Justin S

Might've seen you, I live in the west end by the park. Best wishes to your wife's bro & don't get caught by the Parksville tide!

Perhaps! We were at the end of Barclay there. It was a great visit. Pride was a blast, the food in the neighbourhood was great.

Grew up in Vancouver and on The Island. So weird to see these places mentioned here :D

I only have experience with Valhalla 2 to BHA-1 with the 800 but I’m still happy with it in a USB nervosa -> LIM -> BHA-1 -> HD-800 chain. I didn’t like it as much when I had A2/OG Yggdrasil — too grey and the sharp transients/treble energy were too much with the 800 vs. LIM’s more even handed/“nutritious” tone.
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I still do wonder about “awesomesauce” amps by DNA and EC with the 800 — conventional wisdom is that the 800 pairs best with tubes, and while BHA-1 is one of the few SS amps that folks seem to have a consensus around for being a good match with it, you can tell it’s not on the same level from folks’ comments (not to mention BHA-1 is just generally polarizing).

Totally polarizing. I am certainly not as experienced as people reporting they don't like the BHA-1. For me, I feel that it synergizes well with the HD800S. I like the idea that the tone of the LIM is "nutritious". I am leaning that way. I love it in my home system. Off to BC for a couple of weeks and I'll see how I feel when I return.

@gixxerwimp - tried looking under the hood on the BAL jack, but it''s all heatshrink-wrapped. I'm going to try a few DIY cables in the fall as well: Neotek OCC, and a crazy Deulund Tinned Copper cable. I also have some pure silver I thought to try, but I'm not sure that would be a good mix with the HD800S s.

I haven't used the stock cable since very soon after getting the HD800 so have no recollection of how it sounds. A phat Cu cable compliments the face tweeter IMO.

Just pulled it out for another look, it's above the Y-split that I find a bit stiff (I think he used heatshrink). The "dual-track" cable in webbing is fairly flexible. Inside the XLR is covered, it was the inside the REAN TRS connectors that I saw "bare wires" from both polarities. It was converted from 2.5 to 3.5mm for me, and wires are now covered with heatshrink.

Looking forward to some listening reports of the BF 2/64.

Initial reaction: "Oh noes, my BF2 is obsolete!"
Then, "Hmm, all I need is $300 ..."
https://www.schiit.com/products/bifrost-264

Want!

Tales of the massive never-ending borderless soundstage do not match my experience. The staging is just pleasantly out of my head with excellent instrument separation. When I listen my P3XDs, I put them in a near-field triangle about 4-5 feet out - the 800Ss are like that. With my current chain, they're less lusty sounding than the Harbeths, but pretty great.

I think "4-5 feet out" is the equivalent of "massive never-ending borderless soundstage" when you're talking about headphones. Most are like "4-5 inches out" if you're lucky.

@gixxerwimp Point taken. When I listen to my old AKG 600ohm K240 monitor headphones, it presents a very distant stage - it's unnatural. When listening nearfield with mini-monitors, it sounds quite "naturally" outfront as it does with the 800S s.

Some weirdness: the Hilo outputs 1v at the +0dBV trim level. Hilo-> Bal @ +0dBV-> Lokius-> SE -> amp creates distortion. With the bypass on, the distortion goes away. If I feed Lokius SE using a BAL to SE Cable from the Hilo (Lynx spec: 1 to shield, 2 to RCA tip, 3 to RCA ring, no shield at RCA) everything sounds really good. What could be happening here?

@roshambo123 , I have a pair of 800S s inbound. In my short audition with them, the sound signature is really interesting to me. Also the fact that Senn continues to support their headphones decades in, and the reported durability of them were all deciding factors. What amp are you using with them? I am planning to reterminate a Neotech OCC cable with 800-cup jacks.

Mjolnir 2 and Jot 2. Both are good pairings I think for HD800S / SDR.

@roshambo123. Thanks! I have been looking at the MJ2. I had a JOT 2 while ago and sold it, hastily, when it didn't sound right with my Hilo. I hadn't understood how the gain staging worked with the Hilo at that point. I have a Rebel Amp right now and will see how it sits with the 800Ss.

If you can swing them I'd recommend the ZMF Atrium if you want "fun" but not in an unnatural way

The Atrium make me wince a bit, but I will look into them. Fun but natural is the right spot for me. It's perhaps a bit of bluster about planars - I have been a dynamic guy my whole life. All that vibrating membrane stuff weirds me out :-)

I just can't get along with most planars. Something about all of them sounds strange to me. Or maybe I'm used to dynamic "grain" and think anything else is weird.

Oh. Pluses and Minuses. On the right tracks they're spacious and yummy. On busy stuff, things get noisy and wall-of-sound-y.

Yeah, isn't this amp based on an AMB design?

I think there are a few impressions. I'll find the thread and put something together this weekend. Yes - they based their design on the AMB with permission. It's a really nice sounding amp and offers up a pretty good sense of space.

Finally posted some impression on the Rebel Amp thread: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/rebel-amp.10105/

That's a hell of a trip for sure. Enjoy!

Wow, when did it ship out? Before the, ahem, "Special Invasion Operation"?

No - it shipped May 1. I actually received it before a HomeDepot order placed at the same time. It's a good sounding amp. Back to back with the Lynx Hilo headamp, it is thrusty-er and stages with more relief.

Ended up going nice solid state - nothing too ostentatious. Thought I would give Class A a whirl with the Rebel Amp.

@Justin S, haven't heard of that amp. Let us know what you think when you get it in.

I will do. Might be waiting a while for it. I sold the Jot 2 but still have the Erish 2 for comparison.

This all makes sense. I have a note into PCX to see if they have any NOS tubes kicking around on their shelves. I have had very good experiences purchasing tubes from them in the past. I had the Raytheons for the Freya and you're right - they were not a good fit with Freya/speakers. I regret selling all the tubes with it, though. I had a good collection going.

Drat - I made the decision to pick up a new one and they're 10-12 weeks out from shipping. While this supply chain stuff is a drag for consumers, I can't imagine how hard it is on manufacturers like Schiit.

The Lyr 3 and even Vali 2 can “pop” on first turn on. How much depends on how fast the tube warms up. I usually turn it on unplugged and wait. But it is more what tube + amp rather than the amp itself.