**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 126

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Okay, for those of you who might be interested in some sort of improved pads for the he400. The powers that be report that the Lawton angle pads supposedly will fit the retaining ring of the he400 stock pad. I am not sure if this is true or not. 

 

It would be great if someone who has a pair could try it and see. Anyway no confirmation on way or the other if any company out there is willing to develop a custom pair of improved pads for the he400, still talking it out for now. 

They do fit, increased bass but dulled the highs enough to make me remove them. The Beyers gels fit as well, even more bass, muted the highs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

My amp shouldn't be a problem.
I'm more worried about the veil. We'll see. Should be any minute now.

Mine sounded veiled until I had let them burn in for many hours. Might just have been the brain adjusting though, who knows? :D However, there has been rumors that Sennheiser changed the drivers on HD 650 and 600 somewhere between 2006-2008 (don't remember exactly, but there is information about it on here). The driver change is said to be visible through the grills of the cans, and presumably should have lifted the veil. The newer ones have white drivers whereas the old versions have black.

New drivers

Old drivers

Oh, and I like waffles! You're a pancake man?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

Maybe a good amped he500 would do the trick?its half the price of the lcd's

Possible! I've never heard HE-500 so I couldn't tell. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fearless1 

They do fit, increased bass but dulled the highs enough to make me remove them. The Beyers gels fit as well, even more bass, muted the highs.

Interesting; I'm actually trying to find ways to mod the HE400s so the upper treble sheen is a bit more tamed, by "dulling the highs" do you feel it was a broadband recession of the treble (so the resulting treble is still tilted with less lower treble and more upper treble), or more recession in the upper treble?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

Interesting; I'm actually trying to find ways to mod the HE400s so the upper treble sheen is a bit more tamed, by "dulling the highs" do you feel it was a broadband recession of the treble (so the resulting treble is still tilted with less lower treble and more upper treble), or more recession in the upper treble?

Have you tried removing the grills yet? Sure takes care of any resonances issues, including high treble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RushNerd 

Have you tried removing the grills yet? Sure takes care of any resonances issues, including high treble.

I'm the original "mod your grills" guy lol, knew about the grills thing months ago. However the upper treble tizz is an intrinsic part of the driver's sound signature, not grill resonance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RushNerd 

Have you tried removing the grills yet? Sure takes care of any resonances issues, including high treble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

I'm the original "mod your grills" guy lol, knew about the grills thing months ago. However the upper treble tizz is an intrinsic part of the driver's sound signature, not grill resonance.

Can one of you please point me in the direction of the "mod your grills" method, if it is on here?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

I'm the original "mod your grills" guy lol, knew about the grills thing months ago. However the upper treble tizz is an intrinsic part of the driver's sound signature, not grill resonance.

I know, I just meant the slight ringing that can occur from stock fabric/grills. I thought about taming the treble for quite some time, but once you get used to it, it's not so bad. I don't want them to be 650's after all.

Also I finally broke down and ordered the Beyer headband strap, I really hope it works with the HE headband as it's not rigid at all. It was only $13 though, they still got one left http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Leatherette-Universal-Sennheiser-Beyerdynamic/dp/B00862522A/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norway 

 

Mine sounded veiled until I had let them burn in for many hours. Might just have been the brain adjusting though, who knows? :D However, there has been rumors that Sennheiser changed the drivers on HD 650 and 600 somewhere between 2006-2008 (don't remember exactly, but there is information about it on here). The driver change is said to be visible through the grills of the cans, and presumably should have lifted the veil. The newer ones have white drivers whereas the old versions have black.

 

New drivers

 

Old drivers

 

 

 

Oh, and I like waffles! You're a pancake man?

 

 

Possible! I've never heard HE-500 so I couldn't tell. :)

For anything related burn-in, I'd say it's mostly just placebo effect or you get used to it. There's usually no physical or technical change in the hardware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RushNerd 

I know, I just meant the slight ringing that can occur from stock fabric/grills. I thought about taming the treble for quite some time, but once you get used to it, it's not so bad. I don't want them to be 650's after all.

 

Also I finally broke down and ordered the Beyer headband strap, I really hope it works with the HE headband as it's not rigid at all. It was only $13 though, they still got one left http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Leatherette-Universal-Sennheiser-Beyerdynamic/dp/B00862522A/

The voicing itself with HE400s is cool and all, with the "laid-back but sparkly" theme, IMO it's just that the upper treble emphasis is a couple dB too much for the overall sound signature to work out perfectly.

Btw I'm assuming you modded your grills too, care to snap a few photos? Let's see em 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

The voicing itself with HE400s is cool and all, with the "laid-back but sparkly" theme, IMO it's just that the upper treble emphasis is a couple dB too much for the overall sound signature to work out perfectly.

 

Btw I'm assuming you modded your grills too, care to snap a few photos? Let's see em 

I have yet to raid the dollar store for trash bins, so no :P 

I'm totally making new grills if I can make them fit though.

Also the 650's don't really burn in at all, i've owned a new pair before as has Matt. Burn-in is real however, ask the experts. The thing is it varies from manufacturer, look at the Denon x000 for one.

EDIT: Mad Lust, have you  tried the old "using the L/R plugs as a handle to lift the cans slightly off your ears" trick before? This kills the seal and bass for dynamic drivers, but it actually lets the longer soundwaves "breathe" for the planar driver and thus louder/more present bass is achieved! These things really take after speakers, they actually play at their best OFF your head 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RushNerd 

I have yet to raid the dollar store for trash bins, so no :P 

I'm totally making new grills if I can make them fit though.

 

Also the 650's don't really burn in at all, i've owned a new pair before as has Matt. Burn-in is real however, ask the experts. The thing is it varies from manufacturer, look at the Denon x000 for one.

 

EDIT: Mad Lust, have you  tried the old "using the L/R plugs as a handle to lift the cans slightly off your ears" trick before? This kills the seal and bass for dynamic drivers, but it actually lets the longer soundwaves "breathe" for the planar driver and thus louder/more present bass is achieved! These things really take after speakers, they actually play at their best OFF your head 

I'm a bit disappointed that over a week ago everyone in this thread is like "YEAH LETS ALL GET GARBAGE BINS AND MOD OUT THE GRILLS" but barely anyone delivered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Okay, for those of you who might be interested in some sort of improved pads for the he400. The powers that be report that the Lawton angle pads supposedly will fit the retaining ring of the he400 stock pad. I am not sure if this is true or not. 

 

It would be great if someone who has a pair could try it and see. Anyway no confirmation on way or the other if any company out there is willing to develop a custom pair of improved pads for the he400, still talking it out for now. 

I think it's best to avoid the angle pads; I can confirm though that the pads fit perfectly onto the stock ring and that they feel super comfortable to boot; I can also confirm that they tame the treble a bit and mitigate the upper mid-range recession too, which all sounds great on paper, but let me tell you, after three days of using those pads, I couldn't wait to get back to the velours. The angle pads, as nice as they are, seemed to make the mid-range sound a little boxed in and just a tad congested; also the sub-bass didn't sound quite as deep or clean to me, and not half as exciting as they did with the velours. I can only speak for myself, but I think angled pads  do not work well on the he400; really, they create as many problems as they solve. I'm more convinced than ever: the pads just need to get out of the way. If the velours were more comfortable I wouldn't even think of upgrading, but unfortunately they do cause considerable discomfort when used for prolonged periods, and so an upgrade is a must.