AMP Recommendations for HE-X?

Hey all, I'm trying to find an amp to make the HE-X bass slightly more impactful and warm. I recently sold my O2/ODAC, because although it sounded great I noticed the bass wasn't as warm, and I actually preferred my onboard audio (motherboard) over them. Obs the O2 is super transparent so it was not a good combo. Anyways, deeper bass/the more common bass everyone talks about is fine and lovely, but I'm talking about this specific kind of bass sound that could be stronger

Here are two songs which I think will make more sense to help me explain, the timestamps line up with the exact bass I'm trying to describe
(go to 18 seconds) The little bass dip think should be a little bit warmer/stronger
(Go to 32 seconds) The double bass kick thing could be stronger too

Hopefully this kinda shows the music I like, very smooth and bassy/warm

My budget is a meager $200 compared to the price of the cans, and I already own a DAC. (definitely open to the used market) I was thinking a tube amp could work, but it won't hurt the treble much right? I really like the crispness of the treble such as with strings and stuff, half the reason I chose them over the HD800.

Any help would be appreciated, sorry about my terminology! Thanks

 

Sorry, but I'm not sure that you're going to get much change in the HEX with an amp. It's really designed to be run from portable gear and honestly, I didn't find that it offered a lot of scale with better gear. It's a pretty warm headphone from just about ANY amp, so I suggest:

1. Try another headphone that is warmer and has the kind of bass that you're looking for.

2. Download and apply some EQ to the HEX to see if you can get the sound that you're looking for.

 

I suppose you could try a schiit vali2. You might even have enough left over to buy a second tube that is a bit cleaner and gives you the tighter bass you seek.

 

Sell them and get Fostex TH-X00. The drop is still active. Better SQ at 1/4 of the price. If you're not very sensitive to treble, you could also go for TH900. If you absolutely want a planar, get LCD-X. Hifiman headphones lack bass impact. Maybe HEK doesn't but I haven't heard it.

 

I've tried so many cans, I really think the HE-X are my endgame. The bass is so scrumptious, it's just the specific frequency of bass in those kind of songs that is ever so slightly lacking

what is a good EQ for windows?

I was considering one, definitely like the Schiit products. How would the vali 2 compare to a little dot or maybe a valhalla 2?

Not a fan of the 650, just really love the HE-X so much. I'm going to get crucified for this but imo they were more detailed than my HD800's... the top end is so crisp and I just love everything about the sound. Although it was very minimal, definitely heard a few more details in my favorite songs with the HE-X

My complaint is a really little one, I think the bass is great but it's just that one specific frequency in the songs sounds a little lacking

I doubt it, speaking they easily beat the HD800, LCD 2.2, He560, and Tesla T1 according to my ears.(Important to know I owned all of them, so it's not like I just tried them for 10 minutes) they all got a fair chance I wouldn't really consider the TH900, I really don't like heavy bass (or want more bass impact) Sorry about how I worded it, I just want that specific frequency in the songs I linked to be ever so slightly more present (the bass is good everywhere else imo, and impact is fine) Impact was 100% the wrong word, bass has more than enough impact for my needs


Thanks to all the suggestions so far! I know the HE-X doesn't change that much from amps, but since they're pm my end game I'd just like to get a slightly warm amp for them, even if it's not the best value for the money. I really liked these with the Deckard, the bass was definitely better imo. Anything similar to the Deckard for cheaper? Could probs stretch my budget to around $300. Thanks for all the help again, guys!

 

I tried the HD800 with a Lyr, and even off my phone preferred the HE-X (and the phone sounded even worse than my o2/motherboard obviously)

I've never owned the HD650, I just tried it out for like 20 minutes. Forget what I tried it out on (might've been a sony amp/dac, not sure) but it definitely wasn't my style. Obs it improves with a better amp but I just wasn't a fan


I tried breaking the ear pad seal a bit and it definitely increased the bass, but it seems it would add to the lower end more than the specific frequency I'm trying to alter (so probs not worth it for me in the long run, as the deep bass is already perfect to me)

 

Will do! I missed the recent SoCal gathering, hopefully there is another event sometime soon. I saw they have that newport thing, but it seems more speaker oriented.

 

Equalizer APO, possibly w/Peace GUI is the go-to for system wide EQ on windows. Note that you'll lose bit-perfect playback with EQ, though.

 

hey SSL, cool to see you here. I saw your other post on the HE-X thread, made me laugh lol

 

If you want bit perfect playback and want to use EQ try Jriver Media Center. Works great and even has a system wide windows driver for bit perfect playback with everything.

 

Wow! This is exactly what I needed. Gave a 2 dB boost to the right frequency and it's just how I like it. Thanks!!

Will give it a try after this Equalizer APO thing, thanks for the suggestion

 

Still won't be bit-perfect because the equalizer DSP sends the audio through it's own filters and whatnot.

 

is that bad, or just so so?

 

Ah, good point. I never leave my cave so luckily that's something I don't have to worry about

 

Buying a Schiit multibit would possibly be a waste, for example. As one of their main selling points is the special custom filter. But as Hands says, the point is moot if you like the sound.