[Jd007]

Quote:

 
It isn't that simple.
 
I personally can't hear above 12 kHz, but the nature of my hearing loss makes me sensitive to certain frequencies below that. Lower treble sounds which might be innocuous to you can actually cause me great discomfort and/or pain.

yeah that was my point. same exact gear could sound different to different people, preference aside. when you say "this thing has harsh treble", it could mean a peak at 6khz (which would bother almost everybody as you'd have to be 90+ years old to not hear 6khz). when another persons says the same thing it could mean a peak at 13khz but you won't think that the setup has a harsh treble because you can't hear it. that said i do believe that when most ppl talk about treble, they are speaking of the 6khz-10khz range, as music rarely go above that.

 

[dleblanc343]

Quote:

 
Ive never seen a First Watt, but I'm assuming it required a pre-amp too.
 
And as dleblanc343 mentioned, having a pre-amp (or DAC) with adjustable output in front of your amp (or vintage receiver) could allow you to get sufficient volume travel on your amp. I do this with my BH Crack...
 
But I'll say it again. In my opinion, powering the HD800 with a speaker amp is like running racing fuel in street car. It's pointless.

Hold on now, it's definitely not pointless! I've achieved very nice sound with this set up, which I'd classify as a step up over almost everything under 3000$ in the headphone amps world (not sure about the Stratus as I haven't compared side-to-side, but my amp also drives the HE6 better so...). I've yet to hear the GSX MKII though.

 

[Stalker81598]

Yeah so I test drove a Ferrari and it wouldn't screwing drive. It's a piece of crap garbage car, because it won't even go!!@# NEVER get a Ferrari, UGH!
obtw it didn't have wheels cuz it was getting work done at the shop.

What a fantastic display of absolute bigotry.

I can see I've gotten all I can from this thread. Unsubbed.

 

[magiccabbage]

Its getting hot in here. 

 

[Girls Generation]

Yes, why yes it was. A perfect solution to your nonsense. Hopefully now you're fully aware how you sound like.
Quote:

What a fantastic display of absolute bigotry.

I can see I've gotten all I can from this thread. Unsubbed.

 

[audiosceptic]

Quote:

I do with my McIntosh MC225. It's a match made in heaven. However, the HE-adaptor is a bottleneck, so I had a custom adaptor made for "proper" impedance matching.
 
Luckily the NAD M51 has a digital pre-amp, it's wonderful.

 
How is the HE adaptor a bottleneck? 

 

[kazsud]

I heard the stratus & liquid gold? which ever is the newer one at the same meet. The stratus sounded very good but had tubes in it that made it bright as hell. I asked Donald to put the stock tubes in and it sounded much better to me but not as smooth as the liquid gold. But I can only assume if it had Sophia Princess tubes which everyone w/ a hd800 seems to say are a match w/ them.

 

[palmfish]

Quote:

Hold on now, it's definitely not pointless! I've achieved very nice sound with this set up, which I'd classify as a step up over almost everything under 3000$ in the headphone amps world (not sure about the Stratus as I haven't compared side-to-side, but my amp also drives the HE6 better so...). I've yet to hear the GSX MKII though.

 
Well, I wasn't really thinking about your lovely MC225 when I made that comment.
 
When people ask about speaker taps, 99% of the time, it is the context of a 70's vintage Pioneer or Sansui integrated amp they picked up on eBay or a Chinese box made of plastic that their DVD player is plugged into.
 
Your McIntosh is a rare bird indeed. And a bird with tubes, which also changes the equation, in my opinion. You have found your own personal heaven, but the way tube outputs and geriatric caps affect frequency response is unpredictable, and ultimately a matter of experimentation, trial and error, and personal taste.
 
But yes, I admit you are right and I should not have used the word "pointless."

 

[Jd007]

Hmm a WA5-LE popped up for sale about an hour ago, but posted in the headphone amp section instead of the FS section. For those interested: http://www.head-fi.org/t/679846/woo-audio-wa5-le

 

[magiccabbage]

Quote:

Hmm a WA5-LE popped up for sale about an hour ago, but posted in the headphone amp section instead of the FS section. For those interested: http://www.head-fi.org/t/679846/woo-audio-wa5-le

I need to get a job!

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

Quote:

Hmm a WA5-LE popped up for sale about an hour ago, but posted in the headphone amp section instead of the FS section. For those interested: http://www.head-fi.org/t/679846/woo-audio-wa5-le

I need to get a job!

It tends to help...

 

[BournePerfect]

I was first to message the WA5-LE guy

...I think.

 Offered payment...just waiting to hear back now. Does anyone with experience know which tube sets he has listed that should work best with the HD800?
 
-Daniel

 

[longbowbbs]

I would go with the Takatsuki TA-300B's and the EML 5U4 mesh.....

 

[dleblanc343]

Well, I wasn't really thinking about your lovely MC225 when I made that comment.

When people ask about speaker taps, 99% of the time, it is the context of a 70's vintage Pioneer or Sansui integrated amp they picked up on eBay or a Chinese box made of plastic that their DVD player is plugged into.

Your McIntosh is a rare bird indeed. And a bird with tubes, which also changes the equation, in my opinion. You have found your own personal heaven, but the way tube outputs and geriatric caps affect frequency response is unpredictable, and ultimately a matter of experimentation, trial and error, and personal taste.

But yes, I admit you are right and I should not have used the word "pointless."

No hard feelings my friend! It is trial and error for sure though, I did have to experiment a bit, but on first listen i knew it was special.

The problem with the HE adaptor is that it's 8-10 ohms and made for the Hifiman orthos whereas the HD800 is 300 ohm and a dynamic.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

how do you think a mytek 192 would play with the GSX-2?
 
since its supposed to be very neutral though some find it slightly warm after burn in, some find it slightly edgy.

Hard to say, sorry as I haven't heard that DAC. 

Quote:

will you ever go back to tubes or are you all solid state these days? maybe 300b?

No plans whatsoever. 

Quote:

Yeah so I test drove a Ferrari and it wouldn't screwing drive. It's a piece of crap garbage car, because it won't even go!!@# NEVER get a Ferrari, UGH!
obtw it didn't have wheels cuz it was getting work done at the shop.
 

And let's not forget that the Ferrari really needs a balanced source in order to hear the full amp. But great analogy.