[Char]

Quote:

Yeah I think it drives them just fine, I wish I had more amps to compare it with, I just have my old Meier Prehead-1. But I feel its a definite step up from the Prehead, much more detailed and precise, the Lavry is a quality unit for sure. I'm not too sure where I'm headed in terms of getting a dedicated amp but I'm happy with the sound for now.
 

 

Thanks for your answer. Guess I will also go for a DA11 before any amp.
 

 

[LostChild1]

So, tomorrow is finally the day that I'll receive my HD800s. I sold my HD650s a few months ago in anticipation, but the 800's were on backorder until today. I'm so excited it hurts!

For those curious, I'll be pairing them with the Woo Audio WA6, with Sophia Princess.

Can't wait!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

So, tomorrow is finally the day that I'll receive my HD800s. I sold my HD650s a few months ago in anticipation, but the 800's were on backorder until today. I'm so excited it hurts!

For those curious, I'll be pairing them with the Woo Audio WA6, with Sophia Princess.

Can't wait!

If you find the Sophia Princess to make the HD800 bright you can change the rectifier to a NOS 5U4G (maybe a Tung Sol) or a GZ34 (like Amperex Bugle Boy or Philips) and warm it up a bit.  Also, consider an upgraded OFC copper cable, as my HD800 sound better with any amp using one.  I still enjoy my HD800 almost 2 years later, but I've tuned my rig around them.
 

 

[dallan]

Copper recable, ya, that's the ticket for sure.  Warms it up and gives a much fuller sound, although transparency suffers a bit.  Still it is way worth it.

 

[LostChild1]

I'll keep the tube and cable suggestion in mind. Any links to threads discussing the different aftermarket cables, and which one seems to be the preferred one? Obviously, I'm not made of money, but it's something to save up for.

My only question is though, so many tests show that RCA interconnects don't change anything when it comes to sound quality, whether they cost 2 dollars or 1,000. Why then do headphones benefits from different cables, or is it snake oil?

 

[raja]

 
Quote:

I'll keep the tube and cable suggestion in mind. Any links to threads discussing the different aftermarket cables, and which one seems to be the preferred one? Obviously, I'm not made of money, but it's something to save up for.

My only question is though, so many tests show that RCA interconnects don't change anything when it comes to sound quality, whether they cost 2 dollars or 1,000. Why then do headphones benefits from different cables, or is it snake oil?

 
 
I suppose it's because with headphones it's extreme nearfield listening, so large enough changes in capacitance and inductance are easier to pick out (if there are changes to the sound). 
 
I've found you can make out subtle changes in transparency between wire lengths and gauge with phones like the HD800, but the effects are subtle. I generally DIY my stuff, which can still end up costing a lot but not as much as the real high end cables. At the moment I'm content with the stock Sennheiser cable, it's a multi-strand silver plated affair. I moddified it to balanced because my DAC output stage is natively balanced output, so it made more sense to run the setup that way.

-Raja
 

 

[K_19]

Quote:

If you find the Sophia Princess to make the HD800 bright you can change the rectifier to a NOS 5U4G (maybe a Tung Sol) or a GZ34 (like Amperex Bugle Boy or Philips) and warm it up a bit.  Also, consider an upgraded OFC copper cable, as my HD800 sound better with any amp using one.  I still enjoy my HD800 almost 2 years later, but I've tuned my rig around them.
 

Yup agreed, when I had my WA6 with HD800, I found that it worked the best with a Mullard GZ34 rectifier.

 

[LostChild1]

Yup agreed, when I had my WA6 with HD800, I found that it worked the best with a Mullard GZ34 rectifier.

I suppose this is almost question for a separate thread, but how much does the brand of tube you buy impact on the performance it gives?

I mean, I did some quick googling, and the GZ34 goes anywhere from 15.99, to over 100.00. Is there really that much of a difference? Or is it less about different, and more about how long they'll last etc.?

And, seeing as you're from canada like myself, do you happen to know of any good sites to buy these tubes from? Again, quick googling yielded many sites, but none of which seemed to stand out, or look very reliable.

Anyway, just a few more hours to wait now, until an all night listening fest!

 

[K_19]

I've noticed one aspect of GZ34 which helps HD800 is that it compacts down the soundstage a bit, which helps to tighten up lower mids and bass response to my ears. Depends on what your preference of music genre is, this may or may not be desirable, but I felt that it helped it become more of an all arounder than when the HD800 was paired with a WA6 with something like a Sophia Princess (which is slightly bright and very open sounding). Again, it really depends on your preferences but surely the GZ34 is worthy of testing out. Mine was a Mullard GZ34 metal base which tends to be more expensive but you can start off with something cheaper and see how you like it first.
 
I purchased mine off ebay.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

I suppose this is almost question for a separate thread, but how much does the brand of tube you buy impact on the performance it gives?

I mean, I did some quick googling, and the GZ34 goes anywhere from 15.99, to over 100.00. Is there really that much of a difference? Or is it less about different, and more about how long they'll last etc.?

And, seeing as you're from canada like myself, do you happen to know of any good sites to buy these tubes from? Again, quick googling yielded many sites, but none of which seemed to stand out, or look very reliable.

Anyway, just a few more hours to wait now, until an all night listening fest!

 
The thread for this kind of question:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/428570/woo-audio-amp-owner-unite/8685#post_7327022
 
There's some very knowledgeable and helpful folks for anything Woo-related hanging out there, including some Canadians I believe 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I'll keep the tube and cable suggestion in mind. Any links to threads discussing the different aftermarket cables, and which one seems to be the preferred one? Obviously, I'm not made of money, but it's something to save up for.

My only question is though, so many tests show that RCA interconnects don't change anything when it comes to sound quality, whether they cost 2 dollars or 1,000. Why then do headphones benefits from different cables, or is it snake oil?

There is a whole forum section on cables and reviews.  I had a couple of reviews removed because the mods felt the vendor broke the rules.  I don't think cables are snake oil anymore, after hearing changes, but I did think so before I had experience with them.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I've noticed one aspect of GZ34 which helps HD800 is that it compacts down the soundstage a bit, which helps to tighten up lower mids and bass response to my ears. Depends on what your preference of music genre is, this may or may not be desirable, but I felt that it helped it become more of an all arounder than when the HD800 was paired with a WA6 with something like a Sophia Princess (which is slightly bright and very open sounding). Again, it really depends on your preferences but surely the GZ34 is worthy of testing out. Mine was a Mullard GZ34 metal base which tends to be more expensive but you can start off with something cheaper and see how you like it first.
 
I purchased mine off ebay.

Yes, but unfortunately the GZ34 metal base compacted the soundstage too much with my RS-1 and HD600.  The Sophia works well with the Denon, Ultrasone, some Grados, HD600/650, HE-5 LE and LCD-2 for me, but not so well with the HD800.
 

 

[LostChild1]

Thanks for the link to the Woo owner thread, I forgot it existed.

Anyway, I listened last night from 6PM until around midnight, so I can say one thing for sure: These headphones are the comfiest things I've ever put on my head. I forgot they're there completely! It's a very welcome change from the 650s, which I could only wear for around an hour at a time.

So far, initial impressions are great, despite using the Sophia Princess. I've always been a fan of a big soundstage, and these deliver. I find, personally, that it feels like this pair of headphones "presents" the music to you in a much more analytical fashion than the 650s. It has much more control over the sound, and feels more immediate than anything else I've ever heard. I also don't find them to be too bright, but I do find them to be lacking a bit on the low end. That being said, they are, to my ears, extremely flat.

I found myself over several periods during the night just getting lost and absorbed in the sound, and hearing things I'd never heard before in songs I listen to nearly every day. It blew me away. It makes me want to push the rest of my setup further, to try and achieve even better sound.

Now, these are impressions done with only a few hours of listening, and on only a few albums. I'm excited for them to burn in (Through listening, I prefer hearing them evolve to using pink noise.) and to explore more genres and artists with them. Like I told a friend just the other day: "They make me want to listen to everything I own over again." Finally, I'm still going to keep an eye out for those tubes, but for the time being, I enjoy the Sophia Princess. Obviously, I have nothing to compare it to, so the tubes will probably be coming sooner rather than later

Next up on the docket, Audio-gd NFB-2 / DI...

 

[Phasey]

Hey LostChild. nice review on your initial impressions.  I have had my HD800 for a couple of months and think they are wonderful.  Last night I was sitting in my high-back leather chair and listening to Jackson Brown and David Lindley En Vivo Con Tino. This a great live recording that sounds amazing on my set-up.  I have a Lehmann BCL and am using my McIntosh C220 with NOS Telefunken 12AX7 ribbed plates has a buffer.  
 
BTW, my vinyl set-up is similar to yours.  SL1200>Shure V15III>Jico SAS.  
 
Congratulations on the Sennheiser HD800!

 

[LostChild1]

Thanks. I forgot to mention what it was that I listened to last night, it went:

The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics (Vinyl)
Modest Mouse - Good News for People who Love Bad News (Vinyl)
Ratatat - LP4 (Vinyl)
Beethoven (Carlos Keliber) - Symphony 5 & 7 (MP3 V0)
Does it offend you yeah? - Don't say we didn't warn you (MP3 V0)

And that was it for the evening. My favorite thing that I listened to being The Flaming Lips, which is unusual as I typically consider myself a far bigger fan of both Ratatat & Modest Mouse, but their recordings, in my opinion, weren't up to the caliber that At War With The Mystics was.

And yeah, the SL-1200MKII is a pretty good machine, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm looking to upgrade it in the future. My current upgrade schedule goes something like:

Audio-gd NFB2 (DAC)
Audio-gd Digital Interface
VPI HW-16.5 (Record cleaner)
and THEN,
new record player (I'm looking into getting something by clearaudio, but it would cost me around 3 grand for what I want. Urp.)

After all that I might finally move into other brands of headphones, maybe try grado or beyerdynamic, or try a different amplifier. IT's really too far down for me to really decide.

Unfortunately, I won't get the chance to sit down with them again tonight, and probablyh only limited exposure tomorrow, but my friday night is open! Very excited.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention, the attention to detail just in packaging was incredible. The velvet, the serial number etched into the headband of the phones themselves, the manual was beautiful too. They just exude quality!