[HizerKite]

Hi, I have used a pair of HD800 phones with an Audiolab M-dac for a couple of years.  It sounds ok but I still haven't managed to stop distortion on quite a few tracks, examples are London Grammar, Hans Zimmer's Dark Knight and a lot more.  The levels just seem to be too high for the M-dac so am going to part with it.
 
Am considering the Pioneer U-05 but can't find much information for it.  Does anyone on here have experience of the Sennheiser HD800 with the pioneer please?
 
I am also considering the Oppo HA 1 but it's a little pricey for me currently.  Remote control is essential so my choice of amps is limited a bit.
 
Many thanks for any help as always
 
Richard

 

[KG Jag]

There are entire threads elsewhere on this forum that are devoted to the HD 800 and what drives it well/the best.  You should spend some time there--even if you can't yet post on those threads.
 
The pieces of kit you have mentioned are priced north of $1,000, which puts them square into the Summit-Fi section of this forum.  There aren't many hanging out on this soup to nuts general recommendations thread that have detailed personal knowledge about this level of kit.

 

[Head Injury]

If you think the volume is clipping the M-DAC, you don't need to just get rid of it. Keep it, use it as a DAC, and get a powerful amp to plug into it. You should still be able to use your remote, but better check the documentation first.
 
Anything capable of 3 Vrms into 300 ohms should work well, unless you really crank the volume. The Schiit Magni is very cheap (well, relatively) and will be capable of over 3 Vrms on just low gain using the M-DAC. High gain will max out at the Magni's clipping point, which is around 9 Vrms, frankly overkill.
 
Another option for a little more money is the Objective2. You'll want to keep it at low gain to prevent clipping at the input, but will handle over 5 Vrms anyway. Believe me when I say this is more than enough, my LCD-2 requires a little less voltage but I don't even turn the volume knob past 10 o'clock, after reducing volume by 10-20 dB digitally. It also has batteries in case you want to take your HD800 out for a walk, or something.
 
Before you do anything you might want to make sure it's actually clipping that's causing the issue, and not the songs themselves. Turn the volume down, and if it's still distorted you probably don't need to change a thing.