[RUMAY408]

  the one thing i will say about the 800 is if you listen to a great sounding recording it is truly glorious but if you listen to a poorly recorded and mastered recording look out,it is going to bring out all the flaws

I have the LCD3 and HD800 as well, different strengths and weaknesses.
 
Just bought a Headamp GS-X mk2 arriving any day now, so expecting to scale up from the Meier Corda Classic Amp

 

[nephilim32]

the one thing i will say about the 800 is if you listen to a great sounding recording it is truly glorious but if you listen to a poorly recorded and mastered recording look out,it is going to bring out all the flaws

That is very very true. Also, how could something look like this and be friendly to poor quality?

 

[jlbrach]

800 sounds wonderful with my chord hugo

 

[whirlwind]

 

  the one thing i will say about the 800 is if you listen to a great sounding recording it is truly glorious but if you listen to a poorly recorded and mastered recording look out,it is going to bring out all the flaws

I have the LCD3 and HD800 as well, different strengths and weaknesses.
 
Just bought a Headamp GS-X mk2 arriving any day now, so expecting to scale up from the Meier Corda Classic Amp

Congrats on that Headamp GS-X mk2  

 

[rawrster]

I guess I was one of those who said that the O2 wasn't the strongest match for the HD800. I didn't care for the combination, preferring my Taurus Mk. 2 and the Vallhalla 2. I felt the O2 added siblence in the treble. I wasn't able to use an EQ at the time, so perhaps that was an issue.

 
Considering the price of the O2 it is not that bad with the HD800. There are of course areas where it does not excel compared to the Taurus but it's an amp closing in on the 2k price range and the O2 is well..$100 or so. However price aside, the O2 does lack in areas (to me at least) where I would not want it to be my main amp for the HD800.
 

 
I have the LCD3 and HD800 as well, different strengths and weaknesses.
 
Just bought a Headamp GS-X mk2 arriving any day now, so expecting to scale up from the Meier Corda Classic Amp

 
Nice. That is a very nice sounding amp and sounds great with the HD800. I've wanted to purchase it in the past but every time it goes on sale I'm not ready to buy or someone else saw it first and I'm not patient enough to buy new.

 

[jlbrach]

for me thus far the Chord Hugo and Vorzuge pure II+ are both fantastic...I use the Vorzuge with my AK240 and i use the Hugo with my 120...both sound fantastic

 

[JamieMcC]

Bob Katz a fan or the 02 over on innerfidelity makes some observations between the 02 and the AMB M³
 
"In a previous episode I waxed rhapsodic over the JDS labs O2 amp, saying that I’d like to pit it against a high priced contender. Well, they warned us in the 1918 song: “How you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” The M³ is haute cuisine — it eats up the O2 for déjeuner, petit déjeuner and dîner! In comparison, the O2 sounds murky, flat (undynamic) and without bass definition. So let’s call the O2 what it is: a middleweight contender, maybe not even a middleweight champ but I don’t know enough middleweights to know for sure. Likewise, the M³ is definitely a heavyweight contender."
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/katz%E2%80%99s-corner-episode-7-mosfet-magic#IrF6uyLK1BBW1UXS.97

 

[Mahdi8]

Amb stuff are awesome. M3 are no exception. My reference amp for hd800 is now Dr Gilmore's designed super symmetry dynahi. My of my does hd800 sings with it.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Bear with me, the amp recommendation thread linked in the first post has been dead for a few months.
Can any owner who tried at least two of these amps, recommend me one for the HD800?
 

 
 
As I searched & searched, these are the ones that came up the most in recommendations that were (almost) under $1,000.
 
I have the Beyerdynamics T1 & tried the stock Bottlehead Crack, iFi Micro iDSD, Schiit Asgard 2 & Headroom Desktop amp.
None of them were able to tame the sibilance & harshness to the treble of the T1 fully.
 
Read the HD800 is just as bad, if not worse for that painful treble spike.
 
 
I plan on buying the HD800 down the line, but can't afford the $2,000-$5,000 amps that everyone recommends that pairs best with the HD800.
So I have to settle for the sub $1,000.
 
 
Can anyone give me some insight?
Would love to spend just $500 on an amp that can 100% gets rid of the treble spike, sibilance & harshness & makes the headphones sound smooth. Plus expand the soundstage, bring froth the midrange & bass.
But in my experience with the sub-$500 amps I own, none of them can do that.

 

[johnjen]

What Dac are you using?

JJ

 

[Thenewguy007]

What Dac are you using?

JJ

 
I'm using the DAC inside the iFi Micro iDSD.

 

[JamieMcC]

Amb stuff are awesome. M3 are no exception. My reference amp for hd800 is now Dr Gilmore's designed super symmetry dynahi. My of my does hd800 sings with it.

 
The Dynahi has a awesome reputation.  I remember when researching Bottleheads Mainline one of the things that sold me where some comments of how the Mainline's voicing sits between the solid state Dynahi and valve DNA Stratus.
 
Found the comment.
 
"So I rant a lot about the Stratus here...  It's no wonder it is often considered the best amp for the HD800's.  A lot of all this, however, has to do with personal preference.  The Stratus is a warmer amp than the Mainline and I find that mixes well with the HD800's.  The Mainline is much more neutral.  It's actually much more similar to my SuSy Dynahi in signature which also happens to be considered one of the best solid state amps for the HD800's.  The Mainline is somewhere in between the two for voicing, but much closer to the Dynahi.  As a side note, the Dynahi (also a DIY amp) cost more to build than the Mainline."
 
I quiet fancy having a go at a M3 or Sigma22 build but it wont be in the foreseeable future
 
 
 
 

 

[Mahdi8]

You mean an m3 with Sigma22 PSU? An M3 doesn't really need a sigma22, sigma11 is much more than enough for an m3 which is really a half size sigma22 with less output but all the performance. as long as you get really good torroidal transformer you're set. What a shame is I've seen many m3 build using a cheap transformer or worse using a switchmode PSU. Those don' so m3 justice IMO
 
Mainline is a great amp but bottlehead should have designed it to have balanced input. I know they say as long as the single ended output of a DAC is designed properly balanced input is not needed. But from my experience all the DAC I've tried that has single ended and balanced, the balanced output always sounds better.

 

[MattTCG]

   
I'm using the DAC inside the iFi Micro iDSD.

 
That's actually a very good dac. With regard to suggestions in your price range:
 
1. The mjo2 looks to be a promising amp but it's too new and the original was not very good with the hd800, so that would likely be a pass. 
 
2. I've used the wa2 with the 800 and found it pretty good but about on par with the BHC w/sb. Plus it thought the wa22 was much better. Finally you already said that you tried the BHC and that it didn't work for you. 
 
3. As far as treble tamers for $10 you can perform THE mod and get appreciably smoother treble, which is a lot cheaper than some of these other solutions. This is a mod any moron can do, even me. If you are look for more warmth throughout the spectrum for the 800, then that changes things. Here is a wildcard choice that will give you both: Questyle cma800r. This current mode amp makes the treble velvety smooth but retains the detail, plus adds overall warmth. It's a great pairing and one of my favorites. 
 
4. The ecp L2 amp is a great choice and you can find it for around your budget if you can catch it used.  It's an end game amp IMO. http://www.ecpaudio.com/L2.shtml
 
5. On a budget the Vallhalla 2 with stock tubes is pretty damn good. Don't overlook it because of the cheap price. Very resolving for an OTL amp. Renders subtle details beautifully. 
 
6. Finally, another wildcard choice...a vintage 60's-70's receiver. Many here will turn up there noses at this choice. But there are many vintage receivers that pair amazingly well with the 800. The Fisher 500c remains one of the top three pairings that heard with the 800 ever. Without any budget constraints whatsoever. There is a dedicated thread for the vintage receivers here on HF. Plus Oregonian just picked up the 800 and is a big vintage guy and I'm sure that he could help.
 
Good luck, kindly,
 
Matt

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Hey Gents,

Just picked up a Kenzie Headamp and a bunch of NOS Tubes. Anybody have any experience with this amp?