[sphinxvc]

I'm reasonably sure I won't be selling my LCD-2's anymore.  The LCD-3 pads on them sound sweet.  They compliment the HD800s sound even better now.

 

[purrin]

How did you get LCD3 pads? I thought Audeze was not selling LCD3 pads to LCD2 owners.

 

[sphinxvc]

They're not. Got them through a friend.

 

[GigaFi]

I demo'd these in stores today. Wasn't a great auditioning area but I can tell these were a tremendous step up from headphones in the <$200 range.
 
Now say if I were to get one of these bad boys, what's the cheapest amp I could use to power these and still sound "good"?

 

[Tilpo]

I demo'd these in stores today. Wasn't a great auditioning area but I can tell these were a tremendous step up from headphones in the <$200 range.

Now say if I were to get one of these bad boys, what's the cheapest amp I could use to power these and still sound "good"?

That depends entirely on your opinion of "good". From my limited experience with these and other high end headphones, they still sound really good from relatively bad sources (e.g. a portable amp or the HP output of a mid-fi receiver). While there is most definitely merit in getting something better than that, I would argue that spending around $200-300 on an amp would give you an awesome sounding rig. You can spend more than that if you so wish, but then I'd get the headphones first.

 

[dallan]

I would much rather listen to even my es10's than my HD800s if all i had was a portable amp.  I have owned these phones for three years and amping(especially amping) is extremely important as is source.  If you aren't able to feed them what they need, i would choose a cheaper pair of phones that don't show off the deficiencies so glaringly.

 

[rawrster]

I don't know about portable amps but the HD800 still sounded pretty good out of my PPAv2 amp and CTH Rev A amps which were in the 200-300 price range but DIY and one is no longer offered and the other has boards that doesn't show up too often. However out of my Anedio D1 dac/amp or V200 amp they sound so much better.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

HD800 don't sound bad at all from an HM-801 portable, or a cheap desktop like the HiFiMan EF-2.

 

[LSD25]

I've had HD800 for about 2 months now, and I just love it! My only concern is that it can sound a bit sharp at times. I'm using the xonar essence one amp through macbook pro
I'm thinking of upgrading the amp, and probably get a separate dac.
How much of a difference does one hear going from a $500 - $600 amp to lets say a $2000 one?
I'll probably get a tube amp since I think the headphones could use some warmth and a lil more bass. Also, I might be using the essence one's xlr out to the tube amp
Having a hard time to decide whether i should get a separate dac too or stick with the one in essence one..

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Quote:

I don't know about portable amps but the HD800 still sounded pretty good out of my PPAv2 amp and CTH Rev A amps which were in the 200-300 price range but DIY and one is no longer offered and the other has boards that doesn't show up too often. However out of my Anedio D1 dac/amp or V200 amp they sound so much better.

May I know what benefit you got with V200 compare to D1's amp section?
 
Somehow V200 is always making me curious.

 

[frix]

Quote:

I've had HD800 for about 2 months now, and I just love it! My only concern is that it can sound a bit sharp at times. I'm using the xonar essence one amp through macbook pro
I'm thinking of upgrading the amp, and probably get a separate dac.
How much of a difference does one hear going from a $500 - $600 amp to lets say a $2000 one?
I'll probably get a tube amp since I think the headphones could use some warmth and a lil more bass. Also, I might be using the essence one's xlr out to the tube amp
Having a hard time to decide whether i should get a separate dac too or stick with the one in essence one..

why not try using a parametric software EQ first and save yourself some money.

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

May I know what benefit you got with V200 compare to D1's amp section?
 
Somehow V200 is always making me curious.

 
I'm not sure which amp is better actually. Over the weekend I felt the D1  amp was better or could have been me going crazy. However I'm assuming you mean the difference in terms of the amps with the HD800. There's a bit more warmth with the V200. The bass hits harder and if one thought the HD800 was a bit too much (which I don't) then the V200 would help a bit in that as well.
 
I do need to compare the two amps eventually since I did feel the D1 amp section was much better than I remembered when I tried it over the weekend.

 

[The-One]

Just got a pair of HD800 this morning through the post. Bought new with serial number of 16xxx. First impressions are a reserved thumbs up... But there's going to be some testing times ahead lol. I'm currently using a Beresford TC-7520 USB DAC / Headphone amplifier with a Wolfson chip & (forgot the op amp inside, but I can change it). I currently also own 2 custom made IEMs, ACS T1s & ACS T2s. I used to own Adam Audio A7 studio monitors as well as a SVS PC12 downfiring cylinder subwoofer, but these days have downsized to a pair of desktop Audioengine A2 speakers.
 
First impressions are that the sound is "bigger" than my custom iems, though not the same as a pair of speakers. Imaging is good, but again, does not totally replicate a "diffused width" feeling from speakers, but these do give off an impression of "depth" or sound farther away you. The sound is clean & neutral, probably what you'd expect from "reference grade" audio hardware. I've ran a few subwoofer bass test tracks (Bassotronics - Bass, I Love You) and the bass from the HD800s is clean and distortion free, and I do know what that sounds like vs a complete lack of bass. What surprised me somewhere that there also is a feeling of "weight" in the treble, particular on some piano tracks where you can almost feel the keys being played in front of you. And yes, you do really hear every little detail everywhere... they jump out at you.. oh and no one would ever describe these as "warm".
 
Some issues are that some of of my music collection sounds worse on these, some tracks sounds like mud, other a mess of treble sounds clashing and is too sharp, others with voices too "crystalline", others where you can hear hiss on the recordings. I have a collection of FLAC tracks which I keep as to showcase and test systems, they are still just fine, as are some MP3 tracks, but they are more hit and miss depending on the recording as to whether it sounds "annoying" on these. The presentation can might also be a matter of taste, it can at times feel "flat" and not as "grabbing/exciting" if you don't pay attention closely, even if I play one of my FLAC showcase tracks  and there is no obvious technical deficiency in the way the HD800 has expressed them.
 
Although quite a few of my showcase tracks are female vocals, such as Katie Melua, Diana Krall and some classical pieces, slower and more melodious tracks with a nice sense of space. I can't imagine the HD800 doing grunge metal very well for eg.
 
Next I think I might play around with changing some opamps inside my amplifier, or i might try a new cable for the hd800, I live in the UK, so I might email the Toxic Cables guy. But I think with a lot of expensive things, when you pay more, you don't necessarily get more of what you had cheaper, a meal in a Parisian restaurant isn't simply a "moreish" version of your microwave dinner but qualititively different, and it might take some time to taste it properly.

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

Some issues are that some of of my music collection sounds worse on these, some tracks sounds like mud, other a mess of treble sounds clashing and is too sharp, others with voices too "crystalline", others where you can hear hiss on the recordings. I have a collection of FLAC tracks which I keep as to showcase and test systems, they are still just fine, as are some MP3 tracks, but they are more hit and miss depending on the recording as to whether it sounds "annoying" on these. The presentation can might also be a matter of taste, it can at times feel "flat" and not as "grabbing/exciting" if you don't pay attention closely, even if I play one of my FLAC showcase tracks  and there is no obvious technical deficiency in the way the HD800 has expressed them.

 
Good way to describe it.  I was noticing the same thing yesterday.  The LCD-2 (2.5?) were "grabbing" the soul of the music and the HD800 were conducting an autopsy.  I enjoy both perspectives.
 
I think at some point there will be a headphone so good it will make everything sound like complete ****.  

 

[MorbidToaster]

So I figured this would be the right place to put this. 
 
Yesterday in Dallas at a mini-meet we did an amp head to head with the HD800s. We had the new Bryston present and my LF.
 
DAC: Calyx 24/192 (LF = SE, Bryston = Balanced)
Source: MBP w/ Audirvana + (Playing mostly ALAC or AIFF. Some 24/96 as well)
 
We had Maxvla's pair (in that sexy all black), and mine. We decided to just run them side by side and go from one phone to the other. No cable swapping. Both in high gain mode. I'll just give a few notes on each first.
----
Bryston: So much power. On high gain in balanced mode you couldn't go past 9 o'clock without damaging your ears (vs about 10 on the LF [Revised]). Razor sharp (in good and bad ways).
 
LF: Liquid is definitely the right word. I never realized how much of a 'tubey' sound the LF had until now (B22 was warmer than I thought after listening to the Bryston). A 'listeners' amp (as described by Maxvla).
----
Head to head I preferred the LF. The more musical and more laid back sound is really just what I needed for the HD800 to be my favorite headphone...but the Bryston was impressive. Listening to some track with great positional cues (BT's These Hopeful Machines) I came to the conclusion that while the LF has wider soundstage, the center image is slightly blurred compared to the Bryston. When something would 'sweep' the Bryston would get that center exactly while the LF would struggle a little to keep the ball rolling right on the line. Because of the wider soundstage I felt the LF overall had superior positioning, too. Detail was actually better on the Bryston (only slightly better at reasonable listening levels but at low levels the Bryston pulled away a little more). I wasn't too surprised by that one though. The kicker that I ran into was this though...I found the Bryston to be almost unlistenable with a few tracks. It gave the HD800s that sharp edge that I just can't handle having younger ears (which I do my best to take care of). The Bryston had a lot more 'air' to the sound, but in turn also sounded a little more thin.
 
Overall considering their price points the Bryston is impressive. It'd be my choice for a more 'critical' amp, but I felt the LF bested it in the ways that count for me, and the more laid back sound is exactly what the HD800 needs (IMO). It takes that sharp edge that I had never really heard before (having only used the HD800 out of the LF in my home) and just plunges into the music. 
----
Both Maxvla and I came out preferring our amps and we came to the conclusion that we'd both found what we were looking for in the HD800 + Our amps. He can handle the SS sound with the HD800, but I just couldn't get into it like I could the LF. Another member that also did some comparisons with the 2 came to the same conclusion I did (picking the LF over the Bryston), but the price difference is a bit daunting.