[kazsud]

  My vote goes to the Balanced Super Symmetry Dynahi. This amp is more powerful and sweeter sounding compared to the GS-X MKII.  It is a joy to listen to especially with the HD800.  I still love my GS-X MKII however.

How do the HD800 play w/ the SDS XLR?

 

[purk]

  How do the HD800 play w/ the SDS XLR?

I don't want to bring this up but the SDS-XLR is even better than the the Super Symmetry Dynahi at driving the HD800.  Bass is as extended but has a more natural bloom to it.  Soundstage is wider and more holographic.  This leads to even more layering soundstage compared to the Dynahi.  Midrange and high are sweeter thanks to the Tungsol RP 6SN7 that I'm running.  I own this particular SDS-XLR for the last three years and it has never given me any problem.  In fact, this is the first SDS-XLR ever made and it used to belong to Tom Hankins and Hirsch with no history of troubles.  I hope it keeps on running for many more years to come.  

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  I don't want to bring this up but the SDS-XLR is even better than the the Super Symmetry Dynahi at driving the HD800.  Bass is as extended but has a more natural bloom to it.  Soundstage is wider and more holographic.  This leads to even more layering soundstage compared to the Dynahi.  Midrange and high are sweeter thanks to the Tungsol RP 6SN7 that I'm running.  I own this particular SDS-XLR for the last three years and it has never given me any problem.  In fact, this is the first SDS-XLR ever made and it used to belong to Tom Hankins and Hirsch with no history of troubles.  I hope it keeps on running for many more years to come.  

 
I have never heard the SDS-XLR, but I prefer the DNA Stratus vs the SuSy Dynahi with HD800's.  It's not that it is necessarily technically better but just more to my personal taste.  I think at the top that that is mostly what it boils down to (IMHO).  There are a lot good options high on the food chain.

 

[knowhatimean]

 
Actually, I'm looking for something a little more 'realistic' than the 'best' amp as no one listens to exactly the same music, through the same playback chain as everyone else !
 
This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?
 
(Oh yea, no DIY amps as they are beyond my current 'skillset'; unless you can convince me of the need to 'rethink' this)

 

[Mr Rick]

 

 
Actually, I'm looking for something a little more 'realistic' than the 'best' amp as no one listens to exactly the same music, through the same playback chain as everyone else !
 
This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?
 
(Oh yea, no DIY amps as they are beyond my current 'skillset'; unless you can convince me of the need to 'rethink' this)

 
These are the amps that are popular to use with the 800s.
 
http://www.audiobot9000.com/sennheiser/h/hd-800

 

[knowhatimean]

 

 

 
Actually, I'm looking for something a little more 'realistic' than the 'best' amp as no one listens to exactly the same music, through the same playback chain as everyone else !
 
This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?
 
(Oh yea, no DIY amps as they are beyond my current 'skillset'; unless you can convince me of the need to 'rethink' this)

 
These are the amps that are popular to use with the 800s.
 
http://www.audiobot9000.com/sennheiser/h/hd-800

That list was actually pretty funny !
 
Was the robot from the original "Lost in Space" used to compile it ! & more importantly do the people who buy these amps
still listen to their HD 800s through them? (which leads me to believe most 'popular' music is recorded more poorly than I'd
thought it was)
 
'Popularity' is normally the 'bearer of disinterest' to me ! Please take no offense to my response as you can't be held responsible
for others 'listening standards' (Is this thread in the Summit Fi forum ?; I lose track)
 
Thanks anyway !

 

[WilCox]

 
This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?

 
I have both the BHA-1 and the HDVA 600 and can recommend them both highly for the HD 800.  The HDVA 600 is ever so slightly more "polite" with its high frequency presentation which makes it easier to tolerate poor recordings.  Both work very well with acoustic music.

 

[preproman]

 

 
Actually, I'm looking for something a little more 'realistic' than the 'best' amp as no one listens to exactly the same music, through the same playback chain as everyone else !
 
This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?
 
(Oh yea, no DIY amps as they are beyond my current 'skillset'; unless you can convince me of the need to 'rethink' this)

What's the budget?

 

[knowhatimean]

 

 
This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?

 
I have both the BHA-1 and the HDVA 600 and can recommend them both highly for the HD 800.  The HDVA 600 is ever so slightly more "polite" with its high frequency presentation which makes it easier to tolerate poor recordings.  Both work very well with acoustic music!

 
No worries I'm less tolerant of a poor recording than any piece of equipment I've ever had so I either exchange those recordings if I can or give them away with a warning (but my playback setup is way more resolving than my aquaintances,so I just skip that)
 
Cool, I'm pretty sure there's a Bryston dealer nearby so I'll pack up my Auraliti PK100 along with my Metrum Octave DAC ( glad I
hung onto this after getting my Hex) & HD 800 & take a ride over there sometime this week !
 
(Have you ever heard any music from the contemporary singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist "David Wilcox" I highly recommend you give him a listen. His "Live Songs & Stories" is remarkably well recorded also !)
 
Thanks for your input !
`steve

 

[vc1187]

Haven't heard the Stratus, but the EC ZD towers above every amp I have heard with the HD800.

 

[twsmith]

  I briefly auditioned this at the meet. The Questyle is a warmer sounding amp with good bass impact that work well with the HD800.  However it isn't transparent compared to some others that I've tried with the HD800.  

RE: Questyle CMA800R.  I've been using one of these for approximately a year and generally have been pleased with how it sounds with the HD800 (in the SE mode).  However in the interim, I decided to order a GS-X MkII last June which is now almost ready for shipping.   The CMA800R has been touted in many of the reviews as a "transparent" amp, however having lived with it for quite awhile, I agree with purk's comment above that the amp is on the warm side of neutral and really not that transparent, which is not what I'm looking for.   I'm fairly confident that the GS-X MkII will likely have a sound character more to my taste.   Nevertheless the CMA800R is good enough for me that I'll probably keep it for another HP setup.  The bottom line is that although the CMA800R is a pretty good amp, I feel that there are other single-ended amps at or below its price range that would probably sound even better.  If you are interested in going balanced (and I tend to agree with those who think the HD800 sounds best in this mode), you would need to purchase two CMA800Rs which together would roughly equal the price of one GS-X MkII or Auralic Taurus MkII, both of which have built-in balanced outputs.   

 

[purk]

  RE: Questyle CMA800R.  I've been using one of these for approximately a year and generally have been pleased with how it sounds with the HD800 (in the SE mode).  However in the interim, I decided to order a GS-X MkII last June which is now almost ready for shipping.   The CMA800R has been touted in many of the reviews as a "transparent" amp, however having lived with it for quite awhile, I agree with purk's comment above that the amp is on the warm side of neutral and really not that transparent, which is not what I'm looking for.   I'm fairly confident that the GS-X MkII will likely have a sound character more to my taste.   Nevertheless the CMA800R is good enough for me that I'll probably keep it for another HP setup.  The bottom line is that although the CMA800R is a pretty good amp, I feel that there are other single-ended amps at or below its price range that would probably sound even better.  If you are interested in going balanced (and I tend to agree with those who think the HD800 sounds best in this mode), you would need to purchase two CMA800Rs which together would roughly equal the price of one GS-X MkII or Auralic Taurus MkII, both of which have built-in balanced outputs.   

Thanks and I hope you will enjoy your new amp soon.  I had the same thought about additional cost on pairing two CMA800Rs as well.  The build quality is superb though.

 

[knowhatimean]

There were just a few posting on "Transparency" over on the "Impressions" thread.
 
The truth is we all tend to have a different view of what that means to us ! I think it depends on what type of music you spend 'most'
of your listening time listening to 'colors' what we consider as "transparent".
 
Small scale music where there may be as few as 3 players or as many as 10 to a dozen players seems to sound a bit "livelier"
when you can hear a bit of additional "air" around the players (something that tube amps like to do). It does sound good for some
music, but you really can't say that an amp is more "transparent" because you are hearing that "air".
 
The thing I notice about amps that give this sound is that there seems to be some low level mid range information that I'm noticing
when this same music is played on an amp that doesn't add that air, but like I said we all have a different idea of what sounds transparent to us.
 
I listen almost exclusively to large scale music (Orchestral) with 50 or more players at a time . An amp that slightly "Romanticizes"
the sound by adding some "air" around the players will mask a lot of the micro dynamic spatial information coming from the players
& obliterate a lot of the natural soundstaging information. Needless to say a "warm side of neutral" headphone amp is all the "transparency" you actually ever want for this kind of musical listening experience.
 
It really comes down to what works more appropriately for what you like to hear. It's ok to not really be transparent, but by the same token it's not really fair to imply that something else may not be as transparent. Having bored everyone to tears !! The CMA800r
appears to be another amp I will strongly consider !!!
 
Thanks for your post!

 

[roguegeek]

  This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?

 
Why not interested in the Ragnarok?

 

[knowhatimean]

 

  This being said does anyone have any particular suggestions for a solid state (I don't care for tube designs) class A headphone
amp. Between the BHA-1, HDVA 600 & the CMA800r (not interested in the Rag) any preferences for listening to Acoustic music through ?

 
Why not interested in the Ragnarok?

I suppose I'm not as interested for the fact that some have said it is not really as good an amp if used in a SE mode. I really
don't "need" to run my HD 800 in Balanced mode , I have no interest in headphones that "are" actually power hungry ( or any other headphones for that matter ) & it is $3 or $400 more than the one amp that wasn't designed specifically around meeting whatever needs the HD 800 wants to see !
 
I not a big "fan" of the company that makes the Ragnarok (It may very well be the 1st "real" product this company has produced but,for myself it's "Too little, too late". They have been around how long before they released a product of this level ??? )
 
I'm sure I could probably think of more reasons, so I'll stop myself  here !
 
Thanks for asking, though !