[JamieMcC]

Fwiw I had been looking for some time at upgrading the dac for my Bottlehead Mainline HD800 combo and recently had my own mini dac bake off between my current dac a Marantz NA7004 (network player) a MDHT Labs Constantine (NOS dac) a Eastern Electric Mini Max (sabre) dac and a Leema Acoustic Elements dac (Quattro 24bit/192kHz) .
 
A few observations
 
MDHT Constantine NOS dac
 
This at first had a nice full body sound that impressed it was very engaging but after a short while it was very noticeable the fullness and presence in sound that it had did come at the sacrifice of bass and treble roll off which probably didn't help out the limited sound stage. Its  resolution was better than I had expected but in all I thought it was a backwards step from the NA7004 and not a good choice for the HD800's in my set up. This was the budget dac of the bunch and was never really meant to be a contender more of a purchase out of curiosity of trying a NOS dac  
 
Eastern Electric the Minimax dac.
 
The EE has received a lot of praise over the years and I had been eager to try for some time unfortunately we got off to a bit of a rocky start and at first I found it quiet fatiguing ending up with a headache after just 45 minutes to a hours worth of listening time.
 
This all changed with a bit of tube rolling both E80cc and Mullard CV4003 worked very well in diminishing its metalic sabre glare and made extended listening a pleasurable experience. The EE had slightly better resolution and I thought the Marantz was slightly more musically cohesive in its presentation. The performance was definitely closer than I had expected between these two dacs which was a bit of a surprise.
 
 
Leema Acoustics Elements dac, 
 
This was a clearly noticeable as being in a different league to the others dacs in all aspects, resolution, pin point placement and separation both in width and depth of soundstage very musically engaging and cohesive presentation it has a way of conveying emotion in a performance wonderfully well and the more I listen the more its continues to impress.
 
Definitely a keeper and simply superb with the HD800 and Mainline.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Rozenberg]

  Can someone explain why someone would sell a pair of HD800s? I just got a pair and I absolutely love them. I tried them about a year ago and fell in love with them. The biggest gripe I hear is they don't have bass and they reveal too much detail making it unlistenable. Neither I feel is an issue on my modest setup. 

HD800S is coming out, that might be a reason.
Another reason might be some people feel it's too bright. While it personally does not occur to me as I love bright headphones.
And for those who long for bass, high end planars might be the better choice.
 
HD800 does have bass properly though, and it's so detailed that I love it.
My journey with headphones is coming to an end with the HD800 actually, just need a nice solid state DAC/amp for it that's not really expensive and I'll call it the day, hopefully.

 

[kapanak]

  What's your opinion compared to WA7?

 
Here's my opinion.
 
WA7, which I owned alongside the tube power supply, is a case of form over function. The built-in DAC is outstandingly bad even compared to a Geek Out 450, and IMO is an afterthought addition. The amplifier, as long as you have the tube power supply and upgraded tubes, which end up costing nearly $1600 iirc, is a good match to the HD800. At least that's what you will think before you've heard better options. WA7 is too smoothed out, and has a rolled sound, especially in the higher frequencies, to my ears. It is not a very refined amplifier, as much as it is a very pretty thing sitting on a table. It makes the HD800 sound ... gooey and mushy, and that's an insult to the HD800 IMO, because you are not taking advantage of a large fraction of HD800's technicalities and performance.
 
A Valhalla 2 with stock tubes at 1/4 the cost of a WA7 with tube power supply (which makes it a full tube amp, like Valhalla 2, albeit WA7 with WA7tp is transformer coupled, meaning it plays well with all your other headphones too) is a far better value and a much better match if exclusively going to be used with your HD800 and other 300ohm+ headphones.
 
Now this is not to say Woo Audio doesn't make good things. I've heard a DIY upgraded WA5 with upgraded caps and very expensive tubes, which match very nicely with the HD800. Similarly, I heard a WA6 DIY upgraded one, with upgraded resistors and caps and bypasses, along with some nice NOS tubes, which also sounded very good with the HD800. However, both ended up costing well over $1500 after all the upgrades were done to them, and there are definitely better matches with the HD800 for that kind of money.
 
Disclaimer: All of the above is IMO and according to my experience and ears.

 

[xp9433]

   
For right at the $1000 mark, nothing can beat the Bifrost Multibit (MB part important) with Valhalla 2 for the HD800. Great great pairing.
 
For $850 (And sometimes used as low as $550) the Concero HP is an unbeatable DAC/Amp combination, and can be used as a pre-amp or a DAC/Preamp by using a 1/4" to RCA cable (or a 3.5mm to RCA, which is more common, and a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter).
 
Avoid iFi products with the HD800.

kapanak
 
Would like further feedback on your iFi comment, please. I have the iFi iDSD Micro and am considering the HD800. Others (below) on this forum have given praise to the pairing, so I would appreciate further discussion.
 
Thanks Frank
 

.... Even though it was 'only' single ended. I took the ifi - idsd and my HD800's on vacation for 10 days. What a great sounding pair. The ifi - idsd drives the hd800's with authority. Plenty of Bass and great mids and soundstage and wonderful buzz words are all built in. The real treat is the treble. There's gobs of it, but this must be the 'smooth treble' everyone talks about. I do not get fatigued with this kit. I will take the ifi-idsd over my Bifrost uber / Lyr2 setup. So in my opinion the ifi-idsd pairs very well with hd800's and could serve as your only dac/amp and not feel like you are missing out on high-end.

H1FiAdd1cted: Yes the micro iDSD is a perfect match for the HD 800 love them since a year.\

 
Interesting. I am going to buy an HD800 after playing around with EQ on my current headphones (following Bob Katz's feedback on the Innerfidelity Site) and realising I could get the HD800s to better match my listening preferences. On previous audition I loved the HD800's openess and detail but missed some weight and warmth in the lower octaves. With the Audeze LCDX I preferred the lower octaves but missed what the HD800 could deliver, so did not purchase either.
 
That the iDSD works well with the HD800 is a bonus! By the way my front end is:
 
Laptop > Fidelizer > JRiver MC 21 (EQ) upsampled to 705.6kHz PCM > iFi Gemini Cable > iFi USB Power > iFi Gemini Cable > Regen > iFi iUSB Micro > HPs
 
 
Thanks for the feedback.

 

[MrMan]

Do new pads make a big difference on the HD800? I recently got a used pair and the pads are almost completely flat. 

 

[kapanak]

  Do new pads make a big difference on the HD800? I recently got a used pair and the pads are almost completely flat. 

They certainly will improve the comfort even further, and seal better too. However, they do not have a significant effect on the sound from my experience. I would still get new earpads though, and headband pads too, since if they are flat, that means they have absorbed years of sweat, skin pieces, hair, and face oils of somebody else. It's very easy to swap out the earpads.

 

[rayfalkner]

   It's very easy to swap out the earpads.

 
They are not cheap though, haha

 
Fortunately the pads seem to last quite a while if the HD800 is used strictly for personal use only (no friend or spouse borrowing it and such), unlike Grado pads which crumbles on their own within a year or two even when not worn and also cost quite a bit to replace.
 
edit: Makeups... Makeups are probably one of the worse thing ever happened to any device that is in contact with part of your face when worn. Don't let your wife borrow your HD800 when she's still wearing makeups. The pads god the pads. You guys learn from my mistake.

 

[kapanak]

They are not cheap though, haha :tongue_smile:

Fortunately the pads seem to last quite a while if the HD800 is used strictly for personal use only (no friend or spouse borrowing it and such), unlike Grado pads which crumbles on their own within a year or two even when not worn and also cost quite a bit to replace.

I had a under 7K serial number HD800 that lasted me four years and not once did the pads anywhere shed, or degrade, other than the foam getting flatter. I sold it just like that for $950 and bought a new one at the end of 2014. My gf turned to wife now wore the HD800 quite a lot too. Don't worry, these things are made to last. If you plan to keep it and love it a long time, definitely swap out the earpads and headband pad. Buy from a reputable/authorized place. Expensive indeed.

 

[whirlwind]

 

Dave Matthews "Lilly White Sessions" on the hd800 is jaw dropping! They have so much going on in those songs & the hd800's blow through it effortlessly. No other headphone has given me that in the music feeling.

I listen to a lot of jam bands and the 800's are brilliant at representing the genre.

What he said.

 

[Moonhead]

Maybe pretty corny, but I feel these these two trakcs show some of the strengths of HD800 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvX5QM4z3Y
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEEENJOY! 
 
 
This one should be one everybody list! 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkVhiVXSQIw
 
ENJOY! 

 

[DavidA]

@Moonhead, living in Hawaii I've been to many concerts and have heard IZ live a few time and his voice is so smooth and mellow and also when he was still playing with Makaha Sons of Niihau,  Still get goose bumps when I listen to Over the Rainbow, but there are better recordings than the one you listed.

 

[MrMan]

  Maybe pretty corny, but I feel these these two trakcs show some of the strengths of HD800 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvX5QM4z3Y
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEEENJOY! 
 
 
This one should be one everybody list! 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkVhiVXSQIw
 
ENJOY! 

 
I can say without a doubt me and you have very different taste in music.

 

[RogerWilco]

We all have different taste in music, ain't that a wonderful thing

 

[joespride]

  Maybe pretty corny, but I feel these these two trakcs show some of the strengths of HD800 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvX5QM4z3Y
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEEENJOY! 
 
 
This one should be one everybody list! 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkVhiVXSQIw
 
ENJOY! 

Outstanding selections I have them all except Over the rainbow which is now in my amazon cart,  Check out Eddie Vedder Ukulele Songs also Excellent is Vedder Into the Wild 

 

[joespride]

  @Moonhead, living in Hawaii I've been to many concerts and have heard IZ live a few time and his voice is so smooth and mellow and also when he was still playing with Makaha Sons of Niihau,  Still get goose bumps when I listen to Over the Rainbow, but there are better recordings than the one you listed.

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