The Hifiman HE1000se are my daily drivers and known for not being too power hungry. I have two chains in which I listen to them:

  • Living Room: Marantz DAC-1 -> Schiit Asgard2
  • Desk: Schiit Bifrost2 -> Schiit Lyr3

I wonder whether the HE1000se benefit much from better amps, and if so, what price range we are talking about… Are amps like the Feliks Audio Euforia or the Flux Labs Volot a complete overkill? Is there something worthwhile in between? Or is even the DAC the better component to tackle here?

  • OphanilBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Yeah, absolutely. It’s not just about power, it’s about how faithfully your DAC converts 1s and 0s into an analogue signal, and you’ll hear the difference in equipment in things like imaging, instrument separation, soundstage, decay, etc. A good DAC/amp combo will make your headphones sound good, but a great one will make music sound realistic.

    If you’re near a city my advice would be to either find an audio store near you that will let you bring in your headphones to try on their equipment or check out if there are any head-fi meetups near you where individuals and sometimes companies bring their stuff for people to try. But if you can afford the Euforia I’d get that first and upgrade the DAC later since you already have good equipment and the amp will probably be more of a noticeable improvement between both components.

    • jnscmttmyrOPBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      If you’re near a city my advice would be to either find an audio store near you that will let you bring in your headphones to try on their equipment or check out if there are any head-fi meetups near you where individuals and sometimes companies bring their stuff for people to try.

      That’s what I’m currently looking for… Hamburg ⚓️ people, do you hear me?

      But if you can afford the Euforia I’d get that first and upgrade the DAC later since you already have good equipment and the amp will probably be more of a noticeable improvement between both components.

      As I got sucked into the head-fi adventure some two years ago (damn!), I’m experiencing this massive rabbit hole of audiophile seductions (being a hobby photographer, I know the “gear acquisition syndrome” all too well) with a limited budget, so I’m not really sure if things like the Euforia are something I could or should afford if there’s something else that gives me more goose bumps for the buck.

      Closing the cirlce, I’ll never find out until I tried – which brings us back to the first advice you’ve given. ;-)

      • OphanilBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Funnily enough I’m also a photographer, so I know that pain well! And yeah, the two hobbies are very similar because you can go a long way on a budget if you’re judicious and patient, but there’s a point where you just hit a technical wall. I remember upgrading from a Canon 85mm 1.4 to a 85mm 1.2L and learning that some high-end gear is not a trick or a placebo, it really is substantially better. I still ended up selling it though, so better certainly isn’t the end all and be all.

        I’m definitely not in the market for a Euforia but I did just wipe out my budget on a DX240 and I’m really happy I splurged, it reintroduced me to my library and gives me those goosebumps. I wouldn’t tell anyone to go broke doing this but at the end of the day we love music and want to know how good it can be before we’re dead, so I say dive as deep as you can. :)