**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 455

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fearless1 

To your ears maybe.....I will let you know when  I upgrade the tubes(thanks BTW), but for now I will take the Lyr with a couple of E188cc tubes  for the HE 400/500s.

Well..no..at least 12 persons tried the lyr with the he500 and the lcd2 v2..on a meet in november and all said the same: the 337 sounded more balanced..and the lyr a bit more muddy..only where the lyr won was in absolute bass..the lcd actually didnt sound to well on both..but did pair perfectly with the violectric v200. But as i said..both my 337 and the lyr didnt have the besttubes in them...my 337 is now upgraded to very expensive tubes and am sure u did the same with the lyr.. And in the end..its all about personal tastes..but..the 337 is indeed one of the best pair with the he500.. Only pity its so unknown and underapreciated.. By the way..the lyr is an excellent amp for the money..dont get me wrong here..u wont regret it buying one...but pls dont forget to check the tuberolling threads for the right tubes..

Looks like project86 sold his 337 in favor of the Svetlana 2

Yeah seems like it..just read the review of him..but only to a amp twice the price at least.. So i must say the 337 is not to bad 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

Yeah seems like it..just read the review of him..but only to a amp twice the price at least.. So i must say the 337 is not to bad 

Its not about the amp or cables or DACs.... Its about the HIFIMAN on you!!!!

Nah just kidding  But I love them 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aiml3ss 

This is a really dumb question but just to clarify the J$ pads work on the 500's right? I'm thinking about selling my 400's and trying out the 500's. The treble spike is getting to me...

They work on the he500.. But maybe when u get ur new he500 and put the velour pads on it, u can do the jerg mod on the pleather ones.(with the he500 u get pleather and velours pads).i understand it will make the he500 sound even more balanced..me being completely not handy is trying to do that mod myself..am halfway now 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aiml3ss 

This is a really dumb question but just to clarify the J$ pads work on the 500's right? I'm thinking about selling my 400's and trying out the 500's. The treble spike is getting to me...

I'd really try a bit of EQ first.  We've discussed it a bit in the forum here.  Discussion of the sibilant issue on the HE-400 has bothered some.  If an adjustment can be made via a small EQ adjustment, then that's all the better.  You might drop $300 more and opt for the HE-500, yet not have a major appreciation for you.

Personally, I'd seek to listen to the HE-500, if you can before taking the leap.  Listening to a pair at a headphone meet will still not give you a good idea of the signature.  I think if you have a member who is local, and might offer the use of his / her HE-500 for an overnight period in your home, with your gear and your music, would give you a great idea on what the HE-500 would, or wouldn't do for your music preferences.

Whew.  Now, with that said, we often make the leap to a higher level product (e.g. HE-500) thinking that a higher level model always means an improvement.  However, what I suggest is to calculate the move carefully.  Don't get me wrong, the HE-500 is a fine headphone, but ended up personally choosing to keep the HE-400 over my HE-500 and my HE-5LE, just because the signature was a bit more "fun" for what I wanted and how I wanted to listen.  If I could have, I would have kept all three.  I didn't sell necessarily because of financial reasons, but more so to the fact that I couldn't use all three at a single time, so that meant two great headphones would be sitting on the sidelines.  But, sadly, I'm heading down that path again ... into the bowling gutter.  In reality, I need someone to act as "bumper pads" like they set up when the lil' kids go bowling, so they don't constantly get gutter balls.  Myself, I often end up in the proverbial gutter, my wallet empty and my ears not any happier.

Just my .02 ... But, I'm trying to save you $300.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

 

I'd really try a bit of EQ first.  We've discussed it a bit in the forum here.  Discussion of the sibilant issue on the HE-400 has bothered some.  If an adjustment can be made via a small EQ adjustment, then that's all the better.  You might drop $300 more and opt for the HE-500, yet not have a major appreciation for you.

 

Personally, I'd seek to listen to the HE-500, if you can before taking the leap.  Listening to a pair at a headphone meet will still not give you a good idea of the signature.  I think if you have a member who is local, and might offer the use of his / her HE-500 for an overnight period in your home, with your gear and your music, would give you a great idea on what the HE-500 would, or wouldn't do for your music preferences.

 

Whew.  Now, with that said, we often make the leap to a higher level product (e.g. HE-500) thinking that a higher level model always means an improvement.  However, what I suggest is to calculate the move carefully.  Don't get me wrong, the HE-500 is a fine headphone, but ended up personally choosing to keep the HE-400 over my HE-500 and my HE-5LE, just because the signature was a bit more "fun" for what I wanted and how I wanted to listen.  If I could have, I would have kept all three.  I didn't sell necessarily because of financial reasons, but more so to the fact that I couldn't use all three at a single time, so that meant two great headphones would be sitting on the sidelines.  But, sadly, I'm heading down that path again ... into the bowling gutter.  In reality, I need someone to act as "bumper pads" like they set up when the lil' kids go bowling, so they don't constantly get gutter balls.  Myself, I often end up in the proverbial gutter, my wallet empty and my ears not any happier.

 

Just my .02 ... But, I'm trying to save you $300.  

+1 i agree totally with this looong post..dont upgrade to more expensive headphones because its said they are better..but upgrade to the phone who fits u best with ur personal taste and ur rig..sometimes thats not buying a new phone..but maybe trying other darker sounding amps? Maybe an idea?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aiml3ss 

This is a really dumb question but just to clarify the J$ pads work on the 500's right? I'm thinking about selling my 400's and trying out the 500's. The treble spike is getting to me...

You can get on the HE-500 loaner program from Justin.  That way you can live with them for a few days and make a more solid decision.

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

 

You can get on the HE-500 loaner program from Justin.  That way you can live with them for a few days and make a more solid decision.

I agree..excellent advice!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

+1 i agree totally with this looong post..dont upgrade to more expensive headphones because its said they are better..but upgrade to the phone who fits u best with ur personal taste and ur rig..sometimes thats not buying a new phone..but maybe trying other darker sounding amps? Maybe an idea?

Yeah ... really, can you believe it?  I actually get paid to write at my day job, too.    

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

 

Yeah ... really, can you believe it?  I actually get paid to write at my day job, too.    

Ur kidding right?