**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 351

Might be a dumb question, but can one just take J$ pads and attach the ring/mesh from the stock pleather earpad set to it?

It doesn't seem like you need to glue pantyhose to the ring that comes with J$ pads, nor butcher the stock pleather ones by removing the mesh and attaching it to the J$ included ring.

Or am I missing something?

Quote:

Originally Posted by earphiler 

Might be a dumb question, but can one just take J$ pads and attach the ring/mesh from the stock pleather earpad set to it?

 

It doesn't seem like you need to glue pantyhose to the ring that comes with J$ pads, nor butcher the stock pleather ones by removing the mesh and attaching it to the J$ included ring.

 

Or am I missing something?

I may be mistaken, but I think the stock pleathers mesh is attached to the pad, not the ring.  You need that ring for the other pads (denon, j$) to be compatible.  I guess one solution is that you could remove the mesh and attach it to the ring so that it's present with each pad.  I've been looking into alternatives so people don't have to cannibalize all their pads, but I haven't tried anything yet.  I did get 2 extra velour pads for the rings to test with, so when those get here we'll see.

So where can I get these J$ Beyer pads?  I'm in Toronto.  Also how much are they? 

I don't like the stock pads...may get the velours but hard to find.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lg777 

So where can I get these J$ Beyer pads?  I'm in Toronto.  Also how much are they? 

 

I don't like the stock pads...may get the velours but hard to find.

Send fatman711 a PM, he's the owner of J$, and I'm sure he'll get something sorted out with you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniping 

Send fatman711 a PM, he's the owner of J$, and I'm sure he'll get something sorted out with you.

He's moving across Atlantic Ocean tomorrow though, so unless he replies today probably shouldn't expect a response for a little while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyD 

 

Now this is more like it. Something about the soundstage on this recording makes it sound very between the ears to me though. That sax player looks like Jim from American Pie.

 

Check this out.  This whole album is one of the best recordings I've ever heard. This particular upload sounds a bit veiled though.

 

This is good too. http://youtu.be/WCOP7dPlDtw

Hey Fuzzy - nice tip on Dave Weckl - Wicked drummer.

I like Kodo too - didn't dfind any well transferred youtube clips, but heres an idea for y'all.  The CD's are pretty well recorded.

Was reading the posts about nasty compressed recordings.  How sad... and true..  I think the guys over at Hydrogen call it the 'loudness wars'.  Everything compressed flat and overdriven to match the consumer's pallate.  I remember back in the day looking for AAD recordings vs DDD recordings.  I haven't bought a CD in a while but I think that nominclature has fallen by the wayside long ago.

I'm not a huge fan of the music, but the mapleshade folks do a good job at natural recordings that are not compressed.  I do like a copule of the blues compilations they have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

Yeah, the bass is sooooo rewarding. While basshead cans tend to add bass when there is none, the HE-400 treads between neutral and basshead level. Adding bass like out of the E17 +4 on bass) will make them among the best basshead cans I have heard. Only the D7000 wins for me over the HE-400. D7000 has this stellar sub bass rumble I haven't heard from anything else.

you honestly e17 +4 bass alone can power out enough bass on these? for me it really can't, you must have some very bassy songs

Quote:

Originally Posted by Habu 


Sounds weird. And your setup is laptop -> usb -> E17 -> HE-400, right? Volume at laptop 100% (without ANY EQ settings) and E17 settings gain is 6/12? Atm I only use +4 bass with E17 I really could not wish for more. No distorition and just best bass ever :P

Yes, I noticed nearly all the distortion happens when volume is near maxed out on E17 and gain is 12, much less distortion with 6 gain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 


Your setup has got to be faulty, as the E17 is not only full sounding with the HE-400 without bass boosting, but the bass controls makes them sound BRILLIANT.

I have directly compared the E17 with ODAC+SA-31, which could pump near 10watts to the HE-400. The E17 was not far off, aside from having personal gripes with the treble being a bit harsher than the ODAC+SA-31 combo. Something the E17's treble controls quickly fixed.

The E17 is not the best thing for the HE-400, but as a portable amp/dac, it'd be my first choice for them.

if you don't mind, can you link me one of your favorite basshead songs, give me your exact e17 (via usb) settings (gain, tre, bass, volume) and i'll see how it goes/if the bass tickles my ears

It's not that it lacks bass by any means, the thing is it just isn't going loud enough to make them vibrate with bass even with 6 gain... and 12 gain=distortion so yeah

Cable sheathing near the strain relief appears to have come apart. Which is strange, since I don't usually touch the cable or take it off. Anyone else experience this? Remember someone mention something about it before.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabse 

you honestly e17 +4 bass alone can power out enough bass on these? for me it really can't, you must have some very bassy songs

 

It's not that it lacks bass by any means, the thing is it just isn't going loud enough to make them vibrate with bass even with 6 gain... and 12 gain=distortion so yeah

Bassheads will be bassheads. Decent quantities for us normies, but I get where you're coming from. These aren't very bass-emphasized to my ears, just the way I like them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

Or you must like your bass really boomy/sloppy. Ultra basshead.

Not usually but I do admit, sometimes when listening to my headbanging club songs.. i just get the need to replicate the club subwoofer hence I go +8 bass on e17 with my philips X1's and it provides head VIBRATING subwoofer bass with no hassle. if i try do that with my he-400 with e17 it will just bottle neck and start buzz/distorting, the X1's just sound much more alive.. maybe because they can deliver everything at louder volumes

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabse 

 

Not usually but I do admit, sometimes when listening to my headbanging club songs.. i just get the need to replicate the club subwoofer hence I go +8 bass on e17 with my philips X1's and it provides head VIBRATING subwoofer bass with no hassle. if i try do that with my he-400 with e17 it will just bottle neck and start buzz/distorting, the X1's just sound much more alive.. maybe because they can deliver everything at louder volumes

Don't bother contradicting yourself, you are an ultra-basshead if you need to replicate bloated one-note club subwoofer midbass. Typical club subwoofers are built to deliver the bass impact via raw volume, rather than tight well-controlled hits, meaning they tend to be the speaker equivalent of Dre Beats. Feed it power and it will spew droning ear-numbing "bass".

It's pretty obvious that the planar tonality of the HE400 or any clean well-behaved tactile bass is not your cup of tea, and that's fine, it's just not what you are looking for. Might I suggest looking into acquiring a D2000/5000 instead?

I did a pretty quirky pad mod, I used the back of a pleather ring to attach the HM5 pads to the 4 clips then attached that ring to another ring with 4 evenly distributed string knots in the holes of the rings (since the holes are aligned) result vs velour

- more open sounding/much more airy

- better bass extention

- wider soundstage

- detail/clarity seems to be on par

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabse 

Yes, I noticed nearly all the distortion happens when volume is near maxed out on E17 and gain is 12, much less distortion with 6 gain.

I don't have an E17 but isn't that crazy loud?

Maxed volume on the highest gain!

I'm guessing with bass boost also!?