Good day everyone. First and foremost I’m still pretty new to the world of audio.
And I need a bit of help choosing the right product. My budget is around $400
I own a pair of HIFIMAN HE4XX Planar Magnetic Headphones, and I would like to purchase a DAC/AMP just for that. I’m not entirely sure if I need both and AMP and a DAC. There seem to be mixed opinions on that matter. And some say an AMP is all you need, others don’t.
There are two products that peeked my interests and would love to have some feedback on those.
Are they the right fit for my needs?
1: DROP + THX AAA™ 789 LINEAR AMPLIFIER 2: SMSL M500 Headphone Amplifier
I also own a pair of desktop speakers: Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II.
And those speakers are currently connected to a Sennheiser DAC GSX 1200 pro
I assume those speakers aren’t considered high end, does it make sense to purchase a DAC/AMP for those? They already sound great on the 1200 pro. But can it be bettered?
so one thing to note about thx amps: they are dry. by that i mean they are so neutral that they suck the fun out of music. you may or may not be into that. some are, a lot are not.
the gsx1200 is a solid dac, but you can do better for sure for not a lot of money. that being said, since you do have it already i would roll with it and jyst get an amp. you are already used to the sound signature, which also appears you do not mind.
i would get a solid amp first and try it for a while, if you feel you can do better still after tyring a new amp, then look into dacs. the quality differences in dacs below 200$ is very minimal. its more tonal differences then quality differences.
schiit asgard would be a solid choice for 200$. rnhp for 500$ is you want to stretch it(i personally would not with the hifiman though). liquid spark will give you a little warmer presentation 129$?(been a while since i saw price on it). magni3+ also has a warmer presentation and the heresy is more neutral(99$ each) gesheli labs erish is getting rave reviews for 200$
you can also save and get a used magni 3/modi 3 schiit stack for 50$ish. so many of them out there as starters that people want to sell now. they are actually a bargain used now. the magni 3 isn’t as bad as some make it out to be. and the modi 3 has won a ton of awards(though there are better dacs for the same price new these days) but at around the 50-75$ you can find like new used stacks for, its a bargain.
few options to look into. the he4xx plays well with most amps, i would just say not to spend for then 200$ on an amp or dac for them as beyond that, the headphones will start limiting your ability to notice differences.
You will get single ended performance out of that setup that will treat you QUITE well. If you want “budget” on that, Modius + Heresy sounds like the THX 887 (which I have). I am very vocal about my disappointment with the THX 887 but the I can’t deny that with the Modius it sounds surprisingly well as a pairing.
If you are not planning to upgrade your headphones in the future, a $100 amp (liquid spark, atom, heresy, etc) and dac (modi 3, atom dac, etc.) or an all in one unit ( fiio k5 pro, zen dac) would be great for the he4xx. Spending more than that on the amp and dac for the he4xx is probably not the most efficient way to spend your money. For example, Sundara on a $100 amp is going to be a higher performer than HE4xx on a $300 amp.
If you are planning to upgrade in the future, then something like the asgard + modius (as stated by someone else) or el amp + el dac stack or geshelli stack should future proof you for that upgrade