[bearFNF]

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PC soundcard? You mean people listen to music on their computers? That's just crazy talk.

I must be crazy then, cause I use my PC soundcard a lot.  Although I did mod it...

 

[palmfish]

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*whew*
I'm always relaxed-just opinionated.

 
Have you tried any USB power supplies (Kingrex etc) for your SBT? I haven't, but there are some glowing reports out there...ya know, another thing to buy.

 
-Daniel
 
But really-what other amps have you 'lived with' for the HD800s? I'm curious, not trying to start something.
 
-Daniel

 
No, I haven't tried any USB power supplies (and I'm not sure what you're referring to - I've heard of upgraded wall warts, but that's about it). I stream via wi-fi in my home to my DAC via TOSLINK and Coax at the moment. Since I don't use the SBT's internal DAC or amplifier, I don't see any benefit in upgrading the wall-wart.
 
Ive tried a number of amps with the HD 800, but actually owned? Not many.
 
The amps I have "lived with" along with my HD800 include the Lyr, HA-160, DAC1, Objective2, Essence One Muses, my vintage integrated amps (Carver and Pioneer), and my modern Pioneer AVR's. Additionally, I have spent quality time in my home with the V800/V200 stack.
 
I have a couple of friends who likely have better hearing than me and they claim to hear subtle differences in "micro detail" from amp to amp. Personally, if I concentrate really hard, I think I might hear what they are talking about, but it's truly a labor to do so - I couldn't do it blind and certainly wouldn't do it while "just listening" to music.
 
And yes, of course I do hear differences between all of the amps I listed above. I thought the Schiit was too bright (Im told the stock tubes suck), the Burson was most liquid and smooth, the Benchmark the most neutral and articulate, the O2 was a harsher version of the Benchmark, and the Essence One is somewhere between the Burson and Benchmark. My Pioneer SC-25 AVR sounded virtually identical to the V200 to my ears, and even my friend, who is a professional sound recording engineer couldn't hear any difference - although to be fair, he thought he detected superior micro-detail with the Violectric. I couldn't hear what he described after numerous attempts.
 
I also have a hard time hearing the vague, subjective qualities like air, soundstage, PRaT, etc. and I personally think that a lot of those qualities are simply frequency response variations causing different "false acoutic" cues to be perceived. Maybe I'm wrong there, but it's hard to tell. I also play devil's advocate often because there is a strong tendency for people to use hyperbole when describing the sound they hear from one amp or another, or when comparing. Differences are perceptible to me, but they are rarely "night and day" or of the "I can tell from across the street" variety.
 
I think my overall opinion is that most amps, if operating within their comfortable power band, are of similar output impedance, and are not purposely designed to sound a "certain way," will basically sound the same - say 90%. It's the last 10% that most of these discussions are focusing on. A 10% that I'm not sure I need to personally worry about - I think my hearing changes more than 10% from day to day...

 

[BournePerfect]

Nice write up palm-no go visit an audiologist! j/k
 
I do think that the differences between amps/dacs etc-are overstated. But I think part of that is due to small objective differences accounting for much larger subjective opinions-if that makes sense. For instance-I recently acquired a Mjolnir to pair with my DP1/HD800. Out of the box I personally would call it unlistenable. Just way to bright and piercing to me. I couldn't listen for more than 5-10 minutes, then felt great relief once I took the Senns off. It was like this the first three nights of (attempted) listening. Then after 4 days, or 100ish hours of burn in...most of the piercing treble was gone. The bass also finally came to play, and over all the entire spectrum seemed much more coherent. It was still 'slightly' bright up top, but it was just enough for me to really start enjoying the sound without my ears bleeding.
 
In a nutshell, my I noticed objectively, probably wasn't a ton. But OTOH, that slight treble calming down made a 'huge' difference to my subjective opinion because it made something 'unlistenable', into probably the best ss amp I've heard with the HD800s. My .02.
 
-Daniel

 

[palmfish]

Yeah, I can see that. The treble was probably annoying enough to distract you from enjoying anything else, then with it tamed, you were able to focus on the entire spectrum. That's my impression of your experience anyways.
 
How much of that treble taming do you attribute to the amp changing vs. your ears/brain adjusting?

 

[BournePerfect]

100% amp changing. Again I only VERY briefly listened each night for 3 nights as it was just to irritating. I knew people claimed burn in with this amp, but over 3 days it didn't change. I even emailed Jason for an RMA, and he gave me one-but also suggested I keep it a few more days first to see if it changed. It did-right on the 100 hour mark. I still wouldn't call it the best HD800 amp out there-but I do believe it is still a touch bright, and the source will also really come into play.
 
My point though was more that the 'small' objective change, equaled a 'large' subjective change in this case. Went from unlistenable to pretty darn good. Damn good mids I might add-maybe the best I've heard from ss that wasn't warm and congested to achieve this. Definitely worth a listen-and should sound ridiculous with say an LCD or HD650...
 
-Daniel

 

[Audiolic]

HD800 versus Stax 507 ? What are your thoughts...

 

[Currawong]

Palmfish: It depends on the music you listen to how much a better DAC may be of benefit. I was just listening to 3 DACs ranging between about $700 to $5000 and there were distinct differences between the sound quality of each, but that was using Chesky Binaural recordings. I have plenty of music I like where a $5k DAC I wouldn't find to be of any benefit. That's the whole purpose, IMO, of buying better headphones and other audio gear -- through the higher resolution of the recordings I can appreciate them more.

 

[rawrster]

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100% amp changing. Again I only VERY briefly listened each night for 3 nights as it was just to irritating. I knew people claimed burn in with this amp, but over 3 days it didn't change. I even emailed Jason for an RMA, and he gave me one-but also suggested I keep it a few more days first to see if it changed. It did-right on the 100 hour mark. I still wouldn't call it the best HD800 amp out there-but I do believe it is still a touch bright, and the source will also really come into play.
 
My point though was more that the 'small' objective change, equaled a 'large' subjective change in this case. Went from unlistenable to pretty darn good. Damn good mids I might add-maybe the best I've heard from ss that wasn't warm and congested to achieve this. Definitely worth a listen-and should sound ridiculous with say an LCD or HD650...
 
-Daniel

 
I'm glad it worked out for you. I had something similar. I originally had my Anedio D1/Mjolnir/HD800 and it sounded good but something was off in the treble. I switched out the dac for a Buffalo III and the change was a huge change for me. I went from using mostly the HE6 because of the treble being off to selling the HE6 since the HD800 rig was all I really needed. The Mjolnir at it's price is imo a bargain if you can find the right setup.

 

[BournePerfect]

Yes-I feel that maybe a slightly rolled off dac (NOS maybe) would be a very nice pairing with the MJ. Say like a Havana>>Mjolnir>>HD800 or something. Could make for a nice bedside rig...
 
-Daniel

 

[silversurfer616]

Have the Havana with the HD800 and all the cliche negatives about the HD800 I don't hear .
Musical,rich and lots of body!

 

[M-13]

So guys... does the HD800 sound better on the Vahalla or M-stage? Or Lyr perhaps?
 
Looking for a cheap solution to the picky HD800. Any other recommendations under $600?
 
Ideally I wish I could go Super-7 or Taboo of course, but looking at cheaper for the moment.

 

[dukeskd]

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So guys... does the HD800 sound better on the Vahalla or M-stage? Or Lyr perhaps?
 
Looking for a cheap solution to the picky HD800. Any other recommendations under $600?
 
Ideally I wish I could go Super-7 or Taboo of course, but looking at cheaper for the moment.

Add $300 and get the Auditor, I know it's over budget but its gonna be a lot better than your current choices.

 

[longbowbbs]

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Palmfish: It depends on the music you listen to how much a better DAC may be of benefit. I was just listening to 3 DACs ranging between about $700 to $5000 and there were distinct differences between the sound quality of each, but that was using Chesky Binaural recordings. I have plenty of music I like where a $5k DAC I wouldn't find to be of any benefit. That's the whole purpose, IMO, of buying better headphones and other audio gear -- through the higher resolution of the recordings I can appreciate them more.

+1

 

[ForsakenArcher]

With HD800, you will find a good complimentary phone to your HE-500. Forward, M-13!!

 

[BournePerfect]

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Add $300 and get the Auditor, I know it's over budget but its gonna be a lot better than your current choices.

m-Stage is quite remarkable at it price with the HD800. Truly warm and inviting. The Auditor play to the strengths of the HD800 more though-great transparency, detailed, massive soundstage etc. These two amps sound nothing alike-but both play VERY nice with the HD800, that's for sure.
 
-Daniel