[ExacoMvm]

Some good points there. But lets wait for my amp/dac to arrive i will let you guys know if somethings changed etc in these artifact/static issues and sound quality of some songs.

Anyway try these out, for me the "Love Spent" is alot more noisy and way less detailed/clear.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Some good points there. But lets wait for my amp/dac to arrive i will let you guys know if somethings changed etc in these artifact/static issues and sound quality of some songs.

Point was not that it absolutely will not help, but prior to ordering, to consider that something more expensive but also more likely to work (ie not dependent on USB power) can be less expensive than you think compared to trying out USB powered DAC-HPamps which, if it doesn't work, will cost you return shipping even if you can ship it back. Do this enough times and the costs of return shipping and shipping replacements if you're not getting free shipping on orders can pile on enough you might as well have put that towards some other device instead of FedEx.

 

[ExacoMvm]

Point wasn't that it will not help, but prior to ordering, to consider that something more expensive but also more likely to work (ie not dependent on USB power) can be cheaper than trying USB powered DAC-HPamps which, if it doesn't work, will cost you return shipping even if you can ship it back; do this enough times and the costs of return shipping and shipping replacements if you're not getting free shipping on orders can pile on enough you might as well have put that towards some other device instead of FedEx.

Yeah i think Fiio will do the job as first dac/amp, later mby i will look into something like Schiit stack or O2. Also E10K is pretty popular so i think i could sell it easily for nearly same price as i paid.

 

[ExacoMvm]

Point was not that it absolutely will not help, but prior to ordering, to consider that something more expensive but also more likely to work (ie not dependent on USB power) can be less expensive than you think compared to trying out USB powered DAC-HPamps which, if it doesn't work, will cost you return shipping even if you can ship it back. Do this enough times and the costs of return shipping and shipping replacements if you're not getting free shipping on orders can pile on enough you might as well have put that towards some other device instead of FedEx.

So got my E10K, it can fully drive the 4XX, the problems such as cracks etc is gone, it can handle the bass nicely now, but SQ didn't changed at all, maybe original ( Monitor ) sounds bit more flat and more clear like it had less dynamics, don't have switch to compare A/B them sadly.

About the music quality its the same.. some songs sound bad some sounds good. I mean they're still somewhat enjoyable to listen but feels like the headphones can't handle them or that they're mixed poorly.

By good i mean: Crystal clear, no issues, has good dynamics and soundstage.
By bad i mean: Alot of bleeding, sounds like everything is blended together, nothing stands out and in some cases there's noise and this happens especially in fast paced songs with lots of sounds.

But for example in gaming when there's intense firefights and everything is exploding around and multiple people shooting etc it still maintains really nice quality unlike some songs + same in games that has highly crowded areas and there's lots of sounds playing at the same time.


Also i can't tell the differences between 128kbps and WAV still, maybe if i try rly hard only, probs HE 4XX is just alot more forgiving than HD 598 which is both good and bad.

 

[Whazzzup]

If you are poor, run from head fi. Don’t look back....

 

[ProtegeManiac]

So got my E10K, it can fully drive the 4XX, the problems such as cracks etc is gone, it can handle the bass nicely now, but SQ didn't changed at all, maybe original ( Monitor ) sounds bit more flat and more clear like it had less dynamics, don't have switch to compare A/B them sadly.

That's because for the most part the "sound signature" relies more on the headphone itself, and what people are actually referring to when they use that term has a lot to do with the midrange, and it has to be a totally, absolutely bad amp circuit - or a really bad impedance mismatch - to really impact the "sound signature."

It's not like the bass frequencies where current delivery on low impedance headphones or even voltage for high impedance, as well as noise levels (ie between two otherwise flat measuring amps given the same impedance and sensitivity loads, if there's a significant difference in noise levels, the cleaner amp can sound like it has more bass to the listener simply because it's easier to hear), and damping factor especially on dynamic drivers can play a huge role. given how the drivers have to move (bass - fewer but longer pumps, treble - a lot more pumping but shallow; planars have less drastic differences here). Same thing with the treble especially the lower range of that region since that requires the drivers to move really fast. Planar drivers move different so it's less vulnerable to the last one compared to dynamic drivers.

That said, technically, in some cases that's already a large enough differnece in "sound signature." For example, apart from how my old Little Dot MkII sounds a little like everybody has sinusitis once the pads are old (ie that's two things that reinforce each other making the effect worse), even if the midrange remains constant, going to the more solid but less exaggerated bloom on my Cantate.2 is still a marked difference in sound signature in the sense that you're going from one with unwieldy bass notes to something that handles it with finesse. Think of the difference as something like if a comic book character in moving formats (movie, TV, etc) picks up some huge object and swings with it versus what sort of sword movements Psylocke, Spiral, Deadpool, or Silver Samurai would have already pulled off after that missed swing.

About the music quality its the same.. some songs sound bad some sounds good. I mean they're still somewhat enjoyable to listen but feels like the headphones can't handle them or that they're mixed poorly.

That or maybe you just don't like the relatively weak midrange on the HE4XX vs most other headphones out there.

By bad i mean: Alot of bleeding, sounds like everything is blended together, nothing stands out and in some cases there's noise and this happens especially in fast paced songs with lots of sounds.

"Nothing stands out" sounds a lot like "recording, mixing, and mastering didn't give a hoot about making the vocals stick out from the rest of the sound sources."

Not what you mean with there being noise when everything gets busy but even then it's hard to tell from here whether it's the recording or the amp is starting to struggle to keep everything together.

It's going to cost you a lot more to just try something better now that you already have the E10K, which again is kind of why I was suggesting just going for the Magni3 since as much as I could hear a lot of difference between the Magni and Magni2 vs my amps, it'll be much easier ot eliminate power delivery as a problem and go from there.

You could just stick with those for now unless you want to ship it back and try something else.

Also i can't tell the differences between 128kbps and WAV still, maybe if i try rly hard only, probs HE 4XX is just alot more forgiving than HD 598 which is both good and bad.

That also depends on the recording, and it's easier to tell 128kbps metal tracks from the CD than doing the same wiht audiophile vocal tracks since there isn't a lot of instruments with frequencies at either extreme to get affected by MP3 encoding methods of trimming those ends leaving mostly the essential midrange.

 

[sodasoda]

If you are poor, run from head fi. Don’t look back....

Money is undeniably part of who you are and your mental state. And the proof is like an elephant in the office room, you can ignore it and have a futile, compromised setup. Or you can be in control and responsible for how things work.

Save up...even if it takes a couple years. then buy the best of the best. This is absolute stratergy, that refrains from the very definition of: regret, gullibility, overspending.

This is coming from someone who came in with "cheap" minded approach. Relentlessly identifying and comparing ways to squash prices to its lowest. You won't regret it no matter what steals and deals come up. Even if you find a 600 dollar headphone for 190, don't bother. You can cut 1/2 costs of mediocre equipment with the performance to cost ratio alluding to the price ranges....but you will never get the best by being seduced by "shallow" marketing, and praises about gear that attempts to throw your money around.

Don't let these forums tell you what to get, its simply shaking your change so you can't afford anything better and to keep spending. Stop looking for audio, come back when you have about 2000 usd to spare. Audio is a unilateral market, there is no cheap in audio technology..... will be worth maybe about 600usd to be typical listener, . You need at least a couple thousand for the best..... Who doesn't want to have the best? The idea is to have minimal upgrades between the time you buy your first gear, and to the time you saved up for consumer high tech.


The difference between poor people and average wagers is:

When poor person, slave or free labourer buys entry level items he sets himself back by 2 months from cheap expenditure of other things, many cheap fufilling hobbies is discarded.

When an average wager buys a good headphone, he sets himself back from buying he's favourite smoothie everyday for the next few weeks.

The market is setup so you are essentially gambling, sure you may have a forum to guide yoy. But their advice ultimately short sighted to obtaining world class designs... Unless if you simply calm down and hold your wallet. This includes having any audio geek or technicians telling you what works.

What works is simple, skip all the talk, be patient and piggy bank your money. In this market, in order to get in and get out efficiently as a poor person. You need to be responsible for being uncompromising (research, compare, evaluate) and have authority over your funds. You will meet your desires accurately depending on how much effort you put into research, saving money, and assessing other people's opinions.

 

[ExacoMvm]

Talking about these "SaVe Up AnD DoNt WaStE YoUr MoNeY oN cRaP" i mostly agree, but even if rich people would follow this rule i think every second person would use Sennheiser HE-1 aka Orpheus since it simply destroys every 2000-4000$ hi-end headphones.
In my case since i got 4XX already ( ex $500 pair ) so if i had like 2000$ i doubt i could get something that would be huge improvement, lets say i would get 1200$ pair ( used STAX or something ) and used amp/dac for rest i doubt the sound improvement would sound like 2000$ - most likely 100-200$ improvement, just like switching from closed M40X to open HD 650 ( just a touch of improvement, not night and day but fairly noticeable ). And to be honest even some china "gaming" 20$ closed backs sound as good as 300$ from top brands in the mid/high range and with high end stuff it simply scales alot harder due to human ear "bottleneck".

Also based on some research i've figured out that going above E10K for 4XX is simply not worth it, due to the differences being too subtle.

Imo investing 2000$ for speaker setup would be another story.

Fun fact: Even hi-end studios mostly doesn't go above 200$ for headphones. ( I see DT 770 etc everywhere )

 

[sodasoda]

Talking about these "SaVe Up AnD DoNt WaStE YoUr MoNeY oN cRaP" i mostly agree, but even if rich people would follow this rule i think every second person would use Sennheiser HE-1 aka Orpheus since it simply destroys every 2000-4000$ hi-end headphones.
In my case since i got 4XX already so if i had like 2000$ i doubt i could get something that would be huge improvement, lets say i would get 1200$ pair ( used STAX or something ) and used amp/dac for rest i doubt the sound improvement would sound like 2000$ - most likely 100-200$ improvement, just like switching from closed M40X to open HD 650 ( just a touch of improvement, not night and day but fairly noticeable ). And to be honest even some china "gaming" 20$ closed backs sound as good as 300$ from top brands in the mid/high range.

The premise is what level of premium are you happy with, that can give you everything you want and exceed at it.

You are saying that there's always something better. So you want perfection, perfection needs to be earned. Look for forums that about financing hobbies then...hahaha