Amp recommendation for HiFiMan HE400i
Oct 13, 2021 at 3:56 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 25
Kol12

Kol12

Head-Fier
Joined
Oct 11, 2015
Posts
88
Likes
13
I'm looking for a desktop amp to pair with my Hifiman HE400i planars. I plan to run a line out from my SoundBlaster X-AE5 PCIe soundcard to the headphone amplifier. In this case I assume the X-AE5 will continue to work as the DAC. I had liked the idea of a tube amp but after doing some research (including results I found here on Head-Fi) it appears tube amps aren't the greatest match for Planars... I have heard good things about the Schiit Jotunheim... Are any of the tube hybrids worth considering with Planars?
 
Oct 13, 2021 at 5:11 AM Post #2 of 25
Oct 14, 2021 at 4:03 AM Post #4 of 25
Kol12 said:
I'm looking for a desktop amp to pair with my Hifiman HE400i planars. I plan to run a line out from my SoundBlaster X-AE5 PCIe soundcard to the headphone amplifier. In this case I assume the X-AE5 will continue to work as the DAC.
Click to expand...

Meier Jazz FF
Maybe Schiit Asgard.


Kol12 said:
I had liked the idea of a tube amp but after doing some research (including results I found here on Head-Fi) it appears tube amps aren't the greatest match for Planars... I have heard good things about the Schiit Jotunheim... Are any of the tube hybrids worth considering with Planars?
Click to expand...

Output TransformerLess amps are what don't work properly.

Some transformer-coupled amps can work, but the problem is these can get way more expensive than OTL amps.
 
Oct 14, 2021 at 4:54 AM Post #5 of 25
ProtegeManiac said:
Meier Jazz FF
Maybe Schiit Asgard.




Output TransformerLess amps are what don't work properly.

Some transformer-coupled amps can work, but the problem is these can get way more expensive than OTL amps.
Click to expand...
Are there any tube or hybrid amps that pair well with planars? Are you missing out on anything not going tube with planars or do planars actually sound better with solid state?
 
Last edited:
Oct 14, 2021 at 10:29 AM Post #8 of 25
Kol12 said:
Thanks InvisibleInk. Are there any other amps to consider?
Click to expand...

Well, my HE400i sounds great with my Schiit Vali 2 and IEMagni, as well as my iFi iDSD Black Label and Hip-DAC. It's not that hard to drive, so some powerful amp really isn't necessary. You might want to buy a more powerful amp if you are planning to purchase better, less sensitive headphones later.
 
Oct 14, 2021 at 10:40 AM Post #9 of 25
Kol12 said:
Are there any tube or hybrid amps that pair well with planars?
Click to expand...

Transformer-coupled tube amps can deliver current and power at lower impedance loads unlike OTL amps. Some can still have very high output impedance like OTLs, and in that case can either lean out the bass or thicken it (it can go either way depending on the amp). Planars are not as severely affected by impedance mismatches but once you're at putting a 35ohm driver on an amp with a 120ohm or higher output impedance it's still going to have enough of an effect. If it leans it out then people whose definition of "good bass" means "elevated upper bass response" and not "flat from 1000hz down to 20hz" like the HE400i then the HE400i will sound worse.

So far I've tried out the HE500 and HE400 with the WooAudio WA6 and WA6se. Even the cheaper one wasn't a problem. But for context most people find my Cantate.2 and HD600 "weak" on the bass department...after listening in a crowded cafe ie high ambient noise. Otherwise I liked them but the added image and deeper bass was did not compel me to blow money on the HE400 much less get the WA6...more so when the HE400 already worked fine with my Cantate.2 anyway. I'd basically blow money for not a massive improvement (diverting funds from my other hobbies was a bigger problem than what I'd have to spend after selling my stuff) either way, and if I got the WA6, the more palpable improvement is when tubes and op-amps fail the former as mounted in the WA6 will only require a tube puller and I can easily diagnose by swapping tubes, no soldering or multimeters required if the swap works.


Kol12 said:
Are you missing out on anything not going tube with planars or do planars actually sound better with solid state?
Click to expand...

Tubes are easier to diagnose and maintain if you have the ones with tubes sticking out of the chassis. I mean sure tubes wear out sooner but in cases where op-amps screw up you're gonna have to whip out the soldering iron.

Very, very generally, full tube amps - whether OTL or solid state - tend to have more soundstage depth.

The problem is how much is that difference worth to you, since in this case OTL - where you can get a very good one like the DV336se for not a lot of money - isn't really the best option. Like would you pay $200 more for a WA6 over a Meier Jazz FF? Maybe I would. Maybe. The thing is the Jazz FF also has Crossfeed so I can give up a bit of overdone width (due to headphone physics that can be made worse by treble response) to gain some depth. Not to mention I can use it with IEMs.
 
Oct 15, 2021 at 7:07 PM Post #11 of 25
My iFi Zen Can arrived today and I'm using it now with my Sundara (which is quite similar to the HE400i i guess).
So far I'm not regretting it. It's also my first headphone-amp (i had the fiio BTR5 before, which i'm using as DAC right now, so not sure how that thing plays
into the sound quality).

But yea first impression is very good, i can finally run the Sundara with enough Power. Also the XBass feature seems interesting, it adds a good amount of Subbass, actually a bit too much for my liking, but it also makes the Bass more spatial/gives it more body (that u can definitely not achieve with simple EQing).
But if you are in the US (or someplace where Schiit ships to) you are probably better with the Magnius (at least from what i read about sound quality).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top