SENNHEISER’S NEW HIGH END HEADPHONE AMP & DAC
There's only a few names that could be considered household names in the headphone world, and Sennheiser is no exception. Announced today, they're delivering an all new headphone amplifier and DAC to discerning audiophiles with the HDV 820.
Building upon the HDVD 800, Sennheiser’s first ever digital headphone amplifier, the HDV 820 has a more capable DAC offering higher resolution and ultra-low distortion, along with fully balanced output.
According to Sennheiser:
The all new digital section of the HDV 820 is powered by a high-quality ESS SABRE32 digital-to-analog converter in a completely balanced topology. The DAC offers unequalled dynamic range, ultra-low distortion, and unmatched audio clarity. It performs at a PCM resolution of 32 bits and a sampling rate of up to 384 kHz and up to 12.3 MHz in the DSD mode.
The power amp and analog circuitry has been improved upon over the HDVD 800. It features an unbalanced output via 6.3mm (XLR3) combined NEUTRIK sockets, one balanced XLR4 output and two balanced 4.4mm Pentaconn sockets.
If you haven’t heard of Pentaconn connectors, it’s the new standard for balanced headphone connections developed by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).
Sennheiser have also introduced the CH 800 P which is a Pentaconn cable with a straight gold plated Pentaconn connector in a black housing on the amplifier side and two (L/R) medical grade ODU connectors on the headphone side.
This new cable will allow you to use HD800 and the more recent HD800S headphones, for example, with the HDV 820 Amplifier and other Pentaconn equipped amplifiers.
The HDV 820 also features optical, coaxial and USB digital inputs, as well as analogue sources via balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) inputs.
Manuel Ricke, Product Manager Audiophile at Sennheiser told StereoNET:
The HDV 820 builds on the accomplishments of the HDVD 800 with greater resolution and enhanced connectivity, an evolution that provides a sound experience so pure and engaging that the listener could be sitting right in front of the audio source. The HDV 820 shows what is possible when you believe that sound is not something just to be listened to, but rather something to be experienced,
Designed and manufactured in Germany specifically with head-Fi enthusiasts in mind, the Sennheiser HDV 820 will be available from August for $3,799.95 RRP.
For more information visit the Sennheiser brand page.
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After a few years writing for audio magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET, known at the time as Planet Audio, in 1999.
Posted in:Headphones
Tags: sennheiser
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