[kapanak]

   
If you are looking for a budget amp that will pair well with the hd800, please consider:
 
$100: Schiit Vali-really nice detail with a hint of tube wetness. Early models were prone to ringing when the amp or desk was taped too hard.
 
$350: Schiit Valhalla 2 IMO this amp is very tough to beat south of a grand. Allows the beauty and strengths to come through effortlessly. Stock tubes are actually very nice and I never felt the need to upgrade them. A versatile amp that can drive other hp's, even some planar mags, quite well.
 
Also at this price point the Crack was a good amp when the speedball kit was installed. The Crack will "color" the hd800 more and give it a more organic and warmer tonality. But...you'll loose some speed and treble is a little smoothed over for my taste. Still a good option for DIY'ers.
 
These are the amps that I've owned and had personal experience pairing with the hd800

Thank you! I shall listen to the Valhalla 2 at my local headphones shop (headphonebar.com). I thought Schiit only sold direct, eh? But Headphone Bar carries the Valhalla 2 and a few other Schiit products. Good for me
 

 
Dangerous Music Source. I've been using it with HD800 for a long time and never have I gotten fatigued with it. The DAC and pre-amp capabilities are excellent. The headphone amp is surprisingly powerful as well. Out of all the high end headphones I've tried on it (HE-500, LCD-2, LCD-3, HE-6, T1, D2000, DT990, HE-400 etc) the HD800 pairs with it the best. Perfectly transparent, quick deep bass with decent impact. Never shrill in the treble but dark blackground. Completely dead silent on all inputs and outputs. If you can try it personally, I'd highly recommend it.

A highly interesting option, and one I had only heard about in passing before. I shall look into it, and possibly audition it if I can. Thank you
 

Somewhere I read that the asgard 2 is considered a v200 killer, now I don't know how true it is but you could consider it as an option... When I had the hd650 I was surprised by the qualities of the vali compared to my hdva600, and that's supposed to be the hd800 amp. I would give them a try...I forgot the dac: I'm happy with my hrt streamer hd, I don't see why I shouldn't recommend it.

Thank you! I have heard Asgard 2, and it definitely is not a V200 killer, not even a V181 killer, but it is a VERY good amp, especially for its price.
The Sennheiser's own amp and amp/DAC combo are out of my price range, and aren't very positively received, but I shall keep it in mind for the future.
 

   
Haha i think this happened to a lot of us...The first several times I heard them i also didn't enjoy them at all. You can go back and read what i wrote about them in 2010 and it wasn't very nice. But like many of us, I finally came around after a few extended listening sessions...
 
 
 
Used Gungnir and a Valhalla 2...not that I'm biased towards this combo or anything I really really fell in love with the Gungnir the first time I heard it, something about the intensity it brings just does it for me, and then the Valhalla 2 is well known as a superbly high value amp, specially for high impedance cans like the HD800s

Another Valhalla 2 recommendation. I must check this out ASAP Thank you! With regards to Gungnir, I'd probably would wait and go for a fully balanced system with Ragnarok and Yggdrasil in the future, as right now I consider that one of my end-game options
 
Anybody else have any other recommendations? I think I might be set on Valhalla 2 as the amp for now, but that's pending me actually trying it. However, I do need a DAC. Anybody own or have heard the Resonessence Concero HP or Concero HD?

 

[guido]

another recommendation for a great DAC/amp that is simply magical with the HD800 [only in balanced mode] is thew B.M.C. Puredac ...stunning!

 

[citraian]

I think I posted my question in the wrong place. I shall repost it here if that's okay.

Alright, so I'm nowhere new to Headphones or High Fidelity audio.

Here's my current dilemma: 

I owned a 97XX serial number HD800 from 2009 to 2012, and I used it in conjunction with a Violectric V100 and then V181 for amp, and a Naim DAC.

Unfortunately, all of that along with about 15K worth of audio equipment was sold due to a financial crisis in my life near the end of 2012 (and my car and a majority of my camera collection as well as my Canon professional kit lol ...)

So fast forward to December 2014, and I see the HD800 brand new from a reputable, authorized dealer for only $1200. Of course I bought it since I was in better financial situation. Serial 34XXX.

So far, I have used it with my Asus Maximus VII Formula on-board sound card (Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC/Texas Instruments LM4562 Amp/Realtek drivers), my Audioengine D3, and then my Audioengine D1. I also have the Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball that is used as the amp with the Audioengine D1. Unfortunately, that's all the audio source equipment I posses at this time.

Perhaps my memory is skewed, but I remember the HD800 sounding quite a bit better on my old setup.

I can't afford that setup anymore. For me, I know the HD800 sounds great with Violectric V281, Auralic Taurus MKII or Schiit Ragnarok, along with a Auralic Vega DAC, and for me that's considered end-game. Unfortunately, those are out of my budget for the foreseeable future.

So, I turn to you, my fellow HF'ers. Please recommend me something within a budget of under $1000 that's either one DAC and one Amp under that budget, or a combo, that will pair well with my HD800. I really wish to hear what I used to hear. And I'm pretty darn young, so it's not hearing loss lol ...

If you want something cheap you can try the iFi iDSD micro. Listen to it if you get the chance, you might be surprised.

 

[longbowbbs]

 

 
HD800's with Nordost Heimdall 2 cables through the new Cavalli Audio Liquid Crimson.
 
It is a good day for tunes!

How's the Nordost cables? I am very interested in this as a long term upgrade, not for the sound quality, but rather for the unwieldiness of the stock cable. Is the Nordost one less heavy and easier to manage?

Very nice cables. Hard to tangle too. That is a big plus.

 

[pearljam50000]

I once let my mom try the HD800: she said:"it sounds 3D, the sound comes from everywhere" lol

 

[Zoom25]

I once let my mom try the HD800: she said:"it sounds 3D, the sound comes from everywhere" lol

My mom stopped trusting me with trying out headphones after getting her to try out my HE-500, LCD-2 and LCD-3. She found them too heavy and further told me to return them as well or I'd break my neck LOL. My dad on the other hand doesn't care one bit. Give him Pink Floyd and you won't hear from him for a few hours.

 

[thomascrown]

   
Thank you! I have heard Asgard 2, and it definitely is not a V200 killer, not even a V181 killer, but it is a VERY good amp, especially for its price.
The Sennheiser's own amp and amp/DAC combo are out of my price range, and aren't very positively received, but I shall keep it in mind for the future.
 
 

Hi, 
I was actually suggesting the small Vali as solution, not the senn amp (and anyway imo is not that bad).

 

[62ohm]

I personally preferred the Senn amp when I auditioned it alongside V200 and BHA-1 with the HD800.

 

[atistatic]

   
Funny how I notice quite a few people in your boat. Knocks the HD800 on first few impression. Then, bammm.... I see HD800 in their headphone collection LOL
I had a friend declared he was saving up for the LCD3 because the HD800 wasn't his cup of tea (too bright). So I ask him if you wanted to compared my LCD3 and HD800 side by side.
Next minute, he told me "you just might have saved me $800 bucks" LOL.

That cuz hd 800 can be bright or dark depending on the setup ... i tried dat when i did read the david mahller 58+ headphones review, and he is right.

 

[potkettleblack]

Just ordered and put a deposit on my HD800's for the 27th of this month (payday)
 
I can't tell you how excited I am.
 
I got into this hobby a year go (next month) and have fast tracked myself ever since - and had a SHED load of fun whilst doing it.
 
Momentum - bought and kept (zero intention to return/sell)
Bowers and Wilkins  p7 - returned
Grado rs2i - returned
Grado rs1i - returned
Ps500e's - sold
HD650'S - bought and kept (zero intention to return/sell)
HD700's - bought and kept (zero intention to return/sell)
HD800's - plan to keep, make love to, go for country walks with, introduce the parents to, buy flowers for, get a tattoo of on my forearm.

 

[pearljam50000]

Please post a review when you get them 

Quote:

  Just ordered and put a deposit on my HD800's for the 27th of this month (payday)
 
I can't tell you how excited I am.
 
I got into this hobby a year go (next month) and have fast tracked myself ever since - and had a SHED load of fun whilst doing it.
 
Momentum - bought and kept (zero intention to return/sell)
Bowers and Wilkins  p7 - returned
Grado rs2i - returned
Grado rs1i - returned
Ps500e's - sold
HD650'S - bought and kept (zero intention to return/sell)
HD700's - bought and kept (zero intention to return/sell)
HD800's - plan to keep, make love to, go for country walks with, introduce the parents to, buy flowers for, get a tattoo of on my forearm.

 

[rgs9200m]

   
So, I turn to you, my fellow HF'ers. Please recommend me something within a budget of under $1000 that's either one DAC and one Amp under that budget, or a combo, that will pair well with my HD800. I really wish to hear what I used to hear. And I'm pretty darn young, so it's not hearing loss lol ...

Someone is selling a Ray Samuels Raptor on headfi today for $850. My HD800 sounds very nice with my B52, and the Raptor is related to it. And, you can do some inexpensive tube rolling to tune the sound, which is a good way to "upgrade" or adjust things on a limited budget.
And it's used, so you won't take a big depreciation hit if it doesn't work out. And Ray is great to deal with, as he has been for me, and I never had a problem with his amps, they have been rock-solid reliable.

 

[Hal X]

I love these headphones so much! they get me really involved in music

 

[zilch0md]

^ I heared juh!

 

[whirlwind]

I contacted Trevor at Norne audio about the wait time on a Draug 2 on friday.
 
He e-mailed me back saying he had a very similar cable to the one i wanted that was made wrong for another customer.
 
He made me a deal on it that i could not refuse 

 
I paid for it Saturday morning and when i got home from work today....guess what.  
 
 

 
 
Some of the best service....ever