**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 9

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

 

I realize that.  However, the current headphone stages of new integrated amplifiers and receivers are quite horrible.  The sound gets too watered down and sounds nothing near the output that one can garner from using speaker taps.  I do have my wire-wound resistors that I have to install on the positive leads, which I'll take care of this weekend.  This will perform a benefit by protecting my receiver / amp as well as the headphones.

 

Edit: Since I use a Squeezebox for my player device, I do desire some control over the music tone.  Having the access to the bass, treble and variable loudness control that the Yamaha offers, puts me into quite a good sound category, and I'm probably still a few bucks less than some of that other Schiit costs. 

I wouldn't dream of using the headphone stage of an AVR!  I've used it a few times with my HD650's.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good.  The Denon headphone stages are nicer than the Onkyo ones though. 

Are you using an AVR or an integrated amp?   I can't speak for integrated amps, but AVRs generally have modest-at-best DACs, and if you're using an outboard DAC into the pre/power amp, they generally have even worse analog in stages (Marantz and HK excluded actually). 

Obviously, you already had the amp around, so you're way ahead of the curve price-wise of buying a dedicated head-amp, but my headphone Schiit cost quite a bit less than my AVR!  Actually I think I got my Denon 2310ci as $700 closeout when the 2311ci was released, a great price for a good AVR, not the best, but pretty darned good.  Lyr + Bifrost is a bit pricier, but if you're not getting into really good dedicated DACs, the Squeezebox DAC is pretty good on its own....no reason not to just get an amp with it.  It's a heck of a lot more convenient, ant a lot safer. No tone controls though.  And variable loudness...I do use that feature on my Denon for certain content since I have my speakers set up as monitors, but that usually is gain control in the digital domain, which means bitrate conversion in most cases.  For critical listening, I turn it off.

Something tells me, though, that if it wasn't homebrewed, you just won't enjoy it as much   But for me, my 6w amp has caused enough trouble for my headphones (note that may be tube related).  I'll be darned if I'm going to hotwire the things to a 105w amp!    That might almost be enough power to feed the HE-6 though....

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

What's the trick to removing the pads on the he400? Are they locked in with clips?

Yep. Four clips on orthogonal positions.

Pull it until you can locate one of the clips, then nudge the pad against the other side and pull at the same time to yank it out of the wedge. After the first one is out it's much easier.

As for putting them back on, I find it extremely annoying unless you have some sort of thin dull prodding tool to push upon the clips as you try to wedge them in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Sounds like fun 

It's extremely easy to do once you've done it a couple of times, just be very cautious the first time or two.

That's..what she said? I dunno.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Sounds like fun 

I fear the day I'll have to do it, but it can't be worse than the nightmares I've heard about the old HE-5 pads with the 4 long tabs that were darn near impossible to insert without cracking the pad ring.  The new design looks like a much better system.  The new ring is also a much softer much more flexible plastic.  The old ones were stiff, brittle plastic. If you break a tab off the pads though, they're only $20 a pair, so it's not the end of the world (unlike AKG's $40 EACH pads....) Still, I plan to avoid it until needed.

I'm not fond of Sennheiser's system either, in all fairness.  They're friction fit pads on a plastic disc that you jam into the frame.  They come out easily enough, but putting them back in generally involves crushing/pinching the foam smashing them in, and every time you push the one side down, the other pops up.  It requires a disturbing amount of force to fit both sides at once, and I managed to create a thumbprint deformation in the metal grill in the process.  I can't see the imprint but I can feel it.  It kind of bugged me, until the drivers got fried a month or two later.  The thumb imprint doesn't bother me so much anymore!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Hey I just found a single HFM velour pad, don't know where the other is. It has the plastic tabs. My new he400 pleather pads seem to be slip on/off. The tabs will not work, correct?

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say. You received the velours you ordered an hour ago already? Also no all current Hifiman pads have clips/tabs that wedge in and out from the headphone shell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

I owned the he500 for a short while and they came with velours. Lost one found the other. Looks like the current he400 that I have slips off, no?

No. It should have tabs you have to wedge out, as I have said.

Have you guys tried this headphone for Gaming and movies? How does it fair?