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What's the best amp for HD800
Jan 17, 2015 at 8:40 PM Post #211 of 680
reeltime said:
 
GS-X MkII.  Best I've heard with the HD800, and I own a WA5LE with great aftermarket tubes.  
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I absolutely love the GS-X Mk2 with the HD800s...but only if one's DAC is up to the task. The GS-X will let you know whether it is. 
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Jan 18, 2015 at 4:22 PM Post #214 of 680
Been mixing and matching some amp/headphone combos with my newly acquired R2R vintage DAC and I have to say the HD800 and the GS-1 is simply remarkable.  Can't stop listening.  Tonally perfect and musically immersive.
 
Jan 19, 2015 at 2:40 AM Post #215 of 680
was abit apprehensive but bit the bullet & bought a fellow canuck headfi'ers SE Dynahi last month &...... it sounds spectacular. clarity, transparency, headstage, macro/micro details galore but most of all musical & without the dreaded SS characteristics of grain, sibilance or glare.
 
its still bright, still neutral (or maybe every so slightly lean) & definitely not lush nor fuzzy. to me ears, what it is is accurate giving whatever the upstream & source provides. as for bass, its deficient IF the material is but fast & impactful with depth when called for.
 
i wonder how far the Dynahi differentiates with Headamp's GSX MkII 
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Jan 20, 2015 at 12:27 AM Post #216 of 680
magiccabbage said:
Some who have heard both would disagree
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Dear magiccabage,

I agree with your judgement. GS-X 2 also sounds sterile and bright to me, very artificial sound with the HD800 (unmodded).

So far with solid state amp only the DIY Beta 22 fully differential and the new Japanese Luxman P-700u sound good with the HD800 based on my experience. I've heard Krell KSA-5 also sounds excellent but they are very rare.

Regards,
Jeremiah
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 8:40 PM Post #217 of 680
jeremiahs said:
Dear magiccabage,

I agree with your judgement. GS-X 2 also sounds sterile and bright to me, very artificial sound with the HD800 (unmodded).

So far with solid state amp only the DIY Beta 22 fully differential and the new Japanese Luxman P-700u sound good with the HD800 based on my experience. I've heard Krell KSA-5 also sounds excellent but they are very rare.

Regards,
Jeremiah
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Totally depends on your source. If your source is cold and sterile, then that's what you'll here, but then again the HD800s have been accused of being cold, bright and sterile too.
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 With the Metrum Hex, the GS-X Mk2 / HD800s are as good as I've heard them. The Luxman was a bit syrupy and slow to my ears and if you're looking at changing the nature of the HD800s or your source, then maybe it's a good option.
 
Jan 23, 2015 at 4:48 AM Post #218 of 680
macedonianhero said:
   
Totally depends on your source. If your source is cold and sterile, then that's what you'll here, but then again the HD800s have been accused of being cold, bright and sterile too.
wink.gif
 With the Metrum Hex, the GS-X Mk2 / HD800s are as good as I've heard them. The Luxman was a bit syrupy and slow to my ears and if you're looking at changing the nature of the HD800s or your source, then maybe it's a good option.
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+1 & then some. thru an AudioGD Pheonix, my HD800 was cold, bright, sterile, harsh & grainy. thru the Dynahi, its still bright (relative to a HD650 & a LCD 2 that ive heard), extremely detailed, a very defined soundstage, deep bass depth/slam & superlatively musical so much so i can do a session of multiple hours of listening pleasure.
 
right now to my ears, my HD800 sounds good to great on most every genre i listen to (pop, kpop, r&b, blues, vocal & big band jazz, etc etc & yes good ol rock & roll).
 
fwiw, my HD800s are bone stock.
 
Jan 28, 2015 at 6:39 PM Post #220 of 680
Is there a tube amp any better for the HD800 than the WA2 for that same money.
 
Not including Glenns amps.....i know that they are  
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Jan 28, 2015 at 8:23 PM Post #221 of 680
whirlwind said:
  Is there a tube amp any better for the HD800 than the WA2 for that same money.
 
Not including Glenns amps.....i know that they are  
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I have never owned a WA2 but I have heard it at a fellow Head-Fiers home.  I do own a Stratus and a Mainline and I am confident that the Stratus far bests the WA2.  The Mainline stacks up extremely well against the Stratus.  By that relation, if it were me, and I was looking for an amp in the price range I would get the Mainline without hesitation vs the WA2.
 
Feb 16, 2015 at 3:47 PM Post #223 of 680
Have any of you used the Mapletree Audio Ear+ HD tube amp with the HD800?  It is highly regarded for synergy with Grado headphones, but I was wondering whether it would work equally well with the HD800.  It is not balanced, but the gentleman who builds them stated that there is no real advantage to differential circuits in a headphone amp as noise is not an issue at the signal levels involved.  I am wondering whether it is worth the extra money to buy a balanced amp such as the EC or DNA models mentioned in this thread, or whether the Ear+ HD (< $800 new) would work just as well for a much lower price.  My DAC is the Schiit Bifrost Uber, which does not have balanced outputs, but apparently that is not an issue, at least with the DNA amps which do not have balanced inputs anyway.  The only complaint I have read about the Ear+ HD is that it is a little loose in the bass, but that can be somewhat alleviated by the choice of a driver tube.  Is looseness in the bass a common trait of tube amps?  I listen mostly to classical music, so maybe it's not a big issue.
 
Feb 16, 2015 at 10:36 PM Post #224 of 680
I have a DIY Mapletree Audio super II EL84 amp.  It may not be exactly the same as the commercial one.
 
 However, I do not find the transformer output amp to be a very good choice for high impedance headphone.
 
 If you adjust the impedance by parallel them with other resistor, that is another story.  
 
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