[XLR1]

If u r going to consider older amps like the Lehmann, then consider the Meier Conda Opera.  Excellent Meier amp, mates extremely well with the HD800 (in my opinion), many more features than the Concerto, and u can frequently buy it at a very reasonable price in the for sale section.  The Concerto is suppose to be transparent where the Opera is transparent but slightly warm.  IMO, the slight warmth of the Opera mates extremely well and give needed body to the HD800.

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

Meier Concerto or Lehmann Black Cube Linear for my HD800?
Which one would  you choose ?
 
I love the stepped volume of Concerto but can't stop thinking that Lehmann could be better overall.

When I first heard the HD800 it was on the Lehmann amplifier which Sennheiser demoed it on. Last week I heard the HD800 on the Concerto and to me the HD800 on the Concerto was so much more musically involving than on the Lehmann as I remember it. 

 

[freakmax]

Thanks for your opinion. Probably I would go for Concerto. ... Very hard to decide ..humm

 

[Ypoknons]

You could also look into their respective opamps and see which ones would be more to your liking. 

 

[shabta]

I love my Lehmann. When I bought it the Meier amp wasn't yet available. I like an amp that sounds crisp and doesn't color the music much. I doubt you will be making a mistake whichever amp  you choose. If there is a significant price difference in Thailand between the two I would get which ever is cheaper.

 

[freakmax]

About 200USD difference.
Lehmann is more expensive.
 
Anybody using Hd800 and Concerto, please give some more opinion about the combination.

 

[chi2]

Quote:

When I first heard the HD800 it was on the Lehmann amplifier which Sennheiser demoed it on. Last week I heard the HD800 on the Concerto and to me the HD800 on the Concerto was so much more musically involving than on the Lehmann as I remember it. 

I share your enthusiasm about the Concerto. It is an excellent sounding amp, with the blackest of black backgrounds, very balanced and neutral and yet dynamic and involving. But even though I have never heard the Lehmann BCL I find it problematic to state, without comparing the two at the same time in detail and with great care, that they sound different in such a drastic way.
 
I do find the Concerto to be a great match for the HD800. It gives it body and weight and the high frequencies are well integrated and not overemphasized. However, it clearly does not change what some call the "analytical" character of the Sennheiser. So if you have a problem with that and prefer a signature mor in the direction of a DX1000 or a D7000 the Concerto is not the way to go (well, I guess in this case the HD800 is not for you at all). On the other hand the Concerto IMO is as near to the ideal of "a wire with a gain" as it gets.

 

[sokolov91]

Quote:

I share your enthusiasm about the Concerto. It is an excellent sounding amp, with the blackest of black backgrounds, very balanced and neutral and yet dynamic and involving. But even though I have never heard the Lehmann BCL I find it problematic to state, without comparing the two at the same time in detail and with great care, that they sound different in such a drastic way.
 
I do find the Concerto to be a great match for the HD800. It gives it body and weight and the high frequencies are well integrated and not overemphasized. However, it clearly does not change what some call the "analytical" character of the Sennheiser. So if you have a problem with that and prefer a signature mor in the direction of a DX1000 or a D7000 the Concerto is not the way to go (well, I guess in this case the HD800 is not for you at all). On the other hand the Concerto IMO is as near to the ideal of "a wire with a gain" as it gets.

Concerto might not make up for a bright headphone, but I do not think it would exacerbate it. My SA5K are considered to be extremely bright by some, and it is not "worse" with the concerto. If anything it is better, because the concerto pumps some crazy bass out of them and defines the highs extremely well. 
 
The concerto, IMO, is also an excellent amp for the D7000 if you like solid state. I have not heard it on many amps, out of the ones I have had, the D7000 has been fairly picky and truly shines on the concerto. 

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

I share your enthusiasm about the Concerto. It is an excellent sounding amp, with the blackest of black backgrounds, very balanced and neutral and yet dynamic and involving. But even though I have never heard the Lehmann BCL I find it problematic to state, without comparing the two at the same time in detail and with great care, that they sound different in such a drastic way.

 
You are right! I should have noted that. What I wrote was only based on memory - more than 4 months back. And I should also note that I am the owner of a Concerto now - so my views might also be colored 

 (I will be more careful with too bold statements in the future!)

 

[sokolov91]

Quote:

 

Even if your views are possibly coloured, the Concerto is certainly not

 

[cooperpwc]

I sure wish that Jan had added an external switch for the Stagedac to turn off the preamp out (just as many other maunfacturers like Headroom do). An internal jumper to maximise the quality of the DAC line out is a design error because you have to make an unfortunate choice.
 
Anyway a Stagedac Slim without the preamp volume control that therefore stacks nicely with the Concerto would be welcome. Jan has been considering this.

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

Anyway a Stagedac Slim without the preamp volume control that therefore stacks nicely with the Concerto would be welcome. Jan has been considering this.

That would be my first choice if he decided to make a Slim version. I have no use for the Preamp output.

 

[sokolov91]

I wonder if he made a slim version if it would still have cross feed? I don't need it on my amp and DAC haha... I just hope he keeps everything else like dual PSUs and the same or better DAC chips. Everything minus all the features I don't really need is about perfect. Plus, if he got rid of a few of those switches on the DAC the SNR would shoot up a bit from what I understand.
 
If all he is doing is removing the pre amp I don't see how it would be that much cheaper though :/ a few op amps and a pot don't cost much.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

I wonder if he made a slim version if it would still have cross feed? I don't need it on my amp and DAC haha...

I think that the answer is yes since the combination of the crossfeed (much better than the mechanical crossfeed on the Concerto amp) and the Wolfson DAC filters is one of the things that makes Stagedac special. 
 
I'm not sure that Jan will release the Stagedac Slim. He has mused about it because people are understandably not pleased with the extra width for a preamp potentiometer that you have to set to off to get maximum quality from the DAC out. (Again, with an external switch this would at least be a useful feature.) 
 
Anyway, wrong thread... 
 

 

[asmagus]

Yes, StageDAC is "special".

Anyway, back in the subject - what would be the answer to question: best closed headphones to Concerto/StageDAC combo (rock music)?