[soymilkftw]

First and foremost, i'm a noob.  I paired these two up recently and noticed I really have to crank up the knob to get it to where I normally listen on my SR80i.  I know the HE-4 are harder to drive and require an amp.  I was under the impression that the Asgard was beefy enough to drive it decently well.  ie: headfonia 
 
SR80i and iPhone = 75-80% on iphone
HE-4 and iPhone = 100% still too low (as to be expected)
 
SR80i and Asgard = 7-8 o'clock (10-20%)
HE-4 and Asgard = 3 o'clock (70-80%)
 
Is this normal for the Asgard?  I'm letting the headphones burn in a little bit more, as they only have about 20-30 hours on them right now, but the mids seem pretty recessed.  Does anymore know if the mids are going to open up with time?  Should I be concerned that I have to push the asgard pretty high to get what I want from the he-4?
 
My source right now is onboard sound off computer (playing cd, or flac/alac).  I'm looking to get the bifrost, but might settle for a HRT streamer II while schiit gets their backorders filled.  Would playing off my ps3, xbox, or bluray player give me better results?  The SR80i opened up a whole new world to me in terms of sound quality as opposed to cheapo headsets and ibuds.  I was hoping this new combo would bring that to a whole new level, but seems i'm either at a bottleneck or starting to hit a level of diminishing returns.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Is there something wrong with turning your Asgard up to 5 o'clock?
 
Very best,

 

[rawrster]

Most likely it is the source. The HE-4 are not that hard to drive when compared to their bigger brothers but not the easiest headphone either. I no longer own the HE-4 but with both my amps which is a PPAv2 and a V200 on lowest gain setting I usually was not too much past 8-9 o'clock.

 

[soymilkftw]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Is there something wrong with turning your Asgard up to 5 o'clock?
 
Very best,

5 o'clock would be 100%.  I was raised not to run things at 100% if possible, to perhaps help longevity of the item.  Heck, my parents used to wrap the tv remore in saran wrap lol.  I guess it kinda stuck with me.  It makes me uncomfortable running things at max if I don't have to.  I'm just wondering, if this is normal for the asgard.  
 
Hopefully i'll have a HRT streamer II coming in soon.  

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Is there something wrong with turning your Asgard up to 5 o'clock?
 
Very best,

There is no headroom. I don't like when I turn my amp up past 12 o'clock but I still have a good amount of headroom but at 5 o'clock there is none and you do want to have some.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

5 o'clock would be 100%.  I was raised not to run things at 100% if possible, to perhaps help longevity of the item.  Heck, my parents used to wrap the tv remore in saran wrap lol.  I guess it kinda stuck with me.  It makes me uncomfortable running things at max if I don't have to.  I'm just wondering, if this is normal for the asgard.  
 
Hopefully i'll have a HRT streamer II coming in soon.  

The Asgard was made to run hard and hot. It has a 5 year warranty. Use that sucker. Worry after five years.
 
 
Quote:

There is no headroom. I don't like when I turn my amp up past 12 o'clock but I still have a good amount of headroom but at 5 o'clock there is none and you do want to have some.

 
If your listening volume is there, and it sounds good, then having a "comfort" of knowing it could be more is all you have.
 
Very best,
 

 

[soymilkftw]

hey guys,
 
i'm debating myself about grabbing a HE-500 considering the price drop.  Would those be easier to drive than the he-4?  I'm hearing conflicting accounts on both sides.  both are 38ohm impedance.  Is the he- 500 worth the 250 premium upgrade? 
 
 

 

[MalVeauX]

 
Quote:

hey guys,
 
i'm debating myself about grabbing a HE-500 considering the price drop.  Would those be easier to drive than the he-4?  I'm hearing conflicting accounts on both sides.  both are 38ohm impedance.  Is the he- 500 worth the 250 premium upgrade? 
 
 

Heya,
 
The HE-500 is a nice high-end ortho. Get it. It's worth every penny. It's relatively easy to drive. I have both an Asgard and Lyr and it plays fine out of both of them. From the Asgard, my listening volume on the knob is around 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock depending on the recording's base volume.
 
Very best,
 

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

hey guys,
 
i'm debating myself about grabbing a HE-500 considering the price drop.  Would those be easier to drive than the he-4?  I'm hearing conflicting accounts on both sides.  both are 38ohm impedance.  Is the he- 500 worth the 250 premium upgrade? 
 
 

 
I think you would need a proper dac first before even thinking about the HE-500 so it is not a good idea to amp from your computer headphone out so I'd wait until your HRT Streamer II comes in although I do not know if that is good or not. The $250 premium imo is worth it but that is not the case for everyone. The HE-4 while being a very good headphone is not at the same level as the HE-500. Also with the same amp the HE-500 needed to go higher than the HE-4 to get the same volume.
 
 

 

[Destroysall]

Just out of curiosity, out of all the amps you own, which one do you use most with the HE-500?
Quote:

 

Heya,
 
The HE-500 is a nice high-end ortho. Get it. It's worth every penny. It's relatively easy to drive. I have both an Asgard and Lyr and it plays fine out of both of them. From the Asgard, my listening volume on the knob is around 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock depending on the recording's base volume.
 
Very best,