[ruinedx]

Yeah, good thought. I should probably at least give them a shot on the HeadAmp when I go inside tonight.

How do your 700s sound on LP? Any other amps you’d compare it to?

LP actually has very unique voicing, it sounds smooth like a typical tube amp but fast and clean like a typical solid state amp, which makes sense since it's a hybrid. Smoother than Schitt headphone amps for instance, but not necessarily super warm, kinda like warm-neutral. It sounds utterly amazing with hd820, even with stock tubes. It's a near perfect pairing. Note this is in combination with my Musical Fidelity MX-DAC, which has a little special sauce of its own. The three together have a special synergy

For the HD700 it also works but after hearing the near-perfect hd820 and going to the hd700, the hd700 sounds a bit "hollow" likely due to the large upper mid-range depression the hd700 has. However when listening to the hd700 on its own without reference, it sounds very good too. Its just when compared back to back with the hd820 it's clearly not as good

Should get the BEL tubes in a few days will be interested to see if it gets even better

 

[thehutch]

LP actually has very unique voicing, it sounds smooth like a typical tube amp but fast and clean like a typical solid state amp, which makes sense since it's a hybrid. Smoother than Schitt headphone amps for instance, but not necessarily super warm, kinda like warm-neutral. It sounds utterly amazing with hd820, even with stock tubes. It's a near perfect pairing. Note this is in combination with my Musical Fidelity MX-DAC, which has a little special sauce of its own. The three together have a special synergy

For the HD700 it also works but after hearing the near-perfect hd820 and going to the hd700, the hd700 sounds a bit "hollow" likely due to the large upper mid-range depression the hd700 has. However when listening to the hd700 on its own without reference, it sounds very good too. Its just when compared back to back with the hd820 it's clearly not as good

Should get the BEL tubes in a few days will be interested to see if it gets even better

Thanks, that does sound pretty nice. I’m listening on the Darkvoice now. Certainly lacking in detail and a bit mushy in the low end, but the magic comes through for sure. The Gilmore was, as suspected, pretty bright – but it had slam for sure and wasn’t intolerable.

 

[ruinedx]

Thanks, that does sound pretty nice. I’m listening on the Darkvoice now. Certainly lacking in detail and a bit mushy in the low end, but the magic comes through for sure. The Gilmore was, as suspected, pretty bright – but it had slam for sure and wasn’t intolerable.

Yeah the LP does it all for me. All genres. Even kicks butt on goatrance which isn't an easy one since it uses the whole frequency spectrum and is very fast paced. [note I can't say how much of this is also attributable to my DAC, which is quite adept at well] I suspected the gilmore would be too bright. You might be able to replace both amps with the LP, as long as your headphones are balanced terminated since thats what LP excels at.

 

[ruinedx]

So does anyone here own *both* the HD820 and the HD800S?

The HD8xx series is my favorite and the HD820 works best for me due to the isolation. But does anyone have both and find themselves using both regularly and switching between the two depending on music type? I used to own the HD800 and the difference was pretty notable vs the HD820 with some types of music.

 

[Nooborghini]

So does anyone here own *both* the HD820 and the HD800S?

The HD8xx series is my favorite and the HD820 works best for me due to the isolation. But does anyone have both and find themselves using both regularly and switching between the two depending on music type? I used to own the HD800 and the difference was pretty notable vs the HD820 with some types of music.

I just ordered the HD800 and it's in the mail. Couldn't get a decent deal on the HD800S yet so I got a used HD800.
I was thinking of waiting for the pandemic to end to try the HD800S in a store or maybe going to a meet n greet

 

[ruinedx]

I just ordered the HD800 and it's in the mail. Couldn't get a decent deal on the HD800S yet so I got a used HD800.
I was thinking of waiting for the pandemic to end to try the HD800S in a store or maybe going to a meet n greet

They are the same headphone except:

HD800 more bass quality vs hd800s more bass quantity with more bass distortion

HD800 more air/brilliant/sharp treble vs hd800s less brilliant but more smooth treble with less
treble distortion

Mods/eq can bring them roughly in line with each other. Out of the box though the hd800 will be way brighter/sharper than the hd820 with way less bass. But it will also have bigger soundstage + perception of more detail.

 

[robo24]

So does anyone here own *both* the HD820 and the HD800S?

The HD8xx series is my favorite and the HD820 works best for me due to the isolation. But does anyone have both and find themselves using both regularly and switching between the two depending on music type? I used to own the HD800 and the difference was pretty notable vs the HD820 with some types of music.

I have the 820 & 800 SDR. I use the 800 every once in a while, but often just think I might as well use the 820 instead, as it's so much more pleasant. The 800 treble doesn't bother me. I still think even the 700 is amazing and use it as much as the 800 since it just fits me better and is more comfortable.

 

[ruinedx]

I have the 820 & 800 SDR. I use the 800 every once in a while, but often just think I might as well use the 820 instead, as it's so much more pleasant. The 800 treble doesn't bother me. I still think even the 700 is amazing and use it as much as the 800 since it just fits me better and is more comfortable.

Yeh i still love me some hd700 for that sweet fit and big soundstage even if not quite as epic as hd8xx.

I just like the lineup so much i want to complete with hd800/s i just fear i wont get good use out of it as much as i expect.

 

[thehutch]

I was getting close to ditching the HD 820 based on its odd tonality. I had tried EQing in Roon – using the adjustments @Resolve helpfully put together in a follow up to his review – but I got severe distortion and gave up quickly. Then, yesterday, something hit me, and I dug around in the closet for a while until I found my Schiit Loki. I stuck it between my Hugo 2 and Gilmore Lite. Totally different headphone. Night and day. The 820 takes these analog adjustments really well. Not that I’m doing this, but you could boost 20 hz band by 12 db and there’s no distortion. Highly recommend this $149 purchase. Still not sold on the 820, but it’s become a lot more enjoyable.

 

[ruinedx]

I was getting close to ditching the HD 820 based on its odd tonality. I had tried EQing in Roon – using the adjustments @Resolve helpfully put together in a follow up to his review – but I got severe distortion and gave up quickly. Then, yesterday, something hit me, and I dug around in the closet for a while until I found my Schiit Loki. I stuck it between my Hugo 2 and Gilmore Lite. Totally different headphone. Night and day. The 820 takes these analog adjustments really well. Not that I’m doing this, but you could boost 20 hz band by 12 db and there’s no distortion. Highly recommend this $149 purchase. Still not sold on the 820, but it’s become a lot more enjoyable.

The gilmore lite is a bad match for the 820, thats your problem. Liquid platinum your best bet in that price range, and headphone scales with better amps

 

[thehutch]

Agree it’s not a perfect match. I’ve also listened straight out of the Hugo 2 and out of the Hugo 2 feeding the DarkVoice. Listening on that latter combo now and it really sounds great. My longterm plans involve buying a high-end tube amp – probably a DNA Stratus – and I’m betting the 820 would sound wonderful on that.

It’s super detailed and has a huge soundstage for a closed back. That part is awesome. But this headphone has very weird tonality and a nutty frequency response – no getting around that. There aren’t many amps that will fix those problems. From what I’ve read here in this forum, the HDV 820 might be different; it’s tailored to make this headphone sing. And obviously you love your Liquid Platinum – I haven’t forgotten about it.

Not giving up yet.

 

[ruinedx]

Agree it’s not a perfect match. I’ve also listened straight out of the Hugo 2 and out of the Hugo 2 feeding the DarkVoice. Listening on that latter combo now and it really sounds great. My longterm plans involve buying a high-end tube amp – probably a DNA Stratus – and I’m betting the 820 would sound wonderful on that.

It’s super detailed and has a huge soundstage for a closed back. That part is awesome. But this headphone has very weird tonality and a nutty frequency response – no getting around that. There aren’t many amps that will fix those problems. From what I’ve read here in this forum, the HDV 820 might be different; it’s tailored to make this headphone sing. And obviously you love your Liquid Platinum – I haven’t forgotten about it.

Not giving up yet.

The DNA Starlett is a great choice too for hd8xx at a lot less $ than the stratus. I was not super impressed for the price when i heard the HDVD800 which uses basically same amp as HDV 820; its impressive for solid state amp performance wirh hd8xx but there are better overall amps in same price range.

The LP does work really well the hd820; there isnt much under $1k which complements it so well.

 

[thehutch]

The DNA Starlett is a great choice too for hd8xx at a lot less $ than the stratus. I was not super impressed for the price when i heard the HDVD800 which uses basically same amp as HDV 820; its impressive for solid state amp performance wirh hd8xx but there are better overall amps in same price range.

The LP does work really well the hd820; there isnt much under $1k which complements it so well.

I read the HDV820 is way better than the 800 and was designed specifically to match with the 820 headphone. Not sure what they did to make it different, but quite a few folks in this thread we’re excited about it. Starlett sounds great, too. But I would immediately be wondering about those 2A3 tubes.

 

[ruinedx]

I read the HDV820 is way better than the 800 and was designed specifically to match with the 820 headphone. Not sure what they did to make it different, but quite a few folks in this thread we’re excited about it. Starlett sounds great, too. But I would immediately be wondering about those 2A3 tubes.

The amp section of hdv820 is pretty much the same as hdvd800 and hdva600 as far as i know. The dac was the main upgrade to an ESS chip which im not particularly a fan of. Also is kind of a usability fail that hdv820 has a preamp output, but it follows the volume of the headphone output with no mute circuit.

Starlett doesnt use 2a3 tubes i dont believe, thats the stratus:
http://dnaudio.com/DNA-Starlett-headphone-amplifier.html
And its cheaper than the hdv820, too. No DAC or preamp outs but the dac in hdv820 is no prize and as mentioned earlier preamp out usefulness questionable.

Finally hdv820 has a 40 ohm output impedence making it non ideal / unusable with a large percentage of headphones currently on the market.

 

[Slim1970]

I was getting close to ditching the HD 820 based on its odd tonality. I had tried EQing in Roon – using the adjustments @Resolve helpfully put together in a follow up to his review – but I got severe distortion and gave up quickly. Then, yesterday, something hit me, and I dug around in the closet for a while until I found my Schiit Loki. I stuck it between my Hugo 2 and Gilmore Lite. Totally different headphone. Night and day. The 820 takes these analog adjustments really well. Not that I’m doing this, but you could boost 20 hz band by 12 db and there’s no distortion. Highly recommend this $149 purchase. Still not sold on the 820, but it’s become a lot more enjoyable.

Yes, the loki is one of my all time favorite tweaks. I had the same setup as you, Hugo 2 to the Loki out to the GL Mk2 and it was one of my favorite setups. I was able to tweak the sound of the HD820's to my liking. My only issue with the HD820's was fit. I do think the Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT's are right there is resolution and soundstage with the HD820's. They beat the HD820's is sound to my ears.