Sennheiser HDV 820

The Amp was purchased on September 18, 2018 from an Authorized Dealer and the serial number was never entered. Below are some opinions about why it is the best amp for the HD800 series of headphones for which it was purpose built.

The HDV 820 is outstanding with the HD 800 and HD 800 S headphones. It is significantly improved from the HDVA 600 and HDVD 800 and it is the best I have heard in terms of detail, tonal balance, and spacial awareness. Having a lot of experience with the Chord DAVE and Schiit Yggdrasil+Eddy Curent amplifiers, I still feel the HDV 820 is the best solution for the HD 800 and HD 800 S.

The HDV 820 was better with HD 800 S headphones because of its tonal balance and ability to convincingly reconstruct the spatial senses of height, width and depth of sound. Sennheiser's Axel Grell and his team worked very hard to develop the HDV 820 to achieve what they believed was technically the very best sound the HD 800 S and HD 820 headphones could produce. Certainly other headphone amplifiers and DACs can produce good results but the HDV 820 produces the desired result. The HDV 820 is leaps and bounds better than the HDVD 800 predecessor.

Sennheiser uniquely understands the mechanical/physical limits of the HD 800 S driver and they've done what is likely the most precise tuning available anywhere for the driver (this includes amps like the Schiit Ragnarok, Eddie Current Black Widow 2, Zana Deux S/ZDT, and Balancing Act). If you want to experience the HD 800 S driven to its target and full potential, the HDV 820 is the answer and the reference point. As I have said before, the HDV 820 is able to fully excite all of the modes of the HD 800 S's drivers and the music is impressively dimensional in terms of height, width, depth, and spatial awareness.

Sennheiser says the tuning of the HDV 820 was derived from the HE-1 Orpheus and it uses the same DAC. I feel adding an outboard DAC compromises the tuning and economically it seems foolish to add a more expensive DAC to an amplifier like the HDV 820. The HDV 820 is a warmer amplifier and that has much to do with its approx 43Ω output impedance. And because Sennheiser understands the mechanical limits of the HD 800, HD 800 S, and HD 820 driver, the bass is precisely controlled with good impact.