[entrope]

Heya all.

So, after quite some months of waiting, I've finally got my HD 800's a week or so ago along with my amplifier and transport... one question which has been bothering me however for a bit now is; "what next?"

I've had two reasons for wanting to switch to headphones (vs having a full sized speaker system as I had before);

The first being that my house was hit by lightning half a year ago and I wasn't too fond on forking out the cash for certain components to be replaced after some of it went Chernobyl due to said lightning incident... second being I was always pretty fond of the idea of easily swapping components around (headphones in particular) without the requirement to spend massive amounts of time moving huge speakers around, re-cabling, and etc.

I've always found it interesting to compare and try out various 'phones to see how they can change the feel of the music I listen to.

I used to own a HD 600, 650 and Grado RS1i ages ago... though I have always wanted to get myself the AKG K701 (or K702) as well given the huge number of people who swear by those 'phones.

Thing is though, should I bother? And if so, what else should I be looking at? I'm completely in love with my HD 800's at the moment... haven't heard this kind of sound from headphones before. Part of the reason for this love however is that it sounds remarkably similar plus quite some more to my previous speaker system which cost me more than three times the price (MF X-DAC V8, A5 INT/CDP + ELAC 330 CE).

My current setup is: Computer -> MF M6 CD -> MF X-CAN V8P (with X-PSU V8)

(The M6CD comes with a USB input which is pretty neat as it eliminates the requirement to purchase an off-board DAC... then again it is a pretty costly CD transport. I do listen to most of my music from CD, but I do still have quite a few albums which I have on my computer but not on CD due to their rarity.)

 

[NapalmK]

Stax would be worth checking out.
Honestly if you like your headphones I'd just stick with them for a while and enjoy them. It really helps out the wallet.

 

[i_love_hina]

Take the HD800's, put it on your head, and use it to listen to music with.

 

[entrope]

*nods*

I do have quite a few CD's to listen to before I get bored and start experimenting! For the time being I'll enjoy my HD 800's, am already starting to look at options and opinions however as it can take me quite a fair bit of time reading, auditioning, changing my mind for the 51st time, and etc. before I commit to my next purchase

 

[entrope]

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_love_hina /img/forum/go_quote.gif Take the HD800's, put it on your head, and use it to listen to music with.

Ah of course, what on earth was I thinking (;

 

[joomongj]

If you wish to dwell in the dynamic range a little further, Grado ps1k is quite musical on its grounds. When I feel like going fun it does the job just perfectly. Or you can try beyer T1, a similar neutral phone to 800 but have their differences.

 

[jjinh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joomongj /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you wish to dwell in the dynamic range a little further, Grado ps1k is quite musical on its grounds. When I feel like going fun it does the job just perfectly. Or you can try beyer T1, a similar neutral phone to 800 but have their differences.

no, do as NapalmK says and get some stax!

 

[joomongj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjinh /img/forum/go_quote.gif no, do as NapalmK says and get some stax!

My remark is not unilateral but conditional.

 

[entrope]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joomongj /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you wish to dwell in the dynamic range a little further, Grado ps1k is quite musical on its grounds. When I feel like going fun it does the job just perfectly. Or you can try beyer T1, a similar neutral phone to 800 but have their differences.

I was actually pretty close to getting a the PS1K at one point of time actually, good to see some additional feedback regarding the Grado's How are they in terms of comfort however? Somehow the RS1i were never the most comfy 'phones for me when it came to long-term listening sessions.

 

[joomongj]

Not the best, but not the worst either. Mediocre sounds about right. One gripe I have is the thin hard mundane headband. The aluminum cups are heavy and after continuous 2-4 hours I can feel the headband pressing on my skull. Gets fairly uncomfortable then at which point I need to take it off to depressurize.

 

[DavidMahler]

Next Step:

You have easily one of the 10 best headphones ever made. If you're happy with the sound, look into a really good amp for it. Should you want to stay Single Ended I think the RSA Raptor would be very good, but it will be warmer than what you're hearing already. If you want to really get the most out of them, there's a whole plethora of balanced amps that I think are probably all worth a consideration. Someone also mentioned a terrific synergy with Donald North's amp line.

I'm currently using the HD800 with a TTVJ Millett 307A but the amp has been discontinued and the remnant of it is now going to be TTVJ's Apex preamp, which is 10k.....

Other great choices are surely...

Eddie Current's Balancing Act (or Zana Deux should you want to try a EC amp which is SE instead of balanced)
RSA B52. I had the fortune of hearing this amp with the HD800. It brings out tremendous warmth and lush tone to this headphone. I make the assumption that Raptor will do similar things in slightly less impactful way.
Woo Audio has some noteworthy amps but I'm not familiar with it.

If you ever can spot a used TTVJ Millett 307A for sale.......consider this, though the price will be high....I expect that the price may rise on this particular amp since it no longer is being manufactured, and is very loved.

 

[clarinetman]

x2 on Stax or the T1.

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by entrope /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... though I have always wanted to get myself the AKG K701 (or K702) as well given the huge number of people who swear by those 'phones.

Sure, kindly try K701/702. Then, please make a comparison with your HD800. I will be interested.

 

[entrope]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif Next Step: You have easily one of the 10 best headphones ever made. If you're happy with the sound, look into a really good amp for it.

Quite appreciate that piece of advise DavidMahler!

Haven't quite thought about playing around with my amplifier... but eventually it'll be time for me to swallow up my MF-pride and try something different in terms of amplification

I think that could very likely be the next step I take. Even though my current amp is pretty new, I wouldn't mind a very-early upgrade as that would allow me to take my current MF amp over to the office and have a little setup there as well. Did a quick read about the RSA's... I had actually stumbled upon that brand before while surfing the web but it somehow vanished from my head.

Somehow I never quite got the whole idea of going balanced... but if that's the way to go then hey, no harm giving it a shot!

 

[entrope]

Just saw a few photos of The Raptor and my my does it look amazing in the build quality department. Even internal components are cleanly laid out and cables where required are kept to an absolute minimum length...

Price of The Raptor is not bad either... in fact it's a little less than my MF X-CAN + X-PSU combined...

Will need to do a little bit of research here, and also look into what else is available, even if it means going balanced.

Here comes what may potentially be a bit of a noob question however; I noticed that one of the tubes on the amp has some sort of ring around it (been noticing this for quite some time on a number of tube amps actually), can someone enlighten me as to what their purpose may be?

Cheers!