[PapaHet]

Well these are my favorites, in order from most favorite to least, k's samsara, seahf f400s , ty hi-z hp150ts
Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, 250 Ohm are also great and I recently tried hd650's and the are amazing, saving money for them allreay

Great, many thanks - I'll look your faces up. Between the dt 770 & the HD 650,which ones will you get & why? Is the zishan output strong enough to drive a 250 ohm headphone without an additional amp?

 

[Themilkman46290]

Great, many thanks - I'll look your faces up. Between the dt 770 & the HD 650,which ones will you get & why? Is the zishan output strong enough to drive a 250 ohm headphone without an additional amp?

I tried them both out and can say the dsd will power them up fine, I am think of getting the dt770 for travel and hd650 for park walks and home

 

[Themilkman46290]

Happy New year's guys

 

[stmiller]

Happy New year all.

Can't wait to see what lies ahead in the realm of chi-fi

... Zishan dsd 4499

 

[hakuzen]

What headphones would you recommend to deal with the powerful output of the 4497 stock version if the bass rolloff is to be avoided? I'll certainly try with my Dm6 and my boss hifi br8 and see if I will actually notice the roll off but I am thinking about a high impedance alternative on a budget. Approx 100 € max, the less expensive the better. Chi-fi very welcome but no must. I was thinking eventually the beyerdynamics dt 770 pro in the 80ohm version. Any other recommendations are very welcome. Happy new year, all.

happy ny to all.

i can only recommend headphones from my inventory. into the segment price you say (below 100€), i like takstar pro 80 (maybe the "new" takstar pro 82?).
zishan dsd ak4495 (stock version) don't provide enough juice for hifiman he400i planars, imo. but balanced output in 4497 would probably work. they are not below 100€, nor 200€, but you can find offers around 200€. he400i are terrific good for that price, and you'd get a real new grade experience,

EDIT:
i was used to amplify zishan ak4495 when listening to he400i, to have more headroom, so forgot about ak4495 standalone power in turbo mode.

tyll measured he400i (https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/HiFiMANHE4002014.pdf): 45Ω impedance, instead of manufacturer spec (35Ω), and 92.3dB/V sensitivity (planars are very low sensitive, so they need more power).
with this info, he400i would only need 0.51Vrms to reach 100dB; 1.28Vrms for 108dB; 1.62Vrms for 110dB; 2.88Vrms for 115dB; 5.12Vrms for 120dB.
to reach a healthy 90dB, a source which can give 0.5Vrms at 45Ω with low distortion would be enough.
..but it isn't. to make he400i shine, a source capable of giving around 3Vrms @45Ω with low distortion is desirable.

the last dap i've tried to drive he400i without amplification, is xduoo x20.
it can give ~3.1Vrms for a 45Ω load, in balanced mode, high gain.
i listen to he400i with them at 85-100% volume (yes, i use loud volume). it's enough, although the volume used is in the top side.

stock zishan ak4495 is capable of giving 3.6Vrms @ 45Ω with low distortion (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...torial-in-post-2.800208/page-10#post-13107744), so it's able to drive he400i by it's own. i stick to over 70% volume when listening to them, though.

 

[abartels]

HE400i sounds terrific on balanced output!
They are available for USD179!!!

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/253238435384

Buy the Defean Lambskin angled pads at AE, they make the HE400i sound even better, more open and more sub bass.

 

[PapaHet]

Thanks guys - you got me interested in these he400i. But they are only 32 ohm?

 

[hakuzen]

Thanks guys - you got me interested in these he400i. But they are only 32 ohm?

more of 45-50 ohms..

 

[hakuzen]

Thanks guys - you got me interested in these he400i. But they are only 32 ohm?

he400i.

about sub-bass response with ak4497, you can check response with stock ak4495 (output coupling caps are similar, if not identical) here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...torial-in-post-2.800208/page-10#post-13107744
it's around -0.6dB at 20Hz: unnoticeable.

about other tonal alterations (mids & highs specially), there are no balanced armatures drivers in he400i, so they are minimal or none.
you can check the effect when using a 15ohms output source here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...torial-in-post-2.800208/page-10#post-13107386

the only problem of he400i, is that they need lot of power to shine (they are current hungry), single end output DAPs don't use to provide that power. some DACs and headphones amplifiers do, and also some balanced output DAPs.
for example, i can barely drive them when using xduoo x20 balanced output (maximum volume). guess zishan ak4497 balanced output is more powerful than x20, but i've not confirmed it.

 

[abartels]

Like said before, balanced output (with AD8620A) of Zishan 4497, has plenty power to drive HE400i.
Not sure if stock OPA275 delivers same amount of power.

I removed 4 resistors too, changes SQ in a positive way.

Most tracks playing on volume level 26 to 27 gives more than adequate output pressure.
I can use EQ too, +3db to +5db at 60Hz gives me a lot of sub bass output, which I like with my music preference (electropop like Yello etc.)

No distortion noticeable

 

[abartels]

 

[stmiller]

Anyone else having difficulties with charging on the zishan dsd?

After being plugged in for a while it gets very warm but the battery level is still the same.

 

[abartels]

When I received my Zishan, I charged it while listening and encountered same problem, it got charged only about 50%.
After I switched it off and charged it, it went to 100%. Not sure if it was immediately or after a few times charging and discharging.
Mine now charges to 100% even if listening. Not sure why it behaved like this.
Hopes this helps.

Regards,
Alex

 

[Merlin-PT]

Anyone else having difficulties with charging on the zishan dsd?

After being plugged in for a while it gets very warm but the battery level is still the same.

Not related to the charging problem, but related to the microusb connector in the PCB not having solder bridged pins, does it work in USB DAC mode?

Related to the charging problem, does the blue charging light turns on?
Can you measure the charging current?
The cable and charger your are using can do 1A current?

 

[stmiller]

Not related to the charging problem, but related to the microusb connector in the PCB not having solder bridged pins, does it work in USB DAC mode?

Related to the charging problem, does the blue charging light turns on?
Can you measure the charging current?
The cable and charger your are using can do 1A current?

Sorry i can't measure the current. I use my s7edge fast charger.