[migasson]

I compared a few amps, for my HD700...


And the winner was… the Senn HDVA-600! (cue fanfare and all that nonsense)

Ok, in order, first to last which I thought had the best synergy.

1) Senn HDVA-600
2) Matrix M-Stage
3) Woo WA6
4) Burson Soloist
5) Schitt Valhalla 2
6) Schiit Lyr

So, I popped into A2A, and fired up the Valhalla 2. To be transparent, I used their AK120 playing HiRes tracks, and my lowly iPod filled with ALAC's, just so I got the gist of how my fav tunes fitted into the mix. This was all via a line out from the AK, and the mini-jack on my iPod to RCA's on the back of the amps.

I heard a lot about this combo on HeadFi, and to be honest, it was quite spacious sounding. the highs were pretty good. Just some tracks were borderline harsh, the stereo imaging was great from left to right, and ok depth wise. Occasionally I heard new details. Just a glassy tone that pissed me off

Next up was the Lyr. Urgh. TOTALLY overrated combo. Theres a lot of positive comments about it around the forums, but to me it was grainy, and brittle around the edges. It did have more propulsive drive though. Was getting fatigue FAST. (Lyr 2 not on demo. They had boxed stock, but none out on the floor)

Then onto the WA6. Now I've got a massive soft spot for Woo. Still one of the best sounds I've heard was the WA22/LCD/T90. Now to be transparent, it did have the stock rectifier, the bloody awful Shuguang 274B, but good drivers in some Westinghouse branded 6SN7's. Typical SET here lovely milky highs, and a ever-so-dark tone, which I'm a big fan of. However, a bit wooly in the bass

Just before I left, I popped in the Soloist SL. Not bad at all. Kinda a blend of all the best of above, had good rhythmic drive, smooth top end, though not quite as good as the WA6, Just a little too glassy for me, though not as irritating as the Valhalla 2.

So. I needed a break.

I decided to visit Billy at Noisy Motel, and check out the Matrix M-Stage.

As he greeted me, with his usual enthusiasm, we caught up, and as I glanced over, I noticed the Senn. "Oh ****, I'm gonna have to try that!!!" So, he asked me how I was going to play my music, and I suggested that to use the Fostex HP-P1, to use the line-out, to basically use the iPod as a media storage. He goes out the back, rips out a Matrix and a Fostex for me to try, as he didn't have one on demo.

Thanks Billy Anyhow. I sit down. (And I have a feeling how this one is going to go)

There must be a certain synergy with the HDVA and their phones.. they probably was thinking of an apple-esque ecosystem!!

Yeah. WOW!! All of sudden, no harshness. Rhythmic drive. Depth. Width. Soul. And what I didn't expect, a certain fullness to the tone. I was hearing all kinds of details I hadn't noticed, but it wasn't so starkly emphasised. It was there. From time to time, it would be a "what-the-******-was that?" moment. This was clearly the leader, by a mile. And fully UN-balanced to boot. This thing was going half kilter and making me feeling VERY satisfied. It was just awesome to listen to. For the record, I hate tininess, hate harshness, hate listening to equipment that says "Oh look how clever I am at extracting the last detail .. etc.." I listen to music, not the equipment. Not since my regretful departure of my WA22/LCD combo have I been so musically satisfied. I just want to keep going. These are keepers

Ok, a quick note on the Matrix, my number 2. The cheapest here! What stopped me, if I wasn't being a tight arse, was it tended to harden up the top volumes comparatively to the HDVA. Tonally it was a HDVA light. It did everything the Burson did, but cheaper! that right there is THE bargain in headphones. Skip the Fiio's/Schiits/etc, and grab this! It's rollable as well.

Kudos to Billy Mav @ Noisy Motel. Great service

I used to loathe Sennheiser. (Due to the overrated HD650) Now I'm a fully paid up fan. Now to get that DAC or new phono setup

 

[hpz]

Nice post! But I have no clue what headphones you are using in the comparison above. From the listening impressions i assume a hd800 but i m not sure.

 

[migasson]

Ha! I'm a dick. HD700's

 

[BirdManOfCT]

I compared a few amps, for my HD700...


And the winner was… the Senn HDVA-600! (cue fanfare and all that nonsense)

Ok, in order, first to last which I thought had the best synergy.

1) Senn HDVA-600
2) Matrix M-Stage
3) Woo WA6
4) Burson Soloist
5) Schitt Valhalla 2
6) Schiit Lyr

So, I popped into A2A, and fired up the Valhalla 2. To be transparent, I used their AK120 playing HiRes tracks, and my lowly iPod filled with ALAC's, just so I got the gist of how my fav tunes fitted into the mix. This was all via a line out from the AK, and the mini-jack on my iPod to RCA's on the back of the amps.

I heard a lot about this combo on HeadFi, and to be honest, it was quite spacious sounding. the highs were pretty good. Just some tracks were borderline harsh, the stereo imaging was great from left to right, and ok depth wise. Occasionally I heard new details. Just a glassy tone that pissed me off

Next up was the Lyr. Urgh. TOTALLY overrated combo. Theres a lot of positive comments about it around the forums, but to me it was grainy, and brittle around the edges. It did have more propulsive drive though. Was getting fatigue FAST. (Lyr 2 not on demo. They had boxed stock, but none out on the floor)

Then onto the WA6. Now I've got a massive soft spot for Woo. Still one of the best sounds I've heard was the WA22/LCD/T90. Now to be transparent, it did have the stock rectifier, the bloody awful Shuguang 274B, but good drivers in some Westinghouse branded 6SN7's. Typical SET here lovely milky highs, and a ever-so-dark tone, which I'm a big fan of. However, a bit wooly in the bass

Just before I left, I popped in the Soloist SL. Not bad at all. Kinda a blend of all the best of above, had good rhythmic drive, smooth top end, though not quite as good as the WA6, Just a little too glassy for me, though not as irritating as the Valhalla 2.

So. I needed a break.

I decided to visit Billy at Noisy Motel, and check out the Matrix M-Stage.

As he greeted me, with his usual enthusiasm, we caught up, and as I glanced over, I noticed the Senn. "Oh ****, I'm gonna have to try that!!!" So, he asked me how I was going to play my music, and I suggested that to use the Fostex HP-P1, to use the line-out, to basically use the iPod as a media storage. He goes out the back, rips out a Matrix and a Fostex for me to try, as he didn't have one on demo.

Thanks Billy Anyhow. I sit down. (And I have a feeling how this one is going to go)

There must be a certain synergy with the HDVA and their phones.. they probably was thinking of an apple-esque ecosystem!!

Yeah. WOW!! All of sudden, no harshness. Rhythmic drive. Depth. Width. Soul. And what I didn't expect, a certain fullness to the tone. I was hearing all kinds of details I hadn't noticed, but it wasn't so starkly emphasised. It was there. From time to time, it would be a "what-the-******-was that?" moment. This was clearly the leader, by a mile. And fully UN-balanced to boot. This thing was going half kilter and making me feeling VERY satisfied. It was just awesome to listen to. For the record, I hate tininess, hate harshness, hate listening to equipment that says "Oh look how clever I am at extracting the last detail .. etc.." I listen to music, not the equipment. Not since my regretful departure of my WA22/LCD combo have I been so musically satisfied. I just want to keep going. These are keepers

Ok, a quick note on the Matrix, my number 2. The cheapest here! What stopped me, if I wasn't being a tight arse, was it tended to harden up the top volumes comparatively to the HDVA. Tonally it was a HDVA light. It did everything the Burson did, but cheaper! that right there is THE bargain in headphones. Skip the Fiio's/Schiits/etc, and grab this! It's rollable as well.

Kudos to Billy Mav @ Noisy Motel. Great service

I used to loathe Sennheiser. (Due to the overrated HD650) Now I'm a fully paid up fan. Now to get that DAC or new phono setup

Thanks for the write-up. I'm considering the HDVA600, probably after adding Matrix X-Sabre to my Woo WA7. Time will tell.

 

[migasson]

 
Thanks for the write-up. I'm considering the HDVA600, probably after adding Matrix X-Sabre to my Woo WA7. Time will tell.

Cool!
 
This is seriously addictive stuff.
 
I've still got my HD700's perched on my head, and it's 10:44pm!!
 
I'm gonna bypass the iPod… gonna get myself a proper DAC, a Matrix Mini-I Pro… at least I can feed the amp with a balanced signal, and have full high res, with DSD/DXD playback
 
Cheers

 

[migasson]

Update..
 
What a combination.
 
I'm done.
 

 

[knowhatimean]

I couldn't think of where else to place this so I guess this will do :
 
What does Sennheiser have against showing what the back of this amp looks like ?  Some of us like to see how the
inputs are arranged or this some company secret ?
 
I can instantly see what's "going on" with a component if I can view the "business side" of it! It would be extremely ridiculous to
spend this kind of money on a component if you can't figure out things just by taking a look ! (the user's guide will confirm or
explain what you've seen. (Does Senn make a habit of making last minute changes to the provided inputs ?)
 
Do I have to learn a secret code that I can only get from the Hamburg, Steinway facility ?

 

[hpz]

I'm not sure what you are on about, but if you just google 'HDVA600 rear' you'll get a range of pictures that show you all the rear inputs.
 
 
 

 

[knowhatimean]

  I'm not sure what you are on about, but if you just google 'HDVA600 rear' you'll get a range of pictures that show you all the rear inputs.
 
 
 

"On about" ??  I was just being a bit grumpy I suppose as I really only use google to look up websites ,so I forget to use
it simply to find a picture.
 
Sorry about that, but thanks for the picture (Hmm.. that little gain dial is interesting)

 

[Musicans2]

  Update..
 
What a combination.
 
I'm done.
 
:

ME TOO working on it............

 

[HiAudio]

I have HD 650 for 4 years and got HD 800 last month. So many DACs and AMPs and combos made me dizzy and I eventually got the HDVA 600 as Amp and DAC-19 (only SE). The phones sound good but I do not have chance to listen to other setups. One thing I love HDVA is that it has 4 headphone outputs. I will get balance cable for the phones.
 
One question for whoever had used HDVA 600 and tried both single end and balanced inputs (out put from DAC), do you feel the difference? I love the DAC-19 but eventually I will get one DAC with balance outputs.

 

[Dionysus]

I own the HDVD800 and I do not use the internal DAC I use a PSAudio PerfectWave DAC.
So as a point of reference I by pass the internal DAC, so the setup is similar to yours.
The difference between balanced and unbalanced to my ears is truly a noticeable upgrade and it's like different amp. My whole chain is balanced.
Hope that helps.

 

[kazsud]

  I have HD 650 for 4 years and got HD 800 last month. So many DACs and AMPs and combos made me dizzy and I eventually got the HDVA 600 as Amp and DAC-19 (only SE). The phones sound good but I do not have chance to listen to other setups. One thing I love HDVA is that it has 4 headphone outputs. I will get balance cable for the phones.
 
One question for whoever had used HDVA 600 and tried both single end and balanced inputs (out put from DAC), do you feel the difference? I love the DAC-19 but eventually I will get one DAC with balance outputs.

 
It's a lot better w/ a balanced headphone cable.

 

[ddl8]

I own the HDVD800 and I do not use the internal DAC I use a PSAudio PerfectWave DAC.
So as a point of reference I by pass the internal DAC, so the setup is similar to yours.
The difference between balanced and unbalanced to my ears is truly a noticeable upgrade and it's like different amp. My whole chain is balanced.
Hope that helps.

Hi, can you please describe what exactly is the difference between balanced and single ended connection between dac and amp? So, to be more clear, you have balanced headphone cable, what kind of difference you hear when you add to this balanced dac-amp cable? You stated the difference is trully a noticable upgrade, be specific please!

 

[elgringo81]

I have been for 1 hour with my HDVA600 that I am pairing with my 2Qute and HD800S.
... Wow ...
 
There is a huge difference coming from my old MF M1HPAP workhorse.
 
I have a balanced MF M1DAC and V-LINK 192 so I will just build some XLRs to see if it will outperform the (Unbalanced) 2Qute but I doubt that will happen.
 
 
again.. Wow..
 
I love my new amp.. the performance actually make me a little emotional, if you promise not to tell anyone