[treebug]

^ I don't know if the HDVA has officially been released but I do know that one of my local Sennheiser dealers is awaiting its arrival from Sennheiser.

 
Will be available in the UK end of October, early November, according to my dealer.

 

[TwoEars]

So - entertain me.
 
If one would like to get that lush, romantic tube sound with the HD800 which would be the amp to get?
 
Not neutral - we're talking beautiful & romantic here.
 
And not to expensive either, low to mid-range.

 

[Joshhh]

I have been enjoying the HD800s with the ALO Pan Am recently. I'm not sure if $600 qualifies as low cost though. Possibly someone has tried the HD800s with a Little Dot amp?

 

[Fegefeuer]

HDVD 800 will arrive at a lucky end of October, definite November. I will be picking up one for demoing. 

 

[fengwei007]

I got my HD800 around two months ago, originally only drived them w/ an Xonar STX sound card, pretty happy w/ the sound (better than HD650 which I also had during that time). Then I got an X-CAN V9P which I really loved, the HD800 sound just much better w/ the amp. That's when I started to believe a dedicated amp and DAC would really match better w/ these fantastic headphones. 
 
Subsequently I bought an M1-DAC-A to match the X-CAN V9P, then upgraded the amp to a V200 thanks to all the reviews at the forum. Now I really enjoy listening to my favorite music w/ this setup: PC toslink or CD6004 optical to M1-DAC-A, which is connected to V200 with XLR balanced cables, and the HD800 hooked on my ears. I can listen to all kinds of music all day long w/o feeling tired, well, except a bit sweaty during warm days  

 

[grokit]

Quote:

So - entertain me.
 
If one would like to get that lush, romantic tube sound with the HD800 which would be the amp to get?
 
Not neutral - we're talking beautiful & romantic here.
 
And not to expensive either, low to mid-range.

 
I have a DHC Molecule instead of the [size=x-small]TWag v2, but otherwise I can totally vouch for this exact setu[size=x-small]p:[/size][/size]
 
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue54/woo.htm

 

[MorbidToaster]

Seeing the ED10s at the bottom there made me laugh.
 
Quote:

 
I have a DHC Molecule instead of the [size=x-small]TWag v2, but otherwise I can totally vouch for this exact setu[size=x-small]p:[/size][/size]
 
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue54/woo.htm

 

[iim7V7IM7]

Hi,
 
Well after one week of ownership, I am quite pleased.  I have been playing them all all day while I am at work beginning the break-in process;but between listening and playing they probably still have only about 60-70 hour of use.  I am guessing the headphones should be "broken in" in the 200-300 period. My pre-purchase rig was a Grace Design m903 and AKG K702s so I did do a lot of A/B ing between them and the HD800s. BTW, serial numbers are now up in the 178xx range for those of you you track such esoterica. 
 
Early Impressions:
 
I think that they are as many of you know fantastic headphones for someone seeking a magnifying a sonic magnifying glass into the recording studio or recorded space.  If find them very much in the school of the AKG K702s which at 1/5th the HD800s price are truly remarkable headphones.  I find the Sennheiser's are buying me more bass information, detail information; both sonically and spatially and they also are more comfortable to wear. On a qualitative scale, I would say the extra cost sonically is getting you that last 5-10% of information sonically and spatially that is not presented by the AKGs.  Such is the cost/benefit curve once you pass the asymptote which I would say the AKG's lie on.  The last bit of information always costs you a  disproportionate sum (diminishing returns).
 
I will be curious to see what a different amplifier will be able to do beyond the Grace Design m903 with them. I suspect the difference is similar to what I found with the AKGs.  I might find that last 5-10%.  I am still on the fence to go with a nice tube amp like a DNA Stratus 2A3 or a balanced SS amp like a AMG Audio Sigma/Beta 22. I think either might be a step up from my m903. Unfortunately, neither of these amps are readily available for auditioning like headphones (I compared the HD800s to the LCD-2s with library loaners). Both choices have 4-pin XLR balanced outs, so a custom cable will be in order as well. 
 

 
Bob

 

[Shahrose]

The HD800 may sound similar to you right now, but they scale way higher than the K701. I'm confident you'll hear this for yourself as you upgrade your audio chain.

 

[TwoEars]

Quote:

Seeing the ED10s at the bottom there made me laugh.
 

Yeah - I thought the same thing. Nice article and then the ED10s - What?
 
Thanks for the link though!

 

[MorbidToaster]

The HD800 with a good amp will give you more than a 5-10% increase. Though the 903 I've heard is no slouch.
 
Quote:

Hi,
 
Well after one week of ownership, I am quite pleased.  I have been playing them all all day while I am at work beginning the break-in process;but between listening and playing they probably still have only about 60-70 hour of use.  I am guessing the headphones should be "broken in" in the 200-300 period. My pre-purchase rig was a Grace Design m903 and AKG K702s so I did do a lot of A/B ing between them and the HD800s. BTW, serial numbers are now up in the 178xx range for those of you you track such esoterica. 
 
Early Impressions:
 
I think that they are as many of you know fantastic headphones for someone seeking a magnifying a sonic magnifying glass into the recording studio or recorded space.  If find them very much in the school of the AKG K702s which at 1/5th the HD800s price are truly remarkable headphones.  I find the Sennheiser's are buying me more bass information, detail information; both sonically and spatially and they also are more comfortable to wear. On a qualitative scale, I would say the extra cost sonically is getting you that last 5-10% of information sonically and spatially that is not presented by the AKGs.  Such is the cost/benefit curve once you pass the asymptote which I would say the AKG's lie on.  The last bit of information always costs you a  disproportionate sum (diminishing returns).
 
I will be curious to see what a different amplifier will be able to do beyond the Grace Design m903 with them. I suspect the difference is similar to what I found with the AKGs.  I might find that last 5-10%.  I am still on the fence to go with a nice tube amp like a DNA Stratus 2A3 or a balanced SS amp like a AMG Audio Sigma/Beta 22. I think either might be a step up from my m903. Unfortunately, neither of these amps are readily available for auditioning like headphones (I compared the HD800s to the LCD-2s with library loaners). Both choices have 4-pin XLR balanced outs, so a custom cable will be in order as well. 
 

 
Bob

 

[iim7V7IM7]

The HD800 with a good amp will give you more than a 5-10% increase. Though the 903 I've heard is no slouch.

We're are likely saying the same thing. What I call the last 10% is likely what we spend our time discussing around these parts. Some folks might describe them as much more than 10% better. I think the differences that are meaningful to us are very much about the details of realism that lie here.

The AKGs are very good. I was just trying to say the HD800s where in the same sonically revealing, monitoring school of headphones. They are definitely better than the AKGs in a number of ways. I suspect as you say, they can be even more revealing under better amplification. I do wonder how much better though?

The m903 is a good single-ended, solid state amp, with low output impedance and fair power at 300 ohm (200 mW). Mike Grace designs high-end monitoring equipment and the m903 is the third generation product. That is why I am looking at the two amps that I am. Tubes will definitely be different and the Beta 22 is both balanced and has more power bandwidth.

 

[Shahrose]

Don't forget the source. Source source source.
 
Mediocre source + great amp = mediocre sound.

 

[iim7V7IM7]

Source = iTunes or Decibel playing some high res files via Grace Design USB DAC (most of my material is 16/44 but I do have some high res stuff. My DAC is capable of 24/192.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Source = iTunes or Decibel playing some high res files via Grace Design USB DAC (most of my material is 16/44 but I do have some high res stuff. My DAC is capable of 24/192.

 
If I were you, sure I'd start with using that, but eventually it'd be ideal to upgrade lest you want your source holding back the new amp. The HD800s are microscopes and I feel every little upgrade counts.