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?
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. :)