EQ’ing that bass in is effortless. Got a 4.4mm cable for them with a nice braid.
I do gaming with them and it just feels so freaking wide.
I’m a percussion guy. Drums and intricate percussive ellements, in music, sound blissful.
Try listening to Dinossaur - OTR Remix, close your eyes and have fun.
I run them off of a iFi Hip Dac 2 out of the 4.4 balanced output.
Could these be run straight off a PC or an apple dongle or not?
I’m going to level with you.
A Dongle is very capable of getting them to a nice volume.
But if you want to play with EQ, you do need a better source.
The dynamics also scale with a better source.
I do have a dongle and it drives them nicely (at least for what it is)
Hey man, what are some resources that I can read more from on this topic? Specifically, how different DAC/Amps affect sound from a technical perspective.
It’s so subjective in some areas that there isn’t a “centralised” data base or resource channel for this kinda stuff.
I get my bearing from reddit (not too much tho), head-fi, a few reviewers such as Resolve from The Headphone Show, Crinacle, and a few others.
I can’t get a neat unanimous answer on DACs/Amps anywhere.
For me is just searching and getting a grasp of what the majority have to say about the subject.
Though I’m not best person to ask about these things.
You can try to join the Headphones Show discord and ask Resolve himself.
He’s usually prone to conversation.
Yeah the HE400se can sound anemic for lack of a better term on a poor amplifier. What I use as a poor source to test a headphone is the 3.5mm output of my Xbox One X controller. The bass sounded a little strange and fell off very fast. 3/4 volume to be listenable. I do use them on my iFi Zen DAC via 4.4mm and it works wonders. I did try them on the unbalanced output but there’s barely any difference if I can even say, and it’s quieter compared to balanced but all that needs is more on the volume knob.
Comparing a xbox controller to a dongle seems kinda odd though. I have not seen any testing done on its amp or dac capabilities, but I can almost bet on that they didn’t bother to include a decent dac in them compared to even the shittiest phone dongles haha.
I wasn’t comparing them to a dongle. I use it for kicks to see how much a source matters for headphones. Not the best testing method though.
Sorry about that. Clearly I read it wrong. But yeah the source will matter hehe 😅
Regarding your Zen DAC, I have the same experience with my Hip Dac 2.
The 3.5 output drives them nicely already.
Hello, I just got them a couple of hours ago. May 2021 mfg so got the white braided cable which I’m told are useless. Will buy better cables after 1 Dec when I get my salary lol. Complete newbie to this. Tried it on my ROG Strix laptop. Even at full volume, it’s like 20 for my Razer Blackshark V2 usb. They seriously need something to push them. So I think I’ll get the balanced cable to see if they’re better. Then get a dac/amp like a Dawn Pro or Fiio Ka13. Regarding eq for laptop, I tried installing Equalizer APO, somehow its not installing, after complete installation, and restart, it still doesnt show any where, i tick marked all the audio options that I want the APO for. Strange. Any other laptop eq that would be good for the HE400se?
Apo is the eq software. But you need the GUI. For that you have to install Peace gui.
This 2 softwares are a combo.
Only then will you be able to eq to your hearts content.
The moondrop Dawn pro should be plenty.
If you want to get my balanced cable just tell me and I’ll send you the Aliexpress link.
Thanks a ton! I was able to eq according to Oratory’s eq. Can’t find too much of a difference for now, but will wait for dac amp and maybe then I’ll notice the difference.
Yeah, the negative pre amp lowers the volume so you need more juice to get them going.
They’re quite hard to drive, around 88dB/mW. So they might be quiet, and if you want to use EQ (which improves them a lot) you need to use a negative pre-amp which further drops the volume. They will play at Apple dongle levels, but better out of an amp or at least a more powerful dongle.
Sundara or Ananda are much easier to drive.
I wasn’t impressed with my Sundara’s until I plugged them into an amp. If those are easier to drive than the HE400SE, then I wouldn’t try using an Apple dongle with them.
It depends a lot on how loud you listen and whether you want to EQ. Sundara is very well tuned and doesn’t really need much EQ, a small bass boost at most.
Sensitivity on the Sundara is 94db/mW, that means you get 94dB out of 1mW of power. The US version of the Apple dongle will do its full 1V into 32Ω without clipping, which is 31mW.
If I’m listening to it without EQ, about 1mW is a comfortable listening level, 2mW is loud and about as high as I’d go (Qudelix reports exact voltage/power).
The EQ I use with them, if I do, has a -3dB negative pre-amp, so putting that back would be a further doubling of the power to 4mW… it’s still not a whole lot.
The HE400SE is harder again at 91dB/mW though and in measurements even a bit lower. So it needs twice the power of the Sundara for the same volume level.
I’d never suggest the Apple dongle for these (or for that matter the Sundara). But if someone has the Apple dongle already, it’s worth trying. It does depend how loud you listen.
Apple dongle no, anything else reasonable yes
straight up no, don’t do it. you’ll hear sound but it ain’t gonna be enough. it’ll feel forced and someone I read said it’ll be “tunog multo” (ghostlike)
lol I find myself running them with my Shiit Magni on High-gain setting.
I probably should get my hearing checked, but they love raw power.