**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 259

This is also true :)

Guys, this is my second day with the HE-400 and I notice something. If I move the earcups away from my head in a way that the earpads just touch my head, the bass impact increases a lot. I don't know if my earpads are too thin, the clamp force too high or my head is way bigger than average, making the distance between my ears and the drivers shorter, decreasing bass impact. Do any of you notice that?

Also, I'd like to thank you for the recommendation. Alice in Chains sounds awesome with this headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by torresfelipe 

Guys, this is my second day with the HE-400 and I notice something. If I move the earcups away from my head in a way that the earpads just touch my head, the bass impact increases a lot. I don't know if my earpads are too thin, the clamp force too high or my head is way bigger than average, making the distance between my ears and the drivers shorter, decreasing bass impact. Do any of you notice that?

 

Also, I'd like to thank you for the recommendation. Alice in Chains sounds awesome with this headphone.

A while back I think people were saying that the HE-400s sounded great if you pulled them away from your ears about an inch. I think it just shows how much potential is in the HE-400 and room for improvement with better pads alone.

I couldn't agree with you more. They should invest some time and R&D to develop a new earpad. For me, the actual ones are very confortable, but there's definitely an improvement if you pull them, like you said, about a inch away from my head. This will probably get worse over time as the pads worn out.

Just bought a pair from Headamp. They're probably gonna take a while to get here.

It's my first time spending so much on heaphones. I hope they're really worth it.

I've finished my head band modification.  In order to keep the stock appearance, I used a soft leather cow hide to make the covering for the new leather head band. It is stuffed with 1/4" cotton batting - 4 layers on the top of the headband, and 5 layers on the head side of the head band.  The objective was to keep the appearance as close to stock as possible.  Also, I didn't want to destroy the original head band, in the event that I had to return to that offering.  The covering that I made can be removed in under two minutes, if needed.  All one needs to do is to take a razor blade and snip through the threads on one side of the band, then it can be removed from the headphones.

Sorry about the slight blur / focus issue on the pictures.  I'll see if I can't get some better daylight pictures in an hour or so when the sun fully comes up.

Today, I put the pleather pads on and put the velour on top of them (against my head, the pressure makes them stay in place without doing anything). I listened to some Jordi Savall, it was like being in a cathedral. I'm definitely looking foward for bigger pads.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

I've finished my head band modification.  In order to keep the stock appearance, I used a soft leather cow hide to make the covering for the new leather head band. It is stuffed with 1/4" cotton batting - 4 layers on the top of the headband, and 5 layers on the head side of the head band.  The objective was to keep the appearance as close to stock as possible.  Also, I didn't want to destroy the original head band, in the event that I had to return to that offering.  The covering that I made can be removed in under two minutes, if needed.  All one needs to do is to take a razor blade and snip through the threads on one side of the band, then it can be removed from the headphones.

 

Sorry about the slight blur / focus issue on the pictures.  I'll see if I can't get some better daylight pictures in an hour or so when the sun fully comes up.

 

 

 

 

 

Good looking comfy pad Wayne..  How much do you charge to do it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by spittis 

Interesting, I compared the two (DT 990 Premium 250 ohm) quite thoroughly and thought the HE-400 did better in 9.5/10 cases.

Quoted from way back, I'm clearly too slow to keep up with the thread. I had the DT990 600 Ohm, I'm sure they are not that different. But the biggest factors leading me to sell the HE-400 were the following:

I felt the soundstage was slightly larger (something I enjoyed)

I enjoyed the treble more, it was more "forgiving" than the HE-400 that simply made certain electro tracks of mine too bright.

And most importantly, comfort! I could wear the DT990 for hours and forget they were on my head, while the HE-400 was a bit too heavy for me, the velour pads weren't as comfortable as the DT990s and my ears would hit the pads and create some soreness after 15-20 minutes causing me to re-adjust the headphone ever so often.

All this may change if I ever get my hands on the DT990 again, I'll quickly realize everything that the HE-400 does better. Only time will tell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yekrut 

Quoted from way back, I'm clearly too slow to keep up with the thread. I had the DT990 600 Ohm, I'm sure they are not that different. But the biggest factors leading me to sell the HE-400 were the following:

 

I felt the soundstage was slightly larger (something I enjoyed)

I enjoyed the treble more, it was more "forgiving" than the HE-400 that simply made certain electro tracks of mine too bright.

And most importantly, comfort! I could wear the DT990 for hours and forget they were on my head, while the HE-400 was a bit too heavy for me, the velour pads weren't as comfortable as the DT990s and my ears would hit the pads and create some soreness after 15-20 minutes causing me to re-adjust the headphone ever so often.

 

All this may change if I ever get my hands on the DT990 again, I'll quickly realize everything that the HE-400 does better. Only time will tell.

Do you think the soundstage on HE-400 is small?

A little smaller than DT990 premium-- about HD650 size.  Most of the apparent 'size' of the DT990's soundstage is psychoacoustics, coming from its sound signature of elevated highs and recessed mids.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMRaven 

A little smaller than DT990 premium-- about HD650 size.  Most of the apparent 'size' of the DT990's soundstage is psychoacoustics, coming from its sound signature of elevated highs and recessed mids.  

So that means it has a more intimate sound?