[Mobilizer]

Hell, ALL differences are perceived!  All seriousness aside,  the Dragons are among the 3 or 4 cables most frequently recommended for the Sennies.  And, full disclosure:  at my age and given my audiologist's report, the Sennies are perfect 'cause my hearing rolls off at just the right point anyway...

 

[scottiebabie]

thought i'd mention it but it just occurred to me to deoxit the headphone jack of the new amp. while at it, i also cleaned the headphone plugs & sprayed some into the HD800 headphone connectors as well. is there a diff? could be psychoaccoutics but the upper treble seems smoother. 
 
on the hand, bass slam on the "new" Audio Space 300 amp seems deeper & fuller. didnt know tubes take some hours to seat to realize a sonic change. honestly ive never heard my HD800 (or T1 for that matter) sound better. its an amazing amp for headphones for not much money (used that is). life is good!

 

[froger]

I love it.  A bit on the high end of "affordable" gear at $2,750 list price but I have seen used ones for $2,000 claiming excellent or mint condition.  Having heard a number of DAC's since buying it, I consider $2K a steal for a good used one.  This is not to say it isn't worth every dollar of it's list price.
It hits all the checkboxes for me:  solid state electronics, single-ended AND balanced outputs,  impeccable resolution, effortless dynamic range, quite neutral with a hint of warmth in the mids (not sacrificing speed or transparency - vocals are divine, especially with the HD800)).   What makes it stand out is the sense of musicality - I think the technical term people use is PRAT - pace, rhythm, attack, and timing.  I feel I am listening through the DAC and not to the DAC. 
Note:  as you probably know, only input is USB.
I have no negatives to speak of.  If I were in the market again, I might look at the April Eximus (includes head amp) or the Antelope Audio line.
Hope this helps.

I was comtemplating whether to get Qb-9 dsd or eximus dp-1 over the last week since both are supposed to be very musical and should complement my hd800 and incoming gs-x well. In the end, I went the eximus dp-1 way mainly because I just couldn't justify the over $1000 difference based on my local pricing and there aren't enough reviews to substantiate the improvement of one over the other. In addition, the built-in amp in eximus, while not the best/optimal, should be able to tide me over this period with hd800 while waiting for Gs-x 's arrival

 

[froger]

While I did not buy the Eximus dp-1 from BournePerfect, I do share the same thoughts as his that along the chain, there should be something musical to complement HD800's neutrality. When I demoed the HD800 with my now sold Audio-gd Master-7 and Master-8 amp few months ago, I just felt that the music was so lifeless even though it sounded grand. Of course, this is based on my preference, others may prefer the entire chain to be as neutral as possible.

 

[BournePerfect]

I had that exact same AGD setup froger-lifeless and bland described it to a T. I do wish I had some orthos at the time though-as I feel that rig would have suited them nicely-the Audezes anyway.
 
FYI-don't expect too much from the DP-1 headphone out with the Senns-it's great for low impedance cans, but is somwhat thin and lacking weight for the HD800s. Not sure when your GSX is supposed to arrive-but a $200 m-Stage sounds pretty darn good whith the DP-1/HD800 to tide you over. Congrats on the Eximus! I'm sure you'll love it-just don't judge it until you get a real amp in the chain.
 
-Daniel

 

[hmouse]

While I did not buy the Eximus dp-1 from BournePerfect, I do share the same thoughts as his that along the chain, there should be something musical to complement HD800's neutrality. When I demoed the HD800 with my now sold Audio-gd Master-7 and Master-8 amp few months ago, I just felt that the music was so lifeless even though it sounded grand. Of course, this is based on my preference, others may prefer the entire chain to be as neutral as possible.

 
But isn't the GS-X mk2 considered to be one of the most neutral and transparent amp?

 

[hmouse]

OK, read your post again, you want the source to be something musical in the chain to complement GS-X mk2 and HD800. That's all right. Can you post some impressions on M8 vs GS-X mk2 when you get your new amp? Thanks.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Hell, ALL differences are perceived!  All seriousness aside,  the Dragons are among the 3 or 4 cables most frequently recommended for the Sennies.  And, full disclosure:  at my age and given my audiologist's report, the Sennies are perfect 'cause my hearing rolls off at just the right point anyway...

 
I'm sure the Dragons are very good cables and pair very well with the HD800s.  Another choice would be dealing with James @ Stefan AudioArt and his Endorphin cables, He's an ex Senn. engineer and has a lot of insight on the HD800.  Most of it may be sneak oil just like every other cable person out their.  However, his cable sure does look good

  I got mine Hardwired.
 
 

 

 

[Stalker81598]

Quote:

 
I'm sure the Dragons are very good cables and pair very well with the HD800s.  Another choice would be dealing with James @ Stefan AudioArt and his Endorphin cables, He's an ex Senn. engineer and has a lot of insight on the HD800.  Most of it may be sneak oil just like every other cable person out their.  However, his cable sure does look good

  I got mine Hardwired.
 
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 

 

 

 

 
That's a nice looking cable. I like the paint job on the HD800 as well.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
That's a nice looking cable. I like the paint job on the HD800 as well.

Thanks Stalker...
 
That's a strange user name..  Ha ha ha

 

[Stalker81598]

Quote:

That's Stalker...
 
That's a strange user name..  Ha ha ha

 
Hehe yea. I used to use it as a callsign for video games like ten years ago and still use it just for the sake of continuity. Re-creating hundreds of accounts just to change it seems like a daunting task.

 

[froger]

Thanks BournePerfect, one of the reasons I got the Eximus DP-1 is because of your views on it since we shared similar views on the audio-gd set-up with HD800. I was using Audeze LCD-2 mainly on the audio-gd set-up though and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have upgraded the LCD-2 to LCD-3 and kept the similar set-up if not for the fact that the master-7 and 8 were simply too big for my new place. Fitting them will no doubt incur the wrath of my missus and an unhappy wife will never allow me to listen to my music happily :/

I had that exact same AGD setup froger-lifeless and bland described it to a T. I do wish I had some orthos at the time though-as I feel that rig would have suited them nicely-the Audezes anyway.

FYI-don't expect too much from the DP-1 headphone out with the Senns-it's great for low impedance cans, but is somwhat thin and lacking weight for the HD800s. Not sure when your GSX is supposed to arrive-but a $200 m-Stage sounds pretty darn good whith the DP-1/HD800 to tide you over. Congrats on the Eximus! I'm sure you'll love it-just don't judge it until you get a real amp in the chain.

-Daniel

 

[froger]

OK, read your post again, you want the source to be something musical in the chain to complement GS-X mk2 and HD800. That's all right. Can you post some impressions on M8 vs GS-X mk2 when you get your new amp? Thanks.

Hi hmouse, I doubt my comparison of m8 and gs-x will be meaningful at all as I have changed my entire chain top to bottom. In the last 3 weeks, I have sold my main rig dac, amp and headphone and completed replaced them. The only thing I did not change is my secondary rig He-6 and mini torii amp

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

While I did not buy the Eximus dp-1 from BournePerfect, I do share the same thoughts as his that along the chain, there should be something musical to complement HD800's neutrality. When I demoed the HD800 with my now sold Audio-gd Master-7 and Master-8 amp few months ago, I just felt that the music was so lifeless even though it sounded grand. Of course, this is based on my preference, others may prefer the entire chain to be as neutral as possible.

 
Wow, quite shocked you found the Master-7/Master-8 bland and lifeless. I don't have the exact same combi, mine is the NFB-7 & Master-6, but bland & lifeless are amongst the absolute last words I would use to describe the sound I am getting. And that is the same on the HD6's, T1 & LCD2.2's.
The Master-7 may be more 'laid back' and possibly even more neutral the my NFB-7 but surely the difference is not that much!

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
Wow, quite shocked you found the Master-7/Master-8 bland and lifeless. I don't have the exact same combi, mine is the NFB-7 & Master-6, but bland & lifeless are amongst the absolute last words I would use to describe the sound I am getting. And that is the same on the HD6's, T1 & LCD2.2's.
The Master-7 may be more 'laid back' and possibly even more neutral the my NFB-7 but surely the difference is not that much!

 
You know nigeljames.  I'm not sure but I'm thinking some folks equates lifeless with detail or neutral or maybe transparent even - not sure.  The Master 7 is just that.  Lord knows these same folks may not like the GS-X mk2 either I'm guessing.  It puts nothing in the recording that's not already there.  Same with the Master 7.  The GS-X mk2 / Master 7 / HD800s is one of the most revealing rigs I've heard to date.  
 
Does lifeless equals neutral?  
 
I understand some like a sweet sound so to speak.  I've yet to hear a sweet sounding DAC or AMP that can deliver the same level of resolution and detail retrieval when compared to a transparent DAC or AMP.  Examples of sweet sounding DACs and AMPs I've heard.  Metrum HEX, Octave mkII and the Beta22.