[dudefromearth]

http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC-High-Preformance-Black/dp/B002VN9CRG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1278114037&sr=1-1
 
I won't be getting my proper amp till next week, but will the nuforce uDAC connected to a laptop/notebook power up a pair of HD800s a small bit. I just want to know how broad the soundstage etc is and a bit of volume, not the very best HD800 has to offer.
 

 

[jp_zer0]

You are basically stapling the udac's ballsack to the ceiling.

 

[dudefromearth]

Quote:

You are basically stapling the udac's ballsack to the ceiling.

 
lol, what do you mean?
 

 

[dudefromearth]

anyone have an idea?

 

[Mr Joboto]

What he's saying is you'll be pushing the uDac to it's absolute limit, and even then it won't do justice to the HD800.

 

[dudefromearth]

no prob, I just want to see how big the soundstage is till i get the amp next week. Even if I get a 10th of the power the HD800 has.

 

[Mochan]

If the HD800 is anything like the K701, and I hear the HD800 is basically the K701 on steroids, it probably will sound horrible.
 
The K701 actually sounds better unamped to me than going through the uDAC. It becomes too shrill and strident on the uDAC. The HD800 might follow suit. Mind you I am just guessing, since I don't own an HD800.
 
Oh, and may I suggest, once you get your HD800, please post your results here of how they sound out of the uDAC and how they sound unamped.
 
Too many people seem to scared to post about how their "hard to drive cans" sound without amping. I don't understand why. It's like there's some unspoken rule that you cannot listen to these cans without an amp.

 

[dudefromearth]

Got my Hd800
 
I am listening to them through the uDAC, a lot clearer than the HD 380s. I can hear the vocals a lot more, each sound comes out very clearer. I am not sure how better it will be with am amp, but the HD800s are pretty excellent (without EVER having heard through an amp) through the uDAC. I haven't listented solely through my laptop,
 
I say with the amp all the 900 euros worth will erupt into my ears

 

[dudefromearth]

how much of a difference will a good amp make?

 

[dudefromearth]

bump

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

how much of a difference will a good amp make?

The uDAC sounds better with HD800 than HD600.  But with a full size amp you will gain power, soundstage and detail over the uDAC headphone out, even while using the uDAC RCA out to feed the bigger amp.  I think the uDAC RCA out is where the device shines the most.

 

[Mochan]

I would have to add to that, out of the uDAC's HP Out my K701 sounds horrible. Feeding from the uDAC's RCA to my MP5 or Marantz the result is very good.
 

 

[Currawong]

Underpowering these headphones tends to result in music coming more as a blob instead of all the instruments being distinct and separate. It's possible to listen HD-800s out of an iPod though, just not loudly or with much detail.

 

[Uncle Erik]

If the HD800 is anything like the K701, and I hear the HD800 is basically the K701 on steroids, it probably will sound horrible.

Too many people seem to scared to post about how their "hard to drive cans" sound without amping. I don't understand why. It's like there's some unspoken rule that you cannot listen to these cans without an amp.

First, there's no comparison between the K-701 and the HD-800. I compared the two and the K-701 doesn't stack up. It's like comparing a Twinkie near its expiration date (assuming they actually expire) to a cake baked from scratch ingredients by a reputable pastry chef. You can argue that they're both sweet and both desserts, but the K-701 is every bit as artificial and phony as a snack cake. Shame, really, because AKG used to do natural sound very well. Try out a K-501 or K-1000 and see for yourself.

Continuing with food analogies, a flyweight amp can run a good headphone. But it's like having a warm beer. It's like drinking something really good - like a Fin du Monde - after it had been left out in the sun for an hour and poured into a plastic cup. You can wave your arms and make a lot of noise about how a refrigerator costs a lot more than a beer and that you'd rather not get ripped off by the refrigerator manufacturers because a beer is SO MUCH CHEAPER than a new GE side-by-side and that the prices are unreasonably marked up, despite you not knowing what a compressor, coils, insulation, casing, shipping, etc. etc. cost.

If you can't afford or are unwilling to pick up a decent amp to power a HD-800, well, that's your choice. But you'd be a lot better off with a HD-600 and one of the decent mid-level solid state amps. The total will come in much less than a HD-800 by itself and you'd probably enjoy it more.

This probably isn't the time to go into why amps cost what they do, but you're more than welcome to pull up some plans over at AMB or Headwize then finding out what each part costs. Add in a case, labor, and all the overhead a manufacturer incurs. Once you do that, you'll see that most amps are priced fairly. If you want the warm beer, no one is going to stop you. But a lot of us prefer to drink cold ones.

 

[AtomikPi]

Seeing as you can get a headphone amp that's capable of driving any dynamics (except for K1000 of course) for <$300 (M3, Dynalo, CKKIII come to mind; asgard looks promising as well), there's no need to spend a fortune for adequate amplification - and I think you make that point. I'm not sure how relevant your point is seeing that an HD600 rig would be hundreds cheaper than an HD800 by itself so they're really in different price classes ($500-600 versus $1000+)
 
A person would certainly be much better off with an HD-800 fed by an M3 than an HD-600 powered by any amplifier you can think of, regardless of cost - assuming they like the way the HD-800's sound in an optimal configuration, because some would prefer the 600's regardless. There's actually not much difference between spending $100 on a uDac and a few hundred more on a quality amplifier, or at least if someone is considering spending >$1000 on a pair of 800's, a few hundred in suggested amplification shouldn't be a deal killer. A used pair of 800's + a quality amplifier can be had for less than a new pair, anyway.
 
Quote:

[snip]

If you can't afford or are unwilling to pick up a decent amp to power a HD-800, well, that's your choice. But you'd be a lot better off with a HD-600 and one of the decent mid-level solid state amps. The total will come in much less than a HD-800 by itself and you'd probably enjoy it more.

This probably isn't the time to go into why amps cost what they do, but you're more than welcome to pull up some plans over at AMB or Headwize then finding out what each part costs. Add in a case, labor, and all the overhead a manufacturer incurs. Once you do that, you'll see that most amps are priced fairly. If you want the warm beer, no one is going to stop you. But a lot of us prefer to drink cold ones.