Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion | Page 593 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

psychopab · May 10, 2016 at 9:06 AM

Price from jdslabs is high - 306.52$ with shipping to my country :/

And what about Aune X1S comparing to the current proposals?
One store offered me also Musical Fidelity V90-HPA but I know nothing about it.

Gavin C4 · May 10, 2016 at 9:24 AM

I never heard the Aune X1S and Musical Fidelity V90-HPA. From what I like from amp for planar headphone is a bit more voltage. Like 1W power at low independence. However, more power does not mean it will sound better so keep that in mind.

DavidA · May 10, 2016 at 10:15 AM

psychopab said:
Guys what amp/dac you suggest at the beginning of my journey with HE400i?
Headphones were not that cheap so can you recommend me something at a reasonable price ("starter packet")?
It would be nice if amp was with builtin dac.

Thanks in advance.

I would go at this another way, get a amp first, Garage 1217 Polaris since its quite flexible, or if you want to try tubes get Ember is quite good and flexible as well. Get a DAC after when you have spent a little time with your setup to learn what you like or dislike. The Polaris will work with quite a few headphones from planar to high Z so should be good for a while.

520RanchBro · May 10, 2016 at 10:25 AM

Heard nothing but good things about the Garage 1217 amps (seriously, nothing, wish I had a reason to buy one) but never heard one for myself.

I love my Asgard 2/Modi 2 setup, If the Magni 2U had been out at the time of purchase, I probably would have saved some money and bought it instead of the Asgard, I just needed preamp outs. I can attest that Schiit products will drive your 400i quite well. Don't rule out Garage 1217 though, they get heaps of praise around here.

snellemin · May 10, 2016 at 10:27 AM

psychopab said:
Price from jdslabs is high - 306.52$ with shipping to my country :/

And what about Aune X1S comparing to the current proposals?
One store offered me also Musical Fidelity V90-HPA but I know nothing about it.

I've played with the Aune X1S and it just didn't have the power to drive the 400i properly. Personally I like the Fiio E12A sound better vs the Aune.

DavidA · May 10, 2016 at 10:32 AM

520ranchbro said:
Heard nothing but good things about the Garage 1217 amps (seriously, nothing, wish I had a reason to buy one) but never heard one for myself.

I love my Asgard 2/Modi 2 setup, If the Magni 2U had been out at the time of purchase, I probably would have saved some money and bought it instead of the Asgard, I just needed preamp outs. I can attest that Schiit products will drive your 400i quite well. Don't rule out Garage 1217 though, they get heaps of praise around here.

You should treat your self to one, you already have a good SS, why not try tubes, Ember and Polaris have pre-amp outputs

520RanchBro · May 10, 2016 at 11:35 AM

davida said:
You should treat your self to one, you already have a good SS, why not try tubes, Ember and Polaris have pre-amp outputs

Their amps are certainly on my radar. Just have other priorities for audio upgrades (new phono pre, new cartridge for my TT and another DAC all come first).

I'm sure I will eventually though!

psychopab · May 10, 2016 at 11:53 AM

Ok, so Aune is out.

I'm reading now about Garage 1217 Polaris and it looks really good! I think this might be my final choice (but I need more time to read about it).
David, which bandwitch option would you choose for HE-400i? What is more suited to their character?
And can you tell me something about their durability and built quality?

caecillius · May 10, 2016 at 11:58 AM

I have a Schiit Magni 2 Uber and a Garage 1217 Solstice. Both have more than enough power for the 400i but I personally prefer the warmth of the tube in the Solstice. Voices simply sounded more natural and less like a recording. Don't get me wrong. For the money the Magni is pretty great too but mostly I use the Solstice. I built my Solstice via Kit and Jeremy at Garage 1217 was there for me 110% with sending me replacement parts after I broke some pieces due to some high-end solder that didn't flow well. I'm getting an Ember next for the pre-amp outputs so I can feed my desktop speakers with the same source.

Gimpinchair · May 10, 2016 at 1:57 PM

psychopab said:
Guys what amp/dac you suggest at the beginning of my journey with HE400i?
Headphones were not that cheap so can you recommend me something at a reasonable price ("starter packet")?

It would be nice if amp was with builtin dac.

Thanks in advance.

I went Bifrost/Lyr2. Getting ready to go Multibit.

DavidA · May 10, 2016 at 3:20 PM

psychopab said:
Ok, so Aune is out.

I'm reading now about Garage 1217 Polaris and it looks really good! I think this might be my final choice (but I need more time to read about it).
David, which bandwitch option would you choose for HE-400i? What is more suited to their character?
And can you tell me something about their durability and built quality?

I only have the Ember, the Polaris was a friends unit. You might want to email Garage 1217 and ask your questions directly with the person who builds them, they are very helpful.

As for durability and build quality, they are very well made, haven't heard of any problems with the Ember yet after 2 years, they come with a 5 year warranty.

chowmein83 · May 10, 2016 at 6:13 PM

psychopab said:
Ok, so Aune is out.

Personally, I don't really agree with @snellemin that the Aune X1S is underpowered for the 400i. I could get why somebody would not like the pairing with the 400i (the X1S tends to sound a bit bright IMO) but I'm not sure why anyone would say that the X1S can't drive the 400i well.

It has more than enough volume (I listen at relatively low volumes so I only had the volume knob at 10-11 o'clock, but even for someone who listens loud I can't imagine them going beyond 2-3 o'clock). And the sound had decent enough quality to it (very punchy, good soundstage, and though its not the most refined amp out there the 400i didn't sound excessively bright or grainy like when it is underpowered).

You can look at my review for the X1S for more details linked here, but unfortunately I don't go too much into detail into this specific 400i/X1S pairing: http://www.head-fi.org/products/aune-x1s-32bit-384khz-dsd-dac-headphone-amplifier/reviews/14366

chillaxing · May 10, 2016 at 6:30 PM

psychopab said:
~200$ (maybe ~250$, depends on whether it will be worth it)

So my possibilities are:
O2 amp/dac
Schiit Magni2+modi2

What do you think about Aune X1S? Will it be better than above?
And do you have good source for buying O2 combo?

Does it have to be a desktop amp?

Do mind getting used?

snellemin · May 10, 2016 at 6:32 PM

chowmein83 said:
Personally, I don't really agree with @snellemin that the Aune X1S is underpowered for the 400i. I could get why somebody would not like the pairing with the 400i (the X1S tends to sound a bit bright IMO) but I'm not sure why anyone would say that the X1S can't drive the 400i well.

It has more than enough volume (I listen at relatively low volumes so I only had the volume knob at 10-11 o'clock, but even for someone who listens loud I can't imagine them going beyond 2-3 o'clock). And the sound had decent enough quality to it (very punchy, good soundstage, and though its not the most refined amp out there the 400i didn't sound excessively bright or grainy like when it is underpowered).

You can look at my review for the X1S for more details linked here, but unfortunately I don't go too much into detail into this specific 400i/X1S pairing: http://www.head-fi.org/products/aune-x1s-32bit-384khz-dsd-dac-headphone-amplifier/reviews/14366

To my ears it's under powered. You said it yourself that you listen at low volumes, so the Aune is no problem for you. Do understand that I use the E12A Fiio most of the time with the 400I at work. When I used the Aune, it didn't even come close to the output capability of the E12A. So At home I use a FIIO DIY with Muses02 when watching movies and just washing dishes. But for all out jamming, I use a full size NAD amplifier with the 400I connected to the speaker outputs(w/ variable resistor box).

chillaxing · May 10, 2016 at 6:47 PM

snellemin said:
To my ears it's under powered. You said it yourself that you listen at low volumes, so the Aune is no problem for you. Do understand that I use the E12A Fiio most of the time with the 400I at work. When I used the Aune, it didn't even come close to the output capability of the E12A. So At home I use a FIIO DIY with Muses02 when watching movies and just washing dishes. But for all out jamming, I use a full size NAD amplifier with the 400I connected to the speaker outputs(w/ variable resistor box).

FTW

I trust my man, anything less than the e12a or e18 does not do these things justice. I power it off my lg v10 and at max volume on high gain and its still not enough. they just sound life less.

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