[DavidA]

  Living in South Africa that's pretty tough ... I phoned two local stores asking for headphone amps, they said they don't really sell those and that they'd phone around ... Came back with Pro-ject amps as an answer! Ha!
 
Finding a Chord Mojo supplier was a big surprise  
 
I guess I should try find someone locally via the forums and hopefully I can hunt down a forum here in SA of head-fiers

I'm like you when it comes to stores with better headphone gear, most only have beats, bose, low end sony and few other off brands.  I've found a few Head-Fi members here on the island but have only gotten together with one so far.
 
You might want to try a receiver with the HE-400i as most stores will have AVR for home entertainment and some of them have decent headphone outputs.

 

[aami2techie]

  Hey all,
 
In serious need of help: I received 3 faulty pairs of headphones in a row from Head-Director, and on my 4th pair of he-400i's I've got the feeling that I've got another dud ... The bass and body is completely missing. The music is all there but there is no sense of any power or anything like body to the music.
 
I initially thought that I was maybe running it with too little power with my Meridian Explorer, but now that I have the Mojo, there can't be any issues with power?!
 
Are there any tracks that I can test (I'll report back with what I hear) that I'll definitely know if it has a fault? And is this even a fault that seems likely ie. No bass/body but still have music?

i can understand ur concern cause that happened to me once, but that was with a smartphone.
 
anyhow, u should check mostly rap, or industry trailer music to check bass. at least i do that. 
https://soundcloud.com/sonsofpythagoras/xxl009-03-join-the-fightwav?in=sonsofpythagoras/sets/fate-of-a-nation-sons-of-pythagoras
 
also check 
https://soundcloud.com/phantompowermx/pha-vortex
 
also this one for true sub bass, the real power of 400i (i guess )
Untitled by ▲nti
https://soundcloud.com/anti-11/unt1tled_4
 
here is a link i asked everyone to check and report about bass, as i think my 400i is a tad too bassy but no one seems to help me here, still waiting for A SINGLE REPLY from anyone... -_-
i can help u with any thing else if i can. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

 
here is a link i asked everyone to check and report about bass, as i think my 400i is a tad too bassy but no one seems to help me here, still waiting for A SINGLE REPLY from anyone... -_-
i can help u with any thing else if i can. 

How would any of us be able to tell you if your 400i was too bassy? We can't hear it so we have no way of knowing if your 400i differs from ours. The odds of there being significant differences are rather low, but not zero. If it is too bassy simply use some EQ cuts (best if you use parametric equalizing).

 

[aami2techie]

  How would any of us be able to tell you if your 400i was too bassy? We can't hear it so we have no way of knowing if your 400i differs from ours. The odds of there being significant differences are rather low, but not zero. If it is too bassy simply use some EQ cuts (best if you use parametric equalizing).

i actually never said that, at least not in my comment few days ago. i asked, if specific genre, trailer music, sounds a little too bassy to ALL, or is it just me? also i was having this thought in just this one song i REALLY REALLY liked,  on my sennheiser HD 518 for example , this song feels more clear, and instruments feel much enjoyable which is weird to me.
 
here i can send you that link, download it. its lossless. i used foober and Fiio E18 to power my 400i. also do u have any recommendations for amp/dac combo for $300 max? im thinking of going back to O2 ODAC , but i want to change that cause i had to send that back once which costs around half the cost for me as i have to import, and taxes -_-
do share how u feel about the bass, if u have sennheiser, (that would be better)
https://soundcloud.com/sonsofpythagoras/xxl009-03-join-the-fightwav?in=sonsofpythagoras/sets/fate-of-a-nation-sons-of-pythagoras

 

[DavidA]

  here is a link i asked everyone to check and report about bass, as i think my 400i is a tad too bassy but no one seems to help me here, still waiting for A SINGLE REPLY from anyone... -_-
i can help u with any thing else if i can. 

I think @Sonic Defender was going from this last post and I would have answered the same.  I know that the thread can have some typing issues so sometimes it good to re-read what you typed and edit.
 
As for those songs that you linked to they seem to get distorted during some parts.  I've never tried the HD-518 so I can't give you any comparison there but if its like the HD-598 then it might sound better due to being a little bass heavy than the HE-400i
 
For DAC/amp under $300 it will depend on what headphones you want to drive, if for the HE-400i I didn't like the O2/ODAC as it was a little to bright and thin sounding to me but then I was comparing it to tube amps like Ember and Lyr2

 

[1800yolk]

  Thanks for the reply, the issues for the first was broken grill/scuffed, second was broken right speaker ... Now that I think about it I think I'm actually only on my third!
 
But I'm trying it now off of my HP jack of my S6 edge and it sounds alright, but again lacking body ... I'm coming from a pair of Thinksound On1's (closed and on ear) and you feel the air moving and pulsating, perhaps is the lack of this sensation due to the planar drivers and open nature?
 
These are my first pair of high-end/planar/open headphones so I'm a little inexperienced in how they should sound etc. 

if i hook my 400i to my receiver, it sounds like the sound got completely gutted compared to when using with my APPJ. Definitely sounds like they're not getting enough power

 

[WayTooCrazy]

I

  i actually never said that, at least not in my comment few days ago. i asked, if specific genre, trailer music, sounds a little too bassy to ALL, or is it just me? also i was having this thought in just this one song i REALLY REALLY liked,  on my sennheiser HD 518 for example , this song feels more clear, and instruments feel much enjoyable which is weird to me.
 
here i can send you that link, download it. its lossless. i used foober and Fiio E18 to power my 400i. also do u have any recommendations for amp/dac combo for $300 max? im thinking of going back to O2 ODAC , but i want to change that cause i had to send that back once which costs around half the cost for me as i have to import, and taxes -_-
do share how u feel about the bass, if u have sennheiser, (that would be better)
https://soundcloud.com/sonsofpythagoras/xxl009-03-join-the-fightwav?in=sonsofpythagoras/sets/fate-of-a-nation-sons-of-pythagoras

I listened to this track on my desktop 2.1, and the bass is kinda sloppy. I think with most headphones it wouldn't sound good. I blame the track.
 
On a side note, I listen to Timmy Trumpet and the bass in that is a kick in the gut. Very low, but tight as well. I love his tracks!

 

[aami2techie]

  I think @Sonic Defender was going from this last post and I would have answered the same.  I know that the thread can have some typing issues so sometimes it good to re-read what you typed and edit.
 
As for those songs that you linked to they seem to get distorted during some parts.  I've never tried the HD-518 so I can't give you any comparison there but if its like the HD-598 then it might sound better due to being a little bass heavy than the HE-400i
 
For DAC/amp under $300 it will depend on what headphones you want to drive, if for the HE-400i I didn't like the O2/ODAC as it was a little to bright and thin sounding to me but then I was comparing it to tube amps like Ember and Lyr2

 
ya i can  understand that. and btw, thanks for the feedback on that track. i have also noticed that it gets, 'washed out'??? i mean it gets pretty weird. i own 518 and i also listened to 598 for some time. i think 598 is just 518 with better imaging and wider soundstage and thats pretty much it AFA sound is concerned. 
what i have noticed with this track at least, is that sub bass of 400i kicks in too much, not that its bad, but for this song it makes it weird. im not blaming 400i, infact it is to be praised how quick 400i is, loving them Planars in there
anyhow, what about schiit products? i really like their design. though, very simple and very attractive. 
and yes i have to power 400i. how about their stack? the magni modi uber? any one here used that? is it good?  i have heard that is almost the same as O2 Odac but with little more power. 
 

  I

I listened to this track on my desktop 2.1, and the bass is kinda sloppy. I think with most headphones it wouldn't sound good. I blame the track.
 
On a side note, I listen to Timmy Trumpet and the bass in that is a kick in the gut. Very low, but tight as well. I love his tracks!

ya i would check that out as well. thanks. also share any other bassy and other genres songs u love listening to from ur 400i. that would help us all to appreciate 400i even more.

 

[DavidA]

   
ya i can  understand that. and btw, thanks for the feedback on that track. i have also noticed that it gets, 'washed out'??? i mean it gets pretty weird. i own 518 and i also listened to 598 for some time. i think 598 is just 518 with better imaging and wider soundstage and thats pretty much it AFA sound is concerned.
what i have noticed with this track at least, is that sub bass of 400i kicks in too much, not that its bad, but for this song it makes it weird. im not blaming 400i, infact it is to be praised how quick 400i is, loving them Planars in there
anyhow, what about schiit products? i really like their design. though, very simple and very attractive.
and yes i have to power 400i. how about their stack? the magni modi uber? any one here used that? is it good?  i have heard that is almost the same as O2 Odac but with little more power.

I don't think the HE-400i "kicks in too much", its the quality of the recording that seems to be the problem.  The song is distorted on any headphone I tried to listen to it on, the better the headphone the worse it sounded.
 
As I noted in my prior post the O2/ODAC is not an DAC/amp combo that I care for.  I've had the M/M stack and for the price it was good but the current generation has gotten better.  For under $300 is would skip the DAC for now and use all $300 for a amp first, trying to get both DAC and amp for $300 compromises both too much IMO.  You can get a decent sound card like Xonar DG for $32 which sounds equal or better than the O2/ODAC to me and if you have a good gaming motherboard then the sound section has a very good possibility of being better than most DAC/amp combos under $300.  Just my opinions and YMMV

 

[dakanao]

I got them today, they sound really good, even straight from the ipad! Im wondering how much these will scale up with my HRT Microstreamer when my laptop is repaired..

 

[maheeinfy]

Check out MrSpeakers Alpha dog. They come with doggie treats, so u can tweak sound to ur liking.
Weight wise, they r bit on heavy side though

 

[dakanao]

These sound absolutely impeccable with this track
http://redmp3.su/5693789/krizz-kaliko-proof-of-god.html

The timbre is so natural, and the sound is sooo clear without any harshness, and this is just from the iPad.

 

[sammersam]

I am about to get my 400i's and was debating about using either and 02 or the mangi 2 uber but was wondering if it would be worth upgrading to the Asgard 2 instead?
 
Thanks for any input.

 

[bharat2580]

  I am about to get my 400i's and was debating about using either and 02 or the mangi 2 uber but was wondering if it would be worth upgrading to the Asgard 2 instead?
 
Thanks for any input.

yes asgard or a soloist is your best bed, you want something warm and full

 

[chillaxing]

Check out MrSpeakers Alpha dog. They come with doggie treats, so u can tweak sound to ur liking.
Weight wise, they r bit on heavy side though

Not geared towards you but I find it funny how using stuff like doggie treats to change the sound is ok but using eq to change the sound is frowned upon.

Go figure, some people in this site make me laugh