[hemipowered007]

also, how do you fit the alcantaras in the he-4? do i have to mod them? and do they change the sound in some way?

Yes I've tried this as well as a few others. I currently have them on my he4. No nodding, just pull the plastic rings off the stock pads, put the alcantaras on, then put rings/pads back on the he4. Easiest to use a credit card to get tabs to latch in. Sound wise, barely changes it. Comfort wise, big gain-for me at least

 

[Gamingmusiclove]

Yes I've tried this as well as a few others. I currently have them on my he4. No nodding, just pull the plastic rings off the stock pads, put the alcantaras on, then put rings/pads back on the he4. Easiest to use a credit card to get tabs to latch in. Sound wise, barely changes it. Comfort wise, big gain-for me at least

thanks! any good amp/dac that i can get from amazon that suits this headphones?

 

[3l3tric]

In case anyone was curious, the Fiio X3 on high gain setting is actually able to drive the HE-4. Bass response is fairly anemic, but there's no clipping which is nice.

 

[hemipowered007]

You beat me to trying that! What are the odds?

EDIT;





Not to shabby, actually surprised that nx1 does a great job for $30, not to mention the x3. X3 doesnt have the juice obviously, but can drive the he4. Nx1 line out of x3 on the other hand, theres the bass. Big big difference from my audio gd 10se, alot less air, separation suffers. But, theyre still fun to listen to, so ive found a cheap portable solution after all. The x3 was more meant for my havi b3 pro 1, but it along with the nx1 is acceptable for my modded t50rp and the he4. Listen, its not that setup id get for the he4 and leave it at that, but its not the worst thing either. You really get to notice how well the he4 does on a fully balanced setup. The differences ive heard from pioneer sx 727, jds labs c5, ember ( with a few tubes), emotiva mini-x, and now x3 and nx1, are fairly large. This hp definitely has different traits on different amps. Its main sound sig stays, you just get different portions standing out on amp A to amp B. I wonder what the pioneer TOTL sx seriers sound like. Since one of the head-fiiers who basically sold me on the he4 said his sx was the best he ever heard the he4.....well im way to broke to buy one just want to hear it! In the end, this fully balanced wolfson dac audio gd, is just an insane bang for the buck unit. I also realize most the amps ive put on the he4 were just for fun, not bought to use strictly for it. Ember was a great amp, id like to get one at some point still. Hey, Merry xmas fellow head-fiiers and he4 enthusiasts!!!

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Merry Christmas Hemi!

 

[3l3tric]

You beat me to trying that! What are the odds?

EDIT;





Not to shabby, actually surprised that nx1 does a great job for $30, not to mention the x3. X3 doesnt have the juice obviously, but can drive the he4. Nx1 line out of x3 on the other hand, theres the bass. Big big difference from my audio gd 10se, alot less air, separation suffers. But, theyre still fun to listen to, so ive found a cheap portable solution after all. The x3 was more meant for my havi b3 pro 1, but it along with the nx1 is acceptable for my modded t50rp and the he4. Listen, its not that setup id get for the he4 and leave it at that, but its not the worst thing either. You really get to notice how well the he4 does on a fully balanced setup. The differences ive heard from pioneer sx 727, jds labs c5, ember ( with a few tubes), emotiva mini-x, and now x3 and nx1, are fairly large. This hp definitely has different traits on different amps. Its main sound sig stays, you just get different portions standing out on amp A to amp B. I wonder what the pioneer TOTL sx seriers sound like. Since one of the head-fiiers who basically sold me on the he4 said his sx was the best he ever heard the he4.....well im way to broke to buy one just want to hear it! In the end, this fully balanced wolfson dac audio gd, is just an insane bang for the buck unit. I also realize most the amps ive put on the he4 were just for fun, not bought to use strictly for it. Ember was a great amp, id like to get one at some point still. Hey, Merry xmas fellow head-fiiers and he4 enthusiasts!!!

I didn't mean to, I swear! Haha.
I'm considering using a Pimeta V2 board that I have laying around for a portable amp for these phones, since I'm moving to IEMs for full-time portable use.  
Why did you sell the Ember, though? I don't feel like navigating through this whole thread again to find out, but I'm using the Ember's little brother, the Sunrise III, for these phones, and the sound is phenomenal. I can't really think of anything I'd change.
 
EDIT: I just saw the album you were listening to. The Unplugged version of Nutshell was actually the very first thing I listened to on these phones.

 

[hemipowered007]

I didn't mean to, I swear! Haha.
I'm considering using a Pimeta V2 board that I have laying around for a portable amp for these phones, since I'm moving to IEMs for full-time portable use.  
Why did you sell the Ember, though? I don't feel like navigating through this whole thread again to find out, but I'm using the Ember's little brother, the Sunrise III, for these phones, and the sound is phenomenal. I can't really think of anything I'd change.

EDIT: I just saw the album you were listening to. The Unplugged version of Nutshell was actually the very first thing I listened to on these phones.

Aic is top 3 for me, that unplugged album as well. I didn't ever own the ember, a nice gentleman and scholar thujone, let me borrow it. That coincided with my 30th bday, and a day after seeing NIN and soundgarden in concert, a great week. The ember is a great piece of kit, and beautiful to boot. My audio gd just happens to be my preference in sound. The x3, I also noticed I had on low gain, so it actually can handle he4 on high gain like you stated, just on a much lesser quality than ember or the audio gd.

 

[3l3tric]

Aic is top 3 for me, that unplugged album as well. I didn't ever own the ember, a nice gentleman and scholar thujone, let me borrow it. That coincided with my 30th bday, and a day after seeing NIN and soundgarden in concert, a great week. The ember is a great piece of kit, and beautiful to boot. My audio gd just happens to be my preference in sound. The x3, I also noticed I had on low gain, so it actually can handle he4 on high gain like you stated, just on a much lesser quality than ember or the audio gd.

I wish I could have seen the NIN/Soundgarden concert. A friend of mine went and said he absolutely loved it. The Fragile is one of my favorite albums of all time, even over the AIC Unplugged album.
And to each his own, lol. Part of my preference for G1217 amps is the DIY aspect of it, as I love soldering. Right now, my whole desktop chain, save for the phones, is DIY.

 

[hemipowered007]

NIN may be my favorite live performance I've witnessed.

 

[3l3tric]

I have to ask you guys: Since you can't enjoy the HE-4 on the go, what portable setups do you guys use? 
I'm thinking of replacing my IEMs with something that's similar to the HE-4. Right now I'm using the Future Sonics Atrio M5, and I'm looking at the Audio Technica ATH-IM02, Ortofon e-Q5, ATH-CKR9, and ATH-IM70.

 

[Rinx7]

HiFiMAN RE-600s are what I generally use on the go. I like them a lot they are pretty dark and mid heavy, but are a nice complement to the more treble heavy presentation that the HE-4 has.

 

[bassboysam]

I recently got a pair of RHA MA750i for on the go listening and the gym.  Not extremely similar to the HE-4 but very musical nonetheless.

 

[hemipowered007]

Cheap on the go- fiio x3 to javi b3 pro1. Hopefully will go back to hifiman re262s soon. If there's an iem similar to he4 at all I'd like to know, but I assume we'd be looking at a custom 1k or more

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  I have to ask you guys: Since you can't enjoy the HE-4 on the go, what portable setups do you guys use? 
I'm thinking of replacing my IEMs with something that's similar to the HE-4. Right now I'm using the Future Sonics Atrio M5, and I'm looking at the Audio Technica ATH-IM02, Ortofon e-Q5, ATH-CKR9, and ATH-IM70.

I would think to get the bass and treble of the HE4 on an IEM you'll need to go with a hybrid of dual or triple armature plus a dynamic driver for bass. Even though that's a tall order you might be able to find it without dropping too much money.

Couple to look at would be the Fidue A83 at a reasonable $280 ballpark, maybe one a Dunu 1000 or 2000 or similar? The Sony Z5 might be a choice too but those have big name prices which translates to maybe some diminishing returns (if you're a frugal-minded audiophile...whatever that is lol). Once you jump to the 800-1.5k price if that's something you're willing to spend on IEMS (I'm not) then you have more choices. Like the Noble K10, Miracles, JH Pro 13.  A good one that amazed me was the CustomArt Music Two which very closely replicates the HE4 but maybe not the same bass impact and extension. Very similar sound sigs though, and the clarity is there.

 

[hemipowered007]

So the fidue may be a good compliment to the he4? 280 Is reasonable to me, sure as Hell didn't used to be. Ugh, head-fi'itis