I disagree with so much of what you say that it's pointless to start a debate with you because it will never go anywhere positive. My intent was to help someone make a decision, because he asked for help. I didn't push advice on anyone. Your motivation is to discredit anyone who doesn't agree with you. My motivation was to help someone who asked for it. Your motivation is to discredit me because I disagree with you.
These are facts:
LD is spec'ed at 100 mW into 32 Ohms
HD-400 sensitivity is spec'ed at 93 dB at 1 mW, with rated Z = 35 Ohms
For sake of this approximate calculation the Z difference is within 10%
It doesn't make any difference what the voltage is at the input (within reason) because the volume pot is before any amplification. 100 mW out will drive the HD-400 to 103 dB SPL before clipping which I define as 10% THD. To me that's ear splitting volume but I do understand that others may need or want more.
I never stated that I tested the HD-400 with the LD MK3 so of course I can't be 100% sure if it will get loud enough for the end user. This was implicit in my comment. All I can say which I did is that it should be more than loud enough (103 dB SPL). Again, this is my educated OPINION based on my ears, my own experience with phones I listed and the specs of the LD and HD400. I think most readers of the posts (except it seems you), would understand.
I just want to make sure readers of this thread (which I hope ends here) are not mislead by your negative and (in my OPINION) misled comments.
Like you, I am also trying to help someone make a decision. I'm trying to help someone avoid buying an amp that will clip when driving the HE-400 at loud volumes. Unlike you, I actually have experience with this combination and am not merely getting defensive about a personal
opinion. Your repeated talk of discrediting is a clear give-away that you are taking yourself much too seriously and feel attacked simply because someone disagrees with you. I'm not misled by any means; I simply don't think you gave good advice to a fellow HE-400 owner. It's amazing that you would call my motivations into question, as if only a jerk would dare to place more value on direct experience than on your armchair opining about a headphone
whose name you don't even spell correctly.
Anyway, I will be charitable here. The root of the problem is that you wrote "the LD will have no problem driving them to ear splitting volume." To some, ear-splitting volume is well beyond 113 dB. 113 dB is below the threshold of pain, and someone who likes to listen to music loud can easily listen above that level for moderate amounts of time. It's unfortunate that I no longer own my MKIII. If I did, I could measure the sound pressure level where clipping begins. Suffice it to say, I like to listen at loud volumes at times, and the MKIII did not have enough power for my needs. It doesn't have enough power to meet everyone's needs. It has real, obvious problems driving the HE-400 to volumes that sane people with healthy hearing might enjoy now and again. Like listening to metal after a few beers
EDIT: I'm just accepting your 113 dB figure for the sake of argument. I do not necessarily believe that the Little Dot's published specs are accurate. In any case, it doesn't matter. It clips into the HE-400 at volumes that I occasionally found pleasant, and my normal listening volume is around 80 dB (I'm neither deaf nor insane when it comes to volume).
I don't really see the point of this back and forth unless you are going to tell me that my LD didn't in fact clip going into my HE-400.
