[punit]

Gonna be using with HD800 and K812.

Would be very interested in a comparison of HD800 vs K812 .

 

[Sonido]

 

[Sonido]

First impressions are, compared to Vali, everything is smoother, and somehow feels less congested. A whole new level of refinement. More noticeable on the HD800.
 
The bass also hits hard!
 
More impressions:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-appreciation-thread/9000#post_10348161

 

[BleaK]

  First impressions are, compared to Vali, everything is smoother, and somehow feels less congested. A whole new level of refinement. More noticeable on the HD800.
 
The bass also hits hard!

Please, more impressions! I only have the Vali for now, but this might be the next amp for me! Are you saying it is smoother (more relaxed?) than the Vali?

 

[Sonido]

 
Please, more impressions! I only have the Vali for now, but this might be the next amp for me! Are you saying it is smoother (more relaxed?) than the Vali?

Definitely. Just compared with my more musical setup, the Quickie + Crack, and the Questyle is far more refined and uncongested, while still providing the same level of intimacy and sounding just as natural. While I found the Bottlehead setup to be more natural and euphonic over the Vali, I also felt the Vali was clearer and more accurate to the source, at somewhat the cost of musicality and euphony. Even though the Bottlehead setup was more congested, it was never rough or jarring; it was very smooth. The Questyle take that level of smoothness from the Bottlehead setup, and most amazingly to me, the same level of euphony and intimacy as well. Yet it's even clearer, more detailed and less congested than the Vali. It's really taking the best of both of my previous setups, while making the Vali side of accuracy even better. I never thought a solid state could do this, especially the level of intimacy and euphony. I am very very impressed, both from technical and sonic perspectives. Once again this is all mostly on the HD800, and not so much on the K812. Unfortunately, like many said, this amp is really just especially good for the HD800. After all, it was built with it in mind.

 

[hekeli]

Took a plunge on CMA800R too, maybe I'll have it in a week..
 
Vali is not really my cup of tea, fuzzied things too much vs my Benchmark DAC2 - yes I prefer my HD800 raw and ruthless, don't hide anything from me!
 
Very interested to see if CMA800R is similar to DAC2 and if there's even any difference.. if it smoothes things while keeping all the details or maybe even revealing more, great.

 

[Sonido]

Heh with the Questyle and HD800 both being very transparent, all my observations on the clarity and intimacy could just be the inherent signature of my DC-1 DAC. I'll have to try out my other DACs tonight.

 

[BleaK]

Great impressions, thanks

 

[roguegeek]

Looks very promising as my higher end SS amp with preamps to pair with the HD 800. Where did you purchase from?

 

[Sonido]

Took a nap to refresh my mind after work. Upon listening again the intimacy is even more evident. It's really quite unbelievable to hear the once unnaturally wide soundstage of the HD800 sound like this.

I think so far the only "negative" thing I can say about this amp it neither brings out bass body nor treble airiness, but it definitely seems mid-centric.

 

[Sonido]

Compared Modi vs DC-1 as DAC. Before I could not really tell a difference, but with a transparent amp like the Questyle, I can clearly hear more subtle details and better decay on the DC-1. Also some of that intimacy and musicality comes from the DC-1.

 

[Headtrip]

FWIW my PSAudio PerfectWaveII rocks my new Questyle and HD800s.

 

[Sanlitun]

  Compared Modi vs DC-1 as DAC. Before I could not really tell a difference, but with a transparent amp like the Questyle, I can clearly hear more subtle details and better decay on the DC-1. Also some of that intimacy and musicality comes from the DC-1.

 
 
In my case I could certainly hear the difference between DACs with the CMA800R, and found it will even show the characteristic sound and flaws with each particular DAC architecture. What this has meant for me is that after a while with the CMA800R I didn't like the sound of the Sabre based DACs I had heard and had to look for alternatives. 

 

[roguegeek]

Took a nap to refresh my mind after work. Upon listening again the intimacy is even more evident. It's really quite unbelievable to hear the once unnaturally wide soundstage of the HD800 sound like this.

I think so far the only "negative" thing I can say about this amp it neither brings out bass body nor treble airiness, but it definitely seems mid-centric.

More intimacy. So does that mean instrument separation is less as well?

 

[Sonido]

  More intimacy. So does that mean instrument separation is less as well?

Not at all because the congestion level is really low it's easier to focus on micro-details and you hear things you haven't heard before. It's hard to explain, but one of the first things I noticed was a blacker background even though I always thought the Vali was already pretty black and congestion free. The Questyle takes it to a whole new level. But the intimacy part makes the the HD800 not thin sounding like through the Vali.