[MattTCG]

Quote:

i would also like to know how much i be missing out with mm stack on the he500 vs something more powerful like lyr or x100.

 
There is a serious gap in performance between the magni and the lyr. Heck, there is a clear and appreciable gap between the A2 and the lyr. My advice, if you're going with an easy to drive hp then save the money and get a good budget setup like the m/m. But don't cheat a pair of hp's like the he500 with a budget combo. They scale well and need a good amp to get the best from them. A starter amp for the he500 is the A2. A good amp for the he500 is the lyr. My 2c...

 

[TMRaven]

Magni was so similar in performance to original asgard that schiit wanted to revise it.  Now asgard2 is more along the lines of mjolnir purrin says.  Either way both are fantastic for their price.

 

[Nimzerz]

Quote:

 
There is a serious gap in performance between the magni and the lyr. Heck, there is a clear and appreciable gap between the A2 and the lyr. My advice, if you're going with an easy to drive hp then save the money and get a good budget setup like the m/m. But don't cheat a pair of hp's like the he500 with a budget combo. They scale well and need a good amp to get the best from them. A starter amp for the he500 is the A2. A good amp for the he500 is the lyr. My 2c...

So, getting the Magni for the He500's won't be good? Would it still provide a better sq in comparison to the He-400 with the same amp? Also, roughly how much would I be missing with the Magni instead of other amps (in %)?

 

[TMRaven]

No reason why it shouldn't drive it.  It's just that better amps give better refinements.

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Agreed. 

 

[Limniscate]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply, but how much more impact? Would you say it might be dead between the dt880 and dt990 bass?

I'm not very familiar with the DT990 because I've only heard them briefly at a meet.  

 

[Nimzerz]

I've also heard that the He-500 have a much smaller soundstage than the He-400. Is this true?

 

[Limniscate]

Quote:

I've also heard that the He-500 have a much smaller soundstage than the He-400. Is this true?

The HE400 definitely have a more 3D-effect.  

 

[Nimzerz]

Quote:

The HE400 definitely have a more 3D-effect.  

 
Is this a good thing or bad thing? Is it a realistic effect? I haven't heard that much that the He-400s couldn't do that the He-500s could do...

 

[koiloco]

Quote:

No reason why it shouldn't drive it.  It's just that better amps give better refinements.

+1.
 
My Emotiva is taken apart right now so I am listening to the HE500 on my Fiio E9K.  High gain, volume at 11:30.  Plenty punchy and enjoyable. The M/M stack should be just fine for a starting combo.  Go straight for the HE500.  I was in your situation not long ago.  Everything else, other posters have already said.  

 

[Limniscate]

Quote:

 
Is this a good thing or bad thing? Is it a realistic effect? I haven't heard that much that the He-400s couldn't do that the He-500s could do...

I thought it was good, but the HE500 are the overall better headphone unless you're a basshead.

 

[Nimzerz]

Quote:

I thought it was good, but the HE500 are the overall better headphone unless you're a basshead.

 
 
Quote:

+1.
 
My Emotiva is taken apart right now so I am listening to the HE500 on my Fiio E9K.  High gain, volume at 11:30.  Plenty punchy and enjoyable. The M/M stack should be just fine for a starting combo.  Go straight for the HE500.  I was in your situation not long ago.  Everything else, other posters have already said.  

So, would you both agree that it's worth getting the He-500 and using it with that headphone output until I can afford the magni? The headphone output on the Logitech THX system was able to drive my dt880 250ohm headphones (that I returned) more than enough.

 

[jmsaxon69]

I just got rid of the DT990 600 ohm and now own a pair of HE-400. First of all the bass on the DT990 is rather one-notey compared to the deep articulate bass on the HE-400. Where the two REALLY are different to me is the high frequency, the highs on the DT990 are like spikes going through the ears! I got a brand new pair of HE-400 right from the factory in China and I was REALLY afraid I had made the same mistake twice based on all the crazy negative talk about how the HE-400 is harsh and sibilant. I find mine to be very nice sounding! Maybe the DT990 fried my high frequency hearing! Haha! But after listening to my sample of the HE-400 I think there is either a lot of poorly matched systems out there or people are listening with their eyes on the frequency graph and not to the actual headphones. Female vocals sound pretty good to me so far, not a ton of that sampled yet, but some Diana Krall 24/96 sounded pretty nice to me! I think the HE-400 is pretty awesome for $400 and I am VERY sensitive to high frequency. Take it for what it's worth, this guys opinion....

 

[jmsaxon69]

PS - the HE-500 better be better than the HE-400, it's almost twice the price and harder to drive!

 

[Nimzerz]

Quote:

PS - the HE-500 better be better than the HE-400, it's almost twice the price and harder to drive!

Which is what's making this so difficult!