[palmfish]

Thank you all for the support and encouragement! It really means a lot to me!
 
No, I will not give up on enjoying music, just the hobby of pursuing the next level of performance. I will certainly continue to participate here and in other threads, I just won't have any credibility as an equipment reviewer anymore.

 
And yes, the hearing aids and appointments are all provided by the VA free of charge. Gotta hand it to them, they have taken great strides in improving the quality of care they provide to veterans.

 

[Audio Jester]

Maybe you could start a thread on audiophile hearing aids Palmfish? It would be an expensive endeavour, but you could be the Don of the new Hearing Aid Mafia.

 

[palmfish]

Maybe you could start a thread on audiophile hearing aids Palmfish? It would be an expensive endeavour, but you could be the Don of the new Hearing Aid Mafia.

 
I love it!
 
You might be surprised to know that my hearing aids are Phonak's, complete with Knowles BA drivers.

 

[longbowbbs]

 

Maybe you could start a thread on audiophile hearing aids Palmfish? It would be an expensive endeavour, but you could be the Don of the new Hearing Aid Mafia.

 
I love it!
 
You might be surprised to know that my hearing aids are Phonak's, complete with Knowles BA drivers.

Nice! My ACS T1's use Knowles and they sound great!

 

[Audio Jester]

I love it!

You might be surprised to know that my hearing aids are Phonak's, complete with Knowles BA drivers.

Well I would be getting in contact with iem manufacturers if I were you.... More drivers, some carbon fiber and maybe a tube in the mix and you got yourself a stew goin'!

 

[palmfish]

Well I would be getting in contact with iem manufacturers if I were you.... More drivers, some carbon fiber and maybe a tube in the mix and you got yourself a stew goin'!

 
Those would be some seriously small tubes!
 

 

[7ryder]

  Well I think that "best desktop setup" depends on your taste when you are ready to spend thousands of dollars for the HD800. For example one of my friends likes the Burson Conductor 9018 very much because it is very detailed and smooth; while another one is wishing for a HDVD800 as a Christmas present. However if you want something extremely detailed and neutral in this price range, you should give the Benchmark DAC2 HGC or DAC2 D a try. Of course in the future you can add an amplifier to alter the sound if you want because many people find the DAC2 HGC too cold for them to enjoy music. I've been using my DAC2 HGC and balanced B22 amp to feed the HD800 for about 10 months and I think I won't need to upgrade anymore.

I own a pair of HD800s and the DAC2 HGC.  I recently tried the HDVA600 with the DAC2 and, to be honest, if there was a difference in the sound of the HD800s by adding the amp, it was so small that it wasn't worth the $1400 for the amp, so I returned it.  of course, YMMV.
 
I've since purchased a Headamp GS-X mk2 and there is a definite improvement in both the sound of the HD800s and in the sound of my desktop speakers (Focal CMS50) compared to being driven directly from the DAC2.  I know the GS-X mk2 is supposed to be "wire with gain", but adding the amp/preamp to the mix seems to give my set up a warmer sound. 
 
That said, the DAC2 HGC is a perfectly good DAC/preamp on its own and well worth the audition from Benchmark, especially given their 30 day guarantee.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

  I own a pair of HD800s and the DAC2 HGC.  I recently tried the HDVA600 with the DAC2 and, to be honest, if there was a difference in the sound of the HD800s by adding the amp, it was so small that it wasn't worth the $1400 for the amp, so I returned it.  of course, YMMV.
 
I've since purchased a Headamp GS-X mk2 and there is a definite improvement in both the sound of the HD800s and in the sound of my desktop speakers (Focal CMS50) compared to being driven directly from the DAC2.  I know the GS-X mk2 is supposed to be "wire with gain", but adding the amp/preamp to the mix seems to give my set up a warmer sound. 
 
That said, the DAC2 HGC is a perfectly good DAC/preamp on its own and well worth the audition from Benchmark, especially given their 30 day guarantee.

 
i think the GSX MK2 is naturally a slightly warm amp. wire-with-gain, but with a musicality to it and a naturalness that is unmatched by almost every other SS amp on the market.

 

[StubKidDtd2512]

I own a pair of HD800s and the DAC2 HGC.  I recently tried the HDVA600 with the DAC2 and, to be honest, if there was a difference in the sound of the HD800s by adding the amp, it was so small that it wasn't worth the $1400 for the amp, so I returned it.  of course, YMMV.

Yeah i see your point, but you know, if we got tons of money, there might will be no such words as "diminishing returns" in our dictionary. The balanced B22 can only deliver a little bigger soundstage than the amp section of the DAC2 does but up until now I still dont regret purchasing it at all.

 

[LugBug1]

Palmfish buddy, I'm gutted for you. I really hope you continue to contribute to this thread, as you have a lot of experience with the HD800's. Your posts are always intelligent, worthwhile and often very funny. You are a valued member of the team! 
 
 
 
 
This is what my face is like right now.

 

[BournePerfect]

Palmfish: My sister has had hearing aids her entire life, and will probably be completely deaf sometime later in life. So I'm semi-knowledgable about hearing aids-including the DSPs that all the digital ones have nowadays-whereas hey used to be primarily analog. A lot of hearing aids have numerous DSPs to choose from, each suited towards different things by default-and almost always programmable by the audiologist. I'd suggest telling him your exact situation with headphones-and see if there's a way he can get a DSP specifically for that use-that won't change/compress like the other DSPs used for everyday circumstances. Shouldn't be that difficult assuming he is willing to put forth a little effort-and not blatantly tell you to never listen to HPs again like I'm sure would be the common knee-jerk reaction by a lot of people...keep us updated!
 
-Daniel

 

[songmic]

  Palmfish: My sister has had hearing aids her entire life, and will probably be completely deaf sometime later in life. So I'm semi-knowledgable about hearing aids-including the DSPs that all the digital ones have nowadays-whereas hey used to be primarily analog. A lot of hearing aids have numerous DSPs to choose from, each suited towards different things by default-and almost always programmable by the audiologist. I'd suggest telling him your exact situation with headphones-and see if there's a way he can get a DSP specifically for that use-that won't change/compress like the other DSPs used for everyday circumstances. Shouldn't be that difficult assuming he is willing to put forth a little effort-and not blatantly tell you to never listen to HPs again like I'm sure would be the common knee-jerk reaction by a lot of people...keep us updated!
 
-Daniel

 
I'm sorry to hear that. I came down with meningitis when I was five, and while I was spared from having my limbs amputated like some of the less fortunate kids back then, it had an aftereffect: I couldn't hear as well with my right ear as with my left. Thankfully, it gradually improved over time and now I have no problem hearing with my right ear, but there is still a difference between what I hear between left and right. For example, I could make out what two people are saying in a silent conversation when they're sitting right next to me on my left side, but not when they're sitting on my right side.
 
Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped me from getting into this headphone hobby. 

 

 

[7ryder]

Yeah i see your point, but you know, if we got tons of money, there might will be no such words as "diminishing returns" in our dictionary. The balanced B22 can only deliver a little bigger soundstage than the amp section of the DAC2 does but up until now I still dont regret purchasing it at all.

I'm glad you're happy with your amp. I agree, once you get to a certain point with electronics, the laws of diminishing returns does start to kick in.

 

[catspaw]

I think the main reason upgrading is so common is becouse even if there are diminishing returns and you pay x2 x3 x4 for maybe a 10-20% upgrade, the subjective percived upgrade is usually higher (its very easy to get used to better sound).

 

[palmfish]

  Palmfish: My sister has had hearing aids her entire life, and will probably be completely deaf sometime later in life. So I'm semi-knowledgable about hearing aids-including the DSPs that all the digital ones have nowadays-whereas hey used to be primarily analog. A lot of hearing aids have numerous DSPs to choose from, each suited towards different things by default-and almost always programmable by the audiologist. I'd suggest telling him your exact situation with headphones-and see if there's a way he can get a DSP specifically for that use-that won't change/compress like the other DSPs used for everyday circumstances. Shouldn't be that difficult assuming he is willing to put forth a little effort-and not blatantly tell you to never listen to HPs again like I'm sure would be the common knee-jerk reaction by a lot of people...keep us updated!
 
-Daniel

 
You are quite knowledgeable about hearing aids!
 
Yes, my audiologist is very good and he did set up a "music program" for mine which minimizes or eliminates much of the DSP and compression. It's a fine line though because, as you know, you cannot turn everything off and feedback has to be controlled - and it has been a problem with this mode. I have more fittings ahead to fine tune and I am hopeful that I can improve their performance with music.
 
I will definitely keep you posted and continue to participate here.