[- Xtreme | Fidelity -]

Thank you for viewing this thread because I need help. I want a home rig now that I've heard some of the top headphones at a audio store. I've looked into the Sennheiser HD800's and chose them to be my main headphone for my home rig. I was just wondering if you guys can recommend me the best DAC and AMP combo under $5,000. The AMP and DAC can be together or seperate. I want this AMP to fully be able to drive the HD800's. Thanks....

To the mods: Sorry, I have the same exact thread in the full size headphone amp section so I can get a better answer on what amp would be best while in this section would be a better answer for what DAC to get.

 

[johnwmclean]

The first and best piece of advice is go to a meet and listen for yourself.

The second is to choose between a tube or solid state amp.

The third and worse piece of advice is my opinion on equipment:
Sabre32 DAC / Balanced Beta 22 / HD 800.
It’s just a guess, as to what the HD 800 will sound like with anything at the moment. Sabre32 is highly regarded as the one of the finest DAC chips on the planet. Worth investigating, do your reading and see what you think. The Beta 22 is highly regarded as one of the finest solid state amps for headphones.

 

[- Xtreme | Fidelity -]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnwmclean /img/forum/go_quote.gif The first and best piece of advice is go to a meet and listen for yourself. The second is to choose between a tube or solid state amp. The third and worse piece of advice is my opinion on equipment: Sabre32 DAC / Balanced Beta 22 / HD 800. It’s just a guess, as to what the HD 800 will sound like with anything at the moment. Sabre32 is highly regarded as the one of the finest DAC chips on the planet. Worth investigating, do your reading and see what you think. The Beta 22 is highly regarded as one of the finest solid state amps for headphones.

Thanks for the response. Helped a lot!

 

[atothex]

Check Summit Fi. I kinda was wondering about the amp thing myself. The HD800 has a rather nasty impedance curve, and I have no idea how that affects amplification.

In your price range, though, the top of my list would probably be the EC Balancing Act... which I've never heard. =(

On the Sabre32: it's just a chip. It's really about how you use it. I haven't exactly seen rave reviews of any Sabre32 DACs yet... Have people finished a couple Buffalo32s yet?