Sennheiser HDVA-600

Does anyone here have experience with the Sennheiser HDVA-600 (analog) headphone amplifier? I'm thinking of buying one, along with a pair of the HD-800 headphones.

http://en-us.sennheiser.com/headphone-audio-amplification-hdva-600-acoustic

 

I don't have experience of this but I'd advise you trial other headphone amps and DACs too.

I'm sure there are loads of threads on Head-Fi on this subject.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/660817/whats-the-best-amp-for-hd800

 

I have and love the HDVD800, I think the headphone amp is the same as the HDVA600.
I use HD800s; the amps were designed to be used with the HD800s. It just made sense for me to buy both, and I got a good deal on the combo.
I bought them without a prior audition, luckily I've not regretted my decision. I've no intention to buy another amp or headphones.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Any chance you could point me in the direction of a dealer that would give me a kind package deal for the HDVD-600 / HD-800 system?

 

Sorry, I'm in the UK, I'm not familiar with US retailers; maybe someone else will post, good luck

 

Get yourself over to RMAF this weekend and listen to as many good amps with the HD800 as you can manage.

The HD800 is a chameleon. It changes character with different amps. The only way to find out which amp character works best for what you're after is to listen to a bunch of different amps. One reason is that the HD800 is very revealing. Another reason is that the HD800 is tilted towards being bright which means that amps with treble issues can become annoying. Another reason is that the HD800 can tend to sound better on amps with a higher output impedance. The higher output impedance helps give the HD800 a little more bass which helps compensate for its treble tilt. The HDVA 600 has a moderately high output impedance that helps tame the HD800 and could help explain how/why the Sennheiser amps pair well with the HD800 and help the HD800 sound better/different with that amp than with other amps.

Here's another thread about amp choices for the HD800. The Head-fi thread underwent a purge and heavy moderation. What got purged is over there where I linked. Some good info there.

Some amps in that general price range I'd want to listen to before making a choice: Schiit Ragnarok, Schiit Mjolnir 2, Eddie Current Black Widow, Cavalli Liquid Carbon ($600), the Sennheiser amps, and some others. Tube amps too. I think most or all of those amps will be at RMAF.

 

Wow, time for the audio fest already?! I'll be sure to stop by there this weekend, maybe tomorrow on my way home from a nice long hike up on red mesa. Do you know if the headroom guys will be there? I wonder if they'd sell me a system right there, on the spot?

 

HeadRoom is on the list of exhibitors. I don't know if they'll be selling anything on the spot.
Sennheiser is also going to be there.

One thing about the Sennheiser amp is that the HD800 will sound better when driven balanced. Which means you'll also need to get a balanced headphone cable for the HD800. Unfortunately balanced cables for the HD800 are more expensive than other headphone cables because of the proprietary connectors that the HD800 uses. The connectors are $50 a pair, which means HD800 cables are about $50 more than other headphone cables. Balanced cables for the HD800 are in the $200-$400 range. The Sennheiser branded balanced cables are about $400. So factor in cable price as well.

There are some other amps that also prefer balanced. Like the Schiit Ragnarok and the Cavalli Liquid Carbon.

Listen to some amps. Some will have more punch or energy with the HD800 than others. Some will be smoother. Some will have a larger or deeper soundstage. The Schiit Ragnarok has nice punch and energy with the HD800. I haven't heard the Schiit Mjolnir 2 yet.

 

Here's a RMAF show special sale for you. $1000 off on the Cavalli Liquid Crimson amp at the show. That makes it only $1850. A bargain. I have a Cavalli Liquid Fire amp. I love the Cavalli sound. The Liquid Crimson is a single ended amp. So consider that you'll be saving $400 by not needing to buy a balanced cable for the HD800 and the Liquid Crimson is even more of a deal. Less total cost than the HDVA 600 plus a HD800 balanced cable.

Stop by the Cavalli Audio table and give it a listen.

I'm glad I'm not at RMAF. I'd probably buy the amp. A pure impulse purchase.

 

You seem to know a lot. What do you think of the Ray Samuels Raptor to drive the HD-800?

http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/raptor#

 

I've never heard a Ray Samuels amp of any flavor and don't know much about his amps or their sound.

 

Does connecting the HD-800 to a balanced amplifier connection make a really obvious improvement?

 

That depends on the topology and design of the amp. Some amp designs are inherently balanced inside and those designs are more likely to have a reasonably obvious improvement to the sound when driving balanced headphones. Other amp designs are inherently single-ended. You can put two single-ended amps side-by-side and make an amp with balanced output, but those sorts of amps don't tend to have an obvious improvement when driving headphones balanced rather than single-ended.

It also depends on the quality of the amp. A really good single-ended amp can sound better than an average balanced amp. I'd rather have a really good single-ended amp that has a sound style that suits me than a balanced amp that doesn't.

"Really obvious improvement" is a matter of degree. If you know what to listen for the improvements will be easier to notice. The sorts of improvements you can get with a good balanced design vs. the same amp doing single-ended are in things like a slightly more open soundstage, slightly wider soundstage, slightly deeper soundstage, slightly better layering, slightly better ability to fill in the middle of the soundstage. Taken together the difference can be obvious for an audiophile.

An example would be the Schiit Ragnarok amp. Its topology is balanced. To do single-ended the balanced audio gets summed. Sound quality is lost in the summing circuit. Balanced just sounds better with more magic. The PonoPlayer is similar. It sounds better and more special with balanced headphones than single-ended.

 

Here's what I've decided to order and try out. Looks like the system is $3579.85 MSRP. Anyone know of a retailer that would discount? Also, what is the length of the Sennheiser balanced cable? The website doesn't show the length.

Sennheiser HD-800 headphones...
http://en-us.sennheiser.com/dynamic-headphones-high-end-around-ear-hd-800
Sennheiser HDVA-600 amplifier...
http://en-us.sennheiser.com/headphone-audio-amplification-hdva-600-acoustic

Sennheiser balanced cable...
http://en-us.sennheiser.com/ch-800-s

 

Crutchfield lists the length as 3 meters (9.8 feet).

That's going to be an awesome headphone setup.

 

I think I'll probably continue to use my existing source for now (in my profile). I was going to order an Oppo 105D, but those guys told me there will be a new model in 2016 with some incredibly helpful features. I'll buy one of those whenever it comes out.

 

I have everything that you have been looking at and asking about. Did you ever make a purchase? The headphone choice would probably be different now, but the Sennheiser HDVD 600 would still be the best choice. Have you bought yet??

 

I'm planning on buying the HD-800S and HDVA-600 within the next 4-6 weeks. I'll hold off on a new disc player until we find out the details of the forthcoming Oppo. Where are you located? I wonder if you'd be so kind as to let me hear what the Sennheiser rig sounds like?

 

I live in Nashville and did some nice swapping on the HD-800 I bought at Christmas, for the HD-800S that came about 5 days ago. I started out with the Woo WA-2, loved the way that looked, but I sent it in for an abnormality when used as a pre-amp, and they just did not send me a replacement, and that was December 2015, so that is how I ended up with the HDVD 600. It's an absolute, total silent amplifier with endless power. I paid $879.00 on Amazon about 2 or so months ago, right when they were discontinued. I cannot give that amplifier a better recommendation, it just has endless power. When people are always wondering if their headphone amplifier will have enough power to drive the HD-800 or HD-800S, you can be assured, the HDVD 600 gets the job done like no other. If I could make a suggestion, if you are going to jump on an HDVD 600, you better do it immediately, as when they run out, there will not be any more, only the much more expensive HDVD 800. I'm sure the improvement with the "included" balanced Sennheiser cable is modest, but for my peace of mind, I just wanted balanced, and their cord is so nice and light, unlike these snake aftermarket cords, and the construction is top flight. So, you might want to jump on the HDVD 600 immediately.

 

I heard Sennheiser is coming out with a new amplifier. Have you heard that, and if so do you know any details?

 

Well, we know the HDVD 600 is history. I spoke to Scott Houston at Sennheiser about that. Their decision was to do away with the one with no DAC, and it is my understanding that the only change being made to the new headphone amplifier is it's color??? It will be available in black, and the introduction of that amplifier was suppose to be about 2 months after the introduction of the HD-800S, however, we are not seeing anything on it at all, and last time I looked, there was nothing on the Sennheiser website about the new black HDVD 800. It would certainly make sense to me to upgrade the DAC used in the black unit, where they could charge more for it, but no one is saying that, so we will have to wait and see. My guess is the black model will retail at about $2,400.00, but that is a guess, it is suppose to cost a bit more than the existing HDVD 800. We should be seeing something in the next month or so, surely.

 

I do have an authorized dealer friend that will help you with the pricing on the new HD-800S Sennheiser headphones, he has always been very reasonable in that way. Just PM me and I will give you his info, good luck with your purchase!