Best Amps for Sennheiser HD800

Yes please @purrin

 

As i think you couldn't be happier with this setup, using Yggdrasil as a source. I have some subjective impressions posted over in the bottlehead amp comparison thread on HF under the handle skeptic. T
he reviews by Loquah, JamieMcC and bigfatpaulie are also worth a read if you are contemplating a mainline build. For those who can handle an iron, follow detailed directions and want an excellent clean sounding tube amp (not overly euphonic), it is a top flight option.

fast circuits

 

@DebGugel - Looks like your post is missing a quote or may not have gone up as intended, since most of that is from a comment of mine on page 1?

 

I hope not. Looks like Changstar isn't loading anymore. Those old discussions on EC amps were the best sources of info on them.

 

I think you should add the Icon Audio HP8 Mkii. I suppose that it is too expensive in the US, but over here in Europe you can find them for 800 to 900 euro.



It is a great pairing with the HD800 classic and its younger bro the S. The stock tubes are shit, but you can easily remedy that with stuff that isn't very expensive.
I had a Leben CS300. That was a great speaker amp, but not as good for the HD800. The highs and mids were great, although maybe just a hair less resolving that one would want. But liquid smooth. The problem was the Bass which was just a bit too flabby. And a little less extended than what I wanted, or anyone else would want I would dare to say. So when circumstances changed and I found myself listening to speakers way less and headphones way more I sold it and got the Icon.

It has really good detail and soundstaging, it is more than resolving enough, only much more expensive amps that I have heard best it (like some kind of ec with some 4s or raggy type of things) . It has a classic slightly mid-centric SET amp sort of sound. Which make the high mids on the HD800 sound a little less thin. It isn't rolled off on top however as long as you chuck the stock tubes, with nice air around the instruments and you can still hear it when the HD800 treble misbehaves.

Where this amp sounds really good is the way it adds some heft down low. And unlike the Leben, it doesn't dissolve into mush. You can tailor this a little by twirling the output impedance button. The L setting has no magic, but M and H do. Some might find the H is a little too much, but not me. I like the warmth imparted by the extra down low. But if you taste runs leaner, the M is there. Either way the mids are yummy the highs are pretty effortless with out killing the mighty resolving beast that the HD800 is. Less grain and less pain.

Of the amps on your list that I heard enough to say, I would put it above the crack and the matrix. The Valhalla 2 I like less, but that could be because it is less warm. Always hard to know because of which tubes were running. But In europe it is more moolah than back in home town but still is about half the price of the Icon. The HDVA 600 is such a different beast, but again I think I like the Icon (which strangely sounds less colored to me) better. Only heard DNA sonnett 1 so I dunno. But Icon better than the older model cuz of the resolution.

p.s. it works really freakin' great with the S too.

p.s.s. I have the latest revision of the amp. Not the one that was reviewed on innerfidelity

 

Thanks for sharing shabta. I have been wondering, what the hell! All good amp-s come from US?

There is the TRIODE from Japan that is interesting company as well, though very little knowledge about it is available.

 

Go to Victor's Vkmusic.ca. The site is fairly shitty but if you search carefully you can find a link to DIY blog or site largely devoted to Triodes and 47Labs. Hope this helps.

 

I bought an Elekit TU-8200DX from Victor and put it together in about 8 hours. It works great wtth my Senn HD650M, and also powers my Fostex FE168EZ's in BK-16 enclosures nicely. Victor was helpful and answered questions very quickly.

It seems most Triode amps are speaker only...

 

How would you rate the Mainline's performance in comparison to other amps priced over $1000?

Also, what DAC did you have before Yggdrasil? Did the Mainline scale well when you finally upgraded to Yggdrasil?

Thanks!

 

To my ears, mainline is right up there with the best of the best and an unparalleled value if you don't care about fancy case work and are happy to build it yourself (incredibly satisfying) or to buy used.

It is an elegant highly regulated, constant current loaded, single gain stage parafeed design, with custom transformers, made by the same guys who originated the parafeed topology. The signal path is super short, with each channel basically only passing through two resistors (making up the dual attenauator), one tube, and then the output cap and transformer. The magic and complexity is in loading that tube just right. 6c45p's are notoriously difficult to design around, but when you get it right (i.e. mainline or the L-2, it is something special).

Mainline is not a tubey euphonic amp. It is refined and transparent, with lovely timbre, tight impactful bass (a hallmark of parafeed), a hint of tube warmth and remarkably fatigue free trebles. It is without question a totl amp, but whether it is the right amp for you will be a matter of subjective preference. It is not quite as crystal clear and solid state sounding as the $7k TTVJ307a, but it is in that vein. Woo amps are generally slow and muddy by comparison - although I confess the WA5 can sound gorgeous with certain genres - those 300b's make magic with choral music.

The EC tube amps I have heard (which are also wonderful), are slightly more punchy than mainline but not as smooth in the highs. (This was their last gen stuff though and I gather the new ZDS is even better.) I haven't heard a stratus, but Bigfatpaulie commented that mainline sounded more like his susy dynahi than his stratus, which is more euphonic and has more weight to the sound. He favors his stratus. For me, by contrast, of the amps I have heard, mainline strikes the sweet spot with hd800's and just sounds right with good recordings. (For context, I was a serious singer in a former life, performed with the la opera, sang on a number of major film scores, did various international tours, competitions, major works, solos and played horn in a legit orchestra - so my frame of reference and ultimate priorities are real sounding acoustic voices and instruments.) As a further caveat, tubes do matter. Good reflektor 6c45p's are more neutral and transparent, and far more enjoyable for me, than the purported EH gold pin upgrades woo audio pushes for wa7.

Before my Yggdrasil, I usually paired my mainline with a keces 131 (well engineered burr brown dac) or an arcam dv78. The upgrade to the Yggdrasil was a huge and immediately obvious improvement in all aspects of my music, but still not as big of an upgrade as moving from lesser tube and ss amps up to the mainline.

 

Has anyone tried the Moon Inspire IHA-1 "Dragon" or whatever it is. I like the looks of it but don't know anyone thats heard one.

 

What amp do you pair your HD800 with?

 

My HD800 Anax 1.0 is not strictly mine but I pair it with Project Ember II with a Philips 1967 Miniwatts 7308.

 

Have you tried them with Triodes or 47Labs amps as well?...any comparisons...?

 

Sorry never had. I don't have any amps of the two brands, though I do want one.

 

Looking into getting a HD800 or perhaps and HD800S I currently have a cavalli liquid carbon and a project ember. Are either of these suitable pairings for the HD800?

 

I hear the HD800 pairs well with Liquid Carbon so my guess is HD800S will too.

 

In general, the S seems to do better on SS amps than the classic does. But while a little less amp picky than the classic HD800, it is still pretty amp picky...

 

Right I was assuming that amps that are known to play well with the HD800 should do well with the S as well since the drivers are quite similar.