[Polky74]

If you are looking for a DAC that has truly extraordinary synergy with the HD800S I would recommend you try listening to them with the Astell & Kern AKHC4... truly amazing!!!

 

[fidgeraldo]

Your point makes a lot of sense

I don't know your budget, but if you are looking at mojo2, I assume it's around 600€.
Last year, I bought a used Sennheiser HDVD800 in perfect condition from an Austrian seller.
I had a great conversation with him.
So it was a very safe buy.
Perhaps you might consider something like that?
The amp is great!
HifiShark
HDVD800

Cheers!

P.S. This is not the guy I bought from...just another who is selling the HDVD800

 

[shabta]

I don't know your budget, but if you are looking at mojo2, I assume it's around 600€.
Last year, I bought a used Sennheiser HDVD800 in perfect condition from an Austrian seller.
I had a great conversation with him.
So it was a very safe buy.
Perhaps you might consider something like that?
The amp is great!
HifiShark
HDVD800

Cheers!

P.S. This is not the guy I bought from...just another who is selling the HDVD800

The problem with the HDVD800 is it's a pretty colored amp and dac, and at first it seems like it's a great match for the hd800s, but then you start to realize that it artificially smooths over everything. And should you ever want to use it with other headphones, you'll find out just much it colors the sound.

If it were me, I would stick with the mojo. But I understood the question as he already bought the mojo...

 

[skhan007]

A relatively inexpensive tube amp option, that pairs incredibly well with the HD800S, is the Bottlehead Crack. Highly recommended.

 

[jsk ksj]

The mojo2 is a fantastic dac. Combine this with an inexpensive tube amp & you are set.

I use the mojo2 as a dac/pre-amp to a Little Dot mk4, & it sounds full & sweet

 

[shabta]

The mojo2 is a fantastic dac. Combine this with an inexpensive tube amp & you are set.

I use the mojo2 as a dac/pre-amp to a Little Dot mk4, & it sounds full & sweet

This is a great point. You can enjoy the mojo 2 standalone and then later if you have fund and are curious, you can upgrade to a better amp and still take advantage of the excellent Mojo2 dac. You can use the built in eq to give the HD800s a touch more bass too.

 

[sygnus21]

For all of you suggesting expensive headphone amps for SecretAgent, be aware in addition to not answering the budget question...

That said, you might figure out what you want, and how much you want to spend. I'm sure others will chime in with some great suggestions, once you provide a bit more info on budget and what you might want.

they also indicated they didn't want to spend more money on gear...

I don't want/can't spend more on gear, the only question is if mojo2 will be enough or better buy clear or lcdx which are much easier to drive afaic

 

[Polky74]

If I can say my opinion... from my personal experience any headphones, even the simplest to drive, benefit enormously from use with adequate amplifier. Then the fact that the same headphones can also play when connected to a simple dongle/dap is also a fact. Everything is useful, but almost nothing is indispensable... and it all depends on what you want to achieve, unless we are talking about very demanding headphones like the Hifiman HE6SEV2 which requires an amplifier with a lot of current available. Having said that, even an IEM really earns a lot if connected to a suitable amplifier and not directly to a dongle/DAP and the Sennheiser HD800S does not escape this rule. (personal opinion)

 

[sygnus21]

The problem with the HDVD800 is it's a pretty colored amp and dac, and at first it seems like it's a great match for the hd800s, but then you start to realize that it artificially smooths over everything. And should you ever want to use it with other headphones, you'll find out just much it colors the sound.

If it were me, I would stick with the mojo. But I understood the question as he already bought the mojo...

A colored (warm) amp is relative to what one is looking for. The reason I bought my Denafrips Artemis HPA amp is because it is colored. I did not want an amp that was clinical (highly detailed and resolving but musically, devoid of life), I wanted something colored and warm.

Lachlin explains it perfectly here, and another reason I chose the Artemis, as I'm finding his assessment of the amp to be on point...



As he opines, the Artemis is an example of a colored amp done right. Now, I'm not trying to push the Artemis, simply saying colored done right can be great. In the end it comes down to what you're looking for when listening to music.

 

[shabta]

A colored (warm) amp is relative to what one is looking for. The reason I bought my Denafrips Artemis HPA amp is because it is colored. I did not want an amp that was clinical (highly detailed and resolving but musically, devoid of life), I wanted something colored and warm.

Lachlin explains it perfectly here, and another reason I chose the Artemis, as I'm finding his assessment of the amp to be on point...



As he opines, the Artemis is an example of a colored amp done right. Now, I'm not trying to push the Artemis, simply saying colored done right can be great. In the end it comes down to what you're looking for when listening to music.

HD800S generally works best with warmer amps. The hdvd800 is not warm and colored in an annoying sort of way. Ymmv.

 

[sygnus21]

If I can say my opinion... from my personal experience any headphones, even the simplest to drive, benefit enormously from use with adequate amplifier. Then the fact that the same headphones can also play when connected to a simple dongle/dap is also a fact. Everything is useful, but almost nothing is indispensable... and it all depends on what you want to achieve, unless we are talking about very demanding headphones like the Hifiman HE6SEV2 which requires an amplifier with a lot of current available. Having said that, even an IEM really earns a lot if connected to a suitable amplifier and not directly to a dongle/DAP and the Sennheiser HD800S does not escape this rule. (personal opinion)

My example is this... with my Teac UD-503 DAC/Headphone amp, no matter how much I cranked the volume, both my Sennheiser HD700 and HD800S phones sounded under powered and thin. With my new amp, weight of music is heavy and full, and neither headphone now sounds like they're starving for power... even at low volume levels.

 

[sygnus21]

My reply to your post had to do with this statement...

The problem with the HDVD800 is it's a pretty colored amp and dac, and at first it seems like it's a great match for the hd800s, but then you start to realize that it artificially smooths over everything.

Now, in countering my post you say this...

HD800S generally works best with warmer amps. The hdvd800 is not warm and colored in an annoying sort of way.

Which is it... problem or not???

Ymmv.

And I completely agree, and why made my post

 

[Polky74]

My example is this... with my Teac UD-503 DAC/Headphone amp, no matter how much I cranked the volume, both my Sennheiser HD700 and HD800S phones sounded under powered and thin. With my new amp, weight of music is heavy and full, and neither headphone now sounds like they're starving for power... even at low volume levels.

You are absolutely right, in fact amplification capacity is very often confused with volume, but this is not the case. Headphone can also sound very loud but lack body, structure, soundstage and everything that makes it perform as it should and very often it doesn't even depend exclusively on the number of watts that the amplifier expresses.

 

[shabta]

My reply to your post had to do with this statement...

Now, in countering my post you say this...

Which is it... problem or not???


And I completely agree, and why made my post

I wasn't countering your post at all. I am not sure i understood your reaction. Sorry

 

[shabta]

I wasn't countering your post at all. I am not sure i understood your reaction. Sorry

It's the way the sennheiser amp colors the sound, not that it colors the sound per se. My icon audio amp, like all tube amps adds distortion.