[hatecrew1992]

hi guys,
 
now that the Hifiman He-400 are about to become mine,  was thinking about upgrading my Amp and DAC from my Mav-Audio D1. I want to upgrade both, but only one pice at a time. I listen mainly to Metalcore and EDM stuff but also to calssic (mostly Piano and Violin).
 
For the DAC I have considered: Kingrex UD 384, Shiit Bitfrost, Matris M-Stage DAC so far
 
For the Amp: Little Dot Mk IV, Woo WA-6, Burson Soloist SL, Shiit Lyr, Matrix M-Stage or the Vioelectric HPA-V90
 
The ALO Pan am and the Woo Audio WA7 also look very interesting.
 
I also would like for the combo to be able to deal with my next upgrade of Headphones wich will be probably a LCD 2 and maybe and HD800.
 
Max budget is 1000$ for both

 

[hatecrew1992]

A little help would be really nice

 

 

[jackwess]

From the amps on your list, i can recommend the Soloist SL. Very practical, with 2 gain levels it will be more than enough for the HE-400 and up. It make cheaper headphones sound like 2x their price. 
 
For Dac recommendations, 
 
Aune X1 Mini Dac
Matrix Mini I
Hrt Streamer II+
Bifrost
 
It will depend on the features you want, but each one of them are respected units. 

 

[hatecrew1992]

thanks for the reply,
 
the burson seems like a neat little amp, but since teh price difference isn`t all that much I also came to consider the Vioelectric HPA V100 if that would change anything. The DAC is a bit thougher. I find the Bitfrost to be very appealing, but chances are that I have to pay quit the sum for customs when importing it into the EU. The Matrix Mini is available  in the EU, but I don´t really like the looks of it, so I would only consider it if there is no alternative, even if I would upgrade the budget a little.
 

 

[hodgjy]

It does not make sense to invest large dollars into an amp only for the HE-400.  The HE-400 isn't as influenced by amps as other headphones.  If you want other headphones down the road, then that's a different story.  You can get by with an Asgard 2 or a FiiO for the HE-400.  No need to spend $1000 because the headphones will largely sound the same on most amps.

 

[hatecrew1992]

does the same go for the DAC?
The plan was to either upgrade the DAC or Amp, then buy my next HP (probaly LCD-2) and then buy the second upgrade after that
 

 

[hodgjy]

No, DACs always matter, but the difference in sound between a $300 DAC and a $1000 DAC isn't as much as you'd suspect.

 

[jackwess]

Quote:

thanks for the reply,
 
the burson seems like a neat little amp, but since teh price difference isn`t all that much I also came to consider the Vioelectric HPA V100 if that would change anything. The DAC is a bit thougher. I find the Bitfrost to be very appealing, but chances are that I have to pay quit the sum for customs when importing it into the EU. The Matrix Mini is available  in the EU, but I don´t really like the looks of it, so I would only consider it if there is no alternative, even if I would upgrade the budget a little.
 

 
The V100 comes with balanced outputs, for people who like to buy cables and experiment with sound (and spend extra as well). I find that Single ended outputs does a great job if the amp is properly designed. You should demo both (V100 and the SL)
 
Which Dac options you have available in Austria? 

 

[hatecrew1992]

well that is hard to answer.
I personallly have not found a store in austria where I can audition Head-Amps or reasonably priced DAC's, there only seems to be the cheap mainstream stuff and the uber expenisive high end stuff. But in general i can buy anything that is distributed inside the EU, the post cost normally aren't a problem, only when I have to pay costums on stuff from outside the EU it gets rather expensive rather fast.
 
Edit: While looking arround I found all the DACs mentioned above, only the shiit are not available in the EU

 

[hatecrew1992]

so, I have decided to buy the Burson as an Amp, but still have no idea about what DAC to get. Also i still am uncertain what part i should upgrade first
 

 

[hodgjy]

With the HE400, get a DAC first, then amp.  Amps don't make a whole lot of difference with the HE400.

 

[hatecrew1992]

well then a DAC it shall be... but which one? It looks that there are quite a few well regarded once available within my budget...
 

 

[hodgjy]

Musical Fidelity V-DAC II
HRT Music Streamer II+
Arcam rDAC
Peachtree DACit

 

[hodgjy]

Or, just go for the Schiit Bifrost and Asgard 2 stack.

 

[roncaron]

What about the iDAC ? ...
 
Has anyone tested it with the HE-400 ?