ArmAndHammer
Headphoneus Supremus
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Gotcha...yeah...there definitely can be/is a difference between loud and good. Sometimes you don't get both.
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HiFiMan HE4XX
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Adamastor
New Head-Fier
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Just got my HE-4XX and the headphone output of my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is not enough to power them.
I tried to power them with a Superlux HA3D that i have and with volume at 50% i can get enough.
Would i improve the sound with a better amp?
Is there any cheap bang for the buck amp to drive this?
Any cheap tube amp?
Also whats the best thing to do to have some extra bass?
Thanks for any help.
I tried to power them with a Superlux HA3D that i have and with volume at 50% i can get enough.
Would i improve the sound with a better amp?
Is there any cheap bang for the buck amp to drive this?
Any cheap tube amp?
Also whats the best thing to do to have some extra bass?
Thanks for any help.
Infoseeker
Headphoneus Supremus
I'd suggest the E1da PowerDac V2 from this thread. It has eq, and even some presets for Hifiman fullsize cans. Can't remember if the 4xx is included, byt the maker would probably help you make one on his discord.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/e1d...038s-9038d-9038x-hifitoy-hptoy.915835/page-35
.... Though you'd need a 2.5mm balanced cable.
https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-Balanced-Compatible-Hifiman-Headphones/dp/B07WMPNFS8/
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descloud
100+ Head-Fier
I think the Objective2 Amp is good enough to power them. It has among the best specs for it's price. I power my HE-500s with an O2 and it shows me a balanced sound.
If you want a bass boost, something like the iFi Nano black may be able to provide that. You can hook the iFi nano to a stronger amp like the O2 and that should give you the better output.
As for tube amps, I don't really have much experience with them, so I can't give an input for it.
A good reference for these amps would be looking at Audio Science Reviews as it provides you with information about the Power outputs, SNR, and such for a lot of DACs and AMPs out there.
ArmAndHammer
Headphoneus Supremus
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My plan is to eventually get either the DROP + THX AAA™ 789 which would push about 6 watts or the Schiit Jotunheim probably with the balanced DAC module installed. That would give me around 5 watts. Price is $400 and $500 respectively. So not sure what your idea of bang for the buck but for me these seem to represent pretty decent value. My current Modi2 Uber is barely enough but works ok. Yeah...it gets loud enough but there's no headroom. Do I need headroom? Probably not. But I want it. I want my amp to effortlessly push my headphones/speakers. I don't want to max it out just to get acceptable volumes and risk possible distortion thus forcing me to reduce volume to a less than ideal volume level for my listening pleasure.
dosley01
1000+ Head-Fier
I'm using a Music Hall ph25.2 with great results, plenty of power and just enough of tubiness. Usually $200-250 in the used market.
AnotherN00b
100+ Head-Fier
Just made a similar comment in the HE-560 thread but definitely check out Garage1217 Project Ember II for one of the best values on high-power tube amps out there. Lots of tuning options (impedence, bandwidth, gain) and hand built (or available as a DIY kit) with very high quality components. I ended up with their solid state Polaris and am very happy with it but if I were going the tube route I don't think I could beat the Ember for price and performance: http://www.garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_004.htm
smoothb0re
100+ Head-Fier
Really wasn't a fan of the HE4XX, but earlier I discovered that Vincent's KHV-111 tube hybrid made them much better, like it tends to do with all headphones. Smoother treble, more body and low end.
On the Gustard H20 they absolutely come alive though. They really seem to like power and respond well to a high quality amp. The H20 transformed them - much better resolution, smoother treble and much improved low end, better imaging & wider soundstage and a slight warmth to the mids, akin to honey to the ears. All in all a fuller, more accurate, more musical sound. I'm not sure if I should be impressed with the headphones or the amp here. Both I guess? I had no idea the HE4XX had such potential. It just took an extraordinarily exceptional amp to reach that potential.
The HEXv2 will remain my daily driver, but knowing this I'll definitely give the HE4XX a spin every few days, until the H20 is sold. After that I don't know if I should keep them - it might suck, knowing how good they can be with the H20 and not having it.
edit: I was running the HE4XX balanced with a custom silver cable, if that even matters. I'm not a believer in cables changing the sound, however at least on the H20 the balanced hp out is clearly superior to the SE.
On the Gustard H20 they absolutely come alive though. They really seem to like power and respond well to a high quality amp. The H20 transformed them - much better resolution, smoother treble and much improved low end, better imaging & wider soundstage and a slight warmth to the mids, akin to honey to the ears. All in all a fuller, more accurate, more musical sound. I'm not sure if I should be impressed with the headphones or the amp here. Both I guess? I had no idea the HE4XX had such potential. It just took an extraordinarily exceptional amp to reach that potential.
The HEXv2 will remain my daily driver, but knowing this I'll definitely give the HE4XX a spin every few days, until the H20 is sold. After that I don't know if I should keep them - it might suck, knowing how good they can be with the H20 and not having it.
edit: I was running the HE4XX balanced with a custom silver cable, if that even matters. I'm not a believer in cables changing the sound, however at least on the H20 the balanced hp out is clearly superior to the SE.
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lesiashelby
New Head-Fier
I had some doubts regarding these cans. But now I'm sold.
rotaspeed
Head-Fier
I just got my 4xx and so far its great but i feel like its not as open as I thought it would be. I am kinda tempted to try the grill mod but cant seem to find anywhere that sells grills for them. Does anyone have any links to where I can find them? Thanks!
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Hi there,
Can you please email us at customerservice@hifiman.com so that we can look into what’s happened and to see how we can help?
Thank you!
April
Thank you for your fast response , I just opened it up and the wire was touching the driver. I moved it out of the way and this fixed the issue.
bagwell359
Headphoneus Supremus
I find the xx to be fairly non-scalable w/ amps. One hand it cannot be driven well by a tube amp that's designed to drive high impedance loads (no planar really does well w/ that). OTOH an old FiiO X3 runs them fine. OTOH going from the stock cable to a custom XLR did very little for them - on an amp that goes on steroids when its in XLR (Ragnarok 1).
The Toneboosters digital parametric EQ on UAPP does a great job on them. They are down -12db at 32 Hz vs 65Hz, shelved up from 100-250 Hz, big dip at 7 kHz & 16 kHz, huge rise at 10 kHz. If you fix those spots, they are better - it doesn't turn them into the HE-500 or the HE6se, but it makes them take a step to the truth away from being just "fun".
At the cost they function well w/ aid of an EQ or as a fun can - can't ask for more than that.
The Toneboosters digital parametric EQ on UAPP does a great job on them. They are down -12db at 32 Hz vs 65Hz, shelved up from 100-250 Hz, big dip at 7 kHz & 16 kHz, huge rise at 10 kHz. If you fix those spots, they are better - it doesn't turn them into the HE-500 or the HE6se, but it makes them take a step to the truth away from being just "fun".
At the cost they function well w/ aid of an EQ or as a fun can - can't ask for more than that.
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