[magiccabbage]

300b amps tend to sound a bit boring with the HD800, is that what Glenn is suggesting for the HD800?

no, he does not suggest it. Usually the 300b's he makes are for planars or speakers. I want one for hd800 but like i said i need to figure a few things out first. 

 

[62ohm]

 

 
I'm an HD800 owner and I drive an Alfa Romeo

 

[Swolern]

Man I have to take back what I said about light bass yesterday. I played the new Justin Timberlake album while using my U-shaped EQ curve and the HD800 bass was so impactful, it was shaking my brain! Satisfied bass-head here, with that album.

 

[62ohm]

Does anyone have any idea about which GSP Audio amp would pair better with HD800? Graham Slee Solo SRG-II or Ultra Linear DE? Both with PSU1.

 

[koiloco]

   
"Brian burn-in" means accepting a new sound signature by mind. 

yup, I knew.  I was just joking around with him. 

 

[koiloco]

Man I have to take back what I said about light bass yesterday. I played the new Justin Timberlake album while using my U-shaped EQ curve and the HD800 bass was so impactful, it was shaking my brain! Satisfied bass-head here, with that album.

That's because that album was mixed/mastered with tons of bass already.  The album did the EQ for you! 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

No hemis or z28s , trying to stay in 20-30 range, no more than low 30s (32-33ish tops)

Im also interested in mercedes cla 250 that just came out, but no moonroof or xenons unless you add like 2.5k more, and sport package costs more. Makes car too expensive.

Looks like camaro / challenger v6 fully loaded or maybe a v6 altima or something like that.

If all else fails, ill just get the corolla, but i dont want to cause of the CVT itd be too slow.

 

[Sonido]

So I just spent 3.5 hours adding the Speedball to my Bottlehead Crack. It was quite difficult to get myself to cutting off those resistors, not knowing if the Crack will ever work again, but luckily I put it together and it all worked! Such a better experience than when I first assembled the Crack, which took me 12 hours cuz I was using lead-free solder which took forever to melt and I had to squash the solder between the iron and the component, which took 5-10 minutes per solder! Protip for anyone thinking about building the Crack or any other DIY amp: Use leaded solder. I was using 60/40 solder this time I believe.
 
The following impressions are with the HD800 (obviously). First thing I noticed is that the noise floor when maxing the amp was a bit lower. I'm maxing the volume because I'm using a preamp, the Bottlehead Quickie. As for sound, honestly, not too much difference comes out at me. I think there's a little better instrument separation. Also, perhaps a slightly smoother, less edgy sound. More details may also be present because of the smoother sound and better imaging. Listening through just the Crack + Speedball alone, and comparing with Crack without Speedball from memory, I find the sound to come together and become more coherent. The one thing I didn't like the HD800 with stock Crack was that I found for certain genres like rock, the large soundstage sounded unnatural, especially vocals, which sounded drawn and stretched out. With the Speedball, this is improved, similar to when I added Quickie to the chain. It's not as thin sounding anymore, especially vocals, but there is still a certain level of brightness, which is apparent when comparing to adding Quickie to chain. I think the way the Quickie solved the thin vocals problem was by adding warmth (a lot more than Crack) and body to the sound. The Speedball seems to solve this problem by just making everything tighter and more refined.
 
Overall I think adding the Speedball is a significant difference from stock Crack, especially if just using the Crack. Comparing Quickie + stock Crack vs Quickie + Crack with Speedball, the difference is a lot less, mainly benefiting tightness, refinement, and imaging. I guess the different is less apparent because my biggest problem, the thin vocals with the HD800 and stock Crack was already fixed by adding the Quickie. As for whether the Speedball or Quickie adds more to the Crack for the HD800, I have to say the Quickie does more, as far as altering the sound signature is concerned. While both help in coherency and make vocals better, the Quickie actually adds a significant amount of warmth, and makes the HD800 less bright sounding. Of course this warmth is a subjective preference. I guess a good way to summarize is the Speedball betters the technicalities of the sound like imaging and refinement, whereas the Quickie does more to change the sound signature.
 
Listening to just Crack+Speedball for a bit now, and I can see why some people complain about fatigue with the HD800. For me, adding the Quickie to chain really helps in this respect, perhaps at a slight cost to the analytical nature of the HD800.
 
Quote:

No hemis or z28s , trying to stay in 20-30 range, no more than low 30s (32-33ish tops)

Im also interested in mercedes cla 250 that just came out, but no moonroof or xenons unless you add like 2.5k more, and sport package costs more. Makes car too expensive.

Looks like camaro / challenger v6 fully loaded or maybe a v6 altima or something like that.

If all else fails, ill just get the corolla, but i dont want to cause of the CVT itd be too slow.

BRZ or FR-S have agility and great handling, but good luck finding one for sale.

 

[palmfish]

BRZ or FR-S have agility and great handling, but good luck finding one for sale.

Very nice review, thank you. Im still on the fence about adding Speedball to my Crack or just leaving it as is. Im going to wait until I can compare side by side before I decide.

BR-Z/FR-S is a fine choice right now - much better drivers car than those overweight ponies or FWD imports. Personally, I would look at a CPO Audi or BMW. All wheel drive for Chicago...

 

[Sonido]

Very nice review, thank you. Im still on the fence about adding Speedball to my Crack or just leaving it as is. Im going to wait until I can compare side by side before I decide.

Imo the Quickie is a better upgrade at ~$100, and you and use it with other amps. Of course, I subjectively prefer an euphonic sound to an analytical one. I got the Speedball for free anyways from the special sale. Just never got around to installing it after my harrowing experience soldering up with Crack with lead-free solder. Now that I'm using the Crack more since I got the HD800, I finally added it and it wasn't difficult at all with the right solder.

 

[palmfish]

Imo the Quickie is a better upgrade at ~$100, and you and use it with other amps. Of course, I subjectively prefer an euphonic sound to an analytical one. I got the Speedball for free anyways from the special sale. Just never got around to installing it after my harrowing experience soldering up with Crack with lead-free solder. Now that I'm using the Crack more since I got the HD800, I finally added it and it wasn't difficult at all with the right solder.

The Crack is already riding the edge of being too smooth and meaty for my tastes. Based on your description, the Quickie would push it right off the cliff for me.

 

[PretentiousGeek]

Hi Guys,
 
not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this.
 
i plan to buy the HD800 with Objective2 as its AMP and an JDS labs ODAC. (I will change the AMP to WO2 soon after)
 
Planning to use it for 50% audio 30% gaming 20% movies.
 
I might get flamed for using this cans for gaming but i have limited funds and i want the very best.  To me the HD800 is the first proper step to have a top tier setup.
 
please enlighten me if this upgrade path is correct.
 
thanks.

 

[koiloco]

^ do it.  You will have one of the best HPs on this planet earth.  Upgrade your source components later slowly to improve SQ even further.  You are not going to get any flaming from me.  Also, you will always hear "your HD800 deserves better"..."it's ridiculous to run $1400 HPs with $200 amp/DAC"...etc  Buy it and find out for yourself if you like what you hear and then ultimately decide.  Affordable DAC/amps are not horrible like some people would like u to believe, esp O2 and ODAC.
 
WO2? what amp is that?

 

[Maxvla]

You will enjoy the rig. It is a bit limited, but it will be fine to start with. My only real problem with the Objective stack with the HD800 is lack of dynamic range, but everything else sounds quite acceptable. For the price those objective pieces are, that is high praise.

 

[pdrm360]

So I just spent 3.5 hours adding the Speedball to my Bottlehead Crack. It was quite difficult to get myself to cutting off those resistors, not knowing if the Crack will ever work again, but luckily I put it together and it all worked! Such a better experience than when I first assembled the Crack, which took me 12 hours cuz I was using lead-free solder which took forever to melt and I had to squash the solder between the iron and the component, which took 5-10 minutes per solder! Protip for anyone thinking about building the Crack or any other DIY amp: Use leaded solder. I was using 60/40 solder this time I believe.
 
The following impressions are with the HD800 (obviously). First thing I noticed is that the noise floor when maxing the amp was a bit lower. I'm maxing the volume because I'm using a preamp, the Bottlehead Quickie. As for sound, honestly, not too much difference comes out at me. I think there's a little better instrument separation. Also, perhaps a slightly smoother, less edgy sound. More details may also be present because of the smoother sound and better imaging. Listening through just the Crack + Speedball alone, and comparing with Crack without Speedball from memory, I find the sound to come together and become more coherent. The one thing I didn't like the HD800 with stock Crack was that I found for certain genres like rock, the large soundstage sounded unnatural, especially vocals, which sounded drawn and stretched out. With the Speedball, this is improved, similar to when I added Quickie to the chain. It's not as thin sounding anymore, especially vocals, but there is still a certain level of brightness, which is apparent when comparing to adding Quickie to chain. I think the way the Quickie solved the thin vocals problem was by adding warmth (a lot more than Crack) and body to the sound. The Speedball seems to solve this problem by just making everything tighter and more refined.
 
Overall I think adding the Speedball is a significant difference from stock Crack, especially if just using the Crack. Comparing Quickie + stock Crack vs Quickie + Crack with Speedball, the difference is a lot less, mainly benefiting tightness, refinement, and imaging. I guess the different is less apparent because my biggest problem, the thin vocals with the HD800 and stock Crack was already fixed by adding the Quickie. As for whether the Speedball or Quickie adds more to the Crack for the HD800, I have to say the Quickie does more, as far as altering the sound signature is concerned. While both help in coherency and make vocals better, the Quickie actually adds a significant amount of warmth, and makes the HD800 less bright sounding. Of course this warmth is a subjective preference. I guess a good way to summarize is the Speedball betters the technicalities of the sound like imaging and refinement, whereas the Quickie does more to change the sound signature.
 
Listening to just Crack+Speedball for a bit now, and I can see why some people complain about fatigue with the HD800. For me, adding the Quickie to chain really helps in this respect, perhaps at a slight cost to the analytical nature of the HD800.

 
Great write up. Thanks!