[mandrake50]

 

  If you are going to roll tubes you will start to get into the range of $250 amps like the Project Polaris which is a slightly warm SS amp and a little more flexible than the Vali2.

God is it an eyesore though...

As in sound..so is beauty a personal preference. I like the look... even a bit better if you get the aluminum top and bottom plates... But the sound is what is really important. It sounds great with many headphones and gives one the ability to change settings to tailor the sound to your preferences. It is a nice little amp. It also has a 5 year warranty if Jeremy builds it, and quite possibly the best support you will ever find on a electronic device. It doesn't get lots of press around here, but if you read the thread, those that own one really like them. Including me!

 

[trivium911]

 

Those are my 400i on a router with a roll of tape >>>>> $0.00

RF Frequency is terribly bad for planar magnetic technology you know

 

[sK0pe]

  I'm looking for a decent desktop amp to pair with my he400i as I don't feel I'm getting the most out of them yet. I'm willing to spend around $200. One thing I'd like to bring out a little more is warmth and thickness in the midrange and maybe smooth out treble a touch. I have been able to use Foobar and EQ it to my liking some, but I'd prefer not to have to.
 
This leaves me with the following options after reading through this entire thread:
- Schiit Magni2 Uber
- Schiit Vali2 (probably won't tube roll)
- Massdrop Nuforce HA-200 (though I'm not stoked with the idea of Class A operation and heat as I'd like to put the DAC on top, or below it)
- Hifiman EF2C (probably won't tube roll)
 
I mostly listen to Indie and Classic Rock, Folk, Funk/Soul, Electronic, Ambient, some rap.
 
I'd love to hear the community's suggestions on these amp pairings, or any other amps that are around 200 bucks or less.

So only buy tube amps if you are bored of how your current headphones sound and you don't want to buy more headphones.
All tubes do is mess with the sound, like an analog sound modification.
 
I would go with an SMSL M6, it has a DAC/Amp very similar or the same as the SMSL Sanskrit.
I wouldn't personally recommend the Nuforce.
If you want even warmer sound that is definitively different go for the Darkvoice (which is a tube) or ifi micro iCan SE.  The latter can reproduce the modulation that tubes can provide without the disadvantage of waiting for warmup every time you want to listen to something.
 
Changing your DAC in some cases may have a more pronounced effect such as getting an Aune X1s or Audio GD NFB-11.
 
You can keep throwing money at the issue but I think it sounds like you want a complimentary pair of cans with extra bass in which case I would recommend something that sounds different and does different things to the source sound such as the Philips Fidelio x2 which has insane sound stage relative to the 400i and are slightly V shaped party cans.

This is what I did when I have been with a set of headphones for many years, if I'm bored I get another set that does something the other can't and use the same clean source.

 

[junyamada]

Hi guys, just got mine 2 weeks ago. Been playing it for my ears for the past 2 weeks along my Fiio X3ii/A3 (e11k) amp, it has been a fantastic listening for me (it being my first full sized headphone).
 
Prior to that, I was really torn between this HE-400i and the HD 650. Was concerned about the comments regarding the QC of the product itself and it being sibilant. When I received it, I didn't find any of the things that I was concerned about.
 
Before owning the HE-400i, I mostly use my earbuds (VE Monk+, Auglamour RX-1) and sometimes my portable ATH-ES700. I really enjoyed how the VE Monk+ sounds (more than the Auglamour RX-1 and the ATH-ES700).

Any suggestions for a good dac/amp setup? The sound coming from my current setup is acceptable to me, it's just that I feel that something is missing (or I have yet to adjust fully to the Planar sound?).

 

[Gordhifi]

What type of glue are you using to resecure the pad to the ring? Mine is coming off. Otherwise love these cans!!

 

[DavidA]

  Hi guys, just got mine 2 weeks ago. Been playing it for my ears for the past 2 weeks along my Fiio X3ii/A3 (e11k) amp, it has been a fantastic listening for me (it being my first full sized headphone).
 
Prior to that, I was really torn between this HE-400i and the HD 650. Was concerned about the comments regarding the QC of the product itself and it being sibilant. When I received it, I didn't find any of the things that I was concerned about.
 
Before owning the HE-400i, I mostly use my earbuds (VE Monk+, Auglamour RX-1) and sometimes my portable ATH-ES700. I really enjoyed how the VE Monk+ sounds (more than the Auglamour RX-1 and the ATH-ES700).

Any suggestions for a good dac/amp setup? The sound coming from my current setup is acceptable to me, it's just that I feel that something is missing (or I have yet to adjust fully to the Planar sound?).

I would first figure out what you think is missing before looking at DACs and amps.  There's been a lot of chatter lately about DACs and amps for the 400i and the X3ii has come up a few times, some say it great other think its missing something like you.  For me the HE-400i is a touch on the bright side so I tend to like warmer amps to pair with it, Polaris, Ember, HA-501, Carbon, and Hugo have all paired quite well.

 

[DavidA]

  What type of glue are you using to resecure the pad to the ring? Mine is coming off. Otherwise love these cans!!

I would use hot glue or silicon.

 

[Gordhifi]

Thanks that was my thought.

 

[DavidA]

  Thanks that was my thought.

Some use the silicon glue to get a good seal between the mounting ring and ear pad so if you can apply the glue to get a better seal between the mounting ring of the headphone and the ear pad it would help the bass.

 

[dakanao]

Are there any amps around $200 that have a smooth, natural, vocal forward sound sig? Because the treble right now is good on the HE-400i with the EQ I've applied, only problem is the vocals seem to be drowned out a bit because of the reduction in lower treble/upper mids. 
 
The Hifimediy Sabre DAC is excellent for the HE-400i, only problem is that it's not powerful enough to drive them to good volumes.

 

[spookanide]

  Are there any amps around $200 that have a smooth, natural, vocal forward sound sig? Because the treble right now is good on the HE-400i with the EQ I've applied, only problem is the vocals seem to be drowned out a bit because of the reduction in lower treble/upper mids. 
 
The Hifimediy Sabre DAC is excellent for the HE-400i, only problem is that it's not powerful enough to drive them to good volumes.

To all your questions and some others on a good smooth match for these headphones. Try out the iFi iCAN (SE). While it may be above your budget it's a quite powerful little amp. I also found that my marantz integrated  amp's headphone out makes it quite smooth, but washes out the detail a little. YMMV!

 

[phthora]

  Are there any amps around $200 that have a smooth, natural, vocal forward sound sig? Because the treble right now is good on the HE-400i with the EQ I've applied, only problem is the vocals seem to be drowned out a bit because of the reduction in lower treble/upper mids. 
 
The Hifimediy Sabre DAC is excellent for the HE-400i, only problem is that it's not powerful enough to drive them to good volumes.

 
Why not buy a neutral amp and EQ the mids up? Most amps strive for absolute neutrality anyway, so vocal forward will likely be difficult to find.

 

[rgmffn]

  I'm looking for a decent desktop amp to pair with my he400i as I don't feel I'm getting the most out of them yet. I'm willing to spend around $200. One thing I'd like to bring out a little more is warmth and thickness in the midrange and maybe smooth out treble a touch. I have been able to use Foobar and EQ it to my liking some, but I'd prefer not to have to.
 
This leaves me with the following options after reading through this entire thread:
- Schiit Magni2 Uber
- Schiit Vali2 (probably won't tube roll)
- Massdrop Nuforce HA-200 (though I'm not stoked with the idea of Class A operation and heat as I'd like to put the DAC on top, or below it)
- Hifiman EF2C (probably won't tube roll)
 
I mostly listen to Indie and Classic Rock, Folk, Funk/Soul, Electronic, Ambient, some rap.
 
I'd love to hear the community's suggestions on these amp pairings, or any other amps that are around 200 bucks or less.

You've gotten lots of good suggestions, but I would just like to add that I'm using a Vali 2 with my 400i's and I just love it. I have about a half dozen different tubes for it and they all sound a little bit different. If you're into that sort of thing, like I am, and don't mind spending the money, you can tune the Vali 2 to your liking. As of right now, the tube that gets the most use is the Gold Lion. It adds a bit of needed warmth and tames down the upper end just a little bit to me. I also get a sense of a larger soundstage with it. 
 
Just something to to think about. Be sure to check out the Vali 2 threads. There's a couple of em. 

 

[DavidA]

  Are there any amps around $200 that have a smooth, natural, vocal forward sound sig? Because the treble right now is good on the HE-400i with the EQ I've applied, only problem is the vocals seem to be drowned out a bit because of the reduction in lower treble/upper mids. 
 
The Hifimediy Sabre DAC is excellent for the HE-400i, only problem is that it's not powerful enough to drive them to good volumes.

It sounds like your use of EQ is correcting one problem and creating another.  Might want to work with better EQ software first before spending on an amp which I can see fixing the issue you are having.

 

[trivium911]

You've gotten lots of good suggestions, but I would just like to add that I'm using a Vali 2 with my 400i's and I just love it. I have about a half dozen different tubes for it and they all sound a little bit different. If you're into that sort of thing, like I am, and don't mind spending the money, you can tune the Vali 2 to your liking. As of right now, the tube that gets the most use is the Gold Lion. It adds a bit of needed warmth and tames down the upper end just a little bit to me. I also get a sense of a larger soundstage with it. 

Just something to to think about. Be sure to check out the Vali 2 threads. There's a couple of em. 

Comments like these make me lean towards the vali 2, the little dot 1+ just seems more interesting though with two tubes and removable op amps. I cant find any info on the output impedence though for either, although some unconfirmed sources have said the LD is around 10 ohm....which is actaully not the best for the 400i if that 10 to 1 rule still applies here. Also there is the xudoo ta-02 which has two tubes and is cheaper than the vali, suposed to be good. Maybe its just me thinking two tubes are better than one.