[CADCAM]

I needed XLR to 2.5mm so I ended up ordering from Periapt Cable, it was $65.00 (which sucks BTW) but I'm expecting the cable will be well made and trouble free. I also am hoping the P20 & SU-8 combo along with this cable take the HE400i to its potential.
At least relative to the associated equipment. Never tried balanced before so hoping it's worth the price of admission.
I will say I upgraded the stock PS to the P20 from 12V 1.67A to a 12V 5A I think it seems to sound a bit better!

 

[hakuzen]

Thanks for this clever suggestion and for your cable references. That's a lot of good work. Do you have a link to the adapters? I have yet to find a single match.

Do you think this $6.90 2.5mm TRRS to MMCX KZ cable (or their similar but cheaper copper cables) would work with the adapters and if so, then which MMCX connector? It seems suspicious that it costs an order of magnitude less than most similar cable, yet has good reviews. I'm starting to read the Low end. Cheap. Generic. Otherwise bang for buck cable thread!

couldn't find mmcx/2pins to 2.5mm adapters at aliexpress yet. hope ae shops start stocking them soon.
you can buy them at taobao, using an agent (PM me if you want more details).
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=567550044376

the adapters are not cheap, purchasing them for a $10 cable and $20 phones is not worth it.
about the cable of your link, it's good enough for $5-20 phones, but for HE400i.. forget it. you can find that kind of cables in my list of cables below $40.
planar phones are current hungry; it's better to use low output impedance source and cable, because you get higher damping factor.
another thing is the stage and blacker background you get with some cables.
surf through my list of cables (resistance and comments) and you'll get a wider perspective of cables being sold at china. this will help you to decide.

 

[madmanmatt]

Has anyone here paired these with a ibasso dx150?

 

[bagwell359]

"Listen to piano with minimal mics" is the wrong material to talk about "nothing really under 45 Hz". I have doubt if a piano needs freq.resp. lower than 100-50Hz, and by the way >10kHz, in other words, 100-10000Hz frequency response limitation will notice about 5-10% of listeners.

Chief, it's two distinct points.

 

[Moak]

Which is the best Little Dot amp for my He-400i? The Mk1+, the Mk2 or the Mk3?

 

[439598]

Which is the best Little Dot amp for my He-400i? The Mk1+, the Mk2 or the Mk3?

Mk1+ is a hybrid, the others arent.
The Mk2 and 3 are probably decent amps but will not be able deliver the current to drive them to their full potential, this is blatantly clear by measurements.
IME even with high impedance HPs that are should technically be suited to the lower output current of tubes, a solid state amp with tons of surplus power was still the clear choice for them to sound their best.

Out of these options I would recommend the Mk1+ and roll the stock op amp with an OPA1622.
The OPA1622 has very good output current for an op amp with very low distortion and was designed with driving HPs in mind.
That is the theory, but I can tell you it definitely lives up to the specs that in practice.

But I cant really recommend the Mk1+ either because with it you dont get the benefit of a purely discrete tube design, nor the benefit of a solid state design's measurably low distortion and noise.

The tube only provides gain in the MK1+ which you probably don't need unless the max volume from your DAC is too low, otherwise the tube is only adding distortion and noise.

 

[Moak]

Mk1+ is a hybrid, the others arent.
The Mk2 and 3 are probably decent amps but will not be able deliver the current to drive them to their full potential, this is blatantly clear by measurements.
IME even with high impedance HPs that are should technically be suited to the lower output current of tubes, a solid state amp with tons of surplus power was still the clear choice for them to sound their best.

Out of these options I would recommend the Mk1+ and roll the stock op amp with an OPA1622.
The OPA1622 has very good output current for an op amp with very low distortion and was designed with driving HPs in mind.
That is the theory, but I can tell you it definitely lives up to the specs that in practice.

But I cant really recommend the Mk1+ either because with it you dont get the benefit of a purely discrete tube design, nor the benefit of a solid state design's measurably low distortion and noise.

The tube only provides gain in the MK1+ which you probably don't need unless the max volume from your DAC is too low, otherwise the tube is only adding distortion and noise.

Thank you for your assessment. So you think you can not buy any of these tube amps? Do you recommend a tube amp at all or rather no tube amp at all? Which amplifier fits best with the Hifiman HE-400i?

 

[madmanmatt]

Thank you for your assessment. So you think you can not buy any of these tube amps? Do you recommend a tube amp at all or rather no tube amp at all? Which amplifier fits best with the Hifiman HE-400i?

I'm running a shiit vali 2 with a we396a. this setup for me is very nice and not to much doe. I thought the 400i felt a bit sterile and this combos breathes some life in them. I also put zmf sheepskins on there. With those two together I got the highs to settle a bit, little more bass witb the pads, and with the we396a tube a nice touch warm and life to the phones. They feel more musical.

 

[439598]

Thank you for your assessment. So you think you can not buy any of these tube amps? Do you recommend a tube amp at all or rather no tube amp at all? Which amplifier fits best with the Hifiman HE-400i?

I dont recommend a true OTL tube amp like MK2 or 3, this means that the tubes buffer the headphones directly and provide current to them.
A Hybrid design like Mk1+ or Vali 2 will be technically fine for the headphones , it depends if you want the tube colouration or not.
The schitt Vali 2 has a discrete solid state output stage versus the Mk1's op amp, this makes more sense for a hybrid design, it will put out more power and probably sound better than the Mk1 too.
The Magni 3 has a similar discrete output stage to vali 2 without the tube and costs less.

 

[CADCAM]

I have a LD MKIII gains @ 5 I believe, 400i sounded great from it but I bought a Loxjie P20 and went balanced with a SU-8 DAC. I really like this setup and running the system fully balanced makes me feel like I'm getting maximum out of the setup.
My LD MKIII runs my DT880 600ohm but as I said the 400i sounded absolutely fine from it. I detected no sound issues.

 

[439598]

I have a LD MKIII gains @ 5 I believe, 400i sounded great from it but I bought a Loxjie P20 and went balanced with a SU-8 DAC. I really like this setup and running the system fully balanced makes me feel like I'm getting maximum out of the setup.
My LD MKIII runs my DT880 600ohm but as I said the 400i sounded absolutely fine from it. I detected no sound issues.

It would be interesting to hear a comparison between the tube and hybrid.
Would you recommend the P20 over the MkIII for 400i or did none of them stick out as better or worse , just different and more a matter of preference?
If you recommend the P20 are you able describe anything about its sound that makes its preferable?

 

[CADCAM]

I have the LD MKIII being fed from a Maverick Audio D2 DAC (from the SS RCA outputs as the D2 also has tube outputs ), the P20 is being fed from the SMSL SU-8 DAC balanced and the 400i is also balanced using a Periapt cable.
I'll try a quick face off between the LD unfortunately unbalanced against the P20 balanced as see\hear what happens. I also have a unbalanced cable I could try with the P20 setup now that I think of it.
Both systems are fed from CD players optical outputs.
Give me a few days and I'll see what sounds better, hey maybe I'll learn something too!

 

[big45-70]

I need to replace my headband, checked out the hifiman site and its not inexpensive. Is there a more economical way to replace a he400i headband?

 

[Oliver189]

Last time I checked (a year and a half ago) the consensus seemed to be that there's really no direct upgrade path from the 400i in the Hifiman lineup - that the more expensive models have better resolution, soundstage, imaging ect., (more suitable for classical or jazz listening) but none of them are as forward/fun sounding for stuff like hip hop or electronic music?

I've owned and demo'd more expensive headphones but my 400i is honestly my favorite all around for the genres I listen to the most. For popular music I actually prefer them over most $1000 range headphones that I've auditioned. Is there anything on the market that's more fun sounding than the 400i for under ~$1200ish? I'd love to get an Abyss AB-1266 Phi one day while my hearing is still young but not convinced I should spend 5 months rent on something like that.

Also has anyone made their own 2.5mm headphone cable before? I think I've spent as much money replacing the cable over the last 3 years as I spent on the 400i itself. Most cables I've tried on Amazon are so thin my cat can chew through it in one bite. The GDK-1 HIFI Cable Replacement that cost $60 was better quality but still didn't last much more than a year before a 2.5mm jack wore out. I'll probably just solder a different jack onto the cable but would like to make something nicer.

 

[bagwell359]

Last time I checked (a year and a half ago) the consensus seemed to be that there's really no direct upgrade path from the 400i in the Hifiman lineup - that the more expensive models have better resolution, soundstage, imaging ect., (more suitable for classical or jazz listening) but none of them are as forward/fun sounding for stuff like hip hop or electronic music?

I've owned and demo'd more expensive headphones but my 400i is honestly my favorite all around for the genres I listen to the most. For popular music I actually prefer them over most $1000 range headphones that I've auditioned. Is there anything on the market that's more fun sounding than the 400i for under ~$1200ish? I'd love to get an Abyss AB-1266 Phi one day while my hearing is still young but not convinced I should spend 5 months rent on something like that.

Also has anyone made their own 2.5mm headphone cable before? I think I've as much money replacing the cable over the last 3 years as I spent on the 400i itself. Most cables I've tried on Amazon are so thin my cat can chew through it in one bite. The
GDK-1 HIFI Cable Replacement that cost $60 was better quality but still didn't last much more than a year before a 2.5mm jack wore out. I'll probably just solder a different jack onto the cable but would like to make something nicer.

MD-4XX is about as much fun for $130. Used HE-500's for about $375 IMO are better.

Cables from China not so hot. But 400i and 4XX are fairly amp and cable insensitive. Putting dynamat around the edge of the driver on the screen side does a lot more as does angled pads and screen off - IMO.