including the LCD-2, the HD-800, and the TH-900 so it's the best match for my setup.
 
Thanks again!

 

[dukeskd]

I actually enjoy the TH900s right now with the Phonitor however I ordered the Burson HA-160 amp as it has a low impedance jack and it meshes real well with the D7000 and the TH900.

 

[dukeskd]

Quote:

Quote:

There is no point for improving the amplifier in your system if you do not detect differences between a high-end amp and a built-in sound card.

Hey dukeskd, I understand why you think it's a sound card with the name Asus.  A sound card would spring to mind for most people when both asus and sound are strung in the same sentence. Which is ok.  I liked your impression with TH900 and how they sound similar to loud speakers, I read this before for both LCD3 and TH900 just can't wait to hear this for myself.

Wasn't referring to your Asus Xonar essence one statement, but amplifiers/dacs in general. In my experience, my built-in soundcard is the worst of the worst when it comes to digital-to-analog conversion and amplifying the signal.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Yep I understand where you are coming from, and if I had my time over I would more than likely done more research, hence a different DAC.  However I would not of discovered audiophile equipment if it was not for the Essence one and my senn HD598 braking lol.. funny for you to mention them.  So yes in the not so distant future I will be looking for a top flight DAC.  For now Essence one is what I Have.

 
Sounds like a plan. 

 
 

Don't succumb into peer pressure. I've gone all the way from Fiio E10 to V800/V200 and pretty much the only OMG moment I've yet had was with Realiser which had nothing to do with amps and dacs. But yeah we are in the high end forum so the differences MUST be always mind blowing. 

 

If you're using the V200 to drive your LCD-3s....then let's just say I'm not surprised with you findings. While it (and the Schiit Lyr for that matter) were really good with the LCD-2s, I found it a poor synergistic match for the LCD-3s. Just because your first jump didn't work out certainly doesn't mean that every jump in improvements is over-rated. 

 

[Currawong]

Anakchan lent me his TH900s while he is in Australia and I must say they are very impressive. I agree they are more speaker-like in presentation. The FR is somewhat V-shaped, giving a spacious impression to the music. Much like the Denon D5000s I owned before, they are quite strong in the bass and treble, the latter being a bit fatiguing, even on my equipment which, without rolling it off, tends to mate well with treble-strong headphones. They aren't as ultimately resolving as the LCD-3s (or the 009s for that matter and considering I have a high-end DAC and excellent recordings), but for a lot of music I have where that ultra level of detail isn't required, but a good, kickin' bass is, they are great to listen with. They are definitely not equipment-demanding headphones like orthos or high-impedance headphones.
 
I'd easily rate them as the best closed headphones I've heard that are currently in production. I think it would take a pair of closed LCD-3s to top them in that regard.

 

[hekeli]

Quote:

 
If you're using the V200 to drive your LCD-3s....then let's just say I'm not surprised with you findings. While it (and the Schiit Lyr for that matter) were really good with the LCD-2s, I found it a poor synergistic match for the LCD-3s. Just because your first jump didn't work out certainly doesn't mean that every jump in improvements is over-rated. 

 
Why do you feel that it hasn't work out for me?
 
Just because I haven't had an OMG moment with V200 specifically doesn't mean anything. I didn't say that things do not sound excellent. Maybe I'm not that passionate overhyping audiophile, but many are and it's putting silly pressure on people that just "discovered audiophile equipment". Diminishing returns etc.
 
The V800/V200 combo gives me everything I want. Looks, functionality, excellent neutral sound. I can drive pretty much any headphone around. You do realize that I can change "synergy" with a simple button press on my Realiser remote? Claiming synergy is as subjective as it can get.
 
But let's not get overboard.. still waiting for my TH900's! Maybe I'll have my moment then?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
Why do you feel that it hasn't work out for me?
 
Just because I haven't had an OMG moment with V200 specifically doesn't mean anything. I didn't say that things do not sound excellent. Maybe I'm not that passionate overhyping audiophile, but many are and it's putting silly pressure on people that just "discovered audiophile equipment". Diminishing returns etc.
 
The V800/V200 combo gives me everything I want. Looks, functionality, excellent neutral sound. I can drive pretty much any headphone around. You do realize that I can change "synergy" with a simple button press on my Realiser remote? Claiming synergy is as subjective as it can get.
 
But let's not get overboard.. still waiting for my TH900's! Maybe I'll have my moment then?

 
Because hearing the LCD-3s with say my GS-X or my old Liquid Fire I've had many OMG moments when compared to starter gear like the FiiO products. 

 

[hekeli]

Quote:

Because hearing the LCD-3s with say my GS-X or my old Liquid Fire I've had many OMG moments when compared to starter gear like the FiiO products. 

 
So? My brain, your brain. Your OMG moments might be "ah, ok" for me. And I already mentioned Realiser "did it" for me, so I'm not lobotomized either..

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
So? My brain, your brain. Your OMG moments might be "ah, ok" for me. And I already mentioned Realiser "did it" for me, so I'm not lobotomized either..

 
All I'm saying is that I've heard the V200 + LCD-3s and thought it wasn't the best match for them. With my GS-X, WA22 (and the right tubes), B22, and Liquid Fire, I've had many OMG moments. You were the one who responded to me initially might I remind you and all I was doing was sharing my first hand experiences in response to your comments to mine.
 
So I'm glad your happy with the Realizer.

 

[songmic]

Quote:

 
All I'm saying is that I've heard the V200 + LCD-3s and thought it wasn't the best match for them. With my GS-X, WA22 (and the right tubes), B22, and Liquid Fire, I've had many OMG moments. You were the one who responded to me initially might I remind you and all I was doing was sharing my first hand experiences in response to your comments to mine.
 
So I'm glad your happy with the Realizer.

 
MacedonianHero, when using fully balanced headphone amps, is it really better to use balanced interconnects for balanced input (from source to amp)? For example, Schiit Mjolnir is a fully balanced amp that is purely balanced input to output, although it does offer a pair of RCA inputs too. I suppose in the latter's case, the amp converts unbalanced input signal to balanced (whereas in the former's case such conversion is not necessary), but would this conversion degrade sonic quality? While I too believe balanced amps work better for many hard-to-drive headphones including orthos, I hesitate to buy them because my DAC doesn't offer any balanced outputs. I'm afraid that I may not get the best out of a fully balanced amp unless I go balanced with my DAC too, which would cost a lot of money... So what do you think?

 

[unspool]

Quote:

Anakchan lent me his TH900s while he is in Australia and I must say they are very impressive. I agree they are more speaker-like in presentation. The FR is somewhat V-shaped, giving a spacious impression to the music. Much like the Denon D5000s I owned before, they are quite strong in the bass and treble, the latter being a bit fatiguing, even on my equipment which, without rolling it off, tends to mate well with treble-strong headphones. They aren't as ultimately resolving as the LCD-3s (or the 009s for that matter and considering I have a high-end DAC and excellent recordings), but for a lot of music I have where that ultra level of detail isn't required, but a good, kickin' bass is, they are great to listen with. They are definitely not equipment-demanding headphones like orthos or high-impedance headphones.
 
I'd easily rate them as the best closed headphones I've heard that are currently in production. I think it would take a pair of closed LCD-3s to top them in that regard.

 
x2 with the exception of the treble, which I don't find bothersome. "Speaker-like" is an apt description of its presentation and organic also comes to mind. It's not an analytical headphone but I think it is highly resolving. The details are there but woven into the sonic fabric rather than spotlit. It's the best closed phone I've heard too.