Need help choosing budget amp or dac amp for he 400i

[Junkwisch]

Hey guys

I ordered hifiman he400i off amazon, but now i need help choosing amp or dac amp i should use for this can.

Largely, I will be using my laptop (its a republic of gamer one, i dont know which series it is) and my phone (samsung note 9).

I'm currently deciding between fiio q1 mk2 and topping nx4 dsd for amp/dac. What is you guys opinion about this two? (Amazon doesnt do any schiit delivery to my country and the only dealer that sell it has price way over 300% of amazon).

Is it possible that my on board dac is capable enough and that i should focus on just getting a pure amp? (Stuff like fiio A5 or topping nx5). Ther are other brand like ifi and ibasso that are easily accessible in my country.

 

[CJG888]

What is your budget? The HE400i need quite a bit of power to perform correctly. How important is portability?

 

[Junkwisch]

Portability is not important, im planning to use it only in my bedroom. My budget is around 200bucks

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Portability is not important, im planning to use it only in my bedroom. My budget is around 200bucks

I'd just save the money and use the laptop for now while saving up more for something like an AudioGD NFB-11.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hey guys
I ordered Hifiman he400i off amazon, but now i need help choosing amp or DAC amp i should use for this can.
Largely, I will be using my laptop (its a republic of gamer one, i don't know which series it is) and my phone (Samsung note 9).
I'm currently deciding between FiiO Q1 mk2 and topping nx4 DSD for amp/DAC. What is you guys opinion about this two? (Amazon doesn't do any Schiit delivery to my country and the only dealer that sell it has price way over 300% of amazon).
Is it possible that my on board DAC is capable enough and that i should focus on just getting a pure amp? (Stuff like FiiO A5 or topping nx5). There are other brand like ifi and iBasso that are easily accessible in my country.

Not sure about something for the smartphone, but the Xduoo XD-05 is a nice sounding DAC/amp and there are several Internet retailers, in Asia, that could ship it to you.

 

[Junkwisch]

I'd just save the money and use the laptop for now while saving up more for something like an AudioGD NFB-11.

The audio Gd NFB 11.28 looked great, i do have a hifi man he6 sitting in its box for a few year now. Do you think NFB 11.28 can run this thing?

 

[PurpleAngel]

The audio Gd NFB 11.28 looked great, i do have a hifi man he6 sitting in its box for a few year now. Do you think NFB 11.28 can run this thing?

The Audio-GD NFB-11.28 will have no problem driving the 50-Ohm Hifiman HE6.
My NFB-11.28 has no problem driving any of my headphones (32-Ohm to 600-Ohm).

 

[Junkwisch]

The Audio-GD NFB-11.28 will have no problem driving the 50-Ohm Hifiman HE6.
My NFB-11.28 has no problem driving any of my headphones (32-Ohm to 600-Ohm).

This is great new, i guess i have some persuasion to do for the sudden hike in budget lol

 

[PurpleAngel]

This is great new, i guess i have some persuasion to do for the sudden hike in budget lol

I ordered a Topping DX7s DAC/amp (plus two remotes), as i wanted to try my headphones with a balanced connection.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

The audio Gd NFB 11.28 looked great, i do have a hifi man he6 sitting in its box for a few year now. Do you think NFB 11.28 can run this thing?

If you're just about to buy the amp I'd much rather save up a bit more and get the NFB-28.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I own the Fiio Q1 mk1, the Fiio E10k, and the Monolith Liquid Spark (as well as the Hifiman 400i's). Honestly? The E10k does just fine with the 400i. Does the Liquid Spark drive them with a bit more authority? For sure, but I don't find there to be a really dramatic SQ improvement. With the E10k in high gain mode I usually don't get the volume knob up over 60% before it starts getting louder than I would really want. The Q1 mk1 is a little under-powered and I hate the volume knob. It's small and the numbers are invisible. I think the knob on the mk2 is similarly crummy while the vol knob on the E10k is a good size with nice easy to read numbering...

Now, if you have the budget, I'd definitely say the Liquid Spark is nice but its just an amp no dac. I know in my case, the headphone out on my laptop really sucks. It's noisy. I use the line out on the E10k to feed the Liquid Spark.

 

[CJG888]

If you really have a pair of HE-6 lying around, I’d forget all about headphone amps! Just get a good DAC and secondhand integrated amp, and run the HE-6 out of the speaker taps. That’s how it’s supposed to work. You could always sell the HE-400i to raise funds for the amp and DAC...

 

[CJG888]

BTW, the HE-6 is still summit-fi

 

[Junkwisch]

I was thinking of getting R2R11 for the he400i. From what I read, it has a pretty good DAC as well. I managed to do some persuasion with regards to the initial budget so i dont have to sell the he400i. Oh the side note though, the HE 6 actually belong to my father, so I cant really use it as much as my own headphone.

A speaker amp could work given that my dad was a speaker guy (he only got the he6 because we rennovate the house and he cant use his speaker in the apartment). However, my knowledge in this area is pretty much zero. Would you have any sub 400 dollars speaker amp that you could recommend for the he6?

 

[Junkwisch]

What if I get a NFB-1 amp as well?