Review: Sennheiser HD800 Headphones with Woo Audio WA6 Headphone Amplifier

[Speederlander]

I received my new headphones and headphone amp a couple weeks ago so I figured I would do a short review.

The Sennheiser HD800's are the current top-end Senn audiophile headphone offering.

System:

Asus ASUS Xonar Essence STX Soundcard
Blue Jeans Cable RCA cables
Woo Audio WA6 Single-ended Triode Class-A Tube Headphone Amplifier
Sennheiser HD800 Headphones

Entire system on sine-wave UPS with no other power "conditioning".

I plan to eventually go to a dedicated DAC rather than use the soundcard DAC, good though it actually is. I just can't make up my mind at this point as which DAC I will get. Currently leaning to Channel Islands.

I run this in my living room off a dedicated computer. My main comp is in my office. This is the set-up:

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8851.jpg

The monitor is mounted on an arm for convenience.

The components are simply on the end table:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8843.jpg

The headphone amp, as already stated is a Woo Audio WA6 tube amplifier. Jack Woo works in the U.S. and hand builds every amp himself. The workmanship is simply outstanding. All internal wiring is point-to-point. No PCBs.

This amp had the premium component upgrade along with an upgrade of the main rectifier tube to a Sophia Princess Mesh Plate 274B.

The amp with all of the upgrades ran approximately $1400, so a decent mid-range price for an audiophile headphone amp.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8636.jpg

No tubes:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8645.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8644.jpg

With tubes:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8647.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8654.jpg

Tubes hot:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8815.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8817.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8818.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8826.jpg


As I already stated, the Sennheiser headphones are their current top offering. There are probably about a 100k posts on the things at head-fi by now so for additional thoughts I would recommend a trip to their forums. I find the HD800's to be unbelievably comfortable. I can wear them for hours at a time and not even notice they are on. They are not hot or tight on my head. The quality on the phones appears first-rate, though they have a bit of a "futuristic" look to them. They use a 1/4" plug and they are open headphones, meaning you can hear background noise and others can hear what you are listening to if you crank it.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8852.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8854.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8856.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8864.jpg

The headphone cables are removable, so you can easily migrate to a balanced set-up should you want to.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8877.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm222/Speederlander/IMG_8876.jpg

Stock picture here to get an idea of size:
http://images.macnn.com/esta/content/0901/hd800_2.jpg


So how do they sound?

First, let me state I don't buy into a lot of the hocus pocus you read in reviews on audiophile equipment. With headphones especially, the listening experience can change drastically simply based on the fit of the phones to your ear and the shape of your ear canal. So what sounds good to me may be sub-standard to someone else.

The Woo tends to give everything a slightly warm sound, though it's certainly not "tubey" as similar amps may be. I prefer this. Some may not.

Probably the two most important things that define a set of headphones right away are soundstage and quality of the bass. In both of these areas, especially soundstage, the HD800's exceed expectations. Soundstage especially is quite good. The general consensus on head-fi and other review sites is that the HD800 is the current king of soundstage among headphones.
The bass is clear and packs punch without being over-powering. It's very transparent, giving whatever is in the music without embellishment. The same thing can be said for the mids and highs. The HD800's are above all transparent. They are in fact so transparent that a lot of music that sounds great in the car or on your computer or with a cheaper set of headphones is almost unlistenable with the Senns. Every detail, every nuance, every blemish is immediately apparent. This is one of the reasons I got the Woo tube amp. It takes the edge off this extreme clarity ever so slightly without negatively impacting sound quality when the music is up to the challenge.

I will follow up with more detailed discussions of specific songs and how they sound.

[Speederlander]

reserved.

[Kallenator]

Stunning amp! =)

Those Sennheiser's are huge!

You would most probably do good to try a proper DAC, take a look at Audio Note or maybe Cambridge Dac's, there are lot's decent DIY kits out there too. Maybe there are some Hifi stores around where you live that you could borrow from and try out? To be on the safe side that is, because getting a mismatch is rather uncool.

[Speederlander]

Stunning amp! =)

Those Sennheiser's are huge!

You would most probably do good to try a proper DAC, I would probably look at Audio Note or maybe Cambridge Dac's, there are lot's decent DIY kits out there. Maybe there are some Hifi stores around where you live that could borrow from and try out? To be on the safe side that is, because getting a mismatch is rather uncool.

I love this amp.

Yeah, I'm leaning Channel Islands VDA-2 + power supply, Red Wine Isabellina, or HeadRoom Ultra Desktop DAC with the new Sabre chip. They all have 30 day return policies so it's a decent try-out period. The combo sounds so bloody good right now it's hard to imagine how it could get better.

I just picked up 6SN7 adapters for the 6DE7 driver tubes, so I can tube roll all the better 6SN7 tubes out there. Looking forward to it.

[ottoyu34]

Nice review & Great shots!
I use HD800's little brother which is the IE8 with ACS custom tips(ear pieces).

[momomo6789]

you need to drop the soundcard and sitch to optical or usb dac really xonar stx has nothing on my 340$ Chinese dac

[Speederlander]

you need to drop the soundcard and sitch to optical or usb dac really xonar stx has nothing on my 340$ Chinese dac

Actually the soundcard is pretty decent, but a dac to match the phones and amp is $700 to $1300 and I'm not spending that money until the end of the year. I mentioned above I am deciding what dac to get. Either going Channel Islands or Red Wine Isabellina at this point.

[GTSRboy]

you need some .flac files when listening to music with these phones

[Jamesrt2004]

Nice review & Great shots!
I use HD800's little brother which is the IE8 with ACS custom tips(ear pieces).

are they really they are 1/5th of the price :eek:

[ROBSCIX]

Actually the soundcard is pretty decent, but a dac to match the phones and amp is $700 to $1300 and I'm not spending that money until the end of the year. I mentioned above I am deciding what dac to get. Either going Channel Islands or Red Wine Isabellina at this point.

Does the internal amplifier on the STX driver these cans properly from a electrical stanpoint? -Do they sound alright or do they sound like they are underpowered.

[ROBSCIX]

you need to drop the soundcard and sitch to optical or usb dac really xonar stx has nothing on my 340$ Chinese dac

Have you tested a STX?

[Speederlander]

Does the internal amplifier on the STX driver these cans properly from a electrical stanpoint? -Do they sound alright or do they sound like they are underpowered.

Amp on the card is plenty powerful to push the headphones. Just make sure you set the impedence correctly. Only using the DAC on the card now though since the Woo arrived. Either way, for all but the most serious set-up, that card is great.

[Asylum1]

Nice...Looks like a great set.

[komokazi]

I have a set of HD555's hooked up to an X-fi fatal1ty fps card... (fps version seems kinda hard to find these days... the titanium version seems to be more prominent). Sounds really good, first set of headphones I've ever gotten from Sennheiser. I will definitely continue to buy from Sennheiser... My buddy just picked up the HD595's and they are great too.

I would really like to see what these would sound like hooked up to an amp like that.. I do need an amp but haven't gotten around to getting one but I want to get a newer set of headphones before I do get an amp.. was thinking about the HD650, not sure if I could swing the price tag on the 800's...

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

why would you spend 1400 dollars on monitors? I understand spending 200, 300 or even 500 - but at what point do you just not want to know if something could sound better?


not hating, that is a purely amazing setup, just asking the honest question of why ;)

[Martijn]

why would you spend 1400 dollars on monitors? I understand spending 200, 300 or even 500 - but at what point do you just not want to know if something could sound better?


not hating, that is a purely amazing setup, just asking the honest question of why ;)

I have no doubt that the more expensive equipment sounds better. It's a matter of whether you think it's worth spending the money on that difference in quality.

[Newblar]

I have a set of HD555's hooked up to an X-fi fatal1ty fps card... (fps version seems kinda hard to find these days... the titanium version seems to be more prominent). Sounds really good, first set of headphones I've ever gotten from Sennheiser. I will definitely continue to buy from Sennheiser... My buddy just picked up the HD595's and they are great too.

I would really like to see what these would sound like hooked up to an amp like that.. I do need an amp but haven't gotten around to getting one but I want to get a newer set of headphones before I do get an amp.. was thinking about the HD650, not sure if I could swing the price tag on the 800's...

i would strongly consider getting an amp before the hd 650
non amped hd 650 is a waste of money, and a pair of amped hd 555s will sound like completely new headphones

[momomo6789]

hd 650s are no good imo beyer dt880 600ohm wipe the floor with them in all ways Hd650s 340$ beyers 319$ also beyers need a amp much more then hd650s did, both will run off x-fi forte / xonar stx fine, also komokazi you can look up how to mod your 555s to 595s if you like them more its a easy mod to do also. also his setup is more like 2k.

[Donnie27]

Amp on the card is plenty powerful to push the headphones. Just make sure you set the impedence correctly. Only using the DAC on the card now though since the Woo arrived. Either way, for all but the most serious set-up, that card is great.

WOW! That's some very nice stuff dewd! Congrats! Just look at the tubes gave me a warn and fuzzy feeling LOL!;)

[Donnie27]

hd 650s are no good imo beyer dt880 600ohm wipe the floor with them in all ways Hd650s 340$ beyers 319$ also beyers need a amp much more then hd650s did, both will run off x-fi forte / xonar stx fine, also komokazi you can look up how to mod your 555s to 595s if you like them more its a easy mod to do also. also his setup is more like 2k.

Why not this version for $269?

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-DT-880-Premium-Headphones/dp/B000F2BLTM/ref=pd_cp_e_0

[momomo6789]

their 250 ohm

[Donnie27]

I have no doubt that the more expensive equipment sounds better. It's a matter of whether you think it's worth spending the money on that difference in quality.

There is such as thing as diminishing returns.

[Donnie27]

their 250 ohm

Is that bad?

[momomo6789]

well its just not as good.

[Donnie27]

well its just not as good.

OK, thanks!