[nephilim32]

Just submitted my review to Steven at EnjoyTheMusic.com of the NuForce HA-200 stereo headphone amps in monoblock configuration - driving my HD800s and Audeze cans!!

Those damn lil class A solid state amps are $349 a piece!
Hailing from the wacky world of high-end audio, that price sounds reasonable to me!

Reviews out soon - had a BLAST!


This monoblock system is under 1K - and it sounded so magnificent w/ my 800s + Double Helix Complement3 & 4 dual XLR!!! The tunes, from underground EDM to Sam Cooke and Yo La Tengo were fluid, dynamic as F____, wide-open, and infectious... 

Really nice headphone cable. I'm still using the stock one at the moment, and it is the last alteration I have to do for my system.

 

[whirlwind]

 

I have the same CD - its amazing on HD800 alright. So is "water of love"

You can thank Bob Ludwig for the amazing mastering on that album and mixing. Boy do I love cranking 'brothers in arms' with my 800's. good lord!!!

100%.....I agree and feel the exact same way as you do  

 

[zilch0md]

Yep. The MEtrum Octave compliment extremely well the HD800. The way it reproduces voices is astonishing. The only counterparts I can detect is it's not totally transparent. It has a specific flavor on its own. I think it offers astonishing good results fo most modern music but i've never been entirely satisfied for Classical for example. For everything else than Classical my Octave is an absolute great choice with an unmodded HD800.  My sonett 2 doesn't add much personality but add the slight tube wetness and even more naturalness to the final result. IMO the Sonett brings also an extremely good separation betwenn intruments . Voices are extremely welle delineated. The final result is definitely not warmer or darker than with the O2/ODac. The sound seems to have more body more weight on the whole FR. Bass are more textured and weighty  Mids more meaty and even treble seems thjicker and more integrated in the FR.

See here : http://www.head-fi.org/t/693798/thoughts-on-a-bunch-of-dacs-and-why-i-hate-chocolate-ice-cream . Before I read Purrin impressions , I thought the best of the Octave was its bass . so I've read Purrin and tried to understand what he said and then I realized that since I've the Metrum I listen Much more to Folk, Electro folk or other styles with voices ( Newton Faulkner, Asgeir, Agnes Obel , Ane Brun ) and much more EDM too so I understood Purrin was right about the Octave main strenght. It's not only bass but more mids . The HD800 main weakness is not the treble IMO. it's more the slight lack of body in the mids. The Octave fixes that . then treble, mids and bass are more integrated ant the whole result improves a lot. Not as the same level to the SR009/electra I heard a few weeks ago but not so far.

Mu current Bushmaster is extremely good but fails to do that and the silghtly hollow mids of HD800 are back. I've ordered the Caïman and maybe the TOTL beresford will sit somewhere in between the Bushmaster and the Octave mkII ?

As a newcomer to the Octave MKII's strengths with the HD800, your observations nevertheless seem to be spot on with what I'm hearing!

i'll give them ...You can already notice that IMO the Bushmaster mkII is a tremendous value . I used it most exclusively during the last week . Amazing wide an deep 3D soundstage ( The Octave seems more intimate)  , very detailed but not cold or boring. the only shortcoming I noticed is that the overall tone is a bit too thin for the HD800. trying the Bushmaster with an audeze for example should be interesting.

Having had the Bushmaster MKII for several months, I can attest that its own integrated amp is wonderful with the HD600 and even more so with the HD650 - a pairing that some people have likened to the synergy of the Speedballed Bottlehead Crack and HD650. The Bushmaster MKII noise floor goes bottomless on battery power and Stanley Beresford even offers a replacement IC for improved transparency and resolution, not recommended for use on potentially "dirty" mains power.

For a while now, the following components have been my standard suggestion for anyone wanting to get a lot of bang for the buck, spending $950 or so, total:

TeraDak X2 USB-to-SPDIF converter - $99
TeraDak X1/X2 5V PSU (with the excellent, included USB Y-cable that allows only data to come from your PC's USB port) - $80
Beresford Bushmaster MKII with battery upgrade IC - $265
HD650 - $399
Anker Astro Pro2 20000mAh battery pack to supply both 5V and 12V DC power - $99

Using a FiiO X5 or other DAP with coaxial or optical output, you can omit the PC (or laptop) and the TeraDak components, still powering everything, including the DAP, from the Anker battery.

The Bushmaster MKII's amp doesn't have enough power for the HD800 or LCD-2, but another great match is the OPPO PM-1 or PM-2.









Mike

 

[Sorrodje]

Because of you guys , I'm currently listening "Brother in Arms" .  The very first CD I've ever bought in 1987 if I remember well. I was sixteen and My parents had just bought their first CD player. 
 
@zilch0md : You make me want a HD650 . The more I try different cans ,the more I think the HD650 would have a place of choice in my stable to compliment the HD800 when I want the lushness and the euphonic colouration I miss sometimes.

 

[MattTCG]

The 650 makes a great compliment to the 800 IMO. 

 

[Acapella11]

Was today on the high end headphone room opening event of hifilounge in Biggleswade, UK. Demoed the pure class A Trilogy 931 headphone amp and with my Sennheiser HD800 and Norne Draug v2 cables, it was an amazing match. Black background and so transparent. Impressively, better than other amps I heard even the Bryston BHA-1.
Should be in stores in November for £900.
Just fyi.
I am not affiliated with hifilounge or trilogy but I was really impressed.

 

[frankrondaniel]

  The 650 makes a great compliment to the 800 IMO. 

 
I wholeheartedly agree.  Recently bought a 650 to complement my 800 and often end up preferring it.

 

[BournePerfect]

Glad others are finding the magic of Dire Straits on the HD800. Brothers in Arms is usually the last song I listen to as it's lulls me to sleep. Great stuff indeed.

 

[lin0003]

A goo backup to then HD800 is the DT880 600 Ohm. It sounds very good and has a similar sound signature. When I just want to listen for a while or I'm doing work I will use those instead. 

 

[62ohm]

The HD650 does make for a decent complement to the HD800. Putting on the HD650 after HD800 feels very relaxing, but putting on the HD800 after the HD650 feels very liberating 

 
Strangely, I don't really like listening to Dire Straits on the HD650. 'Love Over Gold' sounded just too good to be true on the HD800 that I can't bear listening to it on the HD650.

 

[mikemercer]

I simply CANT STOP listening to this rig!!
Full column coming at EnjoyTheMusic.com on Monday....
 
HD800s via Double Helix Cables Complement3 dual XLR
NuForce HA-200s in monoblock configuration ($349 a piece! and they're killer class A stereo headphone amps too)
McIntosh D100 DAC
MacBook Pro/Amarra Symphony
 

 

 

[whirlwind]

  The HD650 does make for a decent complement to the HD800. Putting on the HD650 after HD800 feels very relaxing, but putting on the HD800 after the HD650 feels very liberating 

 
Strangely, I don't really like listening to Dire Straits on the HD650. 'Love Over Gold' sounded just too good to be true on the HD800 that I can't bear listening to it on the HD650.

Yeah, Dire Straits and the HD800 seem to be a perfect match.
 
oh, and for the record.....I have been thru the whole Pink Floyds remasters library, and I am putting them right there with Dire Straits.....sublime with the HD800

 

[magiccabbage]

  Yeah.....this cd and headphone combo is just 100% completely off the hook
 
I mean really, really good stuff  

 

  Because of you guys , I'm currently listening "Brother in Arms" .  The very first CD I've ever bought in 1987 if I remember well. I was sixteen and My parents had just bought their first CD player. 
 
@zilch0md : You make me want a HD650 . The more I try different cans ,the more I think the HD650 would have a place of choice in my stable to compliment the HD800 when I want the lushness and the euphonic colouration I miss sometimes.

I dunno if you guys like Jazz but I think this album is the best sounding HD800 album that I have ever heard. It is unbelievable the sound of the drums especially the track "Alice in wonderland". 
 

 
The ultimate HD800 album

 

[Sorrodje]

   
I dunno if you guys like Jazz but I think this album is the best sounding HD800 album that I have ever heard. It is unbelievable the sound of the drums especially the track "Alice in wonderland". 
 

 
The ultimate HD800 album

 
ah ahhh I'll give it a listen.
 
I've many Ultimate HD800 album . one of these is that one :
 

 

[kothganesh]

God, its been Brothers in Arms weekend here for me as well . My set up was the MBA into the Geek Out 720 and the 800. Let me tell you, the Geek Out packs a nice punch. And the album sounds special at a slightly higher than my normal listening volume.