New from Garage1217, the solid-state Project Polaris!

[senorx12562]

Absolutely correct thinking and I believe you have ordered the 'aggressive' version which is appropriate, I would think.

However, you would not use the High bandwidth setting if you wanted to attenuate the treble as the high setting has no affect on the bandwidth. It's the 'native', sound, with no change to the bandwidth.
You would use either the mid or low settings to reduce over bright treble. 
Theoretically the Polaris should be ideal for the HD800/.800S because of its ability to fine tune the treble according to your preferences.

I think the "bright" nature of the hd800 results from a peak in the fr at about 6-8k hz, which would be unaffected by the roll-off even in the low bandwidth setting on the "aggressive" version of the polaris iirc.

Edit: Sorry, my bad. Looked it up, and actually did not remember correctly, the low bandwidth setting on the aggressive version might tame that peak a bit. That's what happens when one gets old.

 

[Vanheim]

I think the "bright" nature of the hd800 results from a peak in the fr at about 6-8k hz, which would be unaffected by the roll-off even in the low bandwidth setting on the "aggressive" version of the polaris iirc.

really?
that's quite unfortunate. But the 6-8k peak can be mostly fixed by the SuperDupont resonator mod right?
 
Still after that the hd 800 remains harsh sounding and unforgiving which can be fixed by roll-off. But this is just a theory which inherently could be wrong.
 
Also, I did contact Jeremy from garage1217 and he said that the Polaris can mostly help with the treble but it won't bring out the dip in the upper mids. I'll have to rely on eq for that...
 
But if what Jeremy said is true and if the SuperDupont mod is also applied, then could the Sennheiser HD 800 me made into a forgiving headphone?

 

[HOWIE13]

I think the "bright" nature of the hd800 results from a peak in the fr at about 6-8k hz, which would be unaffected by the roll-off even in the low bandwidth setting on the "aggressive" version of the polaris iirc.

Edit: Sorry, my bad. Looked it up, and actually did not remember correctly, the low bandwidth setting on the aggressive version might tame that peak a bit. That's what happens when one gets old.

 
'That's what happens when one gets old'
 
Don't I know it!  

 

[Vanheim]

One question, if you have a mellow bellow bandwidth can you switch it to aggressive bandwidth by moving jumpers? or is that not a flexible option?

 

[rez11]

should be getting my Polaris and modi setup today or Friday and will post my thoughts with HE-400i 

 

 

[senorx12562]

One question, if you have a mellow bellow bandwidth can you switch it to aggressive bandwidth by moving jumpers? or is that not a flexible option?

No, but I think Jeremy can change it from one to the other if you send it to him. May be a charge, I would ask him. He is pretty responsive to emails.

 

[HOWIE13]

No, but I think Jeremy can change it from one to the other if you send it to him. May be a charge, I would ask him. He is pretty responsive to emails.

I think I read somewhere he changes it for free, best check though.

 

[rez11]

 

 

 
 
 
pics! quick and dirty desk setup for now, my RCA cables for modi+polaris is real stiff and long making it ugly and cumbersome  
 
Woohoo, both my Modi2uber + Polaris came in today, My first real AMP i think i chose right! few hours so far and already a huge improvement over my budget Fiio amp/dac, really love the craftsmanship on this amp. I'm new to audiophile stuff really and this whole setup including my 400i's isnt even a few weeks in yet! Ordered my Polaris with Aggressive, did some digging in the search thread and found alot of mixed settings opinions, i really have no idea what most do and the manual didnt exactly help but i have my Attenuation switch at the top to the WO setting, BW High, G Med, and settled on Low Restistance cuz i saw lots of people have that set, i figured since 400i's are 35ohm i should set it to Med R which i believe is 35ohm too but not sure how that setting works so i just set it to the popular Low and it all sounds amazing so far! Look forward to more hours in the setup! So excited!

 

[senorx12562]

pics! quick and dirty desk setup for now, my RCA cables for modi+polaris is real stiff and long making it ugly and cumbersome  

Woohoo, both my Modi2uber + Polaris came in today, My first real AMP i think i chose right! few hours so far and already a huge improvement over my budget Fiio amp/dac, really love the craftsmanship on this amp. I'm new to audiophile stuff really and this whole setup including my 400i's isnt even a few weeks in yet! Ordered my Polaris with Aggressive, did some digging in the search thread and found alot of mixed settings opinions, i really have no idea what most do and the manual didnt exactly help but i have my Attenuation switch at the top to the WO setting, BW High, G Med, and settled on Low Restistance cuz i saw lots of people have that set, i figured since 400i's are 35ohm i should set it to Med R which i believe is 35ohm too but not sure how that setting works so i just set it to the popular Low and it all sounds amazing so far! Look forward to more hours in the setup! So excited!

I've had the best results with relatively low impedance/low sensitivity planar cans (lcd2, he500) with the R set to low, while higher impedance cans (hd600, dt880-250ohm) sound better on medium. Supposedly, a good target is to keep the ratio of headphone impedance to amplifier output impedance at least 8:1, at least with dynamic drivers. While my experience with the polaris has been consistent with this, the beauty of the thing is the ease of changing settings. I'd say do what sounds best to you, no matter what others say. Congrats, and as they say, sorry about your wallet.

 

[HOWIE13]

 
 

 

 
 
 
pics! quick and dirty desk setup for now, my RCA cables for modi+polaris is real stiff and long making it ugly and cumbersome  
 
Woohoo, both my Modi2uber + Polaris came in today, My first real AMP i think i chose right! few hours so far and already a huge improvement over my budget Fiio amp/dac, really love the craftsmanship on this amp. I'm new to audiophile stuff really and this whole setup including my 400i's isnt even a few weeks in yet! Ordered my Polaris with Aggressive, did some digging in the search thread and found alot of mixed settings opinions, i really have no idea what most do and the manual didnt exactly help but i have my Attenuation switch at the top to the WO setting, BW High, G Med, and settled on Low Restistance cuz i saw lots of people have that set, i figured since 400i's are 35ohm i should set it to Med R which i believe is 35ohm too but not sure how that setting works so i just set it to the popular Low and it all sounds amazing so far! Look forward to more hours in the setup! So excited!

You have made a great start. Congratulations!
 
As senorx 12562 advises, trust your ears, we are all unique and G1217 acknowledge this when designing their versatile, easily configurable amps.

 

[rez11]

Is it safe to change these settings tabs while its on? or do i need to flip the switch and change thanks!

 

[bixby]

It may be safe, but you will hear a loud pop and you may damage the circuit, not sure.  Best to turn off when changing jumpers.

 

[HOWIE13]

  Is it safe to change these settings tabs while its on? or do i need to flip the switch and change thanks!

 
I disconnect the headphones but don't switch off when changing the gain jumper settings. If I'm increasing the gain I lower the volume level before connecting the headphones again to be safe.
 
I don't disconnect the headphones or switch off when changing the bandwidth but there is usually a noise. I think Jeremy said somewhere that was okay but you could check with him. Otherwise you could disconnect the headphones changing the bandwidth too, especially if you don't like the noise- it can be a bit loud.

 

[jamor]

  It may be safe, but you will hear a loud pop and you may damage the circuit, not sure.  Best to turn off when changing jumpers.

 
I'm about to jump on the Project Polaris.
 
For my TH-X00,  Aggressive or mellow setting hooked into my Yamaha receiver for DAC seems good?
 
I prefer a tamer treble. 

 

[jamor]

   
I'm about to jump on the Project Polaris.
 
For my TH-X00,  Aggressive or mellow setting hooked into my Yamaha receiver for DAC seems good?
 
I prefer a tamer treble. 

 
Ok Well jeremy told me to go with aggressive.  Hopefully it pairs well with my receiver otherwise I'll have to buy a DAC too.