Best Amps for HD800S - 2023 Edition (updated 2025)

I've been really enjoying the HD 800 S with the xDSD Gryphon lately, particularly with the XBass enabled and set just to bass (not bass + presence). The Gryphon has a thicker and more impactful presentation that seems to gel really well with the 800 S, and its bass boost is really only necessary for EDM.

On the other hand, the Pietus Maximus isn't doing anything for me at all in this pairing. Honestly the 800 S sound better to me straight out of the headphone amp in the dac1421 than out of the Pietus, which isn't a huge surprise since the dac1421 built-in amp also really likes the 6XX.

 

Is this like a subtweet, or just coincidence? I never watch his reviews, but did happen to start this one the other day because of the clickbait-y title (I didn’t finish it though, I just can’t take anything he says seriously - one of the worst YouTube audio reviewers IMO):

 

I did see this but, like you, I didn’t finish watching it. I wasn’t deliberately sub-SBAFing that video though. The dac1421 + Pietus combo is one of my mainstays and it did surprise me that it didn’t work here. I also don’t have the ESS DAC card in mine so I can’t comment on that synergy, nor with Modius. The iFi gear I’ve tried - the xDSD Gryphon and the non-Signature Zen CAN - makes for a much better pairing.

I’m preparing to move again for the 500th time in the last 5 years yay but if I run across the Piety and MMB2 in the packing process I’ll give that combo a try. I still need to try the scratchy volume pot fix on the Piety that Christian suggested, which is as good an excuse as any to try it out.

 

As an aside, this isn’t the thread for it, but I follow Josh’s videos mainly because he’s so reliably off base from my own impressions that when he likes something it’s a good sign that I’m not going to like it. He’s one of the “audiophile” reviewers who went from praising the OG DT1990s to denouncing them when it became clear that the other popular reviewers hate Beyers and Grados with a passion. Since he doesn’t trust his own ears anymore, his impressions are a mix of manufacturer-supplied bullshit and some attempt to guess at what he “should” like as opposed to what his ears actually prefer.

The only audiophile YTer whose videos I regularly enjoy is WaveTheory, mainly because his ears actually seem to work. He provides enough detail in his impressions that even where I differ from his subjective preferences, I can still get a good idea of whether I’m going to like something from his review. Other YT suggestions are welcome.

 

Merry Christmas folks! Second week with the HD800S and just listened to these two albums in their entirety. I can't believe how much music I've been missing with these cans!
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nKOJL3FbchFL0Nl8chx4zbeQmB2kIqYGw&si=pvRBWVo4oyIagCfl
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mjpFeJuEPdEsOaiOJkMig0i0HR8v-PtJY&si=uIMe6ufneleYJvbC

 

I'm very interested in getting this head amp for my HD800S (should be a step up from my Chord Mojo 1, which I'll then just use as the DAC until replaced). However, I'd be very interested to know how the upcoming Schiit Valhalla 3 compares.

 

Hi, welcome. Please take a moment to read this
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/what-is-sbaf-10-articles-for-behavior.11637/
and introduce yourself.

Thanks for dropping by.

 

Thanks Joch for the welcome - Happy to be part of the SBAF community.

Understood and have posted an intro. Will keep my eye on this thread for updates

Cheers.

 

You made me curious since I don’t think I’d ever tried the Mojo 2 with the TA-66, so I did a little comparison this morning between using the Mojo 2 and xDSD Gryphon as DACs on it. To make a long story short, the winner of the comparison is the MMB2 I had on the table as a control and sanity test. Both the Mojo and the Gryphon sounded muddy, weak, and generally rounded off when used through the TA-66, and both of them sounded better directly through their internal amps. With the Gryphon I used the pre-outs on the back, but it still didn’t help.

I also got much the same result when trying these two with Vali 3. The conclusion I’m drawing from this is to be careful when pairing a DAC/amp that you like with the HD 800 S as a DAC for the TA-66. It might just be too much of a good thing. By contrast the MMB2 can be somewhat harsh up top and with transients when used with a very clean amp, but both the TA-66 and the Vali 3 clean that up.