HIfiman He-400

[Poetic]

Hello everyone , I was wondering how would the HIfiman He-400 sound with my Zune HD and Fiio e9. I listen to alot of Smooth Jazz, Like Paul hardcastle, Peter White, Acoustic Alchemy. I also listen to punk-rock like Paramore. I was either going to upgrade my amp to the matrix m stage- To play my Akg q701's alot better. But is it worth it? Would there be a significant difference in sound quality enough to notice if I upgrade my fiio e9 to the matrix m stage to play on my Zune HD

 

[MattTCG]

The e9 will get you most of the way there with the he400. Are you using the dac on your mobo? If so, we need to talk about that...
 
 
Paramore is punk rock? 

 Are you sure? 

 

[Poetic]

Im not using a computer to listen to music. Im using my ipod / Zune HD , and im sure paramore is punk rock, maybe pop rock or alternative?  well w/e they are XD

 

[MattTCG]

So you are ipod/zune>e9>he400. That's actually a pretty decent setup. You can spend a lot more and get more from the he400 but the difference will be modest. 

 

[Poetic]

ya and actually i jus realised that i should get the cowon, as an upgrade for my ipod now. I realise I need a really good source! Do you guys know which version of the cowon i should get?

 

[tokendog]

The E9 drives the HE-400 just fine and it sounds quite good.  I do not think you would disappointed at all.

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

The E9 drives the HE-400 just fine and it sounds quite good.  I do not think you would disappointed at all.

+1

 

[droido256]

I'm waiting for my he-400 to arrive. I have a stock t50rp the drives fine from my iphone4s directly, and my fiio E11 doesn't seem to boost it much except the bass. How are the he-400 power needs wise vs the Fostex t50rp? are the he-400 harder to drive than the Fostex? Would the E11 have any effect?

 

[wje]

Quote:

I'm waiting for my he-400 to arrive. I have a stock t50rp the drives fine from my iphone4s directly, and my fiio E11 doesn't seem to boost it much except the bass. How are the he-400 power needs wise vs the Fostex t50rp? are the he-400 harder to drive than the Fostex? Would the E11 have any effect?

 
The stock T50RP headphones (with NO modifications performed) have an efficiency rating of about 97dB.  However, when modified, it changes and drops to about 92dB, which is essentially where the HE-400 is.  So, with your stock T50RPs, you will get more volume capability out of them.  However, with the modified T50RPs or the HE-400s, the sound level at a specific volume setting on your player would be just about equal.

 

[Poetic]

Does any of you guys think I should Upgrade my zune HD to the Cowon? Would that be a better source for the hifimans'?

 

[MattTCG]

The iPod classic gen 5 works well as a source if you can deal with iTunes or willing to rockbox

 

[Poetic]

Im not buying anything from apple, because i feel as though they are more based off apps, rather than a sound quality ipod.

 

[MattTCG]

Uhm, okay. It's not like I'm drinking the apple coolaid. But there is no denying that the wolfzan dac in the gen has great audio quality.
 
gL!!

 

[TMRaven]

I know at times the blind fanboyism of apple can be really dumb, but the blind hate against them is definitely worse at times.  All current gen products from apple have great sound quality, there's nothing to worry about getting a current gen iPod.

 

[Poetic]

I don't know i always had a weird vibe with apple just being overpriced and not being actually worth the product than what it should be. I had an ipod nano and it didn't sound anywhere near as good as the Zune HD.Then again it was an older product. So i understand. Never know about something til you try!