**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 301

I find it incredibly surprising that people want to increase the bass on these things.  I do like the HE-400's bass, and their overall sound, quite a bit.  But the more time I spend on head-fi the more I look around for an HE-500 because from what impressions I've heard (and all the graphs seem to agree) they have almost as much bass but it's better balanced sound...

You're pretty much spot on ;-)
They have less emphasis but the quality and impact are similar on both.

How true that "sorry for your wallet" saying rings... :p

I used a small wrench on mine. Just make sure not to go crazy.

 

I'm going to try building my own cable like GTRagnarok did earlier in the thread. I'm just waiting on my 2nd connector to arrive from China (accidentally ordered just 1 the first time). I wish high end headphones came with 4-5 foot cables as opposed to 10 foot. I would imagine the majority of customers would prefer a shorter cable.

 

I've been trying to read up on a lot about this lately so I can get the setup working correctly once I get it. I've read that thing about lowering all other frequencies but never did I think of it before reading audiophile type websites. Unfortunately, all I have is a pair of decent computer speakers and beats (it was a gift) so I cant do any EQ'ing until my shipment arrives. Day 2 of waiting feels no closer.

 

Actually, there is a pretty good tutorial here on the site, which was started a few years back.  Link: http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial

Mine finally came in from Justin today as well. Still haven't put on the velours because Justin had ran out but they are currently in the mail. Running off an E11 right now but I'm waiting for my dac and amp to arrive before I post final impressions. However, with the stock pads and the e11 its pretty great! 

 

Impressed so far, trying to listen to a bit of everything and it just seems that these cans do everything so effortlessly. Oh, and I love the dark blue colour. For some reason I thought it was a lighter blue because of pictures….damn that flash!! lol

Edited by merkil - 1/8/13 at 7:24pm

I'm interested in hearing impressions from people who have tried the E17 and the M&M stack.  I'm using the E17 and I'm pretty satisfied, but I got an M&M stack on the way that'll (hopefully) draw more out of my HE-400's.

Wow... what kind of environment are you living in...   little green gremlins running up your cables??!!  Get some weights, lift them, and man up bucko - and...

 

Looking at some amp options (I believe, maybe erroniously, that the amp is more important than the dac for first upgrades... but anyways, seems that most are combo deals anywho) and saw folks recommending the shiit stack and E17.  Just for paranoid endless researching.... I wondered about the NuForce Icon uDAC-2 or Audioengine D1 options?

 

BTW - really digging Barenaked Ladies & Marley on these phones.. oh wait... Sinatra too... geeze, SHUFFLE ALL sure get's pretty goofy sometimes.. I'm sure Sabbath is up next..

Edited by ozarkcdn - 1/8/13 at 8:17pm

I think both the Schiit and E17 have better value, but that's just opinion.

Gain I have set to high, high power overall as well, I keep the EQ at 0 as I want to hear the "true" sound of the headphone if you will, I keep the EQ at 0 for listening on anything. High power always but low gain for easier to drive cans and IEMs.

I'm not really into EQing, I like to use my gear as is. The only time I've ever used the boost on my Fiio is to show off to ignorant people who think the beats are the best thing since sliced bread. I get the feeling the Magni will definitely outclass the Fiio's sound by a fair bit though. I'll find out soon enough. Just waiting to make sure I have enough money to pay for the rest of my life this paycheck before I spend the money I have waiting for the Magni, should have enough for the stack though.
Edited by YGuyG - 1/8/13 at 10:22pm

Remove this mods if you can, sorry.
Edited by YGuyG - 1/8/13 at 10:23pm

I've used the D1 and it worked well, but I haven't used the other options you mentioned. The D1 did well in a comparison to my Dacmagic Plus though which should speak in its favor considering the price difference.