Well, here is the thing, you are pumping the dac into the HDVA600 amp. I am more interested in how the HDVD800 drive other balance amps. I wanted to know how much tuning they got into dac alone~~~
So far, as HD800 goes, it sounds the best on the HDVD800 combo for me. So, I just want to know if the DAC has some contribution to it~~~
Personally, I do not think there is any information been lost in HDVD800 DAC, it is more like a change of presentation. It tends to make the sound more compact other than losing it. As a result the instrument will sound closer. For many people, this is a sign of losing sound stage, air and separation. But for me, the detail is still there, just not as easy to pick up as before due to the more compact sound. I think it makes the phone suitable for wider range of musics. I use to use Koss for pop and T1 for rock then ED8 for some instrument. Now, I can use HD800 all the time because the added warmness and the focus of the sound make vocal and pop more enjoyable. I think Sennheiser is trying to add more music sense into the HD800 other than make it even more analytical.
Hence, I really want to know that the DAC is bad in a way that it is just not as detailed as others, or it is "bad" because it "Shrink" the sound stage~~~~~ One is on the ability side, the other is more on the design side~~~~~~