[Aliff]

Quote:

The e17 works well with the he400. The Schitt stack is certainly an upgrade though.
 
Depends on your budget...

+1
 
How is your E17 + E09K combo Matt? Does the E09K add any improvement in SQ or just pure power?
Quote:

 
The Bifrost+Asgard combo is good,but expect to pay somewhere around ~$450 - $550 for a used pair (price depending if it's w/ or w/o USB). I have the stack and it drives the headphones quite well (the asgard does get really hot though, which is normal). If you are on a budget, I would suggest getting the bifrost w/o USB. You get a better connection w/ spdif anyways. 
 
You can't go wrong with the e17, though. For $139, it's the best bang for your buck and certainly won't disappoint. You can also check out the O2+ODAC combo.

+1
 
If I go for the Bifrost, it will be w/o the USB version because I will be using the optical from my PC (same goes with the E17).
 
I'm also looking / considering the Audioengine D1 as many said it is a hidden treasure and the sound is very good..
 
Still need more input here..

 

[MickeyVee]

Just another opinion here.. I had the E17 and D1 at the same time. I prefer the D1 and ended up selling my E17 as I didn't need the features and the portability aspect of it.  The D1 DAC seemed better and it drives the HE400 with more punch than the E17 did.  I also preferred the analog volume control versus the up/down digital but that's just my preference. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with either.
 
Another thought.. you could also pair the D1 with the Asgard and have both a desktop and portable solution. I used the D1 for a while do drive my Lyr and it was pretty nice. I could have stopped there but just had to have the Schiit stack.  I'm probably going to pick up the Asgard and pair it with either the D1 or the Dragonfly for my 'lounge chair' setup.
 
Quote:

+1
 
How is your E17 + E09K combo Matt? Does the E09K add any improvement in SQ or just pure power?
+1
 
If I go for the Bifrost, it will be w/o the USB version because I will be using the optical from my PC (same goes with the E17).
 
I'm also looking / considering the Audioengine D1 as many said it is a hidden treasure and the sound is very good..
 
Still need more input here..

 

[olegausany]

Just another opinion here.. I had the E17 and D1 at the same time. I prefer the D1 and ended up selling my E17 as I didn't need the features and the portability aspect of it.  The D1 DAC seemed better and it drives the HE400 with more punch than the E17 did.  I also preferred the analog volume control versus the up/down digital but that's just my preference. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Another thought.. you could also pair the D1 with the Asgard and have both a desktop and portable solution. I used the D1 for a while do drive my Lyr and it was pretty nice. I could have stopped there but just had to have the Schiit stack.  I'm probably going to pick up the Asgard and pair it with either the D1 or the Dragonfly for my 'lounge chair' setup.

D7000 sound great with DragonFly plus Asgard
Lost interest in Xonar STX completely but wondering how much difference Bifrost USB will be?

 

[MickeyVee]

Where I really noticed the difference with the Bifrost is with the HD700, not so much with the HE400.  For the D7000 and HE400, the improvement may not be worthe the $$ to upgrade, but I really havent heard the D7000 in a long time and cant remeber how detialed it is.
Quote:

D7000 sound great with DragonFly plus Asgard
Lost interest in Xonar STX completely but wondering how much difference Bifrost USB will be?

 

[Aliff]

Quote:

Just another opinion here.. I had the E17 and D1 at the same time. I prefer the D1 and ended up selling my E17 as I didn't need the features and the portability aspect of it.  The D1 DAC seemed better and it drives the HE400 with more punch than the E17 did.  I also preferred the analog volume control versus the up/down digital but that's just my preference. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with either.
 
Another thought.. you could also pair the D1 with the Asgard and have both a desktop and portable solution. I used the D1 for a while do drive my Lyr and it was pretty nice. I could have stopped there but just had to have the Schiit stack.  I'm probably going to pick up the Asgard and pair it with either the D1 or the Dragonfly for my 'lounge chair' setup.
 

 
+1
 
Thanks for the respond Mickey. I may go with the E17 + E09K combo.
 
So many good feedback about the E17 + HE400 here.. it would be much better to have portability option with the E17 too.. 

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

+1
 
How is your E17 + E09K combo Matt? Does the E09K add any improvement in SQ or just pure power?
+1
 
If I go for the Bifrost, it will be w/o the USB version because I will be using the optical from my PC (same goes with the E17).
 
I'm also looking / considering the Audioengine D1 as many said it is a hidden treasure and the sound is very good..
 
Still need more input here..

 
I'd judge the amp in the e09k better overall that that of the e17, albeit modestly. To me, it's a touch warmer and somewhat smoother. I bought it for the docking capability and the fact that I usually have my e17 setup for portable use with an ipod. 

 

[satanigatan]

Kind of a silly question. But I'm currently using the DragonFly with my HE-400 (just using it directly with my PC or Macbook). And it sounds great. But I feel like it's missing some punch in the bass. 

Would something like the D1 DAC be able to power it better? Er, I shouldn't say "power". Because technically a lot of things can power these. But I just want a little more power/oomfh to these. I don't want to get something like D1 or E17 if it's not going to be more than the DragonFly. I would rather just wait a couple months and get a bigger external amp with a lot more juice. 
 
I used to own the E9, and I was actually surprised by how much power it put out. Later on I got the E10 (not really understanding then it was a smaller/more portable) - and it felt like it wasn't even close. 
 
Please bare with me, I'm not the smartest when it comes to this stuff. Basically, I own DragonFly now, and I love it for my HD-600. But the HE-400 just feel like it's lacking something. So given my situation, would D1 do that. Or should I just wait and get something higher up like Schiit tier.  And for the record, I just want a little bit more to what I have now. I don't need like THE BEST of the best. I'm actually really happy right now with how these sound. Just wish there was a little bit more oomfh to the overall volume and bass. 

EDIT: I'm considering just going back to the Fiio E9. 

 

[viveksaikia22]

I got an Audio-gd NFB-6 desktop headphone amp from a fellow forum member and pairing it with my HE-400s and I have to say that the sound is way above anything I have heard till now and I am just running it from the single ended output.
I am planning to add a 4 pole XLR connector, so that I can use the balanced output of the amp. The balanced output is believed to be more smoother than the single ended output.
The bass from this combo is just WOW! although the clarity in the mid is not as clean as my ATK CK-10, but the overall sound is very fun to listen to and it works well for all of the music genres.

 

[satanigatan]

I'm actually considering the Fiio E9 + E7 combo.

I heard the e17 is much better than E7, but that the combo of E9 and E7 is a better mix. Have no idea if that's true. Trying to do a bit more research. But it sounds like what I'm looking for in terms of a decent DAC + some power to throw under it. 

I already have the E10. Maybe I could just line out the E10 to the E9. Not sure if that's a good combo. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Don't get the E7. The E17 is worth it over the E7/E9, IMHO.

 

[satanigatan]

Quote:

Don't get the E7. The E17 is worth it over the E7/E9, IMHO.

 
Interesting. I guess my fear is, I don't want to get another amp/dac that doesn't give me enough power (or at least how I want it. I would hate to drop 160 for the e17, and find out it's similar to the DragonFly in that the bass isn't loud enough for me). That's why I was considering the E9 because from my experience with it, it had a lot of power. 

Of course I also understand that volume level and quality is not the same thing. SO I assume that's what you mean. The E17 sounds much better. 
 
But how is the volume/power level?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yyou can use the E17's bass balance. I put it up to +4. The bass is rich. Can't see wanting anymore than 4.

 

[satanigatan]

I'm just going to go with the E17. I actually get paid in a couple weeks, quite a big sum. So I'll send back anything that I don't end up using (went through amazon).
 
I might still try to pair this with the E9 eventually, but at least I'll try it.
 
Anyways, I'm absolutely in love with these headphones. I actually have pretty sensitive ears, and often get fatigued by various cans. But HE-400's are just so lush, and clear - and I can wear them for hours without any kind of irritation. Everything is perfect, I just think they need a tad bit more volume.
 
That said, this might just be a case where I need to eventually invest in a much better amp/dac set up. But for now, I'm at least willing to try the E17 and see how I like them. I'll let you guys know how the pairing goes. 

 

[MickeyVee]

OK.. here's the scoop.. the DragonFly & D1 are DAC/AMP combos.  The D1 power is a marginal improvement over the DF.  I'd recommend getting a dedicated HP amp, i.e. the Schiit Asgard) and using your DragonFly in DAC mode, max volume on PC/Mac & playback software.  A simple 1/8 stereo to RCA will do for the connection. You then have a decent portable solution with the DF and a good desktop system.
Other options include the E17 and E09 (whatever the new amp is)
What do you want? A desktop system, portable system or both?
 
Quote:

Kind of a silly question. But I'm currently using the DragonFly with my HE-400 (just using it directly with my PC or Macbook). And it sounds great. But I feel like it's missing some punch in the bass. 

Would something like the D1 DAC be able to power it better? Er, I shouldn't say "power". Because technically a lot of things can power these. But I just want a little more power/oomfh to these. I don't want to get something like D1 or E17 if it's not going to be more than the DragonFly. I would rather just wait a couple months and get a bigger external amp with a lot more juice. 
 
I used to own the E9, and I was actually surprised by how much power it put out. Later on I got the E10 (not really understanding then it was a smaller/more portable) - and it felt like it wasn't even close. 
 
Please bare with me, I'm not the smartest when it comes to this stuff. Basically, I own DragonFly now, and I love it for my HD-600. But the HE-400 just feel like it's lacking something. So given my situation, would D1 do that. Or should I just wait and get something higher up like Schiit tier.  And for the record, I just want a little bit more to what I have now. I don't need like THE BEST of the best. I'm actually really happy right now with how these sound. Just wish there was a little bit more oomfh to the overall volume and bass. 

EDIT: I'm considering just going back to the Fiio E9. 

 

[chewy4]

Man I was messing around with the STX EQ today... the bass on these things can get ridiculously loud! It's really not that strong on a flat EQ for me, still a good amount just nothing spectacular, but it can pretty much rumble my apartment when I change the EQ settings.