**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 186

Originally Posted by griff2 

Ok well, I got my eagerly anticipated HE-400 today.  Now, my headphone collection includes the Sennheiser HD650 and my favourite closed back headphone the Beyer Dynamic DT 770 Pro.  I particularly like the DT 770s because they get to the heart of the music and present it as a coherent whole.  Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase on this: the first thing I noticed when I put the HE-400 on (before even plugging into my headphone amp) was a cuppy resonance – similar to if I’d cupped my hands over my ears (try it) – none of my other headphones do this, they all damp this resonance out.  On first listening to the HE-400, this cuppines was there and dominated the sound, ie although it was obvious the HE-400s drivers were excellent, there was a lack of cohesion to the music which spoilt the musical experience, in my opinion because of this annoying cuppy resonance.

 

I’m just thinking that maybe so much research and development has gone into getting the drivers right for the HD-400 that the headphone 101 of getting the interface to the ear has been missed.  Thoughts..

Originally Posted by jerg 

Can't say I've noticed the cuppy resonance you are describing. The mids sound extremely detailed and separated, albeit with slightly less-than-black background.

 

It's a different story if I actually cup my hands over the drivers though, but I don't think that's what you mean.

Originally Posted by jerg 

Can't say I've noticed the cuppy resonance you are describing. The mids sound extremely detailed and separated, albeit with slightly less-than-black background.

 

It's a different story if I actually cup my hands over the drivers though, but I don't think that's what you mean.

 

 

Edit: are you sure it's not just you disliking the sound signature? HE400 mids are coloured in that it has a mid-mids bump and a upper-mids dip.

Originally Posted by griff2 

 

Aplogies, but I don’t think you understand what I’m saying.  If you cup your hands over your ears (without wearing headphones at all) you’ll get a resonant effect because your hands are acting as a reflector.  When I put the HD-400’s on I get a similar effect (before I even start to put anything through them).   In other words the HD-400s seem to lack the requisite damping to prevent the resonant effect of something reflective covering the ear. 

In terms of the resolving power of the drive units, I would agree that they are very good indeed and superior to both the Beyer Dynamic and Sennheiser headphones, particularly in the midrange.

Originally Posted by griff2 

 

Aplogies, but I don’t think you understand what I’m saying.  If you cup your hands over your ears (without wearing headphones at all) you’ll get a resonant effect because your hands are acting as a reflector.  When I put the HD-400’s on I get a similar effect (before I even start to put anything through them).   In other words the HD-400s seem to lack the requisite damping to prevent the resonant effect of something reflective covering the ear. 

In terms of the resolving power of the drive units, I would agree that they are very good indeed and superior to both the Beyer Dynamic and Sennheiser headphones, particularly in the midrange.

Originally Posted by griff2 

 

Aplogies, but I don’t think you understand what I’m saying.  If you cup your hands over your ears (without wearing headphones at all) you’ll get a resonant effect because your hands are acting as a reflector.  When I put the HD-400’s on I get a similar effect (before I even start to put anything through them).   In other words the HD-400s seem to lack the requisite damping to prevent the resonant effect of something reflective covering the ear. 

In terms of the resolving power of the drive units, I would agree that they are very good indeed and superior to both the Beyer Dynamic and Sennheiser headphones, particularly in the midrange.

Originally Posted by griff2 


Aplogies, but I don’t think you understand what I’m saying.  If you cup your hands over your ears (without wearing headphones at all) you’ll get a resonant effect because your hands are acting as a reflector.  When I put the HD-400’s on I get a similar effect (before I even start to put anything through them).   In other words the HD-400s seem to lack the requisite damping to prevent the resonant effect of something reflective covering the ear. 
In terms of the resolving power of the drive units, I would agree that they are very good indeed and superior to both the Beyer Dynamic and Sennheiser headphones, particularly in the midrange.

Originally Posted by griff2 

Ok well, I got my eagerly anticipated HE-400 today.  Now, my headphone collection includes the Sennheiser HD650 and my favourite closed back headphone the Beyer Dynamic DT 770 Pro.  I particularly like the DT 770s because they get to the heart of the music and present it as a coherent whole.  Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase on this: the first thing I noticed when I put the HE-400 on (before even plugging into my headphone amp) was a cuppy resonance – similar to if I’d cupped my hands over my ears (try it) – none of my other headphones do this, they all damp this resonance out.  On first listening to the HE-400, this cuppines was there and dominated the sound, ie although it was obvious the HE-400s drivers were excellent, there was a lack of cohesion to the music which spoilt the musical experience, in my opinion because of this annoying cuppy resonance.

 

I’m just thinking that maybe so much research and development has gone into getting the drivers right for the HD-400 that the headphone 101 of getting the interface to the ear has been missed.  Thoughts..

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

If he's talking about the resonance when placing your hands over the cups, thats a planar thing. Who the hell listen to thrir headphones that way anyways? Yes, its gonna be resonant if you do that. Fix? Dont do it.

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

^^ I must be missing something here. Why would anyone want to put their hands over the cups of the hp while listening to music. Of course it will sound wonky if you do that especially the he400. We have know this about them since the beginning.