[peanuthead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're just using an iPod as the source, IMO, definitely not.

I don't know which iPod the OP uses, but 2nd gen iPod Touch playing 320 aac files through line out is good enough to tide one over until a good DAC is acquired, in my humble opinion.

 

[Jarmel]

It's an 5.5 gen Imod.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Finding a good amp is going to be a tough call until more people get the HD800 and spend some time listening.

As you can see, the HD800 impedance curve is somewhat different from the HD-600 and HD-650. I'll speculate that the HD-800 won't necessarily synergize with the with the same amps the HD-600 and HD-650 do. I don't know enough to predict a match, but impedance variations are a big part of how headphones match up with an amp, and, ultimately, whether they sound good together.

Sorry I can't give you a recommendation, but I'd hold off until member start plugging the HD-800 into various amps and report back.

 

[Jarmel]

@ Uncle Erik

That's more than fine. However would it better to at this point to just save up and look for a balanced amp? And is there really that much of a jump in SQ between a balanced and single?

 

[Progenitor]

A bit of an offtopic n00b question but what does the impedance curve represent, and what does that say about the sound signature of the headphone, and its compatibility with amps?

 

[Currawong]

Since the initial reports of its sound were with a Benchmark DAC 1, I can't imagine how good it'll be with serious amping. Anyway, the only person I know with a balanced demo unit works for Sennheiser and isn't permitted, by the rules of Head-fi, to comment on them.

 

[pabbi1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finding a good amp is going to be a tough call until more people get the HD800 and spend some time listening. <snip> Sorry I can't give you a recommendation, but I'd hold off until member start plugging the HD-800 into various amps and report back.

I am still betting what sounds really good with the hd6x0 will also sound really good with the hd800. The real question is will it scale better than it's successors, and, will it be hindered more by amps not quite up to it's demands?

What might be the more hotly debated (once observations start rolling in), will it be muted / veiled / held back by the midrange of amps (m³, DV, Pico, SOHA II, etc) to the extent the sound will not be cost justified?

Then, will it also be held back somewhat by the majority of amps even in the upper tiers, where only certain topologies (no one knows yet what they are) really make this beast other worldly?

I am betting on balanced and an iDHT pushpull tube amp, with no clue what the result is. All we can currently do is hope.

But, I am also betting the hd800 will more disappoint folks with 'budget' amp topologies than does either of it's hd6x0 predecessors. Statement phones often pair better with a statement amp.