[catspaw]

Quote:

After reading some reviews on both I do think the Asgard 2 would be my best choice so thanks Okamoto for the suggestion.  I can already tell this is going to get much more expensive than my IEM hobby ever did. 

Hey Techno Kid,
 
I have the Asgard 1 (has the same power output as the asgard 2), and i can tell you it does a wonderfull job on the HE-400 coming from my Fiio E17.
If you are aiming for an upgrade later on like the HE-500, the asgard is about 95% enought for the HE-500.
In theory, the Asgard will pull 1 Watt to those orthos, and thats the power requirement for the HE-500 (for the HE-400 its less, but not really sure how much less).
 
If you can affor the LYR, it would be more future proof, but note that The Valhala has NOT enought power to run the orthos ( tried the valhala myself, sounded worse than my fiio E17, less power, less detail, etc.)
 
Personally i will keep the Asgard and go for the HE-500 or an Sennheiser HD600 later on the road, and add a DAC probably like the Bifrost. But thats for LATER.
 
So, for more future proof, LYR, for jsut HE-400, HE-500, if on a budget, Asgard 2. At least thats what i would do.... nah who am i kidding, id probably get the Lyr anyway LOL.
 
Some people say the HE-500 is too much for the asgard (cant say yet since i havent tried it, but i plan to as soon as my local shop has the HE-500 delivered, so i might comment then on the matter).

 

[Techno Kid]

Quote:

Hey Techno Kid,
 
I have the Asgard 1 (has the same power output as the asgard 2), and i can tell you it does a wonderfull job on the HE-400 coming from my Fiio E17.
If you are aiming for an upgrade later on like the HE-500, the asgard is about 95% enought for the HE-500.
In theory, the Asgard will pull 1 Watt to those orthos, and thats the power requirement for the HE-500 (for the HE-400 its less, but not really sure how much less).
 
If you can affor the LYR, it would be more future proof, but note that The Valhala has NOT enought power to run the orthos ( tried the valhala myself, sounded worse than my fiio E17, less power, less detail, etc.)
 
Personally i will keep the Asgard and go for the HE-500 or an Sennheiser HD600 later on the road, and add a DAC probably like the Bifrost. But thats for LATER.
 
So, for more future proof, LYR, for jsut HE-400, HE-500, if on a budget, Asgard 2. At least thats what i would do.... nah who am i kidding, id probably get the Lyr anyway LOL.
 
Some people say the HE-500 is too much for the asgard (cant say yet since i havent tried it, but i plan to as soon as my local shop has the HE-500 delivered, so i might comment then on the matter).

 
Yeah right now I don't want to spend more than $300 or $350 on an amp so the Asgard 2 seems to be perfect for my needs.  All the reviews I've read on it were all very good so I don't know of another around the same price that can compete.
 
As for new HP's I'm not looking to get another one for a few months but I like the Hifiman sound and the HE-500 is said to be very good and is one of the best bang for buck in the pricier ortho range (I've read people say they like them more than the LCD-2) so I'm pretty sure that's what I'll get.
 
I wish I never bought the HE-400 now because this is going to be a costlier hobby compared to IEM's that I was getting. 

  Its hard for me to listen to them now because they sound so closed-in, even the ones with what's known to be a large soundstage just sound average now.

 

[catspaw]

Quote:

 
Yeah right now I don't want to spend more than $300 or $350 on an amp so the Asgard 2 seems to be perfect for my needs.  All the reviews I've read on it were all very good so I don't know of another around the same price that can compete.
 
As for new HP's I'm not looking to get another one for a few months but I like the Hifiman sound and the HE-500 is said to be very good and is one of the best bang for buck in the pricier ortho range (I've read people say they like them more than the LCD-2) so I'm pretty sure that's what I'll get.
 
I wish I never bought the HE-400 now because this is going to a costlier hobby compared to IEM's that I was getting. 

  Its hard for me to listen to them now because they sound so closed-in now, even the ones with what's known to be a large soundstage just sound average now.

Then when you get an amp you are going to be even more mad since it will sound even better.
 
Personally, i wanted to have 1 HP, max 2. So its either selling the HE-400 and adding the 500 (if after testing the HE-500 it turns out i like them better), or adding the HD600.
Worst case scenario: i Like the HE-400 and 500 and i get both of them in about a year from now, since i got a sister getting married this year and i also want the BIfrost. \
 
Just must make sure to get that stuff before i find a girlfriend, or i wont be able to afford both .
 
However, now that you have had the chance of listening to the HE-400, i suggest you try to audition other headphones before you buy them.
I have noticed that the HE-400 are not exactly what im looking for (even thou they are really great), since im missing some midrange.
 
In fact, im trying to get to know the price for the LCD2 Just to ponder the options i could have.
 
Note that Hifimans HE-400 are the orthos that sound most distant to every otehr ortho they have.
So it would be a good idea to figure out if you like the signature (Dark, some mids recessed, treble front).
Other Hifimans are kinda diferent in the signature, and it would be a bad idea to buy them before having a chance to listen to them.

 

[kothganesh]

Cats

Hey Techno Kid,

I have the Asgard 1 (has the same power output as the asgard 2), and i can tell you it does a wonderfull job on the HE-400 coming from my Fiio E17.
If you are aiming for an upgrade later on like the HE-500, the asgard is about 95% enought for the HE-500.
In theory, the Asgard will pull 1 Watt to those orthos, and thats the power requirement for the HE-500 (for the HE-400 its less, but not really sure how much less).

If you can affor the LYR, it would be more future proof, but note that The Valhala has NOT enought power to run the orthos ( tried the valhala myself, sounded worse than my fiio E17, less power, less detail, etc.)

Personally i will keep the Asgard and go for the HE-500 or an Sennheiser HD600 later on the road, and add a DAC probably like the Bifrost. But thats for LATER.

So, for more future proof, LYR, for jsut HE-400, HE-500, if on a budget, Asgard 2. At least thats what i would do.... nah who am i kidding, id probably get the Lyr anyway LOL.

Some people say the HE-500 is too much for the asgard (cant say yet since i havent tried it, but i plan to as soon as my local shop has the HE-500 delivered, so i might comment then on the matter).

Catspaw, you read my mind. I am about to order the Lyr (have the Asgard 1 now). And venture into the unknown world of tubes.

 

[YGuyG]

As for new HP's I'm not looking to get another one for a few months but I like the Hifiman sound and the HE-500 is said to be very good and is one of the best bang for buck in the pricier ortho range (I've read people say they like them more than the LCD-2) so I'm pretty sure that's what I'll get.

I'm not sure this carries over to the HE-500's but the 400's literally sound plasticky compared to the bamboo LCD-2's. At first I didn't know what it was but then I realized it sounded like hollow plastic and that's exactly what the HE-400 is. (Aside from the drivers, grill, etc)

 

[catspaw]

Quote:

Cats
Catspaw, you read my mind. I am about to order the Lyr (have the Asgard 1 now). And venture into the unknown world of tubes.

 
 
Well, now you know why cats tend to look at humans that way. Cus we know what you are thinking .
 
Kothganesh if you are going to get the Lyr, you might want to consider selling the asgard to technokid (if thats even possible), assuming you like the Lyr Signature more than the Asgard on your HPs.
 
Also, be carefull with the LYR. It should not damage any ortho, but regular dynamic drivers might get squashed by the power of that beast.

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

I'm not sure this carries over to the HE-500's but the 400's literally sound plasticky compared to the bamboo LCD-2's. At first I didn't know what it was but then I realized it sounded like hollow plastic and that's exactly what the HE-400 is. (Aside from the drivers, grill, etc)

 
Anything would sound like hollow plastic coming from the thick juicy mids the LCD2 has.

 

[Techno Kid]

Quote:

Then when you get an amp you are going to be even more mad since it will sound even better.
 
Personally, i wanted to have 1 HP, max 2. So its either selling the HE-400 and adding the 500 (if after testing the HE-500 it turns out i like them better), or adding the HD600.
Worst case scenario: i Like the HE-400 and 500 and i get both of them in about a year from now, since i got a sister getting married this year and i also want the BIfrost. \
 
Just must make sure to get that stuff before i find a girlfriend, or i wont be able to afford both .
 
However, now that you have had the chance of listening to the HE-400, i suggest you try to audition other headphones before you buy them.
I have noticed that the HE-400 are not exactly what im looking for (even thou they are really great), since im missing some midrange.
 
In fact, im trying to get to know the price for the LCD2 Just to ponder the options i could have.
 
Note that Hifimans HE-400 are the orthos that sound most distant to every otehr ortho they have.
So it would be a good idea to figure out if you like the signature (Dark, some mids recessed, treble front).
Other Hifimans are kinda diferent in the signature, and it would be a bad idea to buy them before having a chance to listen to them.

 
With IEM's I began love mids and my to 4 or 5 favorite IEM's all have a great midrange so that's one aspect I'm going to look for with my next HP purchase though I think the mids on the HE-400 aren't bad at all but the big frequency dip that starts around 1000Hz to like 5000Hz or so does hurt the upper mids and lower treble some.
 
I know Fang said the HE-400 are tuned as more an American sound so that's why they sound colored and not like other orthos.  Reading reviews on the HE-500 I'm pretty positive those are what I'll get sometime within the next 4 to 6 months and I want to try to find a good used pair on hear before I think of getting a new set.

 

[Techno Kid]

Quote:

I'm not sure this carries over to the HE-500's but the 400's literally sound plasticky compared to the bamboo LCD-2's. At first I didn't know what it was but then I realized it sounded like hollow plastic and that's exactly what the HE-400 is. (Aside from the drivers, grill, etc)

 
The HE-500 doesn't sound anything like the HE-400, its more neutral with a balanced signature.
 
The LCD-2 is still on my list because I do love the warmer sound signature and smooth forward mids so if I can find a good used pair for around the same as say a new HE-500 its going to be a tuff choice to make.

 

[YGuyG]

No, I actually just think the material involved makes them sound that way to a point. I do want to hear the 500's though. It was between them and the LCD's when I signed up for the demo so I chose the one that was most out of reach. From what I have read I think I I'd like the sig of the 500 better than the 400 though, quality over quantity (bass). The LCD's are simply stunning at bass reproduction in my opinion by the way.

 

[davidsh]

^You could get the Emotiva Mini speaker amp, considering the direction you are going in with orthos. Also work for speakers

 

[catspaw]

Technokid, the mids on the HE-400 arent bad, and i never wanted to imply that. But they are recessed. By "how much" is subjective so no point going into that at all.
My strongest gripe about that recession is some games where i miss a specific part of the music that is clearly pressent with my speakers (anywhere from my laptop speakers to my Z-5500 logitech).
 
You can still "hear" those sounds, but they are greatly overshadowed by the bass and treble, and the action feels a lot less Epic or Dynamic if you know what i mean.
I mostly noticed this Mass Effect 2, and while its not something that is constant or even happens often, its certainly something that i notice.
 
In other words, the Signature is not "exactly" what I want (but it is quite close).

 

[catspaw]

By the way anyone knows what is the MAX power that you can run to those orthos withouth damaging the driver?
I never saw any mention about that.

 

[Techno Kid]

Quote:

Technokid, the mids on the HE-400 arent bad, and i never wanted to imply that. But they are recessed. By "how much" is subjective so no point going into that at all.
My strongest gripe about that recession is some games where i miss a specific part of the music that is clearly pressent with my speakers (anywhere from my laptop speakers to my Z-5500 logitech).
 
You can still "hear" those sounds, but they are greatly overshadowed by the bass and treble, and the action feels a lot less Epic or Dynamic if you know what i mean.
I mostly noticed this Mass Effect 2, and while its not something that is constant or even happens often, its certainly something that i notice.
 
In other words, the Signature is not "exactly" what I want (but it is quite close).

 
I never said you thought they were bad I was just stating how I felt about them.

 

[catspaw]

Quote:

 
I never said you thought they were bad I was just stating how I felt about them.

OKi, but we better stop or we end up saying Never say Never and thats a Justin Bieber movie i think .