[longbowbbs]

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i also have some very nice tubes in the amp now using Amperex EL84 with a Phillips 5R4GYS and a Siemens ECC88 . The Phillips rectifier is so nice never seen a rectifier built like it is. I ordered another pair today from upscale audio before they are all gone

I tried the Philips 5R4GYS rectifier in my CSP but it was one of my least favorites. Very detailed, but too bass-shy and sterile.

RCA 5Y3GT and EML 5U4G meshplate have been my favorites thus far (surpassing Tung-Sol 5U4G and 5Y3GT, Sylvania 5U4G and 5Y3GT, RCA 5R4GY and 5U4G, and yes even the lush Brimar 5R4GY).

If you like the Philips, have you tried the USAF-596? It is similar in regards to detail retrieval, but with better bass and midrange IMHO.

+1 on the 596....I am pleasantly surprised at the Valve Art 274B too.

 

[Solude]

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So, consider an upgrade from HD800 to TH900?

 
No.

 

[Frank I]

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I tried the Philips 5R4GYS rectifier in my CSP but it was one of my least favorites. Very detailed, but too bass-shy and sterile.

RCA 5Y3GT and EML 5U4G meshplate have been my favorites thus far (surpassing Tung-Sol 5U4G and 5Y3GT, Sylvania 5U4G and 5Y3GT, RCA 5R4GY and 5U4G, and yes even the lush Brimar 5R4GY).

If you like the Philips, have you tried the USAF-596? It is similar in regards to detail retrieval, but with better bass and midrange IMHO.

I dont hear it as bass shy in the Taboo MK111 at all I am also using EL 84 Amperex O getters and  the Siemens EC88 in the driver spot. Great combo perhaps its the combination of tubes but it is extremely musical with great bass extension and crystal highs. I dont have a USAF-596 and am done with rectifiers as I have quite a few already. I am seeking out some more EL84 NOS for the Taboo namely Phillis and Tungstram  adn I am really liking  the hd800 on the MK11

 

[drez]

Friend, that one statement alone discredits the rest of your post. I owned both together for quite a while (with multiple cables). It's just not true.

I think you caught me out there, just had another listen and will have to correct my former opinion. SA5000 cant match the HD800 in resolution, it is warmer and gets muddled when music gets complex. My bad, I didn't compare carefully (SA5000 is on loan, only listened to it a few times as it physically doesn't fit my ears well...)

 

[kazsud]

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I am listening to Patricia Barber Modern Cool and listening to the track Company on the Taboo Mk111 with the hd800 and man oh man if anyone thinks the hd800 is bass light should listen to that track as It has real slam on the drums and the bass is very distinct with pin point focus in the soundstage with lots of air. Very special 

I got my blue dragon v3 cable yesterday and I'm hearing more bass now. 
 
Radiohead
Zero7
Bonobo (new album drops Sunday)
Jazzanova
The Roots 
All have good bass, detail and spacious

 

[BournePerfect]

I see. I saw you were keen to have the TH900 and even sold your HD800 to fund it. But now, you get back the HD800. 

 No wonder... no wonder.

Translation?? Either way the HD 800 is objectively better, and to my ears the Senn beat it in pretty much every category. Guess I'm not a huge fan of colored headphones-except the Pro 2900 which is amazing in it's price range.

-Daniel

 

[zigy626]

A question for HD800 owners that own summit-fi amp/dac. I have seen that many people  are willing to spent really a lot of money on Amplifiers and DAC's to go along with the HD800's.  Sometimes upwards of $5000. We are after all talking about Headphones here. How good can it get really? Personally I have no experience with summit-fi amps that go along with HD800, so can someone enlighten me with there experience with summit-fi amp/dac pairing with HD800. What can one expect when you pair a HD800 with something like a woo audio WA5 amp that costs $3000?

 

[longbowbbs]

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A question for HD800 owners that own summit-fi amp/dac. I have seen that many people  are willing to spent really a lot of money on Amplifiers and DAC's to go along with the HD800's.  Sometimes upwards of $5000. We are after all talking about Headphones here. How good can it get really? Personally I have no experience with summit-fi amps that go along with HD800, so can someone enlighten me with there experience with summit-fi amp/dac pairing with HD800. What can one expect when you pair a HD800 with something like a woo audio WA5 amp that costs $3000?

Great question...tough to answer. Your own experience will be a big part of your personal value proposition. The HD800's will reflect the quality of the recording and the full chain delivering the music to you. So, should there be a weak link or bottleneck, the HD800's will show the shortfall. However, at a certain point, I am not sure I can discern major improvements and I have to say I would rather just listen to the music than spend my day dissecting a recording.
 
For me, switching gear is now about the hobby and trying something new. 
 
Good luck with your journey!  Sorry about your wallet.....

 

[cired]

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A question for HD800 owners that own summit-fi amp/dac. I have seen that many people  are willing to spent really a lot of money on Amplifiers and DAC's to go along with the HD800's.  Sometimes upwards of $5000. We are after all talking about Headphones here. How good can it get really? Personally I have no experience with summit-fi amps that go along with HD800, so can someone enlighten me with there experience with summit-fi amp/dac pairing with HD800. What can one expect when you pair a HD800 with something like a woo audio WA5 amp that costs $3000?

 
Personally I didn't really care for the HD800 with the mid-fi stuff that I have owned and sold them. The HD800 with my current setup now are my personal favorites and brought them to a whole new level and listening experience.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

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Personally I didn't really care for the HD800 with the mid-fi stuff that I have owned and sold them. The HD800 with my current setup now are my personal favorites and brought them to a whole new level and listening experience.

I looked at the description of the "PS Audio PerfectWave Dac MKII" you use according to your signature :
"The MKII features our exclusive Digital Lens technology built right inside.  The Digital Lens takes any digital audio signal and regenerates a new and jitter free version to listen to."
 
Oh, well .... Fascinating.

 

[dallan]

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A question for HD800 owners that own summit-fi amp/dac. I have seen that many people  are willing to spent really a lot of money on Amplifiers and DAC's to go along with the HD800's.  Sometimes upwards of $5000.

 
Thank God my dac/amp combo stayed below $5000. ........only $4800. in the end 

   Of course that is not including a thousand dollar usb converter and around seven or eight hundred dollar re-cable.  Lets not get into the power cords or tubes for rolling........OMG what have i done!

 

[zigy626]

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Great question...tough to answer. Your own experience will be a big part of your personal value proposition. The HD800's will reflect the quality of the recording and the full chain delivering the music to you. So, should there be a weak link or bottleneck, the HD800's will show the shortfall. However, at a certain point, I am not sure I can discern major improvements and I have to say I would rather just listen to the music than spend my day dissecting a recording.
 
For me, switching gear is now about the hobby and trying something new. 
 
Good luck with your journey!  Sorry about your wallet.....

Thanks. Will try to save my wallet from further damage by trying these cans on gear i find at hi-fi meets. Hopefully that will give me some idea about the summit-fi amps/dacs. But its good to know that HD800 can scale up to a point where people feel it can be justified to spend additional $3000-$5000 on an amp. Personally if I would spend $5000 I would make sure its an excellent integrated amp with an awesome headphone amp.

 

[rgs9200m]

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A question for HD800 owners that own summit-fi amp/dac. I have seen that many people  are willing to spent really a lot of money on Amplifiers and DAC's to go along with the HD800's.  Sometimes upwards of $5000. We are after all talking about Headphones here. How good can it get really? Personally I have no experience with summit-fi amps that go along with HD800, so can someone enlighten me with there experience with summit-fi amp/dac pairing with HD800. What can one expect when you pair a HD800 with something like a woo audio WA5 amp that costs $3000?

The implication here is that headphone listening is not as worthy of better upstream equipment as speaker listening. (At least that is how I read the skeptical nature of the question, but of course it is understandable, as anyone outside the community
would think the cost or value of audiophile equipment is basically insane, but would certainly relate to the cost of a $75,000 car.)
 
Specifically, the HD800 is capable of achieving natural tonality of all musical objects (including vocals) that sinks deep into the pleasure centers of your brain, and does the same with spatial information allowing you to perceive the 
a believable size, shape, and placement of each of these objects, adding to the enjoyment (for me at least).
And the better input you feed it, the closer to this holy grail you come. Conversely, bad distortion in the digital or amplification realm will be fatiguing, as in piercing highs, clipped bass, or digital artifice.
 
Headphones probably need more, not less, help than speakers because of the intimate relationship you have with a transducer so close to your ear.
 
I hear the goodness and all the characteristics of my high end tube amps and high end CD player and cables in all their glory with the HD800s, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love these phones, and if you love music and high end sound, the cost of upstream equipment is worth whatever you can reasonably afford.
 
(And of course there will be a lot of arguments about the placebo affect, how I have have spent too much time drinking the Kool-aid etc., but I know what I hear.)

 

[zigy626]

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Thank God my dac/amp combo stayed below $5000. ........only $4800. in the end 

   Of course that is not including a thousand dollar usb converter and around seven or eight hundred dollar re-cable.  Lets not get into the power cords or tubes for rolling........OMG what have i done!

Personally I have spent about $3500 getting to a point where I am now. Never thought in my life I would spend that kind of money on a headphone setup. But I really do enjoy music more from headphones than I would ever from a speaker system. Plus I love the portable factor of the whole thing so appealing.
 
Not a lot of choice in UK when it comes to summit-fi headphone amps (except maybe for the SPL Phonitor that is around $1700). Easy to get german brands but I would not class a Lehmann BCL as summit-fi.  

 

[cired]

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The implication here is that headphone listening is not as worthy of better upstream equipment as speaker listening. (At least that is how I read the skeptical nature of the question, but of course it is understandable, as anyone outside the community
would think the cost or value of audiophile equipment is basically insane, but would certainly relate to the cost of a $75,000 car.)
 
Specifically, the HD800 is capable of achieving natural tonality of all musical objects (including vocals) that sinks deep into the pleasure centers of your brain, and does the same with spatial information allowing you to perceive the 
a believable size, shape, and placement of each of these objects, adding to the enjoyment (for me at least).
And the better input you feed it, the closer to this holy grail you come. Conversely, distortion in the digital or amplification realm will be fatiguing, as in piercing highs, clipped bass, or digital artifice.
 
Headphones probably need more, not less, help than speakers because of the intimate relationship you have with a transducer so close to your ear.
 
I hear the goodness and all the characteristics of my high end tube amps and high end CD player and cables in all their glory with the HD800s, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love these phones, and if you love music and high end sound, the cost of upstream equipment is worth whatever you can reasonably afford.
 
(And of course there will be a lot of arguments about the placebo affect, etc., but I know what I hear.)
 
 

 
Very nice. Well said.