[MrMateoHead]

  It was the @#$@#$ leather earpads. My velour replacements came in tonight. Tight acoustic seal now, bass sounds strong but normal, mids are no longer echoey. The sound signature is completely different. Seriously I don't know how anybody could deal with these using the stock leatherettes, it's the biggest change in sound character I've ever experienced just from changing pads. There is a midrange now as well.

What you were hearing is the "ringing" that the HE-400 do in the critical midrange area (I think 1-2khz). Jerg and Purring or Tyll or whoever documented that in waterfall plots waaaaayyy back in this thread. There are some Freq response plots on the net' if you want to see the difference between stock, velour, and modded pads. Essentially, the velours have a high-energy, but less "peaked" treble response.
 
The velour pads provide more damping than the memory foam pads (don't know if the foam is closed or open cell in those). But that solves some of the ringing problem. But as a more experienced listener, I have to admit that there is still noticeable ringing from time to time.
 
The modded pleathers are also worthwhile - they provide a somewhat "warmer" sound for the HE-400s and kill some of the ringing that make them sound bad compared to the velours. But I still think the velours are overall the best compromise - not to mention they simply seem even more revealing.

 

[money4me247]

Another question about the HE-400, any one got some knowledge about the driver revisions and where to get the latest models of the HE-400 (I'm not sure how to tell if the one on amazon is the latest/best revision).

Thanks Head Fi'ers

@icebrain1, if you take off the earpad and look at the color of the crossgrid part of the driver. i forget which color correlates with which revision, but the info is definitely buried somewhere within this thread.
 

  Color of the plastic encasing the driver.
Black = rev 1
White = rev 2
Sandy Brown = rev 3
Transluscent White = rev 4
 

 

[DavidA]

Another question about the HE-400, any one got some knowledge about the driver revisions and where to get the latest models of the HE-400 (I'm not sure how to tell if the one on amazon is the latest/best revision).

Thanks Head Fi'ers

I got my HE-400 last year Feb and they were Rev4 drivers so unless they got old stock from somewhere else should be latest.  Also, Amazon has a great return policy so if you get older drivers just return it.

 

[Kodhifi]

I couldn't see how to make my extra 990/880 pads fit the 400, they slip on with the vinyl outer ring and the 400's kind of clip on from the inside plastic ring. The set I ordered was from a youtube suggested store I'd never used. I got 3 pairs shipped for $37 (the amazon price for 1 set of 990 pads in black)
 
Shipping took about a week. These are obviously straight from China as the pairs came in ziplock bags with no marketing art or papers, the foam is on the stiff side and not as comfortable as the 990 pads and the velour is not as thick, but I don't care, 400% improvement on the leatherette. Here's the link. I'm in no way affiliated with these guys and the link doesn't get me a referral or anything.
 
They go for $10 each with $7 shipping regardless of quantity so I bought 3.
http://www.head-direct.com/Products/?act=Detail&id=117
 
As a fellow lover of all things DT-990 I haven't once wanted to listen to them since I fixed the 400's. I think you will be greatly pleased once you get a good ear seal. The bass is powerfull without being overpowering, if that makes sense. They are capable of literally shaking your head without using any EQ or bass boost, but the effect greatly depends on the source track. I'm listening to V.A.S.T - VAST right now and holy **** dude. I don't even..... So good...the bass included.
 
Other tracks which were bassey on the 990's just sound normal on the 400's. Some good examples of this are dubstep and electronic type tracks but again with individual variation. Try listening to VAST - Pretty when you cry    and the bass is like nothing you've ever heard on a 990.
 
Good luck with your order and welcome to the club! One last thing, Due to the pad problems i had with the leatherettes my initial experience was skewed but there was still an audible burn in. If you don't like the sound out of the box, let them break in about 4 hours and the highs will relax and become more detailed, less harsh, the bass picks up as well, the last thing to develop is the midrange, going from obscured, to present.
 
 

What you were hearing is the "ringing" that the HE-400 do in the critical midrange area (I think 1-2khz). Jerg and Purring or Tyll or whoever documented that in waterfall plots waaaaayyy back in this thread. There are some Freq response plots on the net' if you want to see the difference between stock, velour, and modded pads. Essentially, the velours have a high-energy, but less "peaked" treble response.

There was a definite ringing but it was higher up. While trying to figure out what was wrong I played around with an EQ, boosting and cutting different bands trying to find the ones that were too high or too low, and 1-3khz had little effect. IE at 6db of boost there was more like 1db of effect. Certain pitches would resonate like a resonant filter turned up too high. That grossly obvious ringing sounded like it was phase doubling and phase cancelling. IE certain frequencies got canceled out and others boosted. The worst bands were 7k and 8k with up to a 6db cut needed to make something sound more natural, but only on that track, the next track, it would be off and I'd have to find a new center, until I gave up.
 
I'm running with no EQ now and all sound processing turned off and they sound great. Still a little bumpyness but they are way flatter than my 990's were and in spite of the scoop on the 990's they didn't overly color any particular band other than a very forward hi treble response especially once I upgraded my DAC.

 

[Kodhifi]

Another question about the HE-400, any one got some knowledge about the driver revisions and where to get the latest models of the HE-400 (I'm not sure how to tell if the one on amazon is the latest/best revision).

Thanks Head Fi'ers

Mine were purchased from Amazon (seller was Audio Advisor and had prime shipping) and ordered last Saturday. I don't know anything about the various revisions, but these came with a greyish/black audio cable that was quite normal compared to the horror stories I've heard about the old stock cable so I can only assume they are new stock.

 

[icebrain1]

@icebrain1
, if you take off the earpad and look at the color of the crossgrid part of the driver. i forget which color correlates with which revision, but the info is definitely buried somewhere within this thread.

I got my HE-400 last year Feb and they were Rev4 drivers so unless they got old stock from somewhere else should be latest.  Also, Amazon has a great return policy so if you get older drivers just return it.

I couldn't see how to make my extra 990/880 pads fit the 400, they slip on with the vinyl outer ring and the 400's kind of clip on from the inside plastic ring. The set I ordered was from a youtube suggested store I'd never used. I got 3 pairs shipped for $37 (the amazon price for 1 set of 990 pads in black)

Shipping took about a week. These are obviously straight from China as the pairs came in ziplock bags with no marketing art or papers, the foam is on the stiff side and not as comfortable as the 990 pads and the velour is not as thick, but I don't care, 400% improvement on the leatherette. Here's the link. I'm in no way affiliated with these guys and the link doesn't get me a referral or anything.

They go for $10 each with $7 shipping regardless of quantity so I bought 3.
http://www.head-direct.com/Products/?act=Detail&id=117

As a fellow lover of all things DT-990 I haven't once wanted to listen to them since I fixed the 400's. I think you will be greatly pleased once you get a good ear seal. The bass is powerfull without being overpowering, if that makes sense. They are capable of literally shaking your head without using any EQ or bass boost, but the effect greatly depends on the source track. I'm listening to V.A.S.T - VAST right now and holy **** dude. I don't even..... So good...the bass included.

Other tracks which were bassey on the 990's just sound normal on the 400's. Some good examples of this are dubstep and electronic type tracks but again with individual variation. Try listening to VAST - Pretty when you cry    and the bass is like nothing you've ever heard on a 990.

Good luck with your order and welcome to the club! One last thing, Due to the pad problems i had with the leatherettes my initial experience was skewed but there was still an audible burn in. If you don't like the sound out of the box, let them break in about 4 hours and the highs will relax and become more detailed, less harsh, the bass picks up as well, the last thing to develop is the midrange, going from obscured, to present.


There was a definite ringing but it was higher up. While trying to figure out what was wrong I played around with an EQ, boosting and cutting different bands trying to find the ones that were too high or too low, and 1-3khz had little effect. IE at 6db of boost there was more like 1db of effect. Certain pitches would resonate like a resonant filter turned up too high. That grossly obvious ringing sounded like it was phase doubling and phase cancelling. IE certain frequencies got canceled out and others boosted. The worst bands were 7k and 8k with up to a 6db cut needed to make something sound more natural, but only on that track, the next track, it would be off and I'd have to find a new center, until I gave up.

I'm running with no EQ now and all sound processing turned off and they sound great. Still a little bumpyness but they are way flatter than my 990's were and in spite of the scoop on the 990's they didn't overly color any particular band other than a very forward hi treble response especially once I upgraded my DAC.

Mine were purchased from Amazon (seller was Audio Advisor and had prime shipping) and ordered last Saturday. I don't know anything about the various revisions, but these came with a greyish/black audio cable that was quite normal compared to the horror stories I've heard about the old stock cable so I can only assume they are new stock.

Thanks a ton guys for all the info and advice, I'll leave some feed back when I get/test them.

Thank you very much.

Ps,
If I do the grill mod it might be nice to make a couple cosmetic chanes as well, could add a custom designed grill and change the earcup and hight adjuster color, im not a big fan of blue on head phones, Lol pointless but may be fun. Any one got any other ideas to adjust there looks, or any other mods I should consider.

 

[Kodhifi]

If you have muscular shoulders or a short neck you might want to find a way to lessen the cable ends poking out of the cans. I'm thinking of cable tying mine doubled back up the headband. It really needs something like a shorter coax connector or a right angle connector.
 
 
The discovery continues. Listening to NIN - Sin , a song I've heard hundreds of times and suddenly, plain as day I can hear Trent left the metronome on in the center channel. Take a listen, if you've ever heard a click track that drummers use your ears will pick it right up. The 400's are amazing.

 

[Koolpep]

I couldn't see how to make my extra 990/880 pads fit the 400, they slip on with the vinyl outer ring and the 400's kind of clip on from the inside plastic ring. The set I ordered was from a youtube suggested store I'd never used. I got 3 pairs shipped for $37 (the amazon price for 1 set of 990 pads in black)

Shipping took about a week. These are obviously straight from China as the pairs came in ziplock bags with no marketing art or papers, the foam is on the stiff side and not as comfortable as the 990 pads and the velour is not as thick, but I don't care, 400% improvement on the leatherette. Here's the link. I'm in no way affiliated with these guys and the link doesn't get me a referral or anything.

They go for $10 each with $7 shipping regardless of quantity so I bought 3.
http://www.head-direct.com/Products/?act=Detail&id=117

As a fellow lover of all things DT-990 I haven't once wanted to listen to them since I fixed the 400's. I think you will be greatly pleased once you get a good ear seal. The bass is powerfull without being overpowering, if that makes sense. They are capable of literally shaking your head without using any EQ or bass boost, but the effect greatly depends on the source track. I'm listening to V.A.S.T - VAST right now and holy **** dude. I don't even..... So good...the bass included.

Other tracks which were bassey on the 990's just sound normal on the 400's. Some good examples of this are dubstep and electronic type tracks but again with individual variation. Try listening to VAST - Pretty when you cry    and the bass is like nothing you've ever heard on a 990.

Good luck with your order and welcome to the club! One last thing, Due to the pad problems i had with the leatherettes my initial experience was skewed but there was still an audible burn in. If you don't like the sound out of the box, let them break in about 4 hours and the highs will relax and become more detailed, less harsh, the bass picks up as well, the last thing to develop is the midrange, going from obscured, to present.


There was a definite ringing but it was higher up. While trying to figure out what was wrong I played around with an EQ, boosting and cutting different bands trying to find the ones that were too high or too low, and 1-3khz had little effect. IE at 6db of boost there was more like 1db of effect. Certain pitches would resonate like a resonant filter turned up too high. That grossly obvious ringing sounded like it was phase doubling and phase cancelling. IE certain frequencies got canceled out and others boosted. The worst bands were 7k and 8k with up to a 6db cut needed to make something sound more natural, but only on that track, the next track, it would be off and I'd have to find a new center, until I gave up.

I'm running with no EQ now and all sound processing turned off and they sound great. Still a little bumpyness but they are way flatter than my 990's were and in spite of the scoop on the 990's they didn't overly color any particular band other than a very forward hi treble response especially once I upgraded my DAC.

Head-direct is a direct subsidiary of hifiman, so you bought right at the source.

Cheers,
K

 

[MrMateoHead]

There was a definite ringing but it was higher up. While trying to figure out what was wrong I played around with an EQ, boosting and cutting different bands trying to find the ones that were too high or too low, and 1-3khz had little effect. IE at 6db of boost there was more like 1db of effect. Certain pitches would resonate like a resonant filter turned up too high. That grossly obvious ringing sounded like it was phase doubling and phase cancelling. IE certain frequencies got canceled out and others boosted. The worst bands were 7k and 8k with up to a 6db cut needed to make something sound more natural, but only on that track, the next track, it would be off and I'd have to find a new center, until I gave up.  
I'm running with no EQ now and all sound processing turned off and they sound great. Still a little bumpyness but they are way flatter than my 990's were and in spite of the scoop on the 990's they didn't overly color any particular band other than a very forward hi treble response especially once I upgraded my DAC.

It is fairly easy to find information on the HE-400s that show that they distort at volume through the midrange and treble - well past "3rd order" distortion which is pretty bad. It could be that, at high volume (90dB or more?) you are perceiving some of that. I'd have to note that, a big reason I think experiences vary in this thread relates to the volume at which we are listening. There is no data out there showing what the distortion is like at lower (less ear damaging) levels. I usually listen at probably 60-70dB tops, for example (any more and any speaker seems to glare to my ears).
 
But it is clearly documented that "ringing" of the HE-400s is at its worst in the critical midrange band, which I think explains a lot of the bad stuff I detect once in awhile (or the fatigue I feel).
 
You can't "correct" the limitations of the driver / implementation after a certain point. But I have EQ'd mine fairly heavily recently and love the effect. Such small tweaks can really make the bass pound and smooth things over a bit.

 

[coletrain104]

  I couldn't see how to make my extra 990/880 pads fit the 400, they slip on with the vinyl outer ring and the 400's kind of clip on from the inside plastic ring. The set I ordered was from a youtube suggested store I'd never used. I got 3 pairs shipped for $37 (the amazon price for 1 set of 990 pads in black)
 
Shipping took about a week. These are obviously straight from China as the pairs came in ziplock bags with no marketing art or papers, the foam is on the stiff side and not as comfortable as the 990 pads and the velour is not as thick, but I don't care, 400% improvement on the leatherette. Here's the link. I'm in no way affiliated with these guys and the link doesn't get me a referral or anything.
 
They go for $10 each with $7 shipping regardless of quantity so I bought 3.
http://www.head-direct.com/Products/?act=Detail&id=117
 
As a fellow lover of all things DT-990 I haven't once wanted to listen to them since I fixed the 400's. I think you will be greatly pleased once you get a good ear seal. The bass is powerfull without being overpowering, if that makes sense. They are capable of literally shaking your head without using any EQ or bass boost, but the effect greatly depends on the source track. I'm listening to V.A.S.T - VAST right now and holy **** dude. I don't even..... So good...the bass included.
 
Other tracks which were bassey on the 990's just sound normal on the 400's. Some good examples of this are dubstep and electronic type tracks but again with individual variation. Try listening to VAST - Pretty when you cry    and the bass is like nothing you've ever heard on a 990.
 
Good luck with your order and welcome to the club! One last thing, Due to the pad problems i had with the leatherettes my initial experience was skewed but there was still an audible burn in. If you don't like the sound out of the box, let them break in about 4 hours and the highs will relax and become more detailed, less harsh, the bass picks up as well, the last thing to develop is the midrange, going from obscured, to present.
 
 
There was a definite ringing but it was higher up. While trying to figure out what was wrong I played around with an EQ, boosting and cutting different bands trying to find the ones that were too high or too low, and 1-3khz had little effect. IE at 6db of boost there was more like 1db of effect. Certain pitches would resonate like a resonant filter turned up too high. That grossly obvious ringing sounded like it was phase doubling and phase cancelling. IE certain frequencies got canceled out and others boosted. The worst bands were 7k and 8k with up to a 6db cut needed to make something sound more natural, but only on that track, the next track, it would be off and I'd have to find a new center, until I gave up.
 
I'm running with no EQ now and all sound processing turned off and they sound great. Still a little bumpyness but they are way flatter than my 990's were and in spite of the scoop on the 990's they didn't overly color any particular band other than a very forward hi treble response especially once I upgraded my DAC.

I've heard the fuzzor mod also takes care of some of the midrange distortion, it might be a good fix, and getting the material to dampen it only costs like $8

 

[Kodhifi]

I wonder what volume level people are listening to as well talking about distortion, and what they are comparing with. My ears tell me these cans are set up to flatter the source material somewhat rather than be analytical but they don't sound particularly colored. I'm more sensitive to sudden coloration than I am gradual. IE particular frequency bands colored I hear it easily, where as an entire range it might be less abrupt and harder to detect. QT701's are some of the worst colored headphones I own (amongst >$200 audiophile cans) in the midrange, it's like somebody jacked with the EQ setting. The 990 and 400's sound like they are perfectly EQ'd to sound natural, if a bit flattering, IE a little boosted in the 60 and lower and 10k and higher shelfs. Not unpleasant or un-natural.
 
Contrast that with something like the Grado SR60's which to me are all midrange treble. I don't understand why anybody would listen to those screaching lowfi banshees when the Sony V6 can be had for a similar price range. But to each their own.
 
When I am auditioning a track, I play it at a level that's several decibals lower than painful, and then only for limited sessions. IE the loudest, sharpest, sound at 0db would be annoying if it happened too often, but overall the level doesn't induce pain, discomfort, or leave your ears ringing.
 
My normal non audition level is more like it's just loud enough to make out all of the instruments. I listen to music while I sleep and I'm middle age so I can say that my levels are healthy. My hearing is sharp in spite of a life of high power audio.

 

[rocketJeff]

  Hello All,
 
I recently purchased the HE-400 and I have been using it for the past few months. I have replaced the Velor Pad.
I still find it kind of disconfort after a long listening sesseion. So now I am looking into changing to the Focus Pad or the A-Pad.
So I would really really rally appreciated if someone could point me to the right direction. To Focus Pad or A-Pad.
Last but not least. I am also thinking of getting a shorter lenght cable for portable listening. I am aware Head-Direct have this cable.
 
http://head-direct.com/Products/?act=detail&id=199. 
 
That is a little bit too much what I would like to spent. So If someone could also provide some infor where I can get some decent cable for around $70+. I would really really really appcreiated.
 

Happy Listening. 

 

 
I don't have a good answer for you in terms of focus pad vs focus pad - A. I googled around around a lot when I was shopping around and never found a good consensus. 
 
But if you do end up getting the focuspad, you can get it for a few dollars cheaper at moon audio vs head-direct after shipping.
 
http://www.moon-audio.com/hifiman-focuspad.html
 
EDIT: oops... I just realized this post was from more than a month ago. For some reason I thought I was at the end of the thread, but I wasn't! Oh well, maybe it'll help someone else. 

 

[MrMateoHead]

  I wonder what volume level people are listening to as well talking about distortion, and what they are comparing with. My ears tell me these cans are set up to flatter the source material somewhat rather than be analytical but they don't sound particularly colored. I'm more sensitive to sudden coloration than I am gradual . . .
 
When I am auditioning a track, I play it at a level that's several decibals lower than painful, and then only for limited sessions. IE the loudest, sharpest, sound at 0db would be annoying if it happened too often, but overall the level doesn't induce pain, discomfort, or leave your ears ringing.
 
My normal non audition level is more like it's just loud enough to make out all of the instruments. I listen to music while I sleep and I'm middle age so I can say that my levels are healthy. My hearing is sharp in spite of a life of high power audio.

I'd like to get a good, cheap SPL meter and walk around with it all day + apply it to my headphones and home theater. Anyone know a good cheap one that does dBA and dBC weighting as well?
 
Using an App and my Nexus I am usually reaching uncomfortable @ 60-70 dB . Ambient noise is somewhere around 30-34 dB. I have no idea how accurate the Nexus or the app are (does the mic REALLY pick up 20 hz to 20 khz?), and don't yet have another tool to compare results. But I've turned up the headphones to a high level and jammed the mic next to the cup and also recorded about 60-70 dB. So would tend to believe, very much, that 80 dB is the threshold of pain and that the loudest I can usually stand to go to for short periods is 70 dB+music peaks.
 
Hence taking all these measurements at 90 dB and 100 dB is, to me, starting to look like dinging a Chevy Impala because it didn't handle like a Corvette at 100 mph. It is great to have "headroom" given the dynamics of music, but I would like to see measurements at 60, 70, and 80 dB as well as those would better capture my typical comfortable listening level.
 
I am getting older myself, but I can still hardly stand cities - subways, traffic, Airplanes. I go home with my voice hoarse from shout-talking all day. I have some slight hearing damage in my left ear from a non-music related issue, but still pick out lots of detail and am a better stereo "tuner" than most people I meet. Chalk that up to experimenting, reading, and paying attention for a lot of years.
 
Like you, perhaps, I have never found the HE-400 particularly "colored", and in fact find them quite neutral (perhaps a tad bass light / thin sounding initially), though the founder of the company claims to have sought an "American" (JBL) sound. That would translate as colored. Did he succeed? EQ'd+modded pleathers, I would say that they sound amazing more often than not and even if they are colored it is hardly noticeable or distracting. But as an owner of JBL speakers, I would say that Fang did get the "California sound" about right - somewhat subdued upper midrange coupled to a fairly bright treble (yet with pleathers, the bass is warm with excellent texture as opposed to "boomy" warm). My Pioneer speakers measure essentially flat and a major difference is the superior imaging / staging and always recognizable midrange. In fact, a little more bass punch and treble would actually be nice once in awhile. But I would call them warm and detailed. Maybe Apples to Oranges comparing headphones to speakers but, I find that the Pioneers, while presenting a more accurate tonal balance overall, don't make me feel as if the HE-400 is missing anything particularly critical. Quite the opposite. The speed of the planar drivers keeps offering up a sense of realism at times which is just surprising and satisfying over and over again.
 
Maybe someday I'll get some Maggies!

 

[DavidA]

  I'd like to get a good, cheap SPL meter and walk around with it all day + apply it to my headphones and home theater. Anyone know a good cheap one that does dBA and dBC weighting as well?
 
Using an App and my Nexus I am usually reaching uncomfortable @ 60-70 dB . Ambient noise is somewhere around 30-34 dB. I have no idea how accurate the Nexus or the app are (does the mic REALLY pick up 20 hz to 20 khz?), and don't yet have another tool to compare results. But I've turned up the headphones to a high level and jammed the mic next to the cup and also recorded about 60-70 dB. So would tend to believe, very much, that 80 dB is the threshold of pain and that the loudest I can usually stand to go to for short periods is 70 dB+music peaks.
 
Hence taking all these measurements at 90 dB and 100 dB is, to me, starting to look like dinging a Chevy Impala because it didn't handle like a Corvette at 100 mph. It is great to have "headroom" given the dynamics of music, but I would like to see measurements at 60, 70, and 80 dB as well as those would better capture my typical comfortable listening level.
 
I am getting older myself, but I can still hardly stand cities - subways, traffic, Airplanes. I go home with my voice hoarse from shout-talking all day. I have some slight hearing damage in my left ear from a non-music related issue, but still pick out lots of detail and am a better stereo "tuner" than most people I meet. Chalk that up to experimenting, reading, and paying attention for a lot of years.
 
Like you, perhaps, I have never found the HE-400 particularly "colored", and in fact find them quite neutral (perhaps a tad bass light / thin sounding initially), though the founder of the company claims to have sought an "American" (JBL) sound. That would translate as colored. Did he succeed? EQ'd+modded pleathers, I would say that they sound amazing more often than not and even if they are colored it is hardly noticeable or distracting. But as an owner of JBL speakers, I would say that Fang did get the "California sound" about right - somewhat subdued upper midrange coupled to a fairly bright treble (yet with pleathers, the bass is warm with excellent texture as opposed to "boomy" warm). My Pioneer speakers measure essentially flat and a major difference is the superior imaging / staging and always recognizable midrange. In fact, a little more bass punch and treble would actually be nice once in awhile. But I would call them warm and detailed. Maybe Apples to Oranges comparing headphones to speakers but, I find that the Pioneers, while presenting a more accurate tonal balance overall, don't make me feel as if the HE-400 is missing anything particularly critical. Quite the opposite. The speed of the planar drivers keeps offering up a sense of realism at times which is just surprising and satisfying over and over again.
 
Maybe someday I'll get some Maggies!

Get the Maggies, I had some MG-2B's back in college (late 70's) and they were great.  Really need a dedicated room for them and they are not very efficient so a good class A amp helps (Mark Levinson ML-20's, Harmon Kardon Citation XX, Nakamichi & SAE Preamp).  Sold the MG-2b's when I got married and really missed them so after I got divorced in 1998 got back into listening to music again and got a pair of 1.6's a few year ago and currently have them in storage since I moved into a 1 bedroom condo.  As soon as my girlfriend and I move to a 2 bedroom all my audio gear in storage is coming back out and 1 bedroom will be sound room.  Might not be using headphones much after that, lol.

 

[icebrain1]

Greetings all,
 
I got some challenging questions about the HE-400, Sources, DAC's and AMP's, hope you guys are up for it. Thanks.
 
Alright my current setup is really not to great, but I really do enjoy it. That being said I'm looking for a way to get the most out of my next purchase the HE-400's without spending much. This is my current  setup
Source materiel is mainly Lossless (FLAC) and the occasional Lossy (MP3 320kbps) my DAC is built into my motherboard and is the Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC connected with an 3.5mm to cable into my Schiit Vali amp which is a pleasure to listen to with my DT990 pro's as it reduces the harshness of the highs on it, and makes it sound incredible.
 
But with that it does have some draw backs, the micro phonics of the Vali can occasionally be very bothersome if something drops in the kitchen next to my PC or when a wire hits the AMP you really hear it because of the tubes and that the Vali is very light (i mean weight) which makes it echo inside the chassie and to make things slightly more problematic since I cant change the tubes my self in the vali, and I have a feeling the life time of the tubes is drawing near (24 hour a day usage, because me and my cousins/brother connect there own headphones into it when there using my pc would tax the tubes quite a bit i think) I wont be able to change them, since I'm not in the US and the international shipping both ways could end up being almost the entire cost of the Vali itself. But don't get me wrong I love this amp a ton and would buy it again in a heart beat I'm just looking for something a bit different to work with my HE-400's. 
 
 
In simple I'm looking for a new setup, and I got no clue where to start or what I need to change.
My mother board on board AMP/DAC are pretty good at least in terms of on board audio the specs for it are
 
On boards audio on  ASUS Rampage IV black edition
ROG SupremeFX Black 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC 
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming
- SupremeFX Shielding Technology
- Cirrus Logic® CS4398 DAC: 120 dB SNR, -107 dB THD+N (Max. 192 kHz/ 24 -bit) http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/cs4398.html (link to Cirrus Logic dac)
- TI 6120A2 high fidelity headphone amplifier
- WIMA® film capacitors
- ELNA® premium audio capacitors
- High-fidelity audio OP AMP(s)
- Differential circuit design
- NEC TOKIN UC2 audio relay
It also states that the AMP supports 600OHM headphones but in all honestly it couldn't even my 250OHM dt990 pro very loud at all.
(edit- Could any one also give me an idea of how good or bad the on board is on this I really don't have the experience or the knowledge to tell how a DAC or AMP comapres to any others especially since I haven't listened to many products at all.)
 
So what do guys think, do I need to get a another DAC and AMP or should I just look at getting a new AMP.
 
This is what I got so far,
1st choice was the Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1 AMP/DAC I do liek the idea of tubes though and like the more natural sound that's my this was my first choice
2nd choice was the FIIO e17 which I really thought was a good idea since i would get something portable as well as great audio but found that i cant find any where to buy the ones which are number one on head fi and I heard there are some problems if I want to use it with android devices so I dropped out this choice.
3rd choice was the ODAC and AMP but the price is the same as the D1 which I think I would prefer over this.
4th I got no clue if my amp is good enough perhaps i should just get a separate amp like my current setup just with the o2 amp or something
5th I also thought about the E18 but it seems far worse than the e17 but it does work with android.
My budget is 150-300 but any thing in the 200+ range i may not be able to purchase it at the same time as the headphone and may need to save up a bit more. So any other ideas or opinion will be great thanks. If anyone thinks something will be really worth it i may be able to go a bit higher than my limit.
 
Any advice I can get is greatly appreciated since I hardly have any experience and very little knowledge I'm hoping to learn from this great community.
Thanks and sorry for the large post.
 
Cant wait for my new setup 

 
Thanks headfiers.