[AdamK89]

Not to sound cheap, but those are both more than 2 times the cost of the headphone Maybe something around 500? 

 

[MattTCG]

  Not to sound cheap, but those are both more than 2 times the cost of the headphone Maybe something around 500? 

 
Schiit Jot is pretty darned good with Hex and easily in budget. 

 

[watchdog507]

HE X are fairly easy to drive so you have a lot of options.  Schiit products are pretty good and they have a range of price points.  You can always look at the "For sale" section and save some money. 

 

[brookbri]

I'm very happy with my Rupert Neve and the HEX.

 

[xLoud]

I am looking for an upgrade from my HE-400i. I am confused between Edition X and Audeze LCD-2. I like the sound of HE-400i, except it has bit harsh treble (to me). Any suggestions would be great​.

 

[seamon]

I am looking for an upgrade from my HE-400i. I am confused between Edition X and Audeze LCD-2. I like the sound of HE-400i, except it has bit harsh treble (to me). Any suggestions would be great​.

LCD 2 is more musical, has better body, trash soundstage, one of the best bass and midrange. The presentation is a bit grainy. It also needs a decent amplifier to shine.
 
HEX has a relatively lean midrange which has decent body but does not compare with the LCD 2. It has a superb soundstage and a very airy presentation. It is also more resolving. It sounds good with any portable source but on portable sources, the bass sucks especially compared to the LCD 2. HEX just destroys the LCD 2 in terms of soundstage.
HEX also has a very annoying 8kHz peak which makes it very fatiguing. I personally couldn't listen to it for more than 2 hours. This might not be  a problem if you are older and are not Treble sensitive. If you are younger, this headphone is very fatiguing.
 
To summarize
LCD 2
+One of the best bass.
+Godly midrange
-Soundstage sucks
-Treble sucks
-Grainy presentation
-Needs amp
 
HEX
+Soundstage
+Airy presentation
+One of the best female vocals
-8Khz peak
-Body is average
-Bass is very average on portable sources but improves with better amp
-Decent midrange

 

[xLoud]

I am 26 years old and I am bit treble sensitive. I found same for HE-400i, harsh treble and female vocals sounds better. Probably that's HiFiMan signature. I am looking for bit smoother treble. Then I should consider a used LCD-3 or Mrspeakers Ether.

 

[XSAMURAI]

I am 26 years old and I am bit treble sensitive. I found same for HE-400i, harsh treble and female vocals sounds better. Probably that's HiFiMan signature. I am looking for bit smoother treble. Then I should consider a used LCD-3 or Mrspeakers Ether.

what amp/dac u using with 400i ?
my guess is , many people using schiit stack with hifiman and many of them has problem with upper mid

 

[seamon]

I am 26 years old and I am bit treble sensitive. I found same for HE-400i, harsh treble and female vocals sounds better. Probably that's HiFiMan signature. I am looking for bit smoother treble. Then I should consider a used LCD-3 or Mrspeakers Ether.

I am 20 and extremely Treble sensitive, unusually so. Audeze LCD is the way to go if you want a darker warmer signature. I tried the Ether Flow but the slightly recessed mids and bright signature was not for me. Ether Flow does not have the 8Khz peak that makes the HEX annoying but the quantity of Treble was a little too much for me.
 
So
Go for LCD 3 if you want lush mids+best bass+darker signature
Go for Ether Flow if you want slightly V shaped + bright headphone + Bigger soundstage.
 
You will definitely need a amplifier with these though. What source/amp do you have?

 

[xLoud]

Audio-gd NFB 11 is on the way.
I should go for LCD-3 then.

 

[xLoud]

what amp/dac u using with 400i ?

my guess is , many people using schiit stack with hifiman and many of them has problem with upper mid

I am on Schiit Stack.

 

[XSAMURAI]

I am on Schiit Stack.

400i is fine , the issue is schiit stack , for the headphone you can check the EDX V2 , great value much more than audeze's

 

[xLoud]

400i is fine , the issue is schiit stack , for the headphone you can check the EDX V2 , great value much more than audeze's

I am going for Audio-gd NFB 11. Is it a good choice?
Or I may switch to iFI stack.

 

[seamon]

 

400i is fine , the issue is schiit stack , for the headphone you can check the EDX V2 , great value much more than audeze's

I am going for Audio-gd NFB 11. Is it a good choice?
Or I may switch to iFI stack.

For HEX both will work great.
 
For LCD 3, audio-gd NFB11 should be enough but I doubt the iFi stack will provide enough power to drive them well.
 
You might also want to look at Burson Conductor for the LCD 3. Schiit Bitfrost+Agard 2/Lyr 2 works great too.

 

[XSAMURAI]

I am going for Audio-gd NFB 11. Is it a good choice?
Or I may switch to iFI stack.

haven't heard nfb yet , but if you want dac/amp with very high price / performance ratio and can drive many headphone easily , idsd black is solid choice and sound quality is marvelous