**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 267

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

The original post is now "refreshed." If anyone has links to share or info to include, please pm me.

Good work.

which hifimans would be the best especially for raw, brutal, high dynamic piano music like here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsSOL9c8xaE     (use HD quality if you listen)

(actually I listened to this directly from blu-ray on my ps3 and was thrilled with the performance even on my old, beloved HD600)

with proper impact, weight, attack, harmonics etc ?

I listened to he5le+ef5 combo and was simply stunned but didn't hear the rest of the family, what I really liked was width and nice soundstage but without losing authority and weight - simply amazing (maybe a bit too much treble sometime)

Is there something better (cheaper he400 might do the job as well ?) or only he6 with mighty speaker amp would be killer in this area ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicman 

which hifimans would be the best especially for raw, brutal, high dynamic piano music like here

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsSOL9c8xaE

 

(actually I listened to this directly from blu-ray on my ps3 and was thrilled with the performance even on my old, beloved HD600)

 

with proper impact, weight, attack, harmonics etc ?

 

I listened to he5le+ef5 combo and was simply stunned but didn't hear the rest of the family, what I really liked was width and nice soundstage but without losing authority and weight - simply amazing (maybe a bit too much treble sometime)

 

Is there something better (cheaper he400 might do the job as well ?) or only he6 with mighty speaker amp would be killer in this area ?

If you find the HE-400 to bassy, the next best thing would be the HE-4.  They will sound absolutely wonderful on those raw, brutal, high dynamic piano passages.  This headphone is fast enough to keep up, the bass has impact and very tight.  I perfect choice for classical music with it's airy sound signature.  Will sound like the HD600 but with more bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Hmm...you might consider the he500 based on the material that you like and it might be a better complement to the hd600. Because the hd600 leans a bit more towards neutral, the natural progression towards a true upgrade would be the he500 IMO. If you like the hd600, then you should also enjoy the he500 or so I would think. 

 

Of course I like to recommend the he400 but you may find it too bassy  for your taste and musical preferences. 

 

gL!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

The original post is now "refreshed." If anyone has links to share or info to include, please pm me.

Hey Matt, about the re-grilling mod. All you have to do is cut a piece of steel mesh and tulle net fabric and stick the two of them together?

And you only need one grill, right?

By the way, does it really change the sound significantly?

edit. forget my second question. It was really stupid.

thanks a lot for your answers

very interesting about he-4

after what I heard from orthos there is no way back to dynamic headphones even perfectly driven hd600  (they were my favourite cans especially for texturing, neutrality and harmonics, although they missed impact, weight and soundstage of he5le)

there is very nice price in europe for he4 and I have read they have many in common with he5le indeed (single ended version of he5le ?)

usually I listen to many genres but what I like the most is piano (impact and harmonics especially with some lower octaves - you know what I mean, http://youtu.be/bsSOL9c8xaE?t=45m24s ), female vocals, small jazz bands, atmosphere, air, "magic in the air" but always with great weight and nice soundstage, width

how about he4 playing cellos with much texture / layering and digging enough low freq ? he5le were amazing playing yo yo ma (bach cellos) for instance - like real life experience, so much speed, clarity, weight and texture without a hint of distortion, but when I can buy he4 for 40% of he5le price this is very tempting option

how about he4 retermination for 4 pin xlr neutrik on stock cable + audio-gd nfb 10.32 directly to 4 pin xlr (about 10W per channel for 32Ohm and about 6W per channel for 50Ohm, fully balanced dac+amp in one box, wm8741, no capacitors, no feedbacks, all discrete, no opamps, r-core) ? or maybe some cheap speaker amp like nuforce icon amp and my own source ?

one more thing - I really like to listen a bit louder than others but this is the moment when orthos come to life and really shine

Those amps will definitely make the HE-4s do there thing.  Also using the 4-pin XLR cable from HiFiMan or using your own aftermarket cable will do the trick as well.

he4 are extra light too (which is actually great for long listening sessions) comparing to the rest I guess because of only one side magnets (low efficient - but I dont care much, I would use some mighty amp anyway because I know the difference when using some cheap amp for driving inefficient orthos and for instance ef5 - it was night and day and in this area I don't want to save money)

about balancing he4 - I would cut off the original jack and solder 4 cables directly to some neutrik male 4 pin xlr connector - the cheapest way and fastest one for me

@preproman

have you heard he4 with nuforce icon amp ? (nuforce says there is 2x24W output power, it is pretty cheap amp, I guess there is some T-class integrated circuit but I may be wrong)

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicman 

how about he4 retermination for 4 pin xlr neutrik on stock cable + audio-gd nfb 10.32 directly to 4 pin xlr (about 10W per channel for 32Ohm and about 6W per channel for 50Ohm, fully balanced dac+amp in one box, wm8741, no capacitors, no feedbacks, all discrete, no opamps, r-core) ? or maybe some cheap speaker amp like nuforce icon amp and my own source ?

 

I'm getting my 10.2 really soon, which is essentially the same thing as the 10.32, I'll report back on how it sounds with the HE-400. I hear HE-400 doesn't need a speaker amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniping 

I'm getting my 10.2 really soon, which is essentially the same thing as the 10.32, I'll report back on how it sounds with the HE-400. I hear HE-400 doesn't need a speaker amp.

Can't wait for your impressions !

Yeah, they are pretty efficient so sound nice from anything but might be a completely different beast after plugging them to something like this

I have read they are night and day after balancing (he-400)

After what I read about pairing he4 with proper amp, Schiit Lyr might be hell combo + some nice source, i guess extra low efficiency of he4 will help to be dead quiet with noise floor and gain of mighty Lyr when there is no music or between silent passages

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

Those amps will definitely make the HE-4s do there thing.  Also using the 4-pin XLR cable from HiFiMan or using your own aftermarket cable will do the trick as well.

can I ask why do you prefer he4 to he400 ? Because he400 might be more practical with their high efficiency and price difference isn't too big if any

a bit more bass is not a bad thing - especially when it's fast, textured and controlled bass like I guess in all hifiman family

do he400 handle piano, cellos and vocals worse (less natural with worse realism) than properly amped he4 ? any differences in soundstage ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicman 

which hifimans would be the best especially for raw, brutal, high dynamic piano music like here

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsSOL9c8xaE     (use HD quality if you listen)

 

(actually I listened to this directly from blu-ray on my ps3 and was thrilled with the performance even on my old, beloved HD600)

 

with proper impact, weight, attack, harmonics etc ?

 

I listened to he5le+ef5 combo and was simply stunned but didn't hear the rest of the family, what I really liked was width and nice soundstage but without losing authority and weight - simply amazing (maybe a bit too much treble sometime)

 

Is there something better (cheaper he400 might do the job as well ?) or only he6 with mighty speaker amp would be killer in this area ?

Well I liked it a lot on the HE-400. Don't listen to people who say the HE-400 doesn't work for vocals, I've never heard such realistic and beautiful voices coming from any audio gear.

This is ofcourse only valid with the velour pads, mids just vanish with the pleathers.

If you have the money, you should probably buy the he6/ lcd2-3 and never look back.