[RRod]

   
 
The question before i read this was "Which amp and dac should i use with the HD800?"
The new questions that come up after reading are
 

• Is the HD800 actually (the most) neutral and accurate?
• Is the sibilance peak issue solvable without sacrificing HD800's neutrality?
• What does it mean to have more "detailed" sound and separation in terms of specs?

 
By definition, a sibilance peak would mean non-neutrality. But really, the HD800s aren't sibilant. I've heard plenty of songs in languages with lots of tchs and shshs on the HD800s and they all sound fine… if the recording is good. The tracks where I do notice sibilance end up being that way on any headphone I try thereafter; the HD800 just highlights what's there better due to its response curve. (and also the fact that everyone worries about sibilance with them, so you tend to get a bit too focused on the sound of every s, forgetting sometimes that yes, indeed, the s sound has a bit of hiss to it.)

 

[xune]

   
By definition, a sibilance peak would mean non-neutrality. But really, the HD800s aren't sibilant. I've heard plenty of songs in languages with lots of tchs and shshs on the HD800s and they all sound fine… if the recording is good. The tracks where I do notice sibilance end up being that way on any headphone I try thereafter; the HD800 just highlights what's there better due to its response curve. (and also the fact that everyone worries about sibilance with them, so you tend to get a bit too focused on the sound of every s, forgetting sometimes that yes, indeed, the s sound has a bit of hiss to it.)

That is actually a good explanation.

 

[RRod]

  I was checking the HD800 as a reference headphone. (as i have no preference in music and want to hear things as is)
but now i am not even sure if it is the right choice.
and i still don't know which should it be paired with (DAC/Soundcard, Soundcard-to-DAC, AMP).
I do understand the term bottleneck and also do understand that a chain is as strong as its weakest link but i don't know which should be considered weak (inaudible).

 
The thing that may blow your mind is that, in fact, the HD800s themselves are the weak link in the chain, even with something as affordable as a Modi/Magni stack.

 

[xune]

   
The thing that may blow your mind is that, in fact, the HD800s themselves are the weak link in the chain, even with something as affordable as a Modi/Magni stack.

kind of expected as it is the part that finally translates electricity to motion (sound)

 

[RRod]

 
kind of expected as it is the part that finally translates electricity to motion (sound)

 
Then I shall count your mind not blown 

 Then why the worry about pairing?

 

[xune]

   
Then I shall count your mind not blown 

 Then why the worry about pairing?

I am just trying to be sure before spending money

 

[cspirou]

Toms Hardware actually did a blind comparison on DACs and declared that all DACs sound the same.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733-19.html

The test was conducted with the HD 800 plugged into various Amp/DACs. With other headphones I might not question their testing methods but they really expect me to believe that the audio output of a motherboard is just as good as the Benchmark DAC to drive the HD800?!

If that's the case than manufacturers would be making high impedance headphones for iPods.

 

[stv014]

The test was conducted with the HD 800 plugged into various Amp/DACs. With other headphones I might not question their testing methods but they really expect me to believe that the audio output of a motherboard is just as good as the Benchmark DAC to drive the HD800?!

 
Actually, they measured a -1.4 dB roll-off at 100 Hz with the motherboard headphone jack (I guess it uses some rather small output capacitors, which is not uncommon, or maybe it was set up as a line output), and that could be audible depending on the choice of the test samples. I have successfully identified a smaller difference myself in a fast switching software ABX test.
 
In any case, the Realtek DAC could very well be fine, if it is implemented on the motherboard well enough (no ground loops, lack of power supply filtering, or other problems). Also, the headphone output of the Xonar Essence STX should have no problems with high impedance dynamic headphones.
 

If that's the case than manufacturers would be making high impedance headphones for iPods.

 
Many consumers like to listen louder than what the iPod, especially a voltage limited version for European markets, is capable of when driving the HD800 or other headphones of comparable sensitivity. The concept of the "loudness war" does not only apply to music mastering.
 
Note however that as long as the limited voltage output is not an issue, the onboard ALC889 codec actually has less problems driving high impedance headphones, because they are less affected by output impedance (both resistive and capacitive), and are also less sensitive to noise that is added after the volume control. Highly efficient multi-driver balanced armature IEMs would have been capable of much greater SPL when driven by the ALC889, but would likely also have had easily audible differences - such as noise and significant frequency response errors - compared to the DAC2.