**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 404

are the j$ beyer pads still available?

Question: Can you take apart all the blue plastic parts?  These are on my To Buy List, but If I get these, I want to paint them and attempt to do some lightweight mods.

 

I already did lots of pad rolling - more than most with more HiFiMan headphones at that.  The HE-400s are going to be the HE-400s no matter what pads are on them, same with the rest of the HEs.  So I'm agreeing with the above statement.  They are what they are. 

Edited by preproman - 1/24/13 at 4:18am

 

 

 

 

Looking Goood!! Don't you just love the look of these pads on this headphone??? lol

 

In my opinion,  a transparent nylon on the J$ pads just go together so nicely. Keeps us update with impressions.

This is great! FAQ should appear to be very useful esp in such a long thread. 

New people asking standard questions can be directed there to save time of regulars. It will also help to avoid clutter in the main thread. 

Good luck with your work!

 

Haha, I totally agree!!! expectation bias(aka placebo) is all it really is most of the time. Didn't really think too many people would have two separate HE400s lying around though, or else yes that would be ideal. Personally I found J$ to be a great buy regardless of sound, $40 for durable long lasting lambskin, very easy to clean, isnt a dust magnet, thicker/more comfy than original pads.... luckily I have no overheating/sweat issues so it's all good. Do you find xb500/700/1000 pads to be uncomfortable due to warmth/sweat?

 

I think you are correct with "expectation bias" and we can all suffer from that when it comes to different headphones, proposed mods, etc.  But, I don't like expectation bias because I've been bitten too many times before with that experience.

 

Flowers and candy?  I think the only "flowers and candy" is you with your AKG Anniversary Edition headphones.    

The J$ pads are tremendous value. Very well hand made leather pads for $40. He could have charged $100. Factor in that they sound good and improved comfort makes it a steal in my opinion.

On the topic if bias, of coarse there will be lol it's human nature. We all will like more what we use the most. I'm no exception, if some one asked me what pads are best I would say J$ because those are the ones I use but in reality there isn't a best pad. It's all personal preference. Every time I mention sound differences between pads I make sure to state that its my personal opinion and that I suck at comparing pads because it takes me to long to switch them. For the most part I forget what the other one sounded like unless something big was missing (no bass vs huge bass).

Overall I guess from reading reviews, this site and buying gear, the one thing I have learned the most is take everything with a grain of salt and the best thing to do is try it yourself. To bad it's very expensive to do so. That's why I love the idea of hifi meets!

I believe wje still has some.

iPhone 5 wallpaper. Enjoy.

 

 

So I ended up buying a Fiio E17 to try with the HE-400s. My intent is to use the HPs primarily for movies, some music, all through my PC which is hooked to a Yamaha receiver via HDMI. The PC is in a closet so my preference is to use the HE-400s with the receiver. However, the Yamaha did not seem to drive the 400s very well on its own. I had to crank the volume up about +10dbs over normal. At one point the receiver just shut off - something it's never done.

 

So I hooked them up to the E17 and hooked the E17 to the headphone out on the receiver. I know this is double amping, but the sound did improve and I was able to lower the volume on the receiver, downmix DD/DTS, and retain "Silent Cinema" processing. There's some white noise if the receiver is cranked, but at normal (and above) listening levels, it's silent.

 

I also tried the E17 connected via SPDIF to a XONAR DG, with Dolby Headphone enabled. I go back and forth on which surround DSP I prefer for movies- Silent Cinema or DH. The nice thing with this setup though, I wasn't double amping. However, with all levels cranked in Windows, the HE-400 was just loud enough at 60 (max) on the E17, 0 gain. I'm not sure what that's about. I expected it to blast me out.

 

Sound-wise, besides the difference in the DSPs, I'm not sure I noticed any negative impact with double amping- but I'm not really a seasoned listener either.

 

I am interested in getting something like the Asgard (I don't need the portability-would prefer something that doesn't need to be charged) but I'm concerned about double amping the Asgard- if doing so will make any gains over the E17 negligible. Thoughts?

 

I also tested the DT990 Pros with both of the above setups. Those sure do feel good going on my head and I like the sound, but I think I prefer the HE-400s. I just wish the HE-400 velours compared to the DT990 velours in terms of comfort.

Edited by whiskaz - 1/24/13 at 8:03am

I wasn't expecting the sound to change dramatically moving to the j$ Beyers, and ultimately the changes in that regard were very minor.  That is a good thing if you ask me, as I already enjoyed the way they sounded.  The most significant change for me was the comfort and styling of the HE-400 - they match the headband perfectly.  As with any mod or personal experience, YMMV, but it's probably the limit of the modification I will need to do with this headphone.  Aside from that, I think these cans were perfect from the beginning and the addition of a well made pair of complementary pads was the icing on the cake.  I think FlySweep's impression from the previous page describes them the best.

Even the Schiit Magni would likely be an improvement, but the Asgard (and Lyr, while overkill is a hybrid option) are also known to pair well with the HE-400.  I can attest that the Magni drives them very well from my soundcard.  I believe I read there is a way to bypass the amp in the E17, but I have no experience with it personally.

Edited by modulor - 1/24/13 at 8:19am

Right. I guess my main concern is double amping the Schiit since my preference is to use the Yamaha receiver and what sort of impact that will have on the Magni/Asgard. I would hate to negate any improvements over the E17. Though from my brief test with the E17 double amped to my receiver, it seemed fine.