[atsq17]

Just wanted to share a really strange and possibly unnecessarily complex setup I currently have which sounds AMAZING with the HD800. 
 
So starting with source...
 
Macbook Pro Retina -> Foobar WASAPI -> TotalDAC D1 USB Cable -> Audiophilleo1 -> LH Labs Pulse Infinity (FTM filter) -> Crystal Cable Ultra XLR (silver cables with Furutech Connectors) -> Auralic Taurus (MkI) -> Black Cat Lectraline Xe (Silver RCA) -> Bottlehead Crack with Speedball, Stepped Attenuator, Mundorf Mcaps, Cleartop 12AU7 and Winged Svetlana 6ASG7 -> Norne Arcane Hybrid Litz 6.25mm SE to 4 pin XLR converter -> Norne Solv X hybrid litz cable with Furutech HD800 connectors -> HD800 (3XXXX series). 
 
So yes, I have the Taurus acting as a pre-amp to the Crack and for some weird reason, it's seems to result in smoother yet more detailed sound than the Taurus alone or the Crack alone. 
 
Anyway, about to put the HD800 on for some music enjoyment. 

 

[ruthieandjohn]

On a side note, what's with the resurgence of Chord Hugo and other Chord products fanboys showing up here every 10 pages or so?

For the most recent round of Chord praise, there had been a sequence of posts about how Chord Hugo and other Chords were inadequate for the HD800. It got sufficiently inflammatory that the moderators deleted much of it as off topic.

 

[Thenewguy007]

 
If you have as many gear as your profile lists, which is more than many of us here are willing to pay especially on the cables, shouldn't you go listen to them and enjoy what you have, instead of preaching here on the HD800 thread?

 
lol didn't you audition 8 different ultra high end amps yourself?

 

[kapanak]

lol didn't you audition 8 different ultra high end amps yourself?

I loaned and borrowed them. I decided to keep my setup and long term loan the Auralic Taurus MKII from a friend doing overseas studies. And not ultra high end, just regular high end

Regarding above comments I made, I read the expressed overzealous love of Chord products out of context it seems, as some of the other posts were deleted, and I only saw half of the disccusion/argument.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I loaned and borrowed them. I decided to keep my setup and long term loan the Auralic Taurus MKII from a friend doing overseas studies. And not ultra high end, just regular high end

Regarding above comments I made, I read the expressed overzealous love of Chord products out of context it seems, as some of the other posts were deleted, and I only saw half of the disccusion/argument.

The Auralic Taurus Mk. 2 is an excellent choice for the 800and it is playing very well with a loaner LCD-X I have in house. Versatile excellent sounding amp, IMO.

 

[rawrster]

Has anyone here heard the HD800 with the Auralic Taurus amp and the Ayre QB-9 DAC? I'm considering upgrading my dac sometime in the future and would like to look at my options.

 

[Dadracer]

Has anyone here heard the HD800 with the Auralic Taurus amp and the Ayre QB-9 DAC? I'm considering upgrading my dac sometime in the future and would like to look at my options.

I have the HD800 and Taurus mk2 and it's a great combo but the best Dac I heard to combine with this is the Vega but I can't afford one yet.

 

[Currawong]

Please keep the cable validity arguments out of this thread. Thanks.

 
The Aurender Flow and Hugo drive the HD800s very adequately, especially considering that they have to do two jobs in one box. For preference as a HP amp I'd choose the Flow, even though I like the DAC of it less. 
 
I use a Hugo with a Studio Six for preference with re-cabled HD800s. I feel the dynamics are better from the Studio Six than direct from the Hugo. Synergy and the ability to drive headphones are two different things. The AK240 does a great job with them too, but for listening enjoyment, I wouldn't use the stock HD800 cables, as the result is too thin-sounding for me.

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
 
Yes. 

Just in case this generates another question, allow me to qualify my answer.

I fully understand that the word is as subjective as the word beautiful.  By adequate, I mean, does it sound close to what I've heard out of (1) Hugo TT (as D-A converter) and the GSX mk2;  (2) real instruments and live performance.  

On Hugo >> HD800:  Snares are okay, a tad lean but they come through quite close to what you'd hear out of (1) and (2).  Kickbass however, sounds anemic and thin.  Male vocals also lack that sub-harmonics we typically hear when we listen to a microphone-recorded male voice.  

On Flow >> HD800:  Snares sound closer to a rim-shot.  Kickbass is just a snappy thud.  The bloom is withdrawn too quickly for it to be appreciated.  For some reason, male vocals does have a bit more of body in contrast to the Hugo's.


That is the reason why my friends and I have come to use the Hugo with another portable amplifier if and when we decide to enjoy the HD800 on-the-go.



 

 
Funny you should bring up the Hugo TT (as a DAC) feeding a GS-X Mk2 as that is my main dynamic headphone rig...and yes, no doubt the HD800's sound absolutely stunning on that setup and outshine's the Hugo (but that's not a fair comparison at all IMO), but your comment of the word "adequate" was what I replied too...because the portable Hugo was certainly more than adequate to my ears...in fact I preferred it to a few desktop setups I've heard. 
 
I'm pretty much in agreement with Amos' post just before mine (including with the AK240...though I have the AK240SS and the HD800s sound pretty darn good out of that too for a portable upstream rig).

 

[sp3llv3xit]

   
Funny you should bring up the Hugo TT (as a DAC) feeding a GS-X Mk2 as that is my main dynamic headphone rig...and yes, no doubt the HD800's sound absolutely stunning on that setup and outshine's the Hugo (but that's not a fair comparison at all IMO), but your comment of the word "adequate" was what I replied too...because the portable Hugo was certainly more than adequate to my ears...in fact I preferred it to a few desktop setups I've heard. 
 
I'm pretty much in agreement with Amos' post just before mine (including with the AK240...though I have the AK240SS and the HD800s sound pretty darn good out of that too for a portable upstream rig).

Ah.  In that case it is a matter of difference in our definition of adequacy then.

 

[sp3llv3xit]

  Please keep the cable validity arguments out of this thread. Thanks.

 
The Aurender Flow and Hugo drive the HD800s very adequately, especially considering that they have to do two jobs in one box. For preference as a HP amp I'd choose the Flow, even though I like the DAC of it less. 
 
I use a Hugo with a Studio Six for preference with re-cabled HD800s. I feel the dynamics are better from the Studio Six than direct from the Hugo. Synergy and the ability to drive headphones are two different things. The AK240 does a great job with them too, but for listening enjoyment, I wouldn't use the stock HD800 cables, as the result is too thin-sounding for me.

It's a matter of preference.  

I know that you're probably talking about the amount of voltage fed into the HD800 and I was talking about the sound I heard.  Let's just say that the HD800 scales with better gears.

 

[jlbrach]

the hugo drives the hD800 without effort and sounds great and the Mojo surprisingly does as well.....people are a bit nutty when it comes to amplification here..the idea of double amping a hugo in order to listen to the HD800 is IMHO nuts but hey different strokes for different folks

 

[headwhacker]

 

It's a matter of preference.  

I know that you're probably talking about the amount of voltage fed into the HD800 and I was talking about the sound I heard.  Let's just say that the HD800 scales with better gears.

 
I alway hear "scales better" about HD800? How do you quantify this? What exactly is with the "better" gear that most people say that makes HD800 scale up. The better gear must must some attribute greater than the supposedly lesser gear. Then what is it exactly? Is it power output? THD+N numbers? 
 
Or is it just HD800 sounded differently with different amps and you prefer one over the other?

 

[Currawong]

  I alway hear "scales better" about HD800? How do you quantify this? What exactly is with the "better" gear that most people say that makes HD800 scale up. The better gear must must some attribute greater than the supposedly lesser gear. Then what is it exactly? Is it power output? THD+N numbers? 
 
Or is it just HD800 sounded differently with different amps and you prefer one over the other?

 
In my case, with the Hugo straight versus using the Studio Six, I felt the dynamics with the amp were better. That is, there was more difference between the quiet sounds and loud sounds in any musical piece and the impact of those differences could be felt better, without, at least to my perception, any loss in detail. The difference isn't huge though. 
 
The other thing the Studio Six brings is a different, if not neutral balance to the HD800s that sounds better. It is slightly warmer with the tubes I have rolled in it. The Mojo as well sounds different from the Hugo and might suit the HD-800s better (which I'll check once I find where I put my 6.3-3.5mm adaptors).

 

[Caguioa]

anybody kniow a good price to purchased hd 800? or should i copem straight from amazon?
and a good small amp if anything to drive them.

mainly listen to
rap,
hiphop,
trap,
dub,
club music,
rock,
metal (like songs from rock band,guitar hero that kind of genre)


currently just using ie800 with my ipad air 2 and iphone 6,
and beats sports wireless 2 whenever i go workout