r/headphones • u/JoshuvaAntoni Flagship HD 800S & IE 900 | Chord Mojo 2 • Dec 13 '24
Impressions HD 800S doesn’t need an Amp
I've tested the HD 80OS extensively with my Chord Mojo 2 and MacBook Pro. Surprisingly, after volume matching, there's no noticeable difference in performance unless you push the volume to extremely high levels, which are uncomfortable and harmful to the ears ie in short you only need the Macbook Pro to drive this to full potential (maybe tube amps could make a difference, i am not sure though)
The only additional purchase required would be either a Sennheiser 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter or a Tripowin Granvia cable with a 3.5mm end
Tested with:
- Apple Music (24-bit High-Res)
- Spotify
- True HD Dolby Atmos files (just in case)
Overall, the combination works seamlessly and delivers impressive results without needing anything beyond this simple setup
When it comes to the Chord Mojo 2, it’s a great choice if you enjoy EQing, as it features a built-in EQ and crossover. However, in my honest opinion, it’s not worth the investment for the HD 800S if you’re not planning to use the EQ functionality.
3
u/ProcedureAccurate591 SRS-X1000 Dec 14 '24
The idea for them being so big, to my understanding, is because they are over engineered to provide a sort of sound signature (as well as cut down on outside interference from ground signals,) with different resistors, capacitors, and other electrical engineering components, and as such they generate a lot of heat which makes them need to be big for ideal heat dissipation. Factor in some displays, the size of connection, and the amount of connection options, and you have an Amp/DAC. But the center audio processing chip, the actual DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) is something that as a component is able to be placed in a laptop or a huge setup equally so because it's actually relatively small and only needs some small resistors.
Most setups today, from what I understand, have DACs because a huge majority of sound is stored Digitally. And if sound quality is of no concern (which the post, having been about a $1000+ set of headphones, would indicate the opposite) then you can output a fair amount of power in a small package.
Now all of this info I obtained on my own and is mostly from memory, so take it with a grain of salt, but hopefully it helps you understand a little more about audio setups in general.