Which headphone would you say works the best with your Cary Audio SLI 80 amp
The headphones i own that I could call high class are Tesla T1, HD800, HD800S, Audeze LCD3F.
and even the lower end, AKG K553, HD600, Fostex TH-X00, Audio Technica AD700, A900X,
What I use the most are HD800S and Audeze LCD3F,
Characteristics of the Cary amp will carry onto your headphones. Those are :smoothness, Rounded top and bottom(there is not enough ZING oomph or attack/speed or snappyness and is rather quite laid back), extremely warm, Bloated but it retains its full body sound is quite defined and have depth.
The lows are a bit flabby, it can deliver quite a punch but from a wider larger glove does not have a visceral jab like accuracy.
The mids is where I believe it shines most, in terms of clarity and soundstage, any musical instrument blows you away
The highs are not as sharp as other faster amps, talking about transience of certain songs, just has a totally different decay to it.
It is not an amp that I would say is up in your face and if you are after speed and detail the SLI-80 is not for you.
using it with speakers quite effectively fills the room with musicality, is very organic and rich
If you are using it for Vocals, Jazz, classical, involving instruments this is for you.
It pairs really well with the Tesla T1 to form a good balance
It pairs with HD800's and takes away its troublesome treble
It pairs well with HD800S new found bass but isnt anywhere near other bassphones, I find this to be more of the jack of all trades but its a real toss up with Tesla T1
yet retains sennheisers awesome ability to do 3D sound imaging
Audeze LCD3F, really really excellent vocals and strings, more layered and alive there an ambiance with these, an after taste
I pick these when I want bass on my head, I usually have the speakers on for real bass.
I think the modifications that were done to my amp is an unfair comparison to other Cary Audio Sli80's This thing rocks massive amounts of force, power and with it can come harshness even at 35-50% volume I dont even dare turn the knob any further. My small nearfield speakers can easily be Horn style far field with the right tuning/dialing and use of spatializer hardware of software.