Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion
Oct 22, 2014 at 5:44 PM Post #2,552 of 14,386
  Is anyone planning on trying Jerg's HE-560 enhancement mod on the HE-400i?

 
I might do the shelf liner + ear pad enhancement, but not the bass seal one - only because its a pain in the ass to undo the double sided tape cleanly after awhile
 
Of course - ill do it after a month or so of use, then hopefuly i can appreciate any differences. 
 
I'll grill mod it right away though. 
 
Oct 22, 2014 at 5:53 PM Post #2,553 of 14,386
  Is anyone planning on trying Jerg's HE-560 enhancement mod on the HE-400i?

Nope.  I think Jerg is an amazing, invaluable part of this hobby, but aside from the tape on my Grado 225i's, I am not a modder.  It's just a part of this hobby that I have zero interest in exploring, at least until I get interested
biggrin.gif

 
I also am not comfortable with the notion that one must modify headphones in order to enjoy them fully.  Of course, Jerg has never written that, as far as I know. But the 400i's are amazing cans, without modification.
 
Oct 22, 2014 at 8:13 PM Post #2,554 of 14,386
I hear you about shouldn't have to mod to enjoy them fully . no offense to jerg and agree with you on the invaluable part but seriously a headphone should be engineered to its fullest and not have some random people from the Internet tell you that it's wrong and fix it. It seems disgraceful. And yes I do mean wrong to an extent for the simple fact that a reference can should be as flat as possible and graphs show that his mods on the 50o greatly fixed the FR.
 
Oct 22, 2014 at 9:49 PM Post #2,555 of 14,386
i've received my fiio e12 today ... although i though that the x5 was powerfull enought and didnt expect sound change it seems that i was wrong ... actually i ve make some basic A/B testing and i think that the sound is a bit more "full" with the e12 .. actually its even more significant with the q701 which really benefit from the  e12 .. (or that is just in my mind i didnt do a blind test)
 
about the bass boost i would say that for some specific music (electronic) it give a bit of depth (on the 400i but even more on the q701) 
 
on a global note after some weeks using the 400i i like it very much for a lot of music genre .. but for some orchestral music i still prefer the q701 the larger sound stage is more suited i guess
 
Oct 22, 2014 at 9:53 PM Post #2,556 of 14,386
i've received my fiio e12 today ... although i though that the x5 was powerfull enought and didnt expect sound change it seems that i was wrong ... actually i ve make some basic A/B testing and i think that the sound is a bit more "full" with the e12 .. actually its even more significant with the q701 which really benefit from the  e12 .. (or that is just in my mind i didnt do a blind test)

about the bass boost i would say that for some specific music (electronic) it give a bit of depth (on the 400i but even more on the q701) 

on a global note after some weeks using the 400i i like it very much for a lot of music genre .. but for some orchestral music i still prefer the q701 the larger sound stage is more suited i guess

I have the same setup and love it. Great synergy.
 
Oct 23, 2014 at 11:40 AM Post #2,558 of 14,386
i've received my fiio e12 today ... although i though that the x5 was powerfull enought and didnt expect sound change it seems that i was wrong ... actually i ve make some basic A/B testing and i think that the sound is a bit more "full" with the e12 .. actually its even more significant with the q701 which really benefit from the  e12 .. (or that is just in my mind i didnt do a blind test)


I plugged my 400i into my X5 last night. I found that I was definitely hearing some clipping in the bass end on some songs when playing fairly loud. (80/120 volume). I plugged in the E12 and got rid of the problem at a very similar level. I did not notice any huge difference in the presentation, but cleaning up the clipping was a fact. I don't think the X5 has enough juice to run the 400i at 85 to 90 DB levels with dynamic music. It does fine if one doesn't mind lowering the volume some!

In any case, the X5 with E12 does a credible job with the 400i and is just fine for the kind of use I give it around the house. I have desktop stuff that does better, but it can't be put into my shirt pocket...

I really wish the X5 had a bit more power. Not having to carry another piece of gear would be much better.
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 10:33 AM Post #2,559 of 14,386
I would like to get someone to comment on this as well. I would think that the case would fit the 400i, as the dimensions are very close, but they still list it as "Travel Case for HE 560".

I hate to buy one and then have to return it.

 
HFM replied via PM and said that the 560 case works for the 400i.  
 
It didn't sound like a ringing endorsement for it being a perfect fit, but it sounds like it will get the job done.
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 1:09 PM Post #2,560 of 14,386
   
HFM replied via PM and said that the 560 case works for the 400i.  
 
It didn't sound like a ringing endorsement for it being a perfect fit, but it sounds like it will get the job done.

If the case fits well with HE560s, there is no reason why it shouldn't fit equally as well for HE400i. The two headphones have identical headbands, identical earpads, and identically-shaped/size cups. The only thing different with their finish is the wood veneer vs lacquered plastic cup, and that has no impact on fitting of course.
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 1:38 PM Post #2,561 of 14,386
  If the case fits well with HE560s, there is no reason why it shouldn't fit equally as well for HE400i. The two headphones have identical headbands, identical earpads, and identically-shaped/size cups. The only thing different with their finish is the wood veneer vs lacquered plastic cup, and that has no impact on fitting of course.

That was my impression.
 
I believe someone said earlier that the dimensions were every so slightly different, but hadn't bothered to double check.  I thought maybe the earcups were slightly thicker/thinner.
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 6:03 PM Post #2,562 of 14,386
Okay, this idea that the 400i's are light in the bass has been getting to me a bit, and I felt a little insecure about my ravings about these headphones.
 
So, I took one for the team and listened to the following tracks:
 
Sleep- "Dopesmoker".  The entire 63-minute track.  The whole thing. If you don't know what this album is, there's probably a reason.
 
Sunn )))) - "Hello-o)))-ween" off of 'White 2'
 
SunnO)))/Boris- "Etna" off of "Altar"
 
I need some motrin.  And these cans have plenty of bass.  Skull-crunching, end-of-the world full of doom bass.
 
(If the track has it.  And by the way, these tracks have it)
 
Man, I need to go listen to some Enya now.  Or maybe the new Opeth........
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 6:33 PM Post #2,563 of 14,386
Okay, this idea that the 400i's are light in the bass has been getting to me a bit, and I felt a little insecure about my ravings about these headphones.

So, I took one for the team and listened to the following tracks:

Sleep- "Dopesmoker".  The entire 63-minute track.  The whole thing. If you don't know what this album is, there's probably a reason.

Sunn )))) - "Hello-o)))-ween" off of 'White 2'

SunnO)))/Boris- "Etna" off of "Altar"

I need some motrin.  And these cans have plenty of bass.  Skull-crunching, end-of-the world full of doom bass.

(If the track has it.  And by the way, these tracks have it)

Man, I need to go listen to some Enya now.  Or maybe the new Opeth........
listen to old school kansas r boston or yes.. articulate yes. Bass average at best.
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 7:01 PM Post #2,564 of 14,386
listen to old school kansas r boston or yes.. articulate yes. Bass average at best.


First of all, I hated that stuff when it first came out.  I pretty much hate it now, 30 years later
 
But more important, those recordings have average bass at best.  I think others have been right steering you to bass-heavy closed cans.  For me, I just up the EQ at about 60 Hz when listening to that kind of classic rock, which is rare.  Analyze those recordings with Audacity or something: there is virtually NO activity below 40 Hz.  Nadda, zilch.
 
Neutral-tending headphones will probably never make you happy.  Don't torture yourself!  And stay away from the Alpha Dogs- they're about as neutral as I have ever heard.
 
Oct 24, 2014 at 8:47 PM Post #2,565 of 14,386
biggrin.gif
Quote:
  Okay, this idea that the 400i's are light in the bass has been getting to me a bit, and I felt a little insecure about my ravings about these headphones.
 
So, I took one for the team and listened to the following tracks:
 
Sleep- "Dopesmoker".  The entire 63-minute track.  The whole thing. If you don't know what this album is, there's probably a reason.
 
Sunn )))) - "Hello-o)))-ween" off of 'White 2'
 
SunnO)))/Boris- "Etna" off of "Altar"
 
I need some motrin.  And these cans have plenty of bass.  Skull-crunching, end-of-the world full of doom bass.
 
(If the track has it.  And by the way, these tracks have it)
 
Man, I need to go listen to some Enya now.  Or maybe the new Opeth........


Faultless choices for heavy bass, thumbs up.  And ooh i see what you did there with Opeth...
wink.gif

 
since I can't say anything nice about kansas/boston/etc, I will just refrain from that.  Taste is a funny thing and we all like stuff that others don't and vice versa.
 

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