[Nicklikesmusic]

  I would like to hear some peoples experiences with OTL amps paired with the HD800.........................For what ever reason I keep finding myself looking at OTL.  My first amp in headphones was the Schiit Valhalla I had it paired with the Schiit uber bifrost and listened to the HD650, and then later the HE500.  I keep romanticizing about the sound I had
 
while my current rig is way more resolving and articulate I keep looking for that almost  hallucinogenic sound signature, It always showed up after a couple hours
 
Man I miss that sometimes

Hey Joe, I use the Valhalla 2 OTL amp with my HD800 using a Rega Apollo as the source. You may remember we share the exact same frequency curve on our HD800. My source is a supposed analogue sounding cd player and combined with the Valhalla 2 - well I can't really fault it for the $
 
I read that the Valhalla 1 is quite different to the Valhalla 2. The V2 is very neutral. If I let mine warm up for a while it just becomes natural and and smooth. Highly recommended.

 

[joespride]

  If it showed up only after a couple of hours, it was probably your mind that was going hallucinogenic, not the gear 

Its called system warm up, 

 

[whirlwind]

  I would like to hear some peoples experiences with OTL amps paired with the HD800.........................For what ever reason I keep finding myself looking at OTL.  My first amp in headphones was the Schiit Valhalla I had it paired with the Schiit uber bifrost and listened to the HD650, and then later the HE500.  I keep romanticizing about the sound I had
 
while my current rig is way more resolving and articulate I keep looking for that almost  hallucinogenic sound signature, It always showed up after a couple hours
 
Man I miss that sometimes

This is heavenly with the HD800.....just wonderful.
 

 
Effortless power.....tube rolling is completely off the hook and the amp is very transparent to tube rolling.

 

[henkie196]

  Its called system warm up, 

It's good that my solid state amps are not (noticeably) susceptible to this, because I definitely do not have the patience to wait for a couple of hours before the music gets where I'd like it to be.

 

[drhoooon]

Hello, recently acquired an HD800.
 
I think I need to upgrade my DAC and AMP...currrently using centrance DacPort.
 
Any recommendation for both combined <$1000? been searching forums and google for past hour with no good answer..specifically looking for decent DAC <$400 if possible.
 
Would appreciate any opinion!

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Hello, recently acquired an HD800.

I think I need to upgrade my DAC and AMP...currrently using centrance DacPort.

Any recommendation for both combined <$1000? been searching forums and google for past hour with no good answer..specifically looking for decent DAC <$400 if possible.

Would appreciate any opinion!

I bought the CEntrance HiFi M8, new at $700 and used around $400, to use my Sennheisers in a portable walk-around manner. It has plenty of power, charges up for cordles use, and has balanced, 1/4", and 1/8" output jacks, and it sounds great with the HD 800. This would be the XLR version, which has switchable gain, output impedance, and treble and bass boost.

 

[rwalkerphl]

  Hello, recently acquired an HD800.
 
I think I need to upgrade my DAC and AMP...currrently using centrance DacPort.
 
Any recommendation for both combined <$1000? been searching forums and google for past hour with no good answer..specifically looking for decent DAC <$400 if possible.
 
Would appreciate any opinion!

 
I have a Rein Audio X-DAC I am considering selling that sounds pretty good and would come in under your budget ($350 or so).
 
PM me if interested.

 

[WillB]

Guys did you see this? Hysterical!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkZPj9F0y18
/Will

 

[Sorrodje]

  Guys did you see this? Hysterical!

 
1237 times... almost. Definitely hilarious. 

 

[raybone0566]

I'll wait a while for tubes to warm. I enjoy the lush tube sound on the 650's and 800.

 

[verber]

  Hello, recently acquired an HD800.
 
I think I need to upgrade my DAC and AMP...currrently using centrance DacPort.
 
Any recommendation for both combined <$1000? been searching forums and google for past hour with no good answer..specifically looking for decent DAC <$400 if possible.
 
Would appreciate any opinion!

 
The DAC in the DACport is decent.. but the amplifier is completely inadequate for the HD800.  Would you prefer portable to desktop? If you are looking for a portable all in one solution I would recommend:
 
Geek Out V2, $299 good
Chord Mojo, $599 better
Resonessence Labs Concero HP, $850.  It is likely in the same league as Mojo with preference between them being personal taste
 
More details on my recommended stereo page.
 
The Schiit Bitfrost would be my choice for a pure DAC around $400
This could be paired with a decent amplifier for a <1k total price.  For headphone amps I would choose a used Headamp GS-1 (or other DynaLo circuit).
If you don't mind the hassle of tubes, then the Bottlenead Crack+speedball would be a good choice.
 
I would also consider a used all in one from Audio-GD or a Lavry DA-11 (decent amp, good DAC which doesn't do anything wrong).
 
 
 
 
--Mark

 

[kapanak]

  Hello, recently acquired an HD800.
 
I think I need to upgrade my DAC and AMP...currrently using centrance DacPort.
 
Any recommendation for both combined <$1000? been searching forums and google for past hour with no good answer..specifically looking for decent DAC <$400 if possible.
 
Would appreciate any opinion!

 
For right at the $1000 mark, nothing can beat the Bifrost Multibit (MB part important) with Valhalla 2 for the HD800. Great great pairing.
 
For $850 (And sometimes used as low as $550) the Concero HP is an unbeatable DAC/Amp combination, and can be used as a pre-amp or a DAC/Preamp by using a 1/4" to RCA cable (or a 3.5mm to RCA, which is more common, and a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter).
 
Avoid iFi products with the HD800.

 

[13713]

Dave Matthews "Lilly White Sessions" on the hd800 is jaw dropping! They have so much going on in those songs & the hd800's blow through it effortlessly. No other headphone has given me that in the music feeling.

I listen to a lot of jam bands and the 800's are brilliant at representing the genre.

 

[shultzee]

 

  Hello, recently acquired an HD800.
 
I think I need to upgrade my DAC and AMP...currrently using centrance DacPort.
 
Any recommendation for both combined <$1000? been searching forums and google for past hour with no good answer..specifically looking for decent DAC <$400 if possible.
 
Would appreciate any opinion!

 
For right at the $1000 mark, nothing can beat the Bifrost Multibit (MB part important) with Valhalla 2 for the HD800. Great great pairing.
 
For $850 (And sometimes used as low as $550) the Concero HP is an unbeatable DAC/Amp combination, and can be used as a pre-amp or a DAC/Preamp by using a 1/4" to RCA cable (or a 3.5mm to RCA, which is more common, and a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter).
 
Avoid iFi products with the HD800.

I agree with above.  The Concero HP is pretty awesome at its price point.  

 

[drhoooon]

   
For right at the $1000 mark, nothing can beat the Bifrost Multibit (MB part important) with Valhalla 2 for the HD800. Great great pairing.
 
For $850 (And sometimes used as low as $550) the Concero HP is an unbeatable DAC/Amp combination, and can be used as a pre-amp or a DAC/Preamp by using a 1/4" to RCA cable (or a 3.5mm to RCA, which is more common, and a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter).
 
Avoid iFi products with the HD800.

What's your opinion compared to WA7?