Headphone amp for Sennheiser HD800

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Big Thier, Sep 5, 2014.

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  1. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    So Ive got my eyes on these headphones which will be my first high-end headphones. Theyre really expensive and Id rather not spend a lot for an amp as well. Ive heard about the NFB-6 from Audio-GD, anyone has experience with it? Heres the specs: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB6/NFB6EN_Specs.htm

    It goes for $400, would it do a good job, or should I go for something else, maybe a used one thats worth more when new? Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2014
  2. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Also wanna add that my audio interface is an RME Fireface 800 soundcard, and I got a Fiio X5; I wonder how the HD800 would sound without an amp.
     
  3. Welly Wu

    Welly Wu Active Member

    Location:
    Nutley, New Jersey
    I have the Sennheiser HD 800 and I am currently using a CEntrance HiFi-M8 LX XL4. It's a portable DAC and headphone amplifier.

    1. http://centrance.com/products/hifi-m8/

    It retails for $700.00 USD which may be out of your price range. You could also look into a Schiit Audio Asgard 2 which retails for $250 USD. This is a desktop headphone amplifier. The Schiit Lyr 2 is more powerful and better suited for the HD 800 and it retails for $450 USD.

    If you can save up more money over time, then it will be better if you get an upscale DAC and headphone amplifier. I've auditioned the Sennheiser HDVD 800 which retails for $2,000.00 USD and the Chord Hugo which retails for $2,495.00 USD and they are perfect for the HD 800. I also recommend that you check out the Oppo Digital HA-1 which retails for $1,200.00 USD.

    Otherwise, your best bet is the Schiit Lyr 2 for under $500.00 USD. It has good synergy and it has more than enough power to drive most headphones and it comes with a gain switch.
     
  4. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    I see the Lyr is a tube amp, I've never had any tube gear. I'm wondering how neutral that thing would sound. I'll be using the headphones for mixing and listening. By the way, how easy is it to change the tubes? I could buy some very good ones - would that make a noticable difference?
     
  5. Welly Wu

    Welly Wu Active Member

    Location:
    Nutley, New Jersey
    You should contact Schiit Audio about tube rolling guidelines. As for the sound, I think that you should audition it for 15 days. They do charge a restocking fee of 5 percent if you return it.

    The Sennheiser HD-800 requires a state of the art headphone amplifier and DAC in order to make it shine. These are some of the pickiest headphones and careful system matching is critical to get the right sound performance. If you can wait a bit longer and save up for a Sennheiser HDVD 800, then that's what I would recommend that you do. It's a solid state digital DAC and headphone amplifier designed to drive the Sennheiser HD 800 headphone.
     
  6. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
  7. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    Look for a used Violectric V200 on headfi.org. The V220 just came out so there will be a steady stream of V200 as people upgrade.

    I have this combination(HD800 & V200), it's excellent. And I've tried lots of amps.
     
  8. Olias of Sunhill

    Olias of Sunhill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jim Creek, CO, USA
    If you're considering Schiit, I would recommend the Valhalla 2 as a match for the HD800. The Asgard is a better match for low-Z headphones like planars (check the specs for different impedances), and the Lyr can be a bit ragged and peaky even with careful tube rolling.

    I am currently using a Burson Soloist with my HD800, but it's above your stated price point. You might be able to find a used Soloist SL (the lower power version) for less than $500.
     
  9. Welly Wu

    Welly Wu Active Member

    Location:
    Nutley, New Jersey
    I hope that you let us know what you decide to purchase. I would recommend that you wait longer and save up more money to get a headphone amplifier and DAC for the HD 800 though. You'll have a better listening experience with higher end products.
     
  10. roscoeiii

    roscoeiii Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I have heard from multiple sources that a good headphone amp is VERY IMPORTANT to get the most out of the HD800s. They aren't as power hungry as some (like the HE-6s), but many HeafFi folks have mentioned what a challenge finding an amp that gets the most out of these is. I am sure there are miles of threads on this over at Headfi.
     
  11. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    So the NFB-6 from Audio-GD wouldn't do a good job uh? I'm not really ready to spend 3.5k on this, I'm still in school and everything.
     
  12. The Heed Canamp would probably work well with the HD800. It is a favorite amp for owners of the HD600 and hD650, and is basically "the" amp to match with K701's.

    Just as the Canamp is "the" amp to match with K701's, the Lehmann Black Cube Linear is "the" amp for the HD800, as Klaus recommended above.

    If the BCL is too rich for your blood, there is supposedly an exact copy of it for $250 called the Lovely Cube.

    See here:

    http://www.alicemagicbox.com/lasercollection/lovelycubepremium.html

    http://alicemagicbox.com/lasercollection/lovelycube.html

    More info here:

    http://www.head-fi.org/t/501046/the-lovely-cube-headphone-amp-lehmann-black-cube-linear-clone

     
  13. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    After some research I think I'll go for a used Lehmann Black Cube Linear amp. As I can see it's also a DAC - how would it compare next to my RME Fireface 800 which also has a DAC? Would it be better? If not, I'm not sure if it's worth it paying extra for the Lehmann's DAC since I already got one.
     
  14. If you are considering a BCL but it's not within your budget, I'd seriously look into a Lovely Cube. Yes, it's a made-in-China copy, and the outside fit and finish isn't as good as the BCL, but the circuit layout is the same and the part choices appear to be similar or even the same.
     
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  15. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    What is your purpose for the HD800? Is it for audiophile pleasure listening or is it for studio recording use to be able to hear details?

    The amp choice for the HD800 is going to be different for pleasure listening vs. studio listening.
     
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  16. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    Have a look at the SPL line the Phonitor maybe. Looks like well built, beautiful gear.
     
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  17. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    It's actually for both. But what I prefer the most is a neutral sound, I like to hear the music as it was intended, not colored. So I would say for studio listening (I make hip-hop music and record and mix my own stuff) so I would use these a lot for mixing, but general listening as well.
     
  18. Six String

    Six String Senior Member

    Their phono preamp looks really great as well. It looks like it is one of the most flexible preamps I've ever seen and they look like they are extremely well built and beautiful in a rugged kind of way. I've been thinking of getting a preamp to improve my playback quality. I'm not necessarily unhappy per se but I wouldn't mind getting something more flexible than the one on my receiver! I wonder how many thousands of dollars those things are priced? All of their products looked really great.
     
  19. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Ok so I think I'll buy a Lovely Cube, I'll try to get a used one, should be very cheap... If it's around the same quality as the Black Cube!
     
  20. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    Pleasure listening and what I'll call studio listening are two different things with the HD800. Pleasure listening is about getting an amp that colors things a bit to actually make the HD800 pleasurable. Studio listening is about making the HD800 quick and clear and not hide anything. The "studio" sound of the HD800 is not the type of sound that I actually consider pleasurable and relaxed listening. The studio style of sound is very revealing and doesn't attempt at all to cover up any quirks in the HD800. The HD800 tends to have a little bit too much in the presence region which makes the HD800 sound a bit bright. Pleasurable audiophile listening amps tend to tone that trait down, studio style amps do not.

    Lots of differing opinions on the HD800. For pleasure listening there are some who say it is not worth getting a mid level amp that is trying to be good. Either get a lower level amp that colors in the complementary way or go big ($1500+). Those who follow that line of thought like the Schiit Vali with the HD800. A $120 hybrid tube amp. Plug in to the Schiit Vali for pleasure listening. Use a headphone amp that is in your studio gear for "studio" listening.

    For the studio amping for the HD800 I'd look at SPL. They recently released the Phonitor 2. It has advanced crossfeed processing that will be useful for what you want to do. It is also a very "studio" sounding amp. It is also expensive (about $1900). SPL also recently released a Phonitor Mini which also includes the crossfeed processing but with fewer tweakable settings. The Mini version is about a thousand bucks less. For the studio work the SPL products are likely what you'll want.

    I haven't heard the new Phonitor 2 or the new Phonitor Mini. I'm very curious. They aren't an amp for me (I'm well in to the pleasure listening side of things). But very curious to find out how well they do what they do. They've gotten lots of praise.

    There's also the option of using software VST plugins to do crossfeed. If everything is routed through the computer for mixing you could use a VST plugin instead of an SPL amp. Good VST crossfeeds cost money. $100 or more, some much more. Mixing on headphones is going to be tricky no matter what you do.

    The HD800 really is a chameleon. Changing depending on the amp it is plugged in. Which accounts for the varying opinions on the HD800. If the HD800 didn't have that presence bump it would be easier to deal with, and not so amp picky.

    So a suggestion might be a Schiit Vali and a Phonitor Mini? Maybe. That would cover the pleasure listening side and the studio listening side. I haven't heard the Phonitor Mini so it's hard to say.
     
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  21. Big Thier

    Big Thier Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    I see... Have you heard of the Lovely Cube though? Any thoughts on it?
     
  22. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    I haven't heard the Lovely Cube or the Black Cube Linear.

    I am very much in the pleasure listening side of things. I recently bought a Cavalli Liquid Fire which retailed for about $3200. It's OOP now and used is a little bit less. But still a big chunk of change. It is very very much in the pleasure listening side of things. I like the sound of the HD800 with it. I auditioned the amp with an HD800 (along with my Audeze LCD-2). I was really liking the sound of the HD800 with this amp. But it is so so so very very far from what I consider "studio" sound. I really don't think pleasure listening and "studio" listening meet in one amp for the HD800. You're going to want to end up wanting two amps for the HD800. One for pleasurable listening and one for the studio work. Just my opinion. And the world of the HD800 is full of opinions. Now that I have the Cavalli amp I'm considering getting an HD800.

    The HD800 really is a fantastic headphone for detail listening. It will separate and layer things to a degree that very very few other headphones can match. You'll be able to hear slight differences in effects settings. You'll hear differences in microphones. You'll easily hear bad edits. It really is an audio microscope. The challenge for pleasurable listening is making all that detail and separation pleasurable to listen to. And that requires an amp with coloration of some sort.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2014
  23. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    I have the SPL Phonitor, a rock solid piece of gear.

     
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  24. woody

    woody Forum Resident

    Location:
    charleston, sc
    I own the Auditor and it should mate well with high impedance headphones. The Phonitor is awesome but very pricey.
     
    EVOLVIST likes this.
  25. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Not mine.... but I replaced the stock cable first
     
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