cracknub
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2011
- Posts
- 4
- Likes
- 0
Sup audiophiles,
I’ve always wanted a pair of HD800 since I was in high school (about 14 odd years ago lol). Then the HD800 S came out but could never afford them. Well, I just received a brand new pair of HD 820s. Snagged these bad boys for $1800. Hard work sure does pay off and it feels great.
Anyway, history aside, i’m in a bit of a dilemma. I’ve been using a pair of HD700 and a Darkvoice 336SE (w/various tubes, currently using some RCA's) for that last few years. So i plugged in my HD820 into the Darkvoice and man I can barely hear it. I have to crank the dial to the 3oclock position just to get a decent volume. So I figured something wasn't right first I swapped out tubes and no difference other than sound signature. I pulled out my good ole' Little Dot MK II and wow what a difference in presence. So I imagine there is something wrong with the Darkvoice that I haven't really noticed before and it also has a pretty bad hum (something I don't get with the MKII).
So what's a good amp to pair with the HD820? Naturally, I would like the HDV 820 but I can't afford that right now (maybe next year). My budget is $1000. I was looking at the Woo Audio WA6 (2nd Gen). One thing to point out is that I don't want an amp/dac combo unit ( I use to want the WOO Audio WA7 over the years but you know... dac...). Current dac is TC Helicon GoXLR for gaming/streaming (primarily will be the HD820's main use) and an ASUS Essence One Muses Edition for music. I really don't want to see people pointing out that me getting the HD820 is super overkill for gaming. I know that... I know... It's a pair of headphones I've always wanted for years so leave it at that. I just want some solid recommendations for a decent amp to power these cans.
So in short:
-$1000 budget
-No DAC combos
-Tube or Solid state (looking forward to the SS recommendations as I don't know to much about them)
-I'm a sucker for leds or screens on hardware
-Is there even an amp that has an EQ?
I’ve always wanted a pair of HD800 since I was in high school (about 14 odd years ago lol). Then the HD800 S came out but could never afford them. Well, I just received a brand new pair of HD 820s. Snagged these bad boys for $1800. Hard work sure does pay off and it feels great.
Anyway, history aside, i’m in a bit of a dilemma. I’ve been using a pair of HD700 and a Darkvoice 336SE (w/various tubes, currently using some RCA's) for that last few years. So i plugged in my HD820 into the Darkvoice and man I can barely hear it. I have to crank the dial to the 3oclock position just to get a decent volume. So I figured something wasn't right first I swapped out tubes and no difference other than sound signature. I pulled out my good ole' Little Dot MK II and wow what a difference in presence. So I imagine there is something wrong with the Darkvoice that I haven't really noticed before and it also has a pretty bad hum (something I don't get with the MKII).
So what's a good amp to pair with the HD820? Naturally, I would like the HDV 820 but I can't afford that right now (maybe next year). My budget is $1000. I was looking at the Woo Audio WA6 (2nd Gen). One thing to point out is that I don't want an amp/dac combo unit ( I use to want the WOO Audio WA7 over the years but you know... dac...). Current dac is TC Helicon GoXLR for gaming/streaming (primarily will be the HD820's main use) and an ASUS Essence One Muses Edition for music. I really don't want to see people pointing out that me getting the HD820 is super overkill for gaming. I know that... I know... It's a pair of headphones I've always wanted for years so leave it at that. I just want some solid recommendations for a decent amp to power these cans.
So in short:
-$1000 budget
-No DAC combos
-Tube or Solid state (looking forward to the SS recommendations as I don't know to much about them)
-I'm a sucker for leds or screens on hardware
-Is there even an amp that has an EQ?