[catspaw]

I went from E17, to E9 and my raod ended on the Asgard  (i think 1). At this point i no longer wish to improve que quality by the Amp, maybe change the E17 for another DAC like the Bifrost, but it will have to wait till my wallet regenerates a bit.
 
[size=18.399999618530273px]Ohnoitztotoro[/size] When it comes to Volume, the HE-400 get good volume of an E17 (gain 12 volume 50+ that is), but at that point i belive some sound quality is lost.
 
I tried the E9, and while it was Loud, it felt a bit empty (dont know how else to describe it). However with the Asgard, the sound synergy really worked great.
 
I havent tried the amp you mention, but id suggest you check if you can try something like the asgard in a store to see if your amp is the reason you hear lower volumes, or if its the HP itself.
On a side note, as far as i know, if something sounds louder at the same volume (assuming same eficiency, etc), means the sound quality is worse.
But i belive it has nothing to do with that, probably the HD650 are easier to drive for your particular amplifier.

 

[bareyb]

 
There's plenty suggested in this thread. 
 
Schiit Asgard 1 or 2
O2
Matrix M-stage
Fiio E17
Schiit Magni
 
And other's that escape me atm.
 

As well as:
FiiO E9
Audio-GD stuff
mini-X a-100
and others of lesser importance (not serious here)

I went from E17, to E9 and my raod ended on the Asgard  (i think 1). At this point i no longer wish to improve que quality by the Amp, maybe change the E17 for another DAC like the Bifrost, but it will have to wait till my wallet regenerates a bit.
 
[size=18.399999618530273px]Ohnoitztotoro[/size] When it comes to Volume, the HE-400 get good volume of an E17 (gain 12 volume 50+ that is), but at that point i belive some sound quality is lost.
 
I tried the E9, and while it was Loud, it felt a bit empty (dont know how else to describe it). However with the Asgard, the sound synergy really worked great.
 
I havent tried the amp you mention, but id suggest you check if you can try something like the asgard in a store to see if your amp is the reason you hear lower volumes, or if its the HP itself.
On a side note, as far as i know, if something sounds louder at the same volume (assuming same eficiency, etc), means the sound quality is worse.
But i belive it has nothing to do with that, probably the HD650 are easier to drive for your particular amplifier.

 

 
I am currently using an E17 as well, and it sounds pretty good but I'm getting tired of having to charge it all the time. Is their line of Desktop Amps any good? I think my E17 can dock with one of them and create a DAC/AMP combo. So that could come in handy.... I've just always wondered how  FiiO might sound compared to the more expensive units out there.
 
Gives one pause, but it sure would be convenient and I like the small form factor and the fact that it doesn't generate much heat (so says Amazon). It's going Tailgating with us a lot, so I can't get something that gets too hot and I've read the Asgards aren't known for their cool operation... Are any of the others mentioned in this thread small in form factor and run cool? 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I compared the Fiio E9K vs the Audio-GD SA-31 which is 5x the price, and about 10 times more powerful, and I didnt feel like I lost a lot with the Fiio. This is a testament as to how good the HE-400 sounds off practically anything.

Not sure about the E9 sounding empty, but at the price range, I personally find it to be quite potent (I'd recommend spending the extra $20 for the E9K aka E09k as it does away with the useless 3.5mm input which was horrible on the E9, and has al full sized RCA input/outputs. I also found it to not have a noisy volume pot, which I had a problem with on the standard E9.) The HE400 doesn't need much. I have used quite a few amps, and sound quality between SS amps doesn't change as much as head-fi in general wants you to believe. Keep an open mind, and be realistic, and you'd probably think the same.

I downgraded from the SA-31 to the Compass 2, and I'm just happy if not happier.

 

[bareyb]

I compared the Fiio E9K vs the Audio-GD SA-31 which is 5x the price, and about 10 times more powerful, and I didnt feel like I lost a lot with the Fiio. This is a testament as to how good the HE-400 sounds off practically anything.

Not sure about the E9 sounding empty, but at the price range, I personally find it to be quite potent. The HE400 doesn't need much. I have used quite a few amps, and sound quality between SS amps doesn't change as much as head-fi in general wants you to believe. Keep an open mind, and be realistic, and you'd probably think the same.

I downgraded from the SA-31 to the Compass 2, and I'm just happy if not happier.

 
That Compass 2 looks interesting... Does it run cool and are those 3.5mm Stereo input output Jacks I see? 

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

 
There's plenty suggested in this thread. 
 
Schiit Asgard 1 or 2
O2
Matrix M-stage
Fiio E17
Schiit Magni
 
And other's that escape me atm.

Yulong A100

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

That Compass 2 looks interesting... Does it run cool and are those 3.5mm Stereo input output Jacks I see? 

Its 1/4" / 6.3mm headphone jack.

It runs warm. Certainly not hot.

 

[smcgov]

Quote:

Just got a pair of these and I love 'em. Anyone using a Solid State (non tube)  Amp you would recommend for the HE400? 

 if you dig vintage in the least I would suggest an accuphase e202 or a sansui au-d11ii. 

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

 
There's plenty suggested in this thread. 
 
Schiit Asgard 1 or 2
O2
Matrix M-stage
Fiio E17
Schiit Magni
 
And other's that escape me atm

Double post

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

Double post

 
My post?

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

I compared the Fiio E9K vs the Audio-GD SA-31 which is 5x the price, and about 10 times more powerful, and I didnt feel like I lost a lot with the Fiio. This is a testament as to how good the HE-400 sounds off practically anything.

Not sure about the E9 sounding empty, but at the price range, I personally find it to be quite potent (I'd recommend spending the extra $20 for the E9K aka E09k as it does away with the useless 3.5mm input which was horrible on the E9, and has al full sized RCA input/outputs. I also found it to not have a noisy volume pot, which I had a problem with on the standard E9.) The HE400 doesn't need much. I have used quite a few amps, and sound quality between SS amps doesn't change as much as head-fi in general wants you to believe. Keep an open mind, and be realistic, and you'd probably think the same.

I downgraded from the SA-31 to the Compass 2, and I'm just happy if not happier.

 
This is good info and pretty much on spot with what I found. I've ordered the Asgard 2. It would be interesting to put the A2 against the C2 for a head to head!!

 

[merkil]

This is good info and pretty much on spot with what I found. I've ordered the Asgard 2. It would be interesting to put the A2 against the C2 for a head to head!!

Do tell us how you like the A2. I have an A1 and it works very well with He400s. I'm curious how much different an A2 will sound. I know you can't really compare them but I'm interested in your impressions. I've actually ordered a Trends TA10.2SE that I will be using in the future with some He6s (when I purchase them) but I will hook up the HE400s to it to compare to the orginal Asgard.

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

 
This is good info and pretty much on spot with what I found. I've ordered the Asgard 2. It would be interesting to put the A2 against the C2 for a head to head!!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy
 
Just so you know, we expect a 2000+ words review on the asgard 2
 
No kidding, 1000+ is fine!

 

[whiskaz]

Quote:

 
 
 
 
I am currently using an E17 as well, and it sounds pretty good but I'm getting tired of having to charge it all the time. Is their line of Desktop Amps any good? I think my E17 can dock with one of them and create a DAC/AMP combo. So that could come in handy.... I've just always wondered how  FiiO might sound compared to the more expensive units out there.
 
Gives one pause, but it sure would be convenient and I like the small form factor and the fact that it doesn't generate much heat (so says Amazon). It's going Tailgating with us a lot, so I can't get something that gets too hot and I've read the Asgards aren't known for their cool operation... Are any of the others mentioned in this thread small in form factor and run cool? 

You could just leave the E17 plugged in... it works well with iphone wall-warts. I charge mine using the wall-wart from my old Motorola Atrix and my Samsung Note 2. I have an Asgard 2 on order and had thought about returning the E17 if I liked the A2 well enough but I've found the E17 handy in that I can take it around the house hooked to my Note 2. I think I'll keep it. The HE-400s may not be portable but at least I can listen to them in other rooms of my house easily.

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

Oh boy oh boy oh boy
 
Just so you know, we expect a 2000+ words review on the asgard 2
 
No kidding, 1000+ is fine!

 
The review is already written. Just waiting on the amp now. 

 lol...

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

 
The review is already written. Just waiting on the amp now. 

 lol...

You mean like, written in your head based on biases? Or like an actual review? Cause I want