[Robster1958]

Get whatever you like the looks of.
My suggestion is to get an element 3 or like. My problem with the low budget schiit products is the scratchy pots.

what a beauty....(Element III) !! Way more expensive than the Schiit though...and backordered! (supposedly the scratchy pots have been rectified...)

oh crap....now I see the Element II +. (amp only, which is what I am looking for now). only $249 and in stock. Or even the Atom....seems popular. thanks Doug....for preventing me from getting out of this rabbit hole!!! ha

 

[dougq]

what a beauty....(Element III) !! Way more expensive than the Schiit though...and backordered! (supposedly the scratchy pots have been rectified...)

oh crap....now I see the Element II +. (amp only, which is what I am looking for now). only $249 and in stock. Or even the Atom....seems popular. thanks Doug....for preventing me from getting out of this rabbit hole!!! ha

Check b stock as well on the site.

 

[Robster1958]

Check b stock as well on the site.

thanks for the tip!

 

[Ichos]

HD8XX really benefits from tubes, OTL or hybrid.

 

[Voohoo]

so i am planning to buy an amp (only)...the Burson Funk <?? or overkill) or Gilmore Lite<?>, and try what Dewey suggested: Use the onboard MacBook dac, which seems vey good. If I go the USB-C route through the DAC, then I will use the iPad Mini 6. (I already use two of the three USB / Thunderbolt ports on the MacBook, and prefer not to introduce potential conflict....I am prob dead wrong on that!)

Using a desktop amp out of laptop headphone jack just feels wrong to me. Perhaps I'm so used to having a pairing with a DAC. I could be down with the headphone output if it had a line out mode though. That way you don't have to deal with having an underpowered or overpowered signal. Honestly, you'll be fine with the headphone out from your Mac...I think I've just developed a phobia of stock headphone jacks because most of the time they're crap and get a ton of interference from the surrounding circuitry. You can always add a DAC later down the line.

 

[Evshrug]

The 8xx is quite fond of tubes. Maybe look for an assembled Bottlehead Crack or a Monoprice Liquid Platinum, which is a hybrid. DAC wise, try with just an amp and the onboard DAC on your Mac first.

I think there is a version of the Liquid Platinum which has a built in DAC board, within the poster’s price range.

 

[Voohoo]

I've been dailying the 8XX for a couple months now. My 6XX and Clear will be up for sale soon. Despite all the controversy around the 8XX I have to give Drop kudos for delivering on the collab at all with such an expensive product. They missed the mark with pricing and tuning but at the of the day it's still a freaking HD 800 for <$1k; got mine for $700. I never thought I'd ever attain a headphone of this caliber. Bittersweet the story of the 8XX is.

 

[seochris]

Has anyone compared the HD8XX to the HD820?

 

[Steve1976]

Has anyone compared the HD8XX to the HD820?

I owned 820 before and it sounds worse in almost every category than 8XX, unless you really want a closed back design.

 

[seochris]

I owned 820 before and it sounds worse in almost every category than 8XX, unless you really want a closed back design.

Not bother about closed back….so they must be the best headphones ever made as my 820 sound pretty damn good….but then I suppose it depends on the source….

 

[dougq]

Not bother about closed back….so they must be the best headphones ever made as my 820 sound pretty damn good….but then I suppose it depends on the source….

It actually more or less depends on context and preference. If your prior experience to the 820 is beats by dre, then they will sound pretty damn good. Most modern audio equipment will give you most everything you need for your headphones to sound as good as they can sound.

The 8XX at stock are great if you like the tuning. I have an RME with eq settings specific to them to make it not so dark sounding for my preference.

 

[seochris]

No idea what Dr Dre sounds like….are they not very good then? I always thought his music was crap….

 

[seochris]

It actually more or less depends on context and preference. If your prior experience to the 820 is beats by dre, then they will sound pretty damn good. Most modern audio equipment will give you most everything you need for your headphones to sound as good as they can sound.

The 8XX at stock are great if you like the tuning. I have an RME with eq settings specific to them to make it not so dark sounding for my preference.

The 8XX at stock are great if you like the tuning.

So there in lies the question…..I have the 820 and really like them and tonight I tried my son’s 6xx and thought they were pretty good so was wondering if I had missed a trick in not thinking about the 8xx but as I’m in the uk getting a pair is tricky….
i listen to my phones via my hifI system and Naim headline with high cap power supply.

 

[Mark200]

So there in lies the question…..I have the 820 and really like them and tonight I tried my son’s 6xx and thought they were pretty good so was wondering if I had missed a trick in not thinking about the 8xx but as I’m in the uk getting a pair is tricky….
i listen to my phones via my hifI system and Naim headline with high cap power supply.

I would also look at HD 660S, which is much less in cost than 8XX or 800S. I tried the 8XX and thought it was too harsh in the upper frequencies.

 

[seochris]

I would also look at HD 660S, which is much less in cost than 8XX or 800S. I tried the 8XX and thought it was too harsh in the upper frequencies.

I have the HD 660s…..and much prefer the 820s….I also have the beyerdynamic T5 3 which I also really like