Sennheiser HDV 820 Thoughts and Impressions
Dec 12, 2017 at 11:04 AM Post #16 of 163
It’s so good I thought my Chord Hugo 2 would be an easy winner but it ain’t that easy. I can’t keep both but I can’t decide which one to keep.
 
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Dec 12, 2017 at 11:25 AM Post #17 of 163
It’s so good I thought my Chord Hugo 2 would be an easy winner but it ain’t that easy. I can’t keep both but I can’t decide which one to keep.

Personally I think the HDV 820 offers much more versatility, balanced output, more power, analogue inputs and outputs... but in the end I suppose it also comes down to sound preference.
 
Dec 12, 2017 at 11:58 AM Post #18 of 163
To my ears H2 sounds more resolving and HDV820 sounds more musical if that makes any sense. I can see someone picking HDV820 over H2 easily depending on their setup but sound wise both are spectacular.. can’t go wrong.
 
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Dec 14, 2017 at 7:32 PM Post #19 of 163
Got in our unit yesterday!

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Got it set up with a AK380>HDV 820>HD660S 4.4mm

Playing it since yesterday burning in headphones and the 660S is not even that warm to the touch, and is pretty light weight wise.
 
Dec 14, 2017 at 11:28 PM Post #20 of 163
Got in our unit yesterday!

oMS3PLM.png

li4T2Xz.png

3E0E6Qu.png


Got it set up with a AK380>HDV 820>HD660S 4.4mm

Playing it since yesterday burning in headphones and the 660S is not even that warm to the touch, and is pretty light weight wise.


What are your impressions based off initial listening over Balanced?
 
Dec 16, 2017 at 1:29 AM Post #21 of 163
Personally I think the HDV 820 offers much more versatility, balanced output, more power, analogue inputs and outputs... but in the end I suppose it also comes down to sound preference.

Where will your review be posted?
 
Dec 16, 2017 at 1:34 AM Post #22 of 163
First impressions coming from using a schiit which i liked but had endless problems with.. this sounds really natural especially for SS, at first i thought the speakers where on and the headphones were not working. it makes the 800s sound that clear, startling. The bass is not as deep as what i was
getting from the Valhalla 2 but the balanced separation is significant and i have not heard
these cans perform with this level of separation before. the soundstage seems more comfortable and easy as well. will give more detail as i spend more time with the product. I was able to get these for a bit of a discounted rate as well.
 
Dec 16, 2017 at 2:43 AM Post #23 of 163
What are your impressions based off initial listening over Balanced?
Quite digging the balanced out, was using the balanced out on the CMA600i for a while which made me really dig balanced. The HDV 820 plays quite well with the HD660S to the 4.4mm, plenty of gain and didn't need to really go past 9 o'clock. Only played with it for a song or two with a new headphone so would love to slap on my Ether Flow and see how well it drives a planar.
 
Dec 18, 2017 at 2:06 AM Post #24 of 163
in reading the review by enjoy the music.com's Dave Hansen the writer suggested using the chord hugo 2 as a dac
in conjunction with the hdv 820. Any thoughts on this? As a side (cheaper) note, would the chord 2 qute be an upgrade over the hdv 820 internal dac?
 
Dec 18, 2017 at 3:47 AM Post #25 of 163
If he could “only” get one it would be the Hugo 2 but if money wasn’t an option he’d get both. The dac is better in Chord 2Qute which is a stand alone dac amp better in HDV820
 
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Dec 18, 2017 at 4:19 AM Post #26 of 163
If he could “only” get one it would be the Hugo 2 but if money wasn’t an option he’d get both. The dac is better in Chord 2Qute which is a stand alone dac amp better in HDV820
I am sorry perhaps there was a little bit lost in translation. Are you saying that it would be a what percent upgrade in using the 2qute over the hd 820's dac? i am hypothetically suggesting using the 2qute in conjunction with the hd 820.
 
Apr 10, 2018 at 4:25 AM Post #28 of 163
Hello,

Mine has arrived and I wanted to share my brief impressions about this marvelous amp even if burn in process isn't finished yet. . I apologize for my bad english in advance...

I own the Sennheiser HD 800s that I really like and had the HDV 800 to drive them... after planning to buy the new comming HD 820 headphone by keeping my HDV 800, I received an advice from @Sennheiser telling me that if I was searching for a real upgrade, the combo HDV 820 + HD 800s would be greater than what I planned before (HDV 800+HD 820). So I sold my HDV 800 for the new HDV 820...and decided to keep my HD800s instead.

And I must say that I really don't regret this choice because it pushes my HD 800s to limits that I didn't knew before. More details (specially micro details), more dynamics (beautifull and realistic "kick" in the low medium without being boomy), soundstage is even more realistic, not larger to my ears but micro details are able to present the soundstage in an even deeper and more layered and realistic way. Speaking about tonality, what impress me the most is the treble resolution and sense of reality... In comparison with my old HDV 800, treble is softer but more precise and sparkly when needed.... very enjoyable...
 
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Apr 12, 2018 at 4:40 PM Post #29 of 163
Apr 13, 2018 at 10:03 AM Post #30 of 163
I must admit the HDV820+HD800S is a really great combination. Prior to selling mine I couldn’t decide on which to keep, Hugo2 or HDV820 but ultimately I sold the HDV820. To my ears Hugo 2 was a bit, a smidget, minuscule more musical to my ears than HDV820. I can definitely see me getting it again though.
 

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