[kdejonge]

  What do you guys think is a good amp pairing for 400i? Your experiences

I have the gustard h10 and truly love it!

 

[bracko]

  I have the gustard h10 and truly love it!

Thanks. That one truly looks nice. 

 

[DougD]

  What do you guys think is a good amp pairing for 400i? Your experiences?

 
I think it's pretty easy to drive. 
 
LG-G2 phone - I get sufficient volume on probably 90-95% of tunes using my LG-G2 phone, via the USB Audio Player Pro app. (Full volume on both the h/w and the app.) There's some tunes that just get NEED to be played loud (Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, Barracuda by Heart, Jefferson Airplane's Somebody to Love, Billy Idol, to name a few), and the LG doesn't have enough kick on those kinds of tunes to really get me tapping my feet. This combo is on the marginal side of good volume-wise, but I use it sometimes when not at home and I want to minimize the amount of gear involved. The SQ using the USB Audio Player is excellent however.
 
iFi Audio Micro iDSD (my main desktop h/p amp) - OTOH, with the iFi Audio Micro DSD, I use the Eco setting with the 400i. I doubt I could listen at 100% for more than a minute. Eco-mode keeps the volume control in the mfr's recommended 12 o'clock to 3 range. In Normal mode, the volume at 1:30 is the limit of how far I could listen. Never tried Turbo mode with the 400i, I really don't need to personally experience ear bleed to decide it's a bad thing. (The LG-G2 connected to the iDSD via USB-OTG is excellent. If only the LG-G2 had external storage.)
 
Fiio X-1 digital audio player - VG volume with the 400i. Obviously not the best amp to be found, but for $99 it's Pretty Dang Good. I use this combo often when walking the dog. 
 
HTH
 
(All my comments don't pretend to be anything other than subjective opinions, and represent one meager data point. YMMV.)

 

[gugman]

Beresford Capella and Yulong D100 are on the way, cant wait 

 

[DavidA]

   
I think it's pretty easy to drive. 
 
LG-G2 phone - I get sufficient volume on probably 90-95% of tunes using my LG-G2 phone, via the USB Audio Player Pro app. (Full volume on both the h/w and the app.) There's some tunes that just get NEED to be played loud (Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, Barracuda by Heart, Jefferson Airplane's Somebody to Love, Billy Idol, to name a few), and the LG doesn't have enough kick on those kinds of tunes to really get me tapping my feet. This combo is on the marginal side of good volume-wise, but I use it sometimes when not at home and I want to minimize the amount of gear involved. The SQ using the USB Audio Player is excellent however.
 
iFi Audio Micro iDSD (my main desktop h/p amp) - OTOH, with the iFi Audio Micro DSD, I use the Eco setting with the 400i. I doubt I could listen at 100% for more than a minute. Eco-mode keeps the volume control in the mfr's recommended 12 o'clock to 3 range. In Normal mode, the volume at 1:30 is the limit of how far I could listen. Never tried Turbo mode with the 400i, I really don't need to personally experience ear bleed to decide it's a bad thing. (The LG-G2 connected to the iDSD via USB-OTG is excellent. If only the LG-G2 had external storage.)
 
Fiio X-1 digital audio player - VG volume with the 400i. Obviously not the best amp to be found, but for $99 it's Pretty Dang Good. I use this combo often when walking the dog. 
 
HTH
 
(All my comments don't pretend to be anything other than subjective opinions, and represent one meager data point. YMMV.)

Agree that X1 will work pretty good, still like original X3 better, the sound is just a tad more dynamic.

 

[Music Path]

Besides comfort, whats the difference between these and the 500? Especially on detail/soundstage/bass.
Post a similar question on he500 topic,
but takes eternity to get answers there :/

 

[bracko]

Besides comfort, whats the difference between these and the 500? Especially on detail/soundstage/bass.
Post a similar question on he500 topic,
but takes eternity to get answers there :/

I don't have he500 but from my memory he-400i sounds a little bit cleaner and has better defined bass. Mids on he-500 were quite seductive for me coming from akg k701. Same thing can be said about he-400i.

 

[coletrain104]

I just wanted to add in that this is a really great headphone. At a meet this spring, I was surprised how much I liked these, even in comparison to higher-end stuff. I'd even say that, if I could only have 1 headphone, it'd be this, Dharma (pre-production unit was at the show) or HE-6. From what I heard, I didn't love the HD-560, though I'd like to listen more in a quieter setting, and with the Focus-A pads.

 

[chowmein83]

  I just wanted to add in that this is a really great headphone. At a meet this spring, I was surprised how much I liked these, even in comparison to higher-end stuff. I'd even say that, if I could only have 1 headphone, it'd be this, Dharma (pre-production unit was at the show) or HE-6. From what I heard, I didn't love the HD-560, though I'd like to listen more in a quieter setting, and with the Focus-A pads.

 
Agreed. Yeah, it's kind of surprising how well these stand up to more expensive stuff.

 

[gugman]

  I have the gustard h10 and truly love it!

 
have no idea why but last minute i changed my mind and ordered capella , i was 99.9% sure that gustard was going to be my next amp !
will have capella tomorrow and will report, still waiting for my d100 that will arrive in 10-12 days, until then spitfire hd should do the work

 

[kenot91]

Hello everybody,
 
I have been contemplating with these cans and 400S; I will pair it with ifi idsd. which you think is one better for me?
I like good bass, non-fatiguing highs & good soundstage. 
 
Are 400i's a more refined headphone than 400S? which one sounds more realistic? 

 

[gugman]

Received Beresford Capella this morning superbly packed and secured. So I connected everything right away and switched it on and am so disappointed ! with gain on max and volume knob on max, level and power of volume still is low, for instance if I compare it to O2 its like if volume knob would be on 11 o'clock on O2
everything is maxed out on pc on foobar, i mean everywhere, but its still sounds like I still need at least 40% more of volume
 
I ordered capella to pair with my Hifiman he400i, before that I sold my O2 as i felt it was no match for my headphones and was expecting capella to do the job, but its level of sound/power is just a joke for me
 
Before ordering I asked via email Stan if this amp would be nice pairing with he400i and only after receiving positive reply I ordered it, now when i got in touch with him with my issue i received an reply saying that loudness levels can vary on headphone amps depending on design. The Capella is designed more for dynamic range, rather than outright loudness. The EU has a safety regulation on headphone amps that is supposed to prevent customers from damaging their hearing. why I was not told this before I don't know, would be nice to have not positive reply but a warning that it can be kinda under powered amp for my headphones    
 
now I need to find out if this can be sent back and if yes i am afraid shipping cost will kill it 
 
oh man what a mistake I did not buying gustard h10 as planned and decided, until I pulled the trigger and ordered beressford instead 

 

[DavidA]

@gugman, didn't see much posted about the Capella in this thread, have others recommended it?  Interesting about the EU safety regs, wonder if others know about this?

 

[gugman]

  @gugman, didn't see much posted about the Capella in this thread, have others recommended it?  Interesting about the EU safety regs, wonder if others know about this?

 
ember and gustard and I just made a stupid mistake 
 
 

   
 
 
just pulled the trigger and ordered .... Beresford Capella 

 and will be ordering beresford caiman mkii next week, hope wont be disapointed

 

 

[DavidA]

Sorry to hear that, hope the return is processed quickly and you get an amp that will drive the HE-400i correctly as they are really good.