[DavidA]

Originally Posted by ****zu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Sorry Is should have been more specific about my budget. it is upto $1100-1200 My friend is buying the Liquid Gold and the Abyss. I am sure I will get to audition them. He currently is parting away with his Auralic Stack (Taurus+Vega) and his WA22. I had the privilege to hear them all . Wow.

You have gotten to hear really good equipment, lucky you.  The WA2 would be within your budget which is fairly close to the WA22.  Talk to your friend if he is willing to give you a deal on the equipment he is selling, can't hurt to ask. Good Luck

 

[Moonhead]

HD800 play more that Well enough with just a 02 AMP or a Superlux, its driven Way out of proportion in here suggesting these big expensive amps to newbies is just plain silly, IMO.

I have tested these small amps and owned Schiit Mjolnir & Questyle cma800r and prefer my Superlux.

 

[Shetzu]

  You have gotten to hear really good equipment, lucky you.  The WA2 would be within your budget which is fairly close to the WA22.  Talk to your friend if he is willing to give you a deal on the equipment he is selling, can't hurt to ask. Good Luck

I will surely ask my friend.  Lets hope it fits my budget, Thanks

 

[Shetzu]

HD800 play more that Well enough with just a 02 AMP or a Superlux, its driven Way out of proportion in here suggesting these big expensive amps to newbies is just plain silly, IMO.

I have tested these small amps and owned Schiit Mjolnir & Questyle cma800r and prefer my Superlux.

I am using my iFi iCan Micro Amp with the Hd 800 and it sounds pretty good and balanced. I donot get the shrills on the  high or any harsh sounds.

 

[Moonhead]

Well Im the Odd one out as I believe HD800 dosent need these massive Amps, its just a Hugh misunderstanding, but preferring a particular Sound signature is a different story, IMO.
Keep your sanity and keep what you have, Ifi is more than enough for HD800.. Just my opinion.

If you want to go full retard spending big money on desktop Amps you might aswell go the Stax route.

 

[JamieMcC]

 
FWIW, I feel that the BH Crack gives me 95% or more performance of the EC Balancing Act when I got to listen to them while I was in Japan last Nov. 

 
If you think the Crack gives you 95% of the performance of the ECBA then the Bottlehead Sex will be a eye opener the jump in performance moving from Crack to Sex is significant and its also way more versatile then the Crack.

 

[DavidA]

HD800 play more that Well enough with just a 02 AMP or a Superlux, its driven Way out of proportion in here suggesting these big expensive amps to newbies is just plain silly, IMO.

I have tested these small amps and owned Schiit Mjolnir & Questyle cma800r and prefer my Superlux.

I tried the O2/ODAC, with HD-650 it sounded thin and lacked dynamics, with HE-400i it was even worse.  I didn't have the HD-800 at that time but with my prior experience with the HD-650 and HE-400i it not something I would consider nor recommend.
 
Everyone hears different, if the O2/ODAC or Superlux work for you then that is all that matters.  FWIW I have two Stax headphones, a very old SRD-34 and a used SR-009 but I still like listening to other headphones just for the different sound signatures.
 
 

   
If you think the Crack gives you 95% of the performance of the ECBA then the Bottlehead Sex will be a eye opener the jump in performance moving from Crack to Sex is significant and its also way more versatile then the Crack.

Got to hear the HD-800 on a Mainline and it was really good, better than the Crack but still not at the ECBA or Liquid Glass level.  So if you say the BH SEX is that much better than the Crack I will see if I can audition one, might be another nice project.  Is your BH SEX completely stock?  I haven't done anything to my BH Crack except change the tubes, TS-5998 and Telefunken 12AU7.

 

[Moonhead]

HD650 does not Sound that dynamic it is more of Lullaby easy listening headphone and Hifiman has artificial highs just like Beyer cans, can blame the amp for that, all I'm saying is the 02 and Superlux has more than enough volts to drive HD800 and as I stated before if you are seeking are particular sound signature that's a different story

 

[Arniesb]

Those guys like moonhead are priceless. I see many guys like that who says, ALL YOU NEED IS O2!!! No mater what headphones or no matter that it does not have absolutely no synergy with almost nothing... O2 got power and thats it. Why the hell in the world anybody want to pair HD800 with same signature amp...

 

[DavidA]

HD650 does not Sound that dynamic it is more of Lullaby easy listening headphone and Hifiman has artificial highs just like Beyer cans, can blame the amp for that, all I'm saying is the 02 and Superlux has more than enough volts to drive HD800 and as I stated before if you are seeking are particular sound signature that's a different story

The HD-650 can sound dynamic if driven properly and the HE-400i does not have artificial highs like a Beyer and don't think I'm the only one who feels this way.
 
If you are saying that the O2 can make the HD-800 play loud then yes they will make any headphone play loud but that was not the question that the poster asked that I was responding to.  Your prior post implied that the O2 would be equal to those more expensive amps:
 

HD800 play more that Well enough with just a 02 AMP or a Superlux, its driven Way out of proportion in here suggesting these big expensive amps to newbies is just plain silly, IMO.

I have tested these small amps and owned Schiit Mjolnir & Questyle cma800r and prefer my Superlux.

This was the reason for my reply about the O2/ODAC.

 

[longbowbbs]

The Decware CSP3 is another attainable amp that pairs well with the HD800's

 

[Moonhead]

No I'm saying HD800 does NOT need that much voltage swing as these big exotic expense amps people keep suggesting in here.
Every amp has its own flavor that ads to sound signature of the HD800, pick the one you like, but stating that HD800 needs these massive amps to be optimal or get the best out of them is simply wrong.
By the way the Superlux was recommend by a pro record engineer who use it for his work.

 

[pietcux]

No I'm saying HD800 does NOT need that much voltage swing as these big exotic expense amps people keep suggesting in here.
Every amp has its own flavor that ads to sound signature of the HD800, pick the one you like, but stating that HD800 needs these massive amps to be optimal or get the best out of them is simply wrong.
By the way the Superlux was recommend by a pro record engineer who use it for his work.

You know, I drive my HD800 out of whatever is useful at times, that is my decision. But why do you need to blow against the wind in this thread? Save your breath and let everyone here have his own opinion.

 

[vc1187]

  I tried the O2/ODAC, with HD-650 it sounded thin and lacked dynamics, with HE-400i it was even worse.  I didn't have the HD-800 at that time but with my prior experience with the HD-650 and HE-400i it not something I would consider nor recommend.
 
Everyone hears different, if the O2/ODAC or Superlux work for you then that is all that matters.  FWIW I have two Stax headphones, a very old SRD-34 and a used SR-009 but I still like listening to other headphones just for the different sound signatures.
 
 
Got to hear the HD-800 on a Mainline and it was really good, better than the Crack but still not at the ECBA or Liquid Glass level.  So if you say the BH SEX is that much better than the Crack I will see if I can audition one, might be another nice project.  Is your BH SEX completely stock?  I haven't done anything to my BH Crack except change the tubes, TS-5998 and Telefunken 12AU7.

@DavidA, have you had a chance to hear the HD800 with the Stratus?  Depending on the sound you are looking for with the HD800, it may be as you describe, on the same level as the ECBA or LG.  The sound is addictive and just sounds so right.
 

No I'm saying HD800 does NOT need that much voltage swing as these big exotic expense amps people keep suggesting in here.
Every amp has its own flavor that ads to sound signature of the HD800, pick the one you like, but stating that HD800 needs these massive amps to be optimal or get the best out of them is simply wrong.
By the way the Superlux was recommend by a pro record engineer who use it for his work.

Not 100% sure what you mean by "massive", but if you mean cost that is driven by better parts, construction, and design, then I disagree only because you said optimal.  While I agree that you don't need very expensive amps to make the HD800 sound good/enjoyable, some of the best amps I've heard are quite pricey.

 

[DavidA]

  @DavidA, have you had a chance to hear the HD800 with the Stratus?  Depending on the sound you are looking for with the HD800, it may be as you describe, on the same level as the ECBA or LG.  The sound is addictive and just sounds so right.
 

No I haven't been able to audition the Stratus.  Most of what I've been able to sample has been during my trips to Japan where my friend who has more than enough disposable income to have many of these high end DACs, amps, speakers, and accessories lives (gave me his spare SR-009/SRM-007, unfortunately I had to send it back for repairs, should be back in a few months).  My last trip was in Nov last year when I got to sample half of what he had in addition to some of what his youngest daughter had and it was an eye opening experience.  The one headphone that the daughter had that stood out was a beautiful pink, mother of pearl, chrome and white Ultrasone?  Didn't sound that great but it was so beautiful to look at, sort of like the WA7 amp, a piece of art.  Living in Hawaii has its drawbacks, no high end stores, and not to many audio people around to share and discuss with.
 
As for looking for a sound, I'm really happy with the BH Crack for the HD-800 at this point and even if I had the funds to get one of those $3000+ amps it would go to wine first

.  I am at a point where I feel like I've reached my end game as far as headphones go and since I have my 3 sets of speakers out of storage they get 80% of the listening time while headphones get only 20%.  I'll still look around but there is no urge to get anything (could have gotten a MHDT Pagoda for $400 a few weeks ago and passed on it, kicking myself a little) since I'm trying to plan a trip to Europe with GF and 3 of her friends.
 
But if I ever see a LG or ECBA for under 1K I will not pass it up