[erik701]

Thanks.

 

[ddl8]

I have M-DAC connected to sennheiser HDVA 600 via AudioQuest Columbia XLR 0.5, using sennheiser HD 700 with sennheiser balanced cable. 
 
I sensed a LOT of difference when I swapped stock headphone cable for balanced one. But it seems the return is extremely diminishing when XLR interconnects are used between DAC and AMP.
 
I read the thread and it seems there is no consensus on this. Just curious what HDVA 600 owners think? Maybe I should use different interconnect XLR cables OR the difference is indeed small if any?
 
PS: prior to M-DAC I had NAD d1050, and I would say the difference was also extremely small, if any...

 

[evilar]

The HDVA 600 is OK with low impedance headphones. With them the sound difference is less noticeable. Sounds like have no amp, a passthrough device.

 

[sibelius4th]

The HDVA 600 is OK with low impedance headphones. With them the sound difference is less noticeable. Sounds like have no amp, a passthrough device.

Thanks evilar. Your reply confirms what I have suspected, based on reading from a variety of sources. Prices are good on new HDVA 600's right now, but I think I'll look further (and probably up my budget) for an amp that does well with all headphones.

Much appreciated.

 

[evilar]

Welcome! The prices for HD 700 and HDVA 600 are excelent at Amazon.com right now.

 

[musicbuff]

Violectric has a 15% discount going on their HP amps now.  I bought the V281 and am extremely pleased with its performance with my high impedance Sennheiser HD 650 and 800 and my low impedance Audeze LCD-X.

 

[Smrc42]

Hey guy,

Anyone tried pairing teac ud301 + hdva600 + hd800? Not too sure if ud301 match well with hdva600...

 

[kaisterplayer]

Thanks for the write up jdandy! Very helpful.

Yes I concur. Great write up.
Same for me. Upgrades never end. Got the new MyTek Brooklyn amp and will go with balanced Xlr from the MyTek to the hdva600.
I prefer the 600 over the 800 as it is a pure amp and will last longer as DAC's always change and evolve.
I also have the BD T-1 and would like to add the hifiman HE eventually. Anyone knows if the hdva600 works well with that brand of phones?

 

[Smrc42]

Hey guys, need some advise from the experts! Am using hd800+hdva600+temp dac idsd micro. I am looking at a dac to pair with hdva600. Does teac 501 goes well with it? Or is there any recommendations from anyone? Around the range?

 

[Ozaroo7]

Hello all, first post here and as new as it gets with regards to audiophile things, I've been happily using my HD558s for a while and just recently got a pair of 598s, which I enjoy listening to almost every night, on a "good deal" I got a Denon DA300USB DAC which really made a difference, at least to my ears, as opposed to plugging my cans directly to my receiver (HK), in any case, the upgrade bug bit me once more when I read the Denon's amp was not very powerful to drive high impedance cans (why would I care right? 5xx are only 50ohms! Well. unfortunately for me and my pocket, I did care) so I started looking at standalone headphone amps, first I was set on Beyerdynamic A20, but then saw the reviews and wasn't blown away by them considering how much I was going to be spending ($599), then came the HDVA 600 which was only a few hundred more and just fell in love! (Not sure why really as reviews are not a plenty so there's not much hype surrounding them...) Sorry for the long story, anyways, I bought the HDVA600, arriving in a couple days, to be fed by the DA300USB (no balanced outputs which is killing me, but really have no money left and don't think I would notice much difference based on some comments here and common sense), soooo, with all that being said, on to the question: I know HDVA600 is way overkill for my lowly cans, but my thinking was, lets get a good amp to last a while as headphones change more often and I can get my desired HD800S later, was that a good call? What's your opinion?
 
Thanks!

 

[schaefer]

  Thanks for this review.
 
I visited a hi-fi shop yesterday to audition LCD-3, LCD-X and HD-800, fully expecting to come out with one of the Audeze's after having read so much good about them. Coincidentally I had just bought the HDVA 600 amp on a very good price from Ebay and wanted to see how all 3 phones compared when paired with that particular amp.
 
I was really disappointed with both the Audeze models, way too dark and very average soundstage, little depth, quite heavy and uncomfortable (it was a hot day). The bass, whilst strong and deep, seemed to get in the way of everything else and there was a lot of resonance going on as far as I could tell.
 
Then I tried the HD-800 - wow! This amp really makes the HD-800 shine, even with the Sennheiser stock balanced cable. I had reservations before I went in to the shop about the bass in the HD-800, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Really really great bass, very deep, very fast, not quite as full bodied as the Audeze (where the bass seemed to muddy the rest of the frequency spectrum). Dynamics, transients, drum hits were all top notch. The mids and tops were also divine (a little grating in parts on a couple of tracks I do admit, cable upgrade may well help there). Where the HD-800 excelled of course was soundstage, imaging, depth - simply phenomenal with this amp (and others I'm sure).
 
I left the shop very happy and totally broke, having ordered the HD-800's to pair with my HDVA 600. Also ordered a Cardas Clear balanced cable. I will be using my old Yulong D100 as DAC for some time yet as there's no money left (!).

 
I agree that this amp really does the trick with the Sennheiser lineup. I would say that the amp actually scales the HD650 even further relative to the HD800 which is impressive.

 

[VGoghs earfrmsc]

HI, slickdeals.net have the hdva 600 for $676.

 

[Diehard9er]

Hi folks,

I have purchased two sets of cans in a fairly short period of time. My primary cans were Senn HD700 and I’ve enjoyed them very much over the years. They were powered via the HDVA 600.

I recently decided to give the HD800S a try and I love them. They are sounding great with the HDVA 600.

I’ve been using these new cans more than I have in the past especially late night. I got a bug to grab a second can that I can rotate in with the 800S to be a bit different on some nights.

I’ve ordered the Audeze LCD-3 today. This should be a blast to rotate. I need to stay with the HDVA 600 for now. Perhaps not a match in heaven but should this amp be okay with the LCD-3 for now? I prefer to run balanced and from my understanding this will set the gain and is not adjustable.

At this time I’d rather have two sets of cans over one new can and one new amp. I’m hoping the HDVA 600 will work out okay and if need be I can look at a new amp next spring or summer.

I appreciate the feedback.

 

[DigHeadFi]

for those interested the Sennheiser HDVA600 is on sale for $549 with free shipping at Buydig.com. not sure how long the deal lasts, good luck.

use coupon code: CP1711129217