[robm321]

Power cords, ICs, Amp (tubes), Source if money is burning a hole in your pocket. It will improve the sound from the 800s which you seem to like.

 

[SillyHoney]

Idk but I believe those rings have nothing to do with sound signature

 

[Ypoknons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by entrope /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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!

Definitely read up on the theory and hearing impressions regarding balanced - a lot of people think it's amazing, others think active balanced ground will give you the same effect, etc... There's a lot of good options if you have the budget.

 

[jax]

I just recently got a pair of HD800's after hearing them at a meet a couple of months ago. I was really pissed when I heard them because I wanted so much not to like them and eventually have to make that significant investment. In listening to them, the thought that immediately occurs to me is, "Game Over"! I cannot fault them - there is nothing they do wrong and they are delivering every aspect of the music like an open conduit. I agree, put them on your head and enjoy the music! I've also owned a pair of K702's and compared K701's on the same WA6SE with the HD800's at the meet I mentioned. FWIW, sorry, no contest. The K70X are very picky about the amp you use and will have the potential to sound very thin if they don't like what you choose. They share a similarity with the HD800's in a large headstage (HD800 is the winner there, but both excel) and rendering detail clearly, but the resemblance ends there IMO. The HD's are more linear, and simply present a more accurate picture of the music that makes feet tap and heads bob. The K70X in comparison seems, hmmm, what's the right word...."sterilized" at best, stripped bare of something essential, even when optimally amped. They remind me of the sound of a passive preamp in that respect: while it may be engaging at first, when you hear a good active preamp you realize there was some meat missing from the bones with the passive. The K70x did not engage me with the music the same way the HD's do. With speaker systems I always tend to gauge how much I enjoy them by how difficult it is to get up and walk away from them (vs how much they suck you in and keep you engaged in the music). With headphones I guess that translates into how easy it is to take them off and walk away, and I found the K70x far more easy to dismiss in that way, whereas the HD's make me want to listen more and more. That's my personal take on those two (three) choices. Hope it helps.

One aspect of a pair of cans like the HD800's is that every little thing downstream of them becomes crystal clear so they may make you end up rethinking your amp and source, and if you are in such a frame of mind, cables...God help you if you mention that here. But as far as the cans themselves go, as I said, where I'm concerned this is the end of the line. Please exit to the rear for musical nirvana. If you don't like what you are hearing at that point, and the rest of your system is well sorted, well then, you probably should find another hobby to fill your time.

 

[davidhunternyc]

What's next?

 

[johangrb]

Audio-gd Roc, balanced Double Helix cable.

 

[hifidk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by entrope /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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...

I do not have HD800 but had the Raptor. It is a great amp for sure. You might also look at Woo amps. WA6SE is in same price range and is really a stunning amp (both build and sound quality wise). If you have more budget, there are a few people who are using HD800 with WA22 or WA5LE. They say it is a great match.


Quote:

Originally Posted by entrope /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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!

I believe those are tube dampers you are talking about here. It reduces microphonic caused by tube vibration.

 

[rhythmdevils]

more music, better source, amp, STAX, JH13pro, T1

 

[carledwards]

Regarding the RSA Raptor, I'll just add that it plays nice with the HD650 to the degree that it's my favorite rig for classic jazz.

 

[Acix]

Entrope, did you try the K-1000?

 

[Currawong]

What kind of music do you like? Headphone suggestions are rather pointless without knowing this first.

I think next is to fly to this year's Canjam and try a heap of stuff.

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by entrope /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.)

The answer should be obvious: spend some time enjoying your HD800. Stay wiht it for a few months and then start looking around againf or new experiences. The HD800, unless you absolutely hated it (and you don't seem to) should be enough for someone to enjoy for at least a few months in bliss.

Sometimes we get too caught up in our headphone hobby that we forget this hobby is still about listening to, and enjoying, music. We should stop to do that sometimes.

 

[entrope]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif Entrope, did you try the K-1000?

There was actually one point in time where I was really interested in the K-1000's as those who own them seem to swear by them... I eventually lost interest though due to the difficulty in acquiring those headphones (or ear speakers as some would call them).

I had only seen one for sale in recent memory and even that one wasn't in a superb condition.

It was not long after the HD 800's were launch when I had stopped spending time looking for a K-1000...

 

[entrope]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif What kind of music do you like? Headphone suggestions are rather pointless without knowing this first. I think next is to fly to this year's Canjam and try a heap of stuff.

I listen primarily to New Age and Israeli Trance. The key to my personal preference is that most music I listen to has pretty much zero vocals. I do listen to my fair share of pop and jazz as well however

 

[entrope]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mochan /img/forum/go_quote.gif The answer should be obvious: spend some time enjoying your HD800. Stay wiht it for a few months and then start looking around againf or new experiences. The HD800, unless you absolutely hated it (and you don't seem to) should be enough for someone to enjoy for at least a few months in bliss. Sometimes we get too caught up in our headphone hobby that we forget this hobby is still about listening to, and enjoying, music. We should stop to do that sometimes.

Totally agreed there. Am definitely spending much time enjoying my current setup, it's a beauty. And yeah, I can be one of those nuts forgetting at times what this hobby is all about, especially when I start worrying too much upgrading this upgrading that.

For the time being however I am extremely pleased with what I have got, and definitely have no regrets moving back to headphones