[paintedr3d]

My hifi man re400s today and just got done with the I am very pleased but I still prefer sound magic hp100s as they make me want to head bang. But I think I'm understanding now what people mean by sound stage and other stuff. I think I'll buy a pair og grado sr60s for Xmas and try them out. Am I the only one who wants to try everything to see how it sounds?

 

[Loquah]

My hifi man re400s today and just got done with the I am very pleased but I still prefer sound magic hp100s as they make me want to head bang. But I think I'm understanding now what people mean by sound stage and other stuff. I think I'll buy a pair og grado sr60s for Xmas and try them out. Am I the only one who wants to try everything to see how it sounds?

Haha, no, you're another happy (and sometimes frustrated) member of the club!

I didn't realise you were looking for something with thump. Some rock fans value the guitar bite, others the thump, etc. HiFiMan earphones are great for bite (plus stage, clarity, etc.) but thump is the one area they can be lacking. Beautiful earphones overall though

 

[paintedr3d]

I didn't know it either most bass thump buds distract from the clarity but I can say some songs sounded better on my ear buds and others my sound magic. But I'm thinking the fiio e12 because it converts to acoustic but is it really worth it? How much better can the sound get? Also I'm curious about gain I read somewhere that higher gain is the for over the ear phones like the ones I have. I usually keep gain in the first setting as I feel it's not necessary. Klipsch just came out with the status and I'm a big fan of their home audio speakers so I'm curious to try that out the the speakers are 40mm would they be not worth the purchase? And to sum it all up I guess my hifi 400 make me want to listen while my sound magic make me want to start moshing hifi feel more serious but the sound magic feel more fun. Best description I can think of.

 

[Loquah]

I didn't know it either most bass thump buds distract from the clarity but I can say some songs sounded better on my ear buds and others my sound magic. But I'm thinking the fiio e12 because it converts to acoustic but is it really worth it? How much better can the sound get? Also I'm curious about gain I read somewhere that higher gain is the for over the ear phones like the ones I have. I usually keep gain in the first setting as I feel it's not necessary. Klipsch just came out with the status and I'm a big fan of their home audio speakers so I'm curious to try that out the the speakers are 40mm would they be not worth the purchase? And to sum it all up I guess my hifi 400 make me want to listen while my sound magic make me want to start moshing hifi feel more serious but the sound magic feel more fun. Best description I can think of.

Good description.

You will probably find a good improvement from the E12 just in terms of better control over the phones. You're right that the IEMs don't need more gain, but headphones may benefit. The E12 is a good entry option that gives more power for headphones and better control for buds.

 

[paintedr3d]

I should have asked if it's better for the sound magic to be on the highest gain level? There are only 2 and I feel that the first can be just as good but volume needs to be up a tad higher. I've heard some people argue they can't tell a difference in a dac amp or it's not warranted but from my understanding it depends on the person because we all have different tastes.

 

[Loquah]

I should have asked if it's better for the sound magic to be on the highest gain level? There are only 2 and I feel that the first can be just as good but volume needs to be up a tad higher. I've heard some people argue they can't tell a difference in a dac amp or it's not warranted but from my understanding it depends on the person because we all have different tastes.

 
It could be completely in my head and made up, but I feel like I prefer low gain settings with a little more volume rather than high gain and less volume. With some devices I've tried, the sound seems flatter and less dynamic on high gain, but as I said this could be in my head or maybe just a result of the high gain leading to an overall higher listening level because I haven't matched the volumes between high and low gain properly.
 
Perhaps someone else, can chime in with an explanation of pros / cons of high and low gain (if there are any)