[ilikepooters]

Currently using a Maverick D1 DAC/Amp to power these beasties, the output power of the amp is 1 watt.
 
Now the headphones sound brilliant to me, can be driven nice and loud, and no bass clipping at all unless i EQ the bass up, without EQ they are noticably bass light.
 
People say these things would benefit from a more powerful amp, but is this really true? would they be leaps and bounds better? or only really subtly that a seasoned audiophile could tell?
Would the bass quantity/impact improve drastically?
 
Not wanting to spend £400+ on a Schiit Lyr or an Audio-Gd NFB-10 unless it's going to be a major improvement, and when i say major i mean even someone with failing hearing could tell the difference.
 
Many thanks

 

[ilikepooters]

Bumpety bump...
 
Anyone with any Insight? Anyone done any A/B with a powerful amp and without?

 

[preproman]

I don't know about leaps and bounds better, but a better amp will improve the bass by a good margin.  They won't seem bass light anymore.  
 
The Audio -gd SA-31 is said to be very good with these.
 
I have a few balanced amps that all drive the 5LEs with no probles at all.  They also can be hooked up to a speaker amp if you want.

 

[catfish]

I have the HE5-LE's,  I really like my Lyr.  The only issue is the cost of tubes.  Read the tube rolling thread.  I mean you can get super sound with $50 tubes but to really get superior sound the tubes can get very expensive.  But really its about the only amp under $500 that can do the 5LE's justice.

 

[preproman]

Jump up to the Mojo and be done with it.  Plus I heard it sounds better anyway and it sure has enough juice for the 5LEs.

 

[zibra]

Listen bass sheavy tracks with D2000. I find HE5LE bass very accurate and no bass light at all.

 

[fatalelement]

I have a pair of HE-5LE's and I have a FiiO DAC/amp combo (with the E7/E9), and it has perfectly adequate power for the 5LEs. However, my friend's Woo Audio 3 with upgraded tubes couldn't even drive it at all, staying quiet till 12 o'clock and then immediately turning into a muddy nightmare of clipping. I think it really depends on the kind of amp, obviously, and I don't even mean solid-state vs. tube, since the E9 really isn't a high range or even high-mid range piece of equipment, and I get plenty of punchy bass with it (and I DJ dubstep and liquid funk, so I can't deal with thin lows). That being said, the E9 is a solid-state with a ton of power output, and if I pass about 10 o'clock it starts to hurt my ears after a minute or two.
 
Maybe if you know a fellow audiophile with an amp or two you can give them a shot, because with headphones like these you should make sure you pair them with an amp you like.