Amp+Dac advise for HD 800??

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by maxedfx, Oct 2, 2015.

  1. dubiousmike

    dubiousmike Friend

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    If you just want min/max specs, you can build a Wire SE or BAL for 1/5 of what the HA-1 costs, and it absolutely demolishes the specs of most everything else out there (e.g. 145 db SNR). I am still hopeless when it comes to case work, so I don't have mine fully built yet or boxed up, but I can confirm that the smd work is very easy even though I only have one prior minor smd project under my belt. Supposed to sound pretty damn good too as compared to most other measurement-first amps, if the DIYA guys are to be believed. I gather qusp (a old time HF MOT, who bailed many years back along with many of the other high value posters), unloaded his dynahi after comparing it to his completed Wire. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/head...igh-performance-headphone-amplifier-pcbs.html

    Should make for an interesting alternative to my mainline whenever I do eventually find the right precut case to throw the boards and transfo into.
     
  2. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    I'd say... if DIY is an option (or if you can find it used), Bottlehead Crack is a good choice for an HD800 amp. It won't resolve enough to show the HD800's insane detail retrieval capability, but it'll reach deep enough with most DACs IMO.

    I have a Crack connected to Gungnir Multibit (single-ended, no transfo box) and I'd say... I can totally take stock HD800 with this combo. Anything else and the HD800 absolutely needs to be modded for me.
     
  3. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    Agreed. I have a Crack and a Rag fed by an Yggdrasil, and although the loss in resolution when switching from the Ragnarok to the Crack is a bit jarring with my stock HD800, the tonality is usually much more pleasant (depending on the music). I'm assuming that this tradeoff will be almost irrelevant as soon as I get around to modding my HD800s though.
     
  4. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Anyone owned a First Watt or Pass Labs Aleph amps?

    They go in the price range of the Eddie Current stuff & from a few posts I read, they might be even better?
    All I know is that they are without a doubt the superior amp for using the Hifiman HE-6 & the AKG K1000. I searched the entire internet & only found a few off-hand comments that they are pretty good with the HD800. Nothing in depth.
     
  5. Pumpe19

    Pumpe19 New

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    Hey guys.
    Just to give my two cents and because they weren't mentioned yet: Muscial Fidelity MX-DAC and Muscial Fidelity MX-HPA. That's the setup i stuck with after some two weeks of excruciating testing.
    Over at Head-Fi i posted what ohter DACs and AMPs i tested my HD800s with:

    http://www.head-fi.org/forums/posts/by_user/id/435780

    Don't expect anything scientific, i just took what i thought pleased my hears most ;)

    Cheers,
    Pumpe19
     

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