[Wallboy]

These have caught my attention the past few days. I Currently have DT 770 (80Ohm) and AKG K701's which I have had 4 or so years now. They are currently powered by a PA2V2 pocket amp that doesn't drive the K701's too well to be honest. But I plan on getting a separate DAC/AMP with my next headphone purchase -- most likely the Modi/Magni combo. Would the HE-400's be a good purchase over my current cans?

 

[hemipowered007]

  I don't think the T1 will be much of a change from the E17, but the SX-727 would be a good pairing with the HE-500.  I've heard mine on an SX-850 and it sounds quite nice 

 I say if you're looking to upgrade it may be most advantageous to move from the HE-400 to the HE-500 and pair with the Pioneer.  Continue to use the E17 and upgrade the DAC next.  I think improvements will be more minimal using the HE-400 vs HE-500, at least that was my experience anyway...the HE-500 being able to scale higher with better amp pairings.

What do you think would be a good dac upgrade for the he400, that would work well with the he500 as well? it has to be usb input because 120 gigs of music is on my pc, and it doesnt have optical, yet. But id like to get a usb input dac that doesnt use the usb as the power. one that has a separate power supply. I think for some reason i want to upgrade the dac first before the he500, because there is a lot that i enjoy the he400 with. 

 

[Makiah S]

  The HE-400 sounded like what I expected the HD650 to sound like (mins the small, lone peak of treble around 12khz) after reading impressions of the famous HD650 through the years on head-fi.  I wanted something very warm sounding, and the HD650 didn't give me that when I first tried it.  Then I tried the HE-400 out and I finally got that very warm sound I was after.  Mad Dogs fit that role for me a little as well, but less so.  LCD2 even less than the Mad Dogs.  

 
 

  What do you think would be a good dac upgrade for the he400, that would work well with the he500 as well? it has to be usb input because 120 gigs of music is on my pc, and it doesnt have optical, yet. But id like to get a usb input dac that doesnt use the usb as the power. one that has a separate power supply. I think for some reason i want to upgrade the dac first before the he500, because there is a lot that i enjoy the he400 with. 

That's going to be hard to do, why don't you want a USB powered Dac? Unless your using a lap top, in which case I can understand the increased battery drain. 
 
non the less, I like my NFB 10ES2 and HM 801 as far as dacs go... PCM and ESS 9018 :/ both have thier +'s and -'s and are equally enjoyable. 

 

[Thujone]

  These have caught my attention the past few days. I Currently have DT 770 (80Ohm) and AKG K701's which I have had 4 or so years now. They are currently powered by a PA2V2 pocket amp that doesn't drive the K701's too well to be honest. But I plan on getting a separate DAC/AMP with my next headphone purchase -- most likely the Modi/Magni combo. Would the HE-400's be a good purchase over my current cans?

Absolutely. It will sound nothing like either of those two. The Magni and Modi will be perfect for it too!

 

[Makiah S]

  Absolutely. It will sound nothing like either of those two. The Magni and Modi will be perfect for it too!

Indeed I hear a lot of positives about the Magni Modi HE 400 combo as well 

 

[modulor]

  What do you think would be a good dac upgrade for the he400, that would work well with the he500 as well? it has to be usb input because 120 gigs of music is on my pc, and it doesnt have optical, yet. But id like to get a usb input dac that doesnt use the usb as the power. one that has a separate power supply. I think for some reason i want to upgrade the dac first before the he500, because there is a lot that i enjoy the he400 with. 

 

  thats what i figured, now, to sell the magnum build the he400 to obtain an he500? Let me ask this, and maybe i should move to the he500 forum, but my main thing is i want more lush mids, specifically upper mids, which the 400 does not have, and i cannot for the life of me get any eq to properly fix just that part. so, does the he500 have what im looking for? I loved the upper mids of the hd 598, but the rest of the spectrum was lacking. I dont care a ton for bass, i like the bass on the 400 dont get me wrong, but i could afford to lose some quantity for a more neutral hp while retaining that "planar magic". 

Sounds like the HE-500 would be right for you - mids are very lush and full and I'd say it's bass is a bit more controlled and refined.  They will certainly scale better with your Pioneer receiver.  I never feel it is lacking in bass quantity, even next to the HE-400...it's still very satisfying.  Also, it never hurts to ask around the HE-500 thread for advice or recommendations 

 There are a good number of reasonably priced DACs that are going to be sufficient performers (or even better, subjectively or measurably) beyond the E17 for any setup, but I would focus on equipment priority in this order: headphone/speaker > amp > DAC/source.  The E17 will be good for starters IMO, and you can revisit that later.  You may also want to check out the vintage receiver thread for advice on DAC pairing: http://www.head-fi.org/t/537704/calling-all-vintage-integrated-receiver-owners  Depending on your budget, you could look into the Modi as it has USB and a separate power adapter, but it may be more comparable to the E17 than an improvement.

 

[nicholars]

  What do you think would be a good dac upgrade for the he400, that would work well with the he500 as well? it has to be usb input because 120 gigs of music is on my pc, and it doesn't have optical, yet. But id like to get a usb input dac that doesnt use the usb as the power. one that has a separate power supply. I think for some reason i want to upgrade the dac first before the he500, because there is a lot that i enjoy the he400 with. 

 
Differences with a new dac (providing your current one is not terrible) will be marginal, I have had about 5 dac's and whilst they do have differences it is definitely subtle, sometimes I have had one dac plugged in and thought it was a different one etc. I am not even sure that I could 100% tell the differences in a blind A/B test.... I actually downgraded my dac from external ones to a Xonar STX and I can't say that it is any worse... Maybe better than the external ones I had... New headphones however will obviously make a big difference and then a better amp if you get the HE500 will apparently make a big difference as well. Headphones / Source file > amp > dac. I have never tried one of those expensive high end dacs with a high end amp and headphones though so maybe it makes a difference in that, after my experiments I am a bit skeptical about the value of dac's compared to the actual improvements you get.

 

[hemipowered007]

Thanks guys. The only reason I was thinking the aune t1 is because its a tube dac. Was thinking it may bring warmth to the he400. But, ill just concentrate on working overtime to get the extra cash for the 500.

 

[nicholars]

Thanks guys. The only reason I was thinking the aune t1 is because its a tube dac. Was thinking it may bring warmth to the he400. But, ill just concentrate on working overtime to get the extra cash for the 500.

 
It might do yes, I have not tried a tube dac, but I would not expect massive changes.

 

[hifimanrookie]

What do you think would be a good dac upgrade for the he400, that would work well with the he500 as well? it has to be usb input because 120 gigs of music is on my pc, and it doesnt have optical, yet. But id like to get a usb input dac that doesnt use the usb as the power. one that has a separate power supply. I think for some reason i want to upgrade the dac first before the he500, because there is a lot that i enjoy the he400 with. 

I i think a HRT musicstreamer 2 could be the right one for u..only usb input and wonderful sound as output

 

[Thujone]

The Maverick D1 DAC has a tube pre out as well as a solid state output and the tube output is significantly warmer than any tube amp I've tried when compared to a solid state amp (i.e. D1 tube>Magni is warmer than D1 no tube>A1/Ember/Starving Student). I know this doesn't speak for the T1 DAC, but it's something to think about.

 

[manbear]

  What do you think would be a good dac upgrade for the he400, that would work well with the he500 as well? it has to be usb input because 120 gigs of music is on my pc, and it doesnt have optical, yet. But id like to get a usb input dac that doesnt use the usb as the power. one that has a separate power supply. I think for some reason i want to upgrade the dac first before the he500, because there is a lot that i enjoy the he400 with. 

I i think a HRT musicstreamer 2 could be the right one for u..only usb input and wonderful sound as output 

I have an HRT MS2 that I'm pretty happy with, but it definitely uses the USB for power. Does the Modi have separate power? I'm not sure. Maybe Audio-GD?

 

[nicholars]

Hmmmm....
 
HE400 + a tube dac or tube amp....
 
Interesting.... Does it smooth out the treble?

 

[hifimanrookie]

I have an HRT MS2 that I'm pretty happy with, but it definitely uses the USB for power. Does the Modi have separate power? I'm not sure. Maybe Audio-GD?

Oops ur right bout that one..the hrt does need usb for power..

i heard about a dac made by a modder which does have a seperate psu.. And is excellent quality!! Cant remember the name tough..but i do know they recently came out with a new better model!!

Edit: found it..JKDAC (and JKDAC32) from john kenny..its a two box dac...

Check this out:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0412/usb_dac_shootout.htm

 

[manbear]

Oops ur right bout that one..the hrt does need usb for power..

i heard about a dac made by a modder which does have a seperate psu.. And is excellent quality!! Cant remember the name tough..but i do know they recently came out with a new better model!!

I'm quite happy with the sound quality of the HRT in spite of the USB power. I think a separate power supply is rare in this price range, but it is possible to buy attachments that let you connect a separate power supply through the USB cable. It does seem like overkill at this price range though, since many of these attachments are close to the price of the DAC.