[Mortalcoil]

  yeah agreed hugo TT is overpriced so is Hugo too , but still Hugo is the best dac/amp  ,
. I see lampizator 4 gen 5 is way better in musicality ,also Aqua Hifi La is new dac and better too .

 
 

 

[vhsownsbeta]

If anyone is looking to buy HD800 I have a brand new pair for sale in the classifieds...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/783376/new-sennheiser-hd800

 

[Sorrodje]

   
Hi Robert
 
Yes, I'm surprised as well about the «Hugo bashing» in this thread. 

 
Just allow us to dislike the Hugo. 
 
I heard it at home during three weeks and didn't like it , nor as DAC or DAC/AMP.  I asked two friend to test it with their Audeze and they didn't like it. Another good friend tried and gave me his impressions more recently and guess what ? he didn't like it. We all struggled with the same issues : Left/right soundstage without enough depth, lack of focus /center in that soundstage and a coarse treble that produces (IMO) fake details.
 
Even if the entire world praised the Hugo, I still have the right to not like it I presum
 
Some other neutral/Transparent gear ot at least designed to me so sound better IME . I think to Jan Meier DACCORD and Corda JAZZ for example .  A full TOTL Meier Stack is 1200€ . Considerig my experience, I can't by any means advice the Hugo for any Headphone I can think of.  I'd happy to borrow one and compare directly to the GOv2 I just bought.  Considering 
 
I appreciated it with my IEMs though . it was clearly better that my fiio X3 in any way (cleaner with a way better instrument separation was the points that jumped to my ears) . better that a X3 ok but 2300€ good ? hell no.
 
I'm glad you enjoy yours though.  To each their own. I wholeheartly advice to anyone to try it and make a proper opinion as usual.  

 

[JaZZ]

 

  Hi Robert
 
Yes, I'm surprised as well about the «Hugo bashing» in this thread. 

 
Just allow us to dislike the Hugo.

 
Your comment wouldn't have been necessary if you'd read the next sentence(s) as well.

 

[ubs28]

I cancelled the HDVD800 that I ordered when I auditioned it a few times. The Chord Hugo provides a more high quality signal, so the Chord Hugo can't be that bad.

 

[joespride]

HD 800on the way, I have the HiFiMan HE500 which I really like but all the superb reviews have me curious and I finally bit the Bullet,  I have seen many mixed reviews about the brightness, some say no some say yes, I like clear highs but something overly bright will fatigue me after a Bit, I am truly looking forward to hearing the improved imaging
 
My amp is the ampsandsound Kenzie,   http://ampsandsound.com/products/custom-amps/kenzie-headphone-amp/
 
Source is an upgraded MHDT Havana, with files flowing FLAC through Jriver
 
 
I am hoping all my tubes will add enough warmth to offset any percieved brightness,  anyone here have an opinion on this setup with the HD800..............Curious about how power Hungry the 800's are or are not

 

[whirlwind]

  HD 800on the way, I have the HiFiMan HE500 which I really like but all the superb reviews have me curious and I finally bit the Bullet,  I have seen many mixed reviews about the brightness, some say no some say yes, I like clear highs but something overly bright will fatigue me after a Bit, I am truly looking forward to hearing the improved imaging
 
My amp is the ampsandsound Kenzie,   http://ampsandsound.com/products/custom-amps/kenzie-headphone-amp/
 
Source is an upgraded MHDT Havana, with files flowing FLAC through Jriver
 
 
I am hoping all my tubes will add enough warmth to offset any percieved brightness,  anyone here have an opinion on this setup with the HD800..............Curious about how power Hungry the 800's are or are not

Oh man...I think you are really going to love them, with that amp, very nice......roll those tubes and find something wonderful. You are gonna have some great fun me thinks   

 
I have been listening for two weeks now through Glenn's amp and I am having a blast going through my library and rolling tubes.
 
 
 

 

[joespride]

I have had the kenzie for awhile now I went through the tube rolling effort  and was able to zero in on what I thought sounded best,1943 Hytron 1626 / vt237, and the Raytheon 2c52.  The Havana dac is sporting the WE396a Also rolled through a good selection of those and landed on the WE
 
I really like the HE500, but when the bug bites there is but 1 way to quench the thirst, try them at home for myself..................The cool thing is I should easily recoup my $$$ if I find they dont fit, the hd800 seem to hold there value
 
Thanks for sharing, this is the 2nd reference I have seen to Glenn's Amp, it certainly sounds / looks like a winner  according to posts I have seen 
 
I will provide impressions after a time with the 800's

 

[fuzzybaffy]

I own neither the HE-500 or HD-800, but by viewing this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SYbrGB_rA4 I already know the HD-800 is going to be an upgrade. 
 
Yea, it's not a video to be taken seriously by "true" audiophiles, but I can clearly hear, from outside of the cans, the differences in detail as he switches from the HD-800 to the HE-500. 

 

[joespride]

Thanks for the link, checked it out and I agree there is a definite difference in sound on the video..................just hope they are not overly bright like some say

 

[Takeanidea]

They aren't overly bright! The sound can be modified using the anaxilus mod or by reducing the output in the higher ranges. I have done the anaxilus mod. Took 20 minutes , no real skills needed. Whether it has altered the sound for the better there still appears to be no overly brightness about these phones. I read all about these phones a day bought a pair without having listened to them. That was 4 years ago and I have never regretted it. I would not recommend anyone else to spend that much money without trying first having said that. As for amps and dacs , like any reference phones of 300 ohms the HD800s should sound great out of anything from an 02 to a Chord. I have never plugged them in to anything that made them sound horrible, they don't produce enough without an amp on most stuff except in the most quiet environments.
Anyone else using a Fidelity Audio HPA 200 SE with these?
I believe I have the only one ever made. The Ibasso DX100 and Questyle QP1R certainly power the 800s to ear shattering levels. I often listen just through the DX100. Arguably i get improved results powering it through my Dac and Head Amp.

 

[Prachtsau]

-

 

[pumpe19]

Hey guys, back again with even more impressions.

Status quo as of now:
Music Fidelity MX-DAC + Music Fidelity MX-HPA is the winning Setup for now.

As mentioned in my earlier post, I compared it to the T+A DAC8 (with its integrated headphone amp).
Sound wise the T+A is a real pleaser. Warm, detailed, nice soundstage. Even though the MFs do not reproduce a sound as warm, they just play much more “to the point”. Better separation, therefore a wider soundstage, just more “airy”. Furthermore they just seem quicker, faster, less decay. Sure, that might be a personal taste thing, but I prefer it to the cuddly sound of the T+A.

And to pin point what component has the bigger effect on the sound, I connected the MX-HPA to the T+A  DAC. Sound got a tiny bit warmer with the MX-HPA, but that might be my mind tricking me. So the headamp is responsible - for the most part - for the sound signature (DUH
Witch led me to the conclusion that a less expensive DAC feeding the MF MX-HPA might do the trick too. So I ordered the Ifi Micro DSD for testing… yeah, more testing!
 
Another thing bothering me a little bit was the T+A Windows driver. It just doesn’t feel as smooth working as the Musical Fidelity driver does. Switching devices in Foobar or TIDAL took longer, sometimes - after device changes - sound play stopped altogether. Only restarting the player helped. In addition, most of the time the T+A just clipped the first 0.5sec of a new track (especially in TIDAL).
Also, changing the volume resulted in some white noise. Not always, but often enough.
Lastly, and that is a personal thing again: the T+A has just too much customization options. I counted six combinations of Filters one could apply. Moreover, they actually sound quite different. Therefore, if you would want the best sound, you have to play around and find the best filter for each album or genre. Even though there is one configuration, which seemed to be the lowest common denominator, I always would feel the urge to play around with that configuration.
 
Anyway, I have a feeling my journey to my personal Hi-Fi summit might come to a close soon. At least one Musical Fidelity Device will be there with me.

@gnomen (aka Robert) Actually, i would have tried the Hugo. However, getting one in these parts for auditioning might just be too big an annoyance.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
Cheers
Pumpe19

 

[Raika]

 
 
 

you think it's simple to make dac looks like this ? some of the parts cost 100 $ or more , not cheap chip like other dac ..

 

[kapanak]

  you think it's simple to make dac looks like this ? some of the parts cost 100 $ or more , not cheap chip like other dac ..

You must be joking. That DAC's internals are any EE's nightmare.