[ThatMatt437]

Hi everyone!

Currently have a Rega P2 Turntable running into a Cambridge CP-1 phono stage, and recently picked up Hifiman HE-400i's for less intrusive listening. I am looking into headphone amps and have heard great things about Schiit, however from what I can see on the specs page, the Magni and the other less expensive models have a 20-20000 frequency range, which doesn't match the specs of the HE-400is.

Does this mismatch actually matter in real-world listening? Any other recommendations under 300USD would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cossix]

I highly doubt the mismatch matters. Also don't forget that it also says 2hz-900khz but with a -3db swing. So it'll still produce higher and lower frequencies than your headphone is capable of reproducing. I'd say definitely go with the Magni 3, it just came out and has tons of power. I think it'll fit perfectly with your 400i

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi everyone!

Currently have a Rega P2 Turntable running into a Cambridge CP-1 phono stage, and recently picked up Hifiman HE-400i's for less intrusive listening. I am looking into headphone amps and have heard great things about Schiit, however from what I can see on the specs page, the Magni and the other less expensive models have a 20-20000 frequency range, which doesn't match the specs of the HE-400is.

Does this mismatch actually matter in real-world listening? Any other recommendations under 300USD would be greatly appreciated!

If that was a problem then you might as well give up listening altogether because your ears are out of spec. Human hearing only effectively hears around 20hz to 20,000hz. You can't hear much beyond that, and as you get older, that range gets even narrower. Schiit rates their amps that way because they'd rather not use the same BS that other manufacturers use to rate their amps. They can publish whatever range, but at the end of the day, there are two problems: first is the ear listening to them, and whether the headphone/speaker actually plays them.

In the case of the HE400i it's only good beyond that range at one end - it's as flat as it gets from 1000hz down to 10hz. Above 10,000hz, as with almost every headphone that isn't an electrostat, the response trails off gradually or is jagged as hell, then starts trailing off. If anything headphones and speakers that can go well beyond 20,000hz tend to have a smoother response, like electrostats and ribbon tweeters, but the smoother response is what you're hearing, not the extension to 100,000hz. That's the best case scenario. In other cases dynamic drivers rated for up to 40,000hz actually start trailing off at around 18,000hz to 22,000hz. And then your recorded materials don't have a lot of information beyond 16,000hz either.

 

[ThatMatt437]

If that was a problem then you might as well give up listening altogether because your ears are out of spec. Human hearing only effectively hears around 20hz to 20,000hz. You can't hear much beyond that, and as you get older, that range gets even narrower. Schiit rates their amps that way because they'd rather not use the same BS that other manufacturers use to rate their amps. They can publish whatever range, but at the end of the day, there are two problems: first is the ear listening to them, and whether the headphone/speaker actually plays them.

In the case of the HE400i it's only good beyond that range at one end - it's as flat as it gets from 1000hz down to 10hz. Above 10,000hz, as with almost every headphone that isn't an electrostat, the response trails off gradually or is jagged as hell, then starts trailing off. If anything headphones and speakers that can go well beyond 20,000hz tend to have a smoother response, like electrostats and ribbon tweeters, but the smoother response is what you're hearing, not the extension to 100,000hz. That's the best case scenario. In other cases dynamic drivers rated for up to 40,000hz actually start trailing off at around 18,000hz to 22,000hz. And then your recorded materials don't have a lot of information beyond 16,000hz either.

Thanks Protege, that clears things up. Would you recommend the Schiit as well?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thanks Protege, that clears things up. Would you recommend the Schiit as well?

From a purely technical standpoint, yes. But when cranked up the onset of distortion leans more towards bright, and some people generally don't like that. If you can't spend a lot of money I'd say go with the Asgard or Lyr. If you can spend a bit more and don't need as much power as the Lyr, get the Meier Audio Jazz FF. If you can blow a bit more money, I'd go with Violectric.

Or just get the Lyr and then try a different tube that's a little more rolled off in the top end. Note though it's a fair bit smoother than the Asgard anyway so you might not actually need to use anything other than the stock tubes.