[DigitalFreak]

First time I've ever heard the HE-400 called a mistake. Considering I own a 400 I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes Hifiman continues putting out such bad mistakes.

 

[jamesng45678]

Anyone have tried it with Lehmann audio BCL amplifier?

 

[Sonic Defender]

First time I've ever heard the HE-400 called a mistake. Considering I own a 400 I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes Hifiman continues putting out such bad mistakes.

Only heard the 400 at a meet, but it was a nice sounding mistake. Perhaps it was the matching HFM amp that was used to drive it. The owner told me at the time when he bought it HFM was giving a deal to buy the matched amp at the same time as they felt the synergy was important. I can only say that it sounded so good that I know that was the moment that I knew I wanted to own a HFM signature, hence my 560 purchase. No regrets at all, love the sound signature and can't wait until my new amp arrives. I need headroom!

 

[Za Warudo]

  Amplifier matching with the 560 while perhaps not as critical as with the HE 500 or HE 6 is still worth considering. While the 560 is indeed a easier load to drive, it isn't unsubstantial in terms of need. While I fully admit that I listen quite loud (I think I conditioned myself this way by accident and I am trying to learn to enjoy quieter listening) my A2 I feel is slightly under-powered for this head-phone. It certainly does a good job, but the fact that I can play it on full gain, but typically at 2 or 3 o'clock leads me to suspect that the headroom of the amp is essentially gone. Will my signals be clipped in a meaningful or audible manner? I am not sure. While I do not subscribe to needing mega watts in reserve, the theory behind having reserve headroom does make sense. So I think for potential 560 buyers, or current owners looking into their amplification if you like fairly loud playback you might need an amp that can provide at least 1.7 mw into a 32ohm load. It is also important to note that the 560 has been reported to consistently represent a higher resistance than the 35ohm rated impedance.
 
Again please note this viewpoint is contingent upon a higher than normal playback level, and this is simply my opinion and I represent it as nothing more than that.

Weird, my amp outputs 900mW at 32ohms, and I only need to turn to 10 o'clock to get more than enough loud, not even 1/3 of the max volume.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Weird, my amp outputs 900mW at 32ohms, and I only need to turn to 10 o'clock to get more than enough loud, not even 1/3 of the max volume.

I listen pretty loud, I think that explains the difference. I have only once met somebody who listened close to as loud as I do. With speaker listening I have been able to learn to enjoy low-level listening, but not with headphones. You may also listen to very loud mastered music, which when I do like Deadmau5 I listen at about 1 or 2 o'clock on the A2. I also typically listen for maybe 30 or 45 minutes at a time, never much longer than that and sometimes even less.

 

[Za Warudo]

 
I listen pretty loud, I think that explains the difference. I have only once met somebody who listened close to as loud as I do. With speaker listening I have been able to learn to enjoy low-level listening, but not with headphones. You may also listen to very loud mastered music, which when I do like Deadmau5 I listen at about 1 or 2 o'clock on the A2.

I listen to mostly well mastered jazz with little to no compression, so that's not the reason.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Steve, great to hear you got these cans. Look forward to your further insight.

 

[TMRaven]

Pot position for listening levels often has very little to do with a headphone's need for power.  Different amps have different gain, which can affect dial position, and different pots have different rates in which they increase in power output.  I bet up to 12 o'clock on low gain for the Asgard 2 you're using up to like 10-50mw, while 12 to max you start exponentially feeding the headphone more power up to 1 watt.
 
For average listening scenarios, I find myself listening to the HE-560 at about 12-1 o'clock on the Asgard 2 at low gain.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I listen to mostly well mastered jazz with little to no compression, so that's not the reason.

So you like quieter listening-levels because if you are at 10 o'clock on that style of music which is most certainly quieter than Pop/Rock/Electronica. If I had similar material at 10 o'clock I would find it very quiet; and I do own listen to many well mastered albums, all lossless so material is not the difference between us, it is simply volume preferred. I guarantee if you came to my place with your material and listened at my preferred level you would quickly turn it down.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Pot position for listening levels often has very little to do with a headphone's need for power.  Different amps have different gain, which can affect dial position, and different pots have different rates in which they increase in power output.  I bet up to 12 o'clock on low gain for the Asgard 2 you're using up to like 10-50mw, while 12 to max you start exponentially feeding the headphone more power up to 1 watt.
 
For average listening scenarios, I find myself listening to the HE-560 at about 12-1 o'clock on the Asgard 2 at low gain.

I use high gain on my A2 and I max it out sometimes on the volume pot, never lower than 1 o'clock, never.

 

[TMRaven]

What's the dac that is feeding your A2, and how many vrms doss it put out?
 
Are you using Windows?  Is the Windows system sound maxed out?  Is the sound of whatever music player you're using maxed out?
 
 
If your dac puts out at least 2vrms, and if your windows and music player volumes are maxed out but you still need to listen to high gain on the A2 with those dial positions, I would be very worried for your long-term hearing.

 

[Audio Addict]

Steve, great to hear you got these cans. Look forward to your further insight.

 
Given I have the HE5, HE500 and HE6, resistance to the HE560 was futile.  

 

[Keithpgdrb]

   
Given I have the HE5, HE500 and HE6, resistance to the HE560 was futile.  

lol.  I did not know you had almost the whole line!  I might ask you to bring your he6 to the .5 meet.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  What's the dac that is feeding your A2, and how many vrms doss it put out?
 
Are you using Windows?  Is the Windows system sound maxed out?  Is the sound of whatever music player you're using maxed out?
 
 
If your dac puts out at least 2vrms, and if your windows and music player volumes are maxed out but you still need to listen to high gain on the A2 with those dial positions, I would be very worried for your long-term hearing.

Schiit Gungnir through RCA as the balanced feeds my actually balanced NAD M3, no Windows management of sound - JRiver in WASAPI Event Mode, no DSP at all either.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

All the HE400 needed was a considerable reduction in treble. Other than that, they were absolutely magnificent, and remains as one of my fave headphones ever. I personally didn't mind the treble, but yeah, it would be more preferable to have a little less. It was a bit jarring going from the recessed upper mids to a treble spike like that. The treble itself wasn't a problem. If the 400i was a 400 with less treble and everything else remained the same, I'd be ecstatic.