[jerg]

Quote:

^That's the HE-400, not 4.
 
Are there any FR graphs of the HE-4 out there?

Oh oops, yeah I misread the post.
 
Nope. HE4 is and will forever be a mystery in terms of objective measurements.

 

[RMac]

For those looking at getting the Schiit Modi/Magni stack,
I'm coming from the Fiio E17. 
 
I feel like the M&M resolves better than the E17, but it makes some stuff sound too "bright" to me, also, brings forth some awful hissing on certain songs. 
I don't hear the hissing on most electronic based music (pop, hip-hop, EDM).  I mostly hear hissing with indie rock stuff.  I do not hear the hissing with the E17.
 
I just bought the Aune T1 today.  Expected delivery is Friday.  Gonna have an amp/dac shootout between the three.

 

[MattTCG]

The e17 is a smart phoned sized box of fun for the he400. The dac is actually very decent. Super versatile...portable...hardware EQ...amoled screen. On sale at sonic electronix for $105. What's not to like? 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Oh oops, yeah I misread the post.
 
Nope. HE4 is and will forever be a mystery in terms of objective measurements.

 
Where can i send mine in to get measured?

 

[MattTCG]

Send them to me. I think that you already have my address. 

 

[CPhoenix]

After seeing the same question regarding the E10 amp / DAC appear three times, please allow me to answer your questions:

1. Yes, the FiiO E10 is a DAC / Amp combination.  It uses the USB input and is not an amp designed for portable use as it does not contain or run off of batteries.

1. I've heard that the E10 has a lack of filters, and therefore, is subject to a fair bit of noise when using it with your computer.  After hearing this from a few sources, it was a deal killer for me.  However, if one were to come to me at a good price, I'd be very interested in putting it through its paces.

1. The bass boost on the E10 is a one-step bass boost.  Either you have it on, or off.  There are not different levels of boost that can be selected like other amps.  Also, from the reviews, the E10 with the single-level of bass boost resulted in some pretty muddy sound - again, according to the reviews.

thanks for clearing that up.
So its E10 vs E17. Does the E17 display any of these problems? Is the E17 worth the extra cost?

 

[Bboy500]

Quote:

 
 
 
After seeing the same question regarding the E10 amp / DAC appear three times, please allow me to answer your questions:
 

• Yes, the FiiO E10 is a DAC / Amp combination.  It uses the USB input and is not an amp designed for portable use as it does not contain or run off of batteries.

 

• I've heard that the E10 has a lack of filters, and therefore, is subject to a fair bit of noise when using it with your computer.  After hearing this from a few sources, it was a deal killer for me.  However, if one were to come to me at a good price, I'd be very interested in putting it through its paces.

 

• The bass boost on the E10 is a one-step bass boost.  Either you have it on, or off.  There are not different levels of boost that can be selected like other amps.  Also, from the reviews, the E10 with the single-level of bass boost resulted in some pretty muddy sound - again, according to the reviews.

 
1. I wouldn't say the E10 makes muddy sound. At all. I would say it does exactly what it says.... give more bass emphasis.
 
2. I don't hear any computer noise through my E10. I've had it for 3 + months now and I have never heard any kind of noise other then my music.
 
That's coming from a HE-400+ FiiO E10 owner.

 

[RMac]

E10 represents a stunning value.  I spent a day with it before sending it back to Miccastore.  It wasn't that it was bad -- It's just that I ordered it and then found that the E17 was in stock the next day, and it was too late to cancel the shipment of the E10.
 
From what I remember, it offers similar performance with the E17, but I prefer the E17 for the interface, and the ability to EQ.
Can't go wrong with either device IMO

 

[MrMateoHead]

Quote:

I Normally have issues with music like Nickleback, Papa roach, Paramore (Before the HE-400 they were some of my favorite).
I lean much more to Music like David guetta type of music. (I am also starting to enjoy clasical music faaaaar more with those cans)
Fortunatelly HE-400 Is a monster when it comes to gaming (my main hobby).
 
The reasons i dont like them so much for rock is becuse i get the strange feeling like some songs have the sound distant away from me. I read already somewhere that this might be due to lack of amp, but it sounds weird, since other songs do not suffer from this issue.
 
Ive been using CDs so its hard to say its the recordings fault.
 
I wont be able to really test them for a while since untill i get some free time from work, my free time is consumed by gaming .
 
I hope i will be able to compare them to some otehr cans, like the HE-500 or the HD600/700 after the 25th of January (especially since its when the store i visit will get their shipment of Shiit Lyr).
 
Ill be taking my Papa Roach CD just to test it on their setup and see if its the recording or not .

I listened to some Nickelback - I get the sense that it sounds a little "distant" compared to most other music, which seems to put the vocals first on the HE-400.
 
I WOULD say it is the recording however - because whether or not it is CD or MP3 you cannot change how a song was mastered. They can affect the presentation of a song to such effect that it can be totally more magical than the band could ever do live, or so ****ty you WOULDN'T WANT to see them live. True story. This is why the world of Hi-Fi is so annoying sometimes - you get all the right gear for some great listening, and then the recording is not to your liking.
 
At least "the state" isn't clipped, from what I can see - though it is awful close. Florence and the Machine is literally so compressed ("hot") that it clips all over the place and there are a lot of square waves. That is very bad and no pair of headphones will change it. When I listen, the clipping sounds like distortion / static through the HE-400s that I cannot correct.
 
So, to calm the rage, I switched to Chopin which, on the O2+ODAC, is almost totally black. Just raging piano tones and pretty music that was "properly" recorded. Yet there is nothing like listening to someone play a real grand.

 

[wje]

Quote:

1. I wouldn't say the E10 makes muddy sound. At all. I would say it does exactly what it says.... give more bass emphasis.
 
2. I don't hear any computer noise through my E10. I've had it for 3 + months now and I have never heard any kind of noise other then my music.
 
That's coming from a HE-400+ FiiO E10 owner.

 
Thanks.  Actually, it wasn't my opinion that I've stated regarding the comments I applied.  However, through my reading travels, I saw these two items pop up more than once, so I thought it might be worthy of mentioning them. 

 

[Errymoose]

1. I don't know about muddy.  On something like my RS1i if I try and use the bass boost, I feel it loses some of its control and tightness.  I don't feel the same with the HE-400 or beyers.  The RS1i is relatively bass light and the bass it does present is all about that tight control though.  I only normally listen to beyers out of the e10 though (at work).
 
2. Definitely not. my E10 is dead silent.  The reason I bought it (before I got into much of this head-fi business) is cause I was listening to just onboard sound at work which was very noisy and unlistenable.   The E10 has zero noise for me though.  As good as any dac/amp i've heard in that respect.

 

[Clemmaster]

Enlightening.. thanks for those succinct comparisons.  The plethora of descriptions about the HE-400's "dark but bright" characterizations have been a little tough to wrap my head around.. it's clearly something I'll have to hear myself to fully grasp.  I was a little worried about the somewhat significant, wide 'dip' between the HE-400's 2-8K range (seen on HeadRoom's graphs), but it doesn't seem to be a problem for most owners as these seems to have enough sparkle to provide a sense of openness.  I'm looking forward to comparing them to the HD600.  Not expecting similar signatures.. but there seems to be more HE-400/HD650 than HE-400/HD600 comparisons.  The HD600 isn't entirely neutral through the bass & treble regions (which I quite like, actually).. but the mids are mesmerizingly transparent.

HE-4 is interesting to me.. almost like the HE-6's little brother, perhaps?

IIRC prepoman found similarities between the 2, especially in the treble department.

The 4s are similar to the HD600 in the way they both have fairly neutral mids and yet a "fun" signature at both ends. Treble aside (and from what I read, again), if the 400s are anything like the HD650, then the 4s are definitely the HD600s.

 

[ri_toast]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/751848-REG/E_MU_0204_USB_0204_USB_2_0.html
 
this is an interesting setup, I have the 202 model and it drives the HE-400s very well. sample rates are insane, 1/4 inch and mini jacks. The unit is geared towards music recording with more features than I'll ever use.....works very well as an outboard sound card /amp
this E-MU company was bought by Creative a few years ago. no optical or coax but solid usb performance.
 
I also waiting on a Stack, modi/magni setup, does anyone have a photo of the dac interior? just curious about the guts

 

[Scyy]

Wow, new pads really make these feel like a totally different headphone.  It's been about a day since I've made the swap and I've had them on for the last 3 hours and had them on for about 6 hours last night and honestly found myself nearly forgetting I had headphones on at times.  I've said before that the weight and pads never really irritated me but after switching in these d2000 pads I don't think I could ever go back to the stock pads unless I had no other choice.  Does make the sound signature more like the pleather stock pads but I never thought they made these sound bad in the first place.

 

[earphiler]

The d2000 pleathers look comfy.
 
I'd like to try the dt990 velours on here but I think I read pages and pages back it negatively effects SQ