[Zoom25]

   
The HE-6 does neither.   

 

I haven't heard the HE-6 from the TOTL headphone amplifiers yet, although have heard them from some really high end speaker amplifiers (McIntosh, Luxman, PrimaLuna, EAR, Marantz reference gear) all over 3k at the least. They are definitely better than HE-500 although I still got a sense of fatigue in long sessions. The thing I hate about the HE-6 is that you get tied down to a single place with a speaker amp. Also, not the best comfort wise in comparison to Audezes, Denon, Fostex and Sennheiser.
 
They hit hard and in all the right places. Although they lose out on extension to Audeze or Denon. Still very fun though.

 

[Rossliew]

  Thinking hard about upgrading from the Lyr. Any suggestions on what <$1500 amp would work equally well with HD800 and LCD2.2?
 
Thanks in advance.

Would a Vali make sense? I haven't owned an LCD2 before but considering it is relatively sensitive, the Vali should be able to drive it and it is so affordable! I know the Vali drives my HD800s wonderfully!
 
*EDIT : Sorry, saw you mentioned upgrading from the Lyr..suppose the Vali cannot really be considered an upgrade per se..*

 

[Drsparis]

BHA-1

+1
Came here to say this !

 

[thegrobe]

Thinking hard about upgrading from the Lyr. Any suggestions on what <$1500 amp would work equally well with HD800 and LCD2.2?

Thanks in advance.

Decware CSP3 or Taboo MKIII would be good options.

+1 ^

For the HD800, at least, both amps are great. I personally never cared too much for the LCD's on the CSP3 however. Not with the option of the mk3 sitting there!

Running the pair together is very nice as well, for either HD800 or LCD.

For HD800, the CSP3 alone, mk3 alone, or both paired together all work very well. Different "flavors" for the HD800. LCD, I would prefer mk3 alone or CSP3+mk3.

 

[Maxvla]

Thinking hard about upgrading from the Lyr. Any suggestions on what <$1500 amp would work equally well with HD800 and LCD2.2?

Thanks in advance.

I'd wait and see what happens with Ragnarok. It's a couple hundred over budget ($1700), but should be excellent and pulls double duty powering speakers if you need that. They should be shipping Rags in a couple weeks.

 

[TwoEars]

There certainly is no shortage of high-end amps these days!
 
Eddie Current, DNA, Bakoon, Schiit, Auralic, Questyle, Violectric, HeadAmp, BottleHead, RSA, Cavalli, Woo...
 
Personally I'd like to see a shootout between the Ragnarok and new Violectric V281, that'd be fantastic.
 
Maybe throw in the Auralic, Questyle or Bakoon for good measure.
 
(the bakoon actually has the most interesting/best operating principle but it's slightly expensive...)

 

[pearljam50000]

Best amp/dac combo for HD800 for 300$ or less?

 

[Maxvla]

Matrix M-Stage HPA-2 w/USB DAC $320

 

[SilverEars]

Why is this mutha so complicated?  So damn finicky with amps.  Scratching my head with why Beta isn't a top amp for it.
 
As for planars, I give my HE-6 it's mommy, the Beta 22, and the baby responds very nicely.  

 

[TwoEars]

If you've got a computer this: http://rog.asus.com/307922014/news/asus-essence-stx-ii-and-essence-stx-ii-7-1-hi-fi-grade-sound-launches/
 
But careful now... this is the "high-end" audio forum.

 

[preproman]

  I haven't heard the HE-6 from the TOTL headphone amplifiers yet, although have heard them from some really high end speaker amplifiers (McIntosh, Luxman, PrimaLuna, EAR, Marantz reference gear) all over 3k at the least. They are definitely better than HE-500 although I still got a sense of fatigue in long sessions. The thing I hate about the HE-6 is that you get tied down to a single place with a speaker amp. Also, not the best comfort wise in comparison to Audezes, Denon, Fostex and Sennheiser.
 
They hit hard and in all the right places. Although they lose out on extension to Audeze or Denon. Still very fun though.

The PrimaLuna don't count.  I'm not sure what over 3K has to do with anything, still not enough power to drive the HE-6.  I beg the differ that they lose out on extension to Denon and Audeze.  They are most defiantly tighter in bass response than both - no question.
 
Correct, they are not the last word when it comes to comfort.  

 

[Feynman]

I have a Schiit Vali with a musicstreamer II and my HD800. Is a source upgrade the way to go?

 

[SilverEars]

  I have a Schiit Vali with a musicstreamer II and my HD800. Is a source upgrade the way to go?

Hi, I'm a believe in DAC changing the signal when it comes to details, and tonality to some extent as long as the amp is neutral.  I would look into getting a better DAC if you know for sure your amp is transparent.  
 
I had a chance to test my DAC by trying out different amps with it, and also different DAC with the amps.  I have concluded my DAC is providing the details my HE-6 is providing.  Some say HD800 is more detailed, but I think if you give it the right combo, the headphone will open up to your liking.
 
I personally like the ESS Sabre chips.  I'm looking into Resonance labs DACs since they used to design the ESS chips.  
 
What DACs are being used here?  And, does it make a difference to your setups?

 

[sathyam]

I'd wait and see what happens with Ragnarok. It's a couple hundred over budget ($1700), but should be excellent and pulls double duty powering speakers if you need that. They should be shipping Rags in a couple weeks.

This behemoth seems to power anything from IEMs to speakers. Sounds very promising. I am waiting for this one. Looks like Jude has one of these. Waiting eagerly for his impressions.

 

[kugino]

This behemoth seems to power anything from IEMs to speakers. Sounds very promising. I am waiting for this one. Looks like Jude has one of these. Waiting eagerly for his impressions.

Yeah, I'm looking at the Taurus, but will probably wait on that to see how the ragnarok turns out. Much more versatile than the Taurus and if it can come close to the Taurus in terms of performance, might be a bargain.