Amp+Dac advise for HD 800??

I am New to the HD800 club from UAE. I am just starting up in the head-fi world, but always wanted good sound quality. My first and only HPs for the last couple of years were the psb m4u1 which I was very happy with.
But then the bug bit a little harder especially discovering massdrop and got myself a k7xx and k553 pro's and was researching about a good mid-fi dac/amp.

Lucky me, I had an offer for a brand new HD800 for 900 USD, which I couldn't pass up and got them.

Till now I have been using them from my Lumia 930 ( I know, sacrilege!!!) and using deezer and Xbox music in HQ mode.
Still was blown away by the SQ and soundstage.

But of course I'm looking at a good amp/dac for the hd800.

My budget is up to $1500

I have whittled down to three options for amp/dac pairing for my HD 800.

1. HDVD 800 + CH800S.(used)
2. HDVA 600 + iDSD.(used+new)
3. Schiit Mjolnir 2 + bifrost/gungnir multibit.(new)
Edit:
4. Cavalli LC + idsd or any other dac combo.
5. I also have an offer for a BH Mainline for 1300 USD here locally.

I don't want to jump into tube rolling atm. That's why the mj2 incase I want to later!
Option 1 & 2 is pretty safe bet as far as I can see.. But two may be redundant coz the idsd is a pretty good pairing with the HD 800.
If I go the LC route, I can get a idsd for now and wait for the LC.

Looking for your recommendations guys. So many choices and I'm going crazy! I realize this is what happens when diving straight down without going thought the steps! LOL!

 

poor: (why bother?) vali+modi2 uber
low funds: Bifrost Multibit+valhalla 2
medium funds: Gungnir Multibit+valhalla2/mjolnir2
unlimited: iggy+EC amp/Stratus/teton/liquidglass/woomonoblock/?????profit

 

The Mainline is very good. I heard it with my HD800. It was the imaging that was mysterious for me. Instruments placement was different with all other amps I heard. Try auditioning Punit's, you will know first hand if you like it.

 

Haven't been to Dubai yet, punit had already offered me.
I think I better talk to punit soon!

 

Check out this thread on Head-FI. In fact, we should probably copy it over: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1815.0.html

Here's what I would do: Get a Gungnir Multibit or Bifrost MB. Either spend money and get a lovely Eddie Current Black Widow or Zana Duex S. Otherwise, go for a Schiit Vali or Valhalla 2 and save pennies. I hear good things about the Schiit Mojinir 2, I'd but it in the same group as the Eddie Current.

Either way, I wouldn't mess with an iDSD. It's among my least favorite DACs I've heard recently.

 

Any thoughts about the ongoing deal on the Liquid Crimson @ 1850 USD vs the Schiit Ragnarok for the HD800's?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/782769/cavalli-audio-liquid-crimson-canjam-rmaf-2015-show-special

 

Damn! Was about to ask the same question!!
But I'm kinda having a feeling that this is a clearance sale before discontinuing a product!

 

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm kinda leaning towards the schiit house. Probably Bifrost Multibit/Gungnir Multibit + Valhalla 2 for now. Then save up for a totl amp later.

But since I'm starting directly with the HD 800 which is less than a month old, first I don't wanna mod it, as I haven't heard or noticed the treble spike. Second, I wanna start with some median/neutral sound sig for a while and then decide on where to go from there.
Yeah, I'm kinda contradicting myself by throwing in the V2 in my mix, but I'm also leaving towards ordering the cavalli LC for a straight SS for balance.
Hope I'm clear enough in explaining my train of thoughts!!

 

I felt that way too. It's no Beyer T1 treble spike, but soon you'll want a mod.

Having spent far too much money on a variety of things, make sure you give them a listen. The LC SS may be great for orthos (Hifiman/Audeze/etc.), but the best I heard the HD800 on a Cavalli amp the was on the LG.

I haven't given them any side-by-side comparison, but if you're planning on spending ~$2-3k on an amp, you will regret not giving an Eddie Current amp a try, specifically the Black Widow (which I use daily) or the Zana Duex S. Cavalli and Eddie Current stuff have different sound and are both great makers of amps, but there's a reason many of us are pretty excited about EC stuff here.

 

Gungnir Multibit + Valhalla 2 would be my choice here. If you're determined to keep the hd800 and get the most out of it, it would probably be best to skip the Bifrost Multibit. Later on, get a high-end EC amp and then see if getting a Yggdrasil is worth it to you or not. Try to go to meets and listening to different setups right now.

 

hello,

which is a bummer as it is a very interesting amp. (not that i would ever be able to acquire one.)

 

I have an HD700 and LCD2, Arcam irDAC (to be paired with a Cavalli Liquid Carbon on order, and will be used at work), and a Gungnir Multibit multibit arrives Tuesday. Last week I put in an order for an Eddie Current Black Widow, but was surprised to find out it lacks balanced input, as Zana Deux S has it. The price jump (and form factor) of the Zana Deux is quite large. I don't live anywhere that makes it easy to audition these in person. I'll be in the San Jose area in 2 weeks for a short trip, making it tricky to set up any kind of listening opportunity.

I've read about balanced output being important, but I can't find anything other than "try to go balanced all the way through" with regards to input. As the Gungnir Multibit will have balanced output, it seems a waste to ignore that if I pair it with the Black Widow. Not trying to start a flame war, but I truly don't know how much you miss using unbalanced output from the Gungnir Multibit. I know there are tradeoffs no matter what I buy, and from comments on the Black Widow it seems it has enough other magic that balanced inputs aren't an issue.

What are your thoughts on this, seeing as you have experience with the Black Widow and amps with balanced input?

 

I'm using Wyrd -> GO450 -> Vali -> HD800 with good results.

 

As a Yggdrasil and mainline owner, I'd encourage you to pursue that mainline now and worry about a high end dac later. I completed my mainline build two years ago and am still totally in love with it, particularly with hd800's. It is a single gain stage tube amp done very right. Basically, the signal is only passing through a couple of resisters (in lieu of a pot), one tube, one output cap and a quality output transformer. Upgrade the cap at your leisure if you really want to perfect it.

Luke's comment about imaging is interesting but not something I can personally relate to with my build and not something I have seen reported by any other mainline owners. To my ears, instrument/voice placement is as it should be (including on live recordings in which I was one of the performers), with no marked departure from other good amps I have owned or still own, except that the mainline is just clearer and better sounding across the board, with cleaner transients than the vast majority of tube amps, while retaining a subtle pleasing hint of tube goodness. "Bigfatpaulie", who I believe built punit's amp, commented that the mainline actually sounds closer to his dynahi than it does to his stratus. The important "but" is that the trebles have none of the strident glare that many of us are so sensitive to with most ss options. These qualities put mainline right up there with the best of the best for hd800's to my ears.

In any event, IMO, the right amp is more important than the right source for making hd800's truly enjoyable. I love my Yggdrasil dearly and can totally endorse it as a wonderful source, but my view is that schiit mb dacs will be readily available for years to come (hopefully longer). Prebuilt mainlines, if you aren't inclined to invest the time and energy into making one yourself (which I do recommend but recognize is not for everyone!) simply don't come up for sale that often.

 

I only know so much about balanced, but from what I've read, balanced is nice, but requiring full balanced can stop you from doing all the things in life you'd like to.

Here's a couple notes:

- Yggdrasil/Gungnir Multibit's balanced out is (slightly) better than it's single-ended out because the single ended out is getting summed and the balanced is not.
- Yggdrasil/Gungnir Multibit's single-ended out is still pretty good. One can (potentially) improve the quality of the single-ended output by getting a balanced to single-ended box that has some higher quality transformers.
- A fully-balanced amp likes balanced input better (no-conversions) and vice-versa. That said, many of the amps we love convert from balanced to single-ended or vice versa and if done well, it doesn't have to take anything away from the sound. I love the Gungnir Multibit > Black Widow sound and that's balanced to single ended (either through the summing circuit or through some transformers). Really, they are two different solutions with advantages and drawbacks, but both can be made to sound great with single-ended or balanced input.
- One does not need to have a fully-balanced amp to have quality balanced headphone output.

 

Thanks a lot Dubiousmike!!! Now I really have to audition punit's Mainline!!!

 

What's the thought on the cavalli crimson?? I'm so tempted to pick it up on the special pricing! Probably get a Gungnir Multibit for the dac to go with the crimson??

 

Taking in consideration with the tax in my country, the price would be around 2600 USD incl. shipping & tax. 1000 USD off...yay.

 

For a budget of $1500 I would seriously suggest a Schitt Gungnir MB at $1250 and a Garage1217 Project Sunrise III at $250. Be sure to get an Electro-Harmonix 12BH7 for $22. Stick with this combination for more than a few months. You won't need to change out the DAC and you will find out if you have any short comings you wish to change with the amp.