[discretesound]

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I'm a fan of the S7 over the WA2 and Sonett for performance and tube rolling.  If I were to consider a DNA amp versus the S7 it would be the Stratus but that's obviously more expensive.  The S7 has a tremendous value/performance ratio.

Thanks Anaxilus! leaning towards S7 now..
Quote:

i like WA2 

Me too! love the design..looks well made and well executed...but from what I have read WA2 is not a versatile enough amp as it doens't drive low impedance phone to its full potential. I guess its between Sonett and S7 now.
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If you are looking for the colored tube sound (lush, romantic, bloomy, euphonic), get the WA2. If you want transparency with near infinite options to tailor the tone to what you want, get the S7. The DNA is a little tubey - somewhere between the S7 and WA2, but much closer to the S7. I like Donald and consider him to be a friend, but the DNA doesn't compete with the S7. Now if the choice were between the DNA Stratus and S7, that would be a more difficult choice.
 
What source/amp you are currently using with your HD800 and do you have any complaints with how it sounds?

I do like the current sound of HD800 but just feel like it is underpowered. under complex passage it sound congested to me. Interesting about the S7, I am currently using portable setup but want to build my HD800 one step at a time starting with an amp and probably a good dac later this year. I might pull the trigger on S7 but just wondering if I should get the tube package from Craig or hunt somewhere else? As I am fairly new to tube I would prefer it to be easily obtainable...Thanks!

 

[purrin]

Quote:

I do like the current sound of HD800 but just feel like it is underpowered. under complex passage it sound congested to me. Interesting about the S7, I am currently using portable setup but want to build my HD800 one step at a time starting with an amp and probably a good dac later this year. I might pull the trigger on S7 but just wondering if I should get the tube package from Craig or hunt somewhere else? As I am fairly new to tube I would prefer it to be easily obtainable...Thanks!

 
Use the standard set of russian Tung Sol x6 on the output. You may be able to find three pairs for cheaper from other sources or people who have graduated from them. Start with some good sounding 6SN7s for the driver position. I have some suggestions for two or three reasonable priced or high-value 6SN7s. Once do you this and have established a sonic baseline, you can come find one of the usual suspects (owners) and ask for further guidance for tweaking the amps sound.
 
But at this point, I don't want to state anything out in the open to prevent a run on certain kinds of tubes.

 

[Windsor]

Listening to the LCD-3 made me realise how awesome the HD 800's soundstage is. The thought of it is sending tingles up and down my spine! 

 

[MacedonianHero]

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Listening to the LCD-3 made me realise how awesome the HD 800's soundstage is. The thought of it is sending tingles up and down my spine! 

 
No headphone has as wide or expansive a soundstage as the HD800s.

What I like about the LCD-3s is their  soundstaging is more in line with the HE-6s or T1s...this alone was a huge improvement for me over the LCD-2s. As well, finding an amp to power both sufficiently is a bit tricky. I can confirm that the WA22 (with the right tube setup) or even better the LF do great jobs with both.

 

[discretesound]

Use the standard set of russian Tung Sol x6 on the output. You may be able to find three pairs for cheaper from other sources or people who have graduated from them. Start with some good sounding 6SN7s for the driver position. I have some suggestions for two or three reasonable priced or high-value 6SN7s. Once do you this and have established a sonic baseline, you can come find one of the usual suspects (owners) and ask for further guidance for tweaking the amps sound.

But at this point, I don't want to state anything out in the open to prevent a run on certain kinds of tubes.

Thanks purrin! Decided to pull the trigger on s7....now have to suffer the waiting time... Ok will do research and hunt for tubes now.. Cheers!

 

[extrabigmehdi]

I'm running the hd800 from the Xonar STX, I  found they are fine , at least "better overall" than what I've heard before ( full size I  know:  hd595, srh940).
You could argue that the xonar stx is not enough to drive them, but I've listened to them a with more  expensive amp  at the store ( a 900$ harman kardon thing) and I didn't notice a significant difference.  They do not sound bright , nor thin, at all,  at least in this aspect, there's a serious gap with the "stock"  srh940 (because I've modded them).

The hd800 are very good, but certainly not perfect :
I  found them easy on ear with almost every music, but sometimes you'd want something "more spicy". I  can't get for instance an "adrenaline rush" from bass thumping techno ( compared to my senn IE7) , or  some very  fast psytrance like skazi (compared to my srh940).

I  think what's interesting in the hd800 is the phenomenal instrument separation, and a super clean sound. 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

I'm running the hd800 from the Xonar STX, I  found they are fine , at least "better overall" than what I've heard before ( full size I  know:  hd595, srh940).
You could argue that the xonar stx is not enough to drive them, but I've listened to them a with more  expensive amp  at the store ( a 900$ harman kardon thing) and I didn't notice a significant difference.  They do not sound bright , nor thin, at all,  at least in this aspect, there's a serious gap with the "stock"  srh940 (because I've modded them).

The hd800 are very good, but certainly not perfect :
I  found them easy on ear with almost every music, but sometimes you'd want something "more spicy". I  can't get for instance an "adrenaline rush" from bass thumping techno ( compared to my senn IE7) , or  some very  fast psytrance like skazi (compared to my srh940).

I  think what's interesting in the hd800 is the phenomenal instrument separation, and a super clean sound. 

 
Just because the harmon kardboard thing is 900$ doesn't mean anything - other than it is 900$

 

[extrabigmehdi]

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Just because the harmon kardboard thing is 900$ doesn't mean anything - other than it is 900$

I agree, but I've discussed with the "hydrogenaudio experts" they said that my xonar stx should have no problem to handle my HD800.
Moreover each time someone had made  genuinely the experiment to plug the hd800 on a "relatively cheap" but decent source at headfi, he said it sounded "better than expected".
 
I  might get a "good amp" later , but currently I can't.  The criterion to get the hd800 was that they sound better that my other cans.
Also I got my hd800 for 1300$, I think it's a good price.

 

[Windsor]

Quote:

I agree, but I've discussed with the "hydrogenaudio experts" they said that my xonar stx should have no problem to handle my HD800.
Moreover each time someone had made  genuinely the experiment to plug the hd800 on a "relatively cheap" but decent source at headfi, he said it sounded "better than expected".
 
I  might get a "good amp" later , but currently I can't.  The criterion to get the hd800 was that they sound better that my other cans.
Also I got my hd800 for 1300$, I think it's a good price.

 
As long as your DAC/Amp is neutral, you may be better off investing in an aftermarket cable. My Lavry DA10 DAC/Amp is probably as neutral as they come and the Black Dragon cable I'm currently using is a good value step-up in enjoyable sound quality from the stock cable. (The perspective of my reply is obviously subjective.)

 

[Shahrose]

The STX + HD800 pairing is mediocre at best. The Senns can scale way higher. I've owned both the ST and STX with all the upgrades.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

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The STX + HD800 pairing is mediocre at best.

 
And what exactly in the sound deserve the word "mediocre" to your standards ?
 
By the way , I noticed that eq-ing doesn't hurt hd800 sound, as long as the eq curve remains very smooth.

 

[anetode]

As long as your DAC/Amp is neutral, you may be better off investing in an aftermarket cable. My Lavry DA10 DAC/Amp is probably as neutral as they come and the Black Dragon cable I'm currently using is a good value step-up in enjoyable sound quality from the stock cable. (The perspective of my reply is obviously subjective.)

BTW, make sure to ask around hydrogenaudio about cables :evil:

A couple of years ago I tried listening to the HD800 from a number of different sources, including a budget pro 4x headamp, the STX, two high quality solid state and two tube amps, including a 25-pound monster with individual tubes costing into the hundreds of dollars. If by "the Senns can scale way higher" Shahrose means that they can be played much louder then he's right on the money. You can no doubt find an amp out there which will push a watt into that heady 300-600ohm impedance curve of the 800s. And if you then put them on, then yes, you'll see truly how high they can scale - at least for the 30 seconds or so until you loose your hearing.

At reasonable volume levels I've found the STX to be perfectly adept at handling the HD800. edit: scratch that, the STX remains adept even at unreasonably loud levels, I've never even had to use the "high gain" setting.

 

[Anaxilus]

I'm pretty sure what he's talking about by scaling is the ability to render dynamic contrasts and resolve detail by removing itself from the source chain in a maximal sense.  
 
If loudness is the measure of performance I don't think an HD800 is a necessary expenditure.

 

[anetode]

You'd need an amp with a limited dynamic range and serious noise/distortion issues to compromise the HD800s in those respects. While I've recently discovered that some STXs have a less than ideal performance on some settings, in my experience there was nothing to limit the HD800 experience.

 

[MorbidToaster]

Yeah. This.
 
Quote:

I'm pretty sure what he's talking about by scaling is the ability to render dynamic contrasts and resolve detail by removing itself from the source chain in a maximal sense.  
 
If loudness is the measure of performance I don't think an HD800 is a necessary expenditure.