[AppleheadMay]

Yep, it has preamp function.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Finally ordered one but I'm keeping my HDVA 600 as well.
Looking forward to compare the amp section.

 

[winterhalter]

I would like to use my new HDV 820 with Tidal Masters. Any updates on support for MQA?

 

[AppleheadMay]

I would like to use my new HDV 820 with Tidal Masters. Any updates on support for MQA?

Since Roon supports Quobuz now as well which has true hi-res without lossy compression I switched from Tidal to Quobuz.
In Tidal I preferred the sound of CD quality to their MQA.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Will be putting my HDV 820 up for sale soon if anybody is interested.
I will keep the HDVA 600 which is pretty similar (although the 820 does improve on the traits of the 600) and I ordered a Luxman P-750u instead.
Still, both the 600 and 820 are wonderful amps.

 

[JabenZ]

​

I notice that sennheiser replace the original look with matte housing. Is there any chance that it would be available upgrade for the old consumer?

 

[HigherFidelity]

An Easter Egg for you all ...

 

[Sennheiser]

No worries. I still very much appreciate the gesture of wanting to help and I'm sure it will be helpful for others who might read this thread! And I'm glad to hear you agree about the HD800S/HDV820 pairing. I should admit that I too have not auditioned the more expensive setups and so my praise should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt. But I can say that, like you, I feel no need to do so. What I can pronounce on, at least, is the internal DAC vs. the Chord Mojo DAC. To my ears, the internal DAC of the HDV 820 did not sound in any way inferior to the Chord Mojo in a comparison of using the Mojo as the DAC with its line-out and using the HDV 820 as an amp only vs. using the HDV 820 as both amp and DAC. Nevertheless, it does seem to me that it is the amplifier side of the HDV 820 that is so superb and that will remain in my set up, even if I should eventually pair it with a DAC that can, e.g., do DSD 512 and higher (although I really don't know if I'll feel the need to go beyond DSD 256 for the jazz and classical I primarily listen to).

You aren't the only one who feels this way:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1117/Sennheiser_HDV820_DAC_Headamp_Review.htm

 

[AppleheadMay]

A quick question: when using any of the three Sennheiser amps with balanced phones, do you hear a difference between using the XLR or RCA inputs?

 

[pdan]

The HDV 820 drivers for Windows available from https://en-us.sennheiser.com/digital-headphones-amplifier-hdv-820 are not digitally signed, therefore do not load in Windows 10 x64. Are there equivalent, signed drivers?

As it stands today, I cannot use the HDV 820 in Windows.

 

[winterhalter]

Sennheiser, are DSD drivers for macOS and MQA support on the way?

 

[pdan]

The HDV 820 drivers for Windows available from https://en-us.sennheiser.com/digital-headphones-amplifier-hdv-820 are not digitally signed, therefore do not load in Windows 10 x64. Are there equivalent, signed drivers?

As it stands today, I cannot use the HDV 820 in Windows.

After talking with the Sennheiser support they have provided signed HDV 820 drivers; until they are posted on their website I have made them available here https://www.dropbox.com/s/44av42hgy...SoftwarePackage_3_32_7_87_WIN_SIGNED.exe?dl=0

 

[greyscale75]

Too late for the 820, but a REMOTE for the next Sennhieser dac/amp would be very welcome.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Will be selling my HDVA 600 soon if anyone is interested. No time to make a post yet. EU/UK only.

 

[Murcielagolp640]

I'm hoping someone has some solution for the following problem: I have a Mac and I cannot play DSD files natively on the HDV 820, which it is supposed to be able to do.

I think this is because there are no ASIO drivers provided by Sennheiser for Apple users (they do provide them for Windows users on their website). I installed Windows (through Parallels) on my Mac and got the DSD files (64, 128, 256) to play natively using JRiver. But in the Mac OS, in JRiver, I get the error message that playback of DSD 256 files is not possible. JRiver on Mac _can_ play DSD 64 and DSD 128 files on the HDV 820, but that is only because it is converting them via the DoP protocol--it is not sending the native DSD files to the HDV, which is capable of playing DSD natively, and does do so in Windows.

I have been in touch with Sennheiser in Germany and they have given me two different answers. First, they said that they were aware of the missing DSD drivers for Apple users and were going to rectify it soon (February 2018) and today they told me their engineers, upon investigating the matter, say that the files can indeed play on Apple computers without a problem. I've sent them an e-mail as they requested detailing the issue since I cannot get DSD files to play natively from any program in my Mac OS (Audirvana, JRiver), but thought I would explain the issue here in the hopes that someone has a solution. Or perhaps I just need to wait for Sennheiser to produce the missing drivers? Thanks for any help!

I am using a iMac Pro + Audirvana + HDV820 (connected with USB cable). I can play up to DSD128 by sending the file to HDV820 directly. (The DSD LED lit up while playing). But I have problems when playing DSD256. The audio will be converted by Audirvana (The DSD LED is dim). The Mac is running on macOS 10.14.6.