Yeah once the holiday weekend is done, I plan on doing some “work” and putting a couple of thoughts down on some of my gear. I will definetly put something together when I get the CTH, and Bottlehead (maybe I’ll document the build). I say these things but ADHD is a real thing for me lol.
The Crack is pretty warm so if you’re looking for that, it’s definitely an option for you. I prefer it with the Speedball upgrade. I’m personally not a huge fan of the HD650 with the Crack but I tend to not like overly warm sound. I think the HD800 is a bit too much on the warm side already so ymmv
I would have thought that the HD800 would go well with a warmer sounding amp like the Bottlehead Crack.
The HD650 though I find warm, no, perhaps I mean not enough treble for me. I always wished that I’d gotten the HD600 instead. I do like the HD650 though. It does a lot of things so very well. I love the mids and tonal balance. As you say YMMV.
-Paul-
Sorry to hear that. It does look like your headphone/gear addiction help though:)
-Paul-
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I tend to deep dive on my hobbies, I think it is a weird ADHD trait for me. As long as it doesn’t get stale I stick with it. So far headphones have proven very fruitful, in keeping my attention. I think it helps all the nuance and subjective mixed with objective details that come from the hobby. Oh and the good discussions to be had.
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Since joining this community, I have been surprise at how many people have more than one set of headphones. I’ve never had more than one at one time and never thought of having two. I now may try it.
Danger Will Robinson…DANGER!! I’m sorry for your wallet and happy for your ears 
Happy with current gang of 20+ headphones, a few DACs and amps.
Upgrading: haven’t really found a need for upgrading these days, if fact its more of a down sizing that I’m considering due to complaints by GF to “reduce the clutter” so to keep her happy I’ve already sold one of 2 HD800, gave T1gen1 to my son and traded my SR009/SRM007ii with a good friend.
The stock tubes of the BH Crack does make it a bit on the warmer side but with other tubes it can be made to sound closer to neutral or even a touch on the bright side. FWIW I actually removed the speed-ball since to me it sounded better without it, a slightly cleaner/clearer sound to me.
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I want to like my HD600’s more than I do. Everyone talks about how well they scale with amplification, so I’ve tried them out of my Macbook Air, my LG V20, my Topping NX4 and my Magni 3, and they basically sound the same out of all of them.
This, plus a 20% off promo on eBay was enough excuse for me to order a Garage 1217 Ember II tube amp andsee what, if any, difference that’ll make (especially on its high impedance setting). Either way, I figure it looks cool and if the pot doesn’t have the static buildup and channel imbalance of my Magni 3’s pot, it’ll make a nice desktop replacement. I also like the idea of being able to select my output impedance and input attenuation, and I’m looking forward to measuring my first tube amp to see what kind of difference it (and hte impedances) make on my headphones.
Plus, I like supporting small businesses like Garage 1217, and I’ve derived a lot of value from Solderdude’s measurements and impressions at DIY-Audio-Heaven so I see this as a way of showing my appreciation.
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The scaling thing is basically a meme at this point. The 600/650 respond to OTL tube amps very well though which is probably where the whole scaling thing comes from.
I love my Ember, its one of the most versatile amps I’ve played with and it where I learned how the output impedance of the amp can alter the sound of the headphone but the effect while easy to notice by me and most of my friends that have some experience with decent quality sound systems (speakers/headphones) will usually notice the differences a change in impedance makes those that have no exposure to decent sound systems usually don’t hear any differences until I tell the what to listen for and even then its 50/50 that the person will be able to hear the differences.
One thing I noticed is that the effect of different tubes in the Ember don’t seem to have as large an effect on the sound like it does with some other amps like a BH Crack, WA2, WA3, WA6 and a few other amps that I’ve tried but its more than some other amps like the Valhalla2, Vali2, CTH, and WA7d.
@VenturaRoyal, agree that the scaling of some headphones is over hyped but with the HD650, HD700, HD800, T1gen1, HE560 and LCD-3f to me it was quite a noticeable change from a BH Crack/Lyr2 (what I have) to a EC Balancing Act/Liquid Glass (borrowed from a friend) and with the Liquid Glass changing tubes (different families) can have quite a noticeable change - more like a different flavor than improvement IMO so I wouldn’t consider it scaling. I considered buying the Liquid Glass but since I’m getting older and my hearing is only going to get worse, I can’t really share the experience with others, and I actually liked having a few different amp types I figured the funds where better used on other headphones, wine and golf.
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Personally, I probably have nothing else that I want to get from this hobby at this point of time. Maybe a custom cable for my headphones as the stock ones bloody suck. Otherwise I don’t see the point in investing further. Maybe I might get the ADX5000 since that headphone does interest me greatly.
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I’m happy with my headphones (hd6xx). Considering getting a new amp, possibly project ember or bottlehead crack.
A newer DAC will probably be added somewhere down the line.
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I’ve had some pretty bad stock cables in the pass: HD700 (most twisted that I’ve known), new Grado “e” series 8 conductor cables (way too heavy for the light weight Grado), and some stock Hifiman (WTH with a 3.5mm angled jack for a headphone that really needs a desktop amp).
Stock hifiman cables are pretty damn aids I agree 
A new DAC or DAC/Amp and probably a TOSLINK switch, have the Aune x1s 10th Anniversary but the TOSLINK input on mine has sound dropouts.
I will turn the question around by asking; WHY are you upgrading and HOW are you upgrading?
what i have gotten involved in since it’s introduction is the entire SACD/DSD multichannel listening space. It is/has become a niche product(as is vinyl) but.IMHO,the multi-channel experience goes beyond stereo. Also,it should not be confused with Quadrophonic from the 1970’s.
Can you explain the SACD/DSD space a little more? I’ve been seeing a lot of mentions of it online lately. I’ll be doing my own research on it but curious what other peoples takes are on it =)
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