[DavidMahler]

The HE400 review is commmin' along

 

[Sniping]

Quote:

The HE400 review is commmin' along

Any previews or short blurbs from the review? =O

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Any previews or short blurbs from the review? =O

my lips (hands) are sealed until its ready (which should be a little over a week).  I need to start on the next review too.

 

[jazzerdave]

my lips (hands) are sealed until its ready (which should be a little over a week).  I need to start on the next review too.

Will you be posting both reviews at the same time?

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Will you be posting both reviews at the same time?

Probably not, though hopefully by January 1st i'll have the new one up.  

 

[Joe007]

Good resources for HEADFIER and I will read twice.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Good resources for HEADFIER and I will read twice.

Thanks

 

 

[jjmai]

Wow, this is some awesome reading.  Very educational, full of history.  Thank you very much.
Two questions (that are affecting me personally):
How do you make a living/budget your spending to support this expensive hobby? 
What do you tell your significant other or girlfriend?

 

[Flognuts]

Just wondering did you ever try the Comfy Pads for the MS-Pros?
 
Like yourself I found the bowel pads quite uncomfortable, but with the comfy pads they are very comfortable.......I also think they sound better, but this is preference. 

 

[alota]

Quote:

 
How do you make a living/budget your spending to support this expensive hobby? 
 

this is a question never do

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Wow, this is some awesome reading.  Very educational, full of history.  Thank you very much.
Two questions (that are affecting me personally):
How do you make a living/budget your spending to support this expensive hobby? 
What do you tell your significant other or girlfriend?

Thank you.
 
1) I used to frequently do live work and recording sessions before my hand started to experience problems.  But with most of that work not applicable to me now, I don't see myself continuing the review much longer.
 
2) I tell her "one day, when your stock iPhone buds break, you'll be in need of a pair of headphones....  And fortunately for your you, Walmart is just a quick drive away"

Just kidding, actually I've never needed to give explanation as long as my bills were paid and I could buy her things
Quote:

Just wondering did you ever try the Comfy Pads for the MS-Pros?
 
Like yourself I found the bowel pads quite uncomfortable, but with the comfy pads they are very comfortable.......I also think they sound better, but this is preference. 

Do you mean the L Cush pads that come with the PS/GS Grado series?  No I haven't swapped them out.
Quote:

this is a question never do

haha its ok.  its been asked a lot in this thread and I've answered it

 

[Nick Dangerous]

First of all, kudos and a big "Thank YOU!" to David for dedicating so much time to this comprehensive guide. I believe he deserves a canvas Time Bandits/LOTR style map of the "Kingdom of Headphonia" for all of his hard work.
 
I've heard nearly everything (IEM's excepted) on his list short of a few outliers such as the Ultrasone and JVC, and generally agree with his rankings from the Orpheus on down. I've long held the HD600 and Grado SR-225 as price/performance leaders. However, my one significant divergence is with the HiFiMan HE-500... it just doesn't fit into the way I view the headphone hierarchy.
 
I briefly owned the HE-500 and paired it with a Decware Taboo. The HE-500 delivered satisfyingly deep bass and excelled with certain instruments such as the piano. What bothered me most was the uneven soundstaging. Human voices sounded as if they were coming from a different area of the venue, as if artificially recessed or encased within a plastic bubble. This lack of cohesiveness across the band was frustrating to experience. My mind wanted to enjoy the excellent rendering of individual sounds but was unable to integrate them uniformly. By comparison, my Grado 225's (despite being less sophisticated and having a smaller soundstage) were much more fun to listen to via the Taboo because the sound was consistent across the spectrum.
 
I didn't keep the HE-500's very long. I found them to be rather heavy, hot, and required occasional adjustment to prevent the hard surfaces of the speaker area from brushing against the top of my ears. Overall refinement & appearance was a bit rough in comparison with other peers at this price point. I dunno... the HD800 in my opinion vastly outclasses it in terms of detail retrieval, neutrality, comfort, soundstaging, fit and finish, and realism. Like, no contest.
 
*shrug* I'll have to confirm this at the next Head-Fi meet & contrast with some LCD's to find out what's what.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

First of all, kudos and a big "Thank YOU!" to David for dedicating so much time to this comprehensive guide. I believe he deserves a canvas Time Bandits/LOTR style map of the "Kingdom of Headphonia" for all of his hard work.
 
I've heard nearly everything (IEM's excepted) on his list short of a few outliers such as the Ultrasone and JVC, and generally agree with his rankings from the Orpheus on down. I've long held the HD600 and Grado SR-225 as price/performance leaders. However, my one significant divergence is with the HiFiMan HE-500... it just doesn't fit into the way I view the headphone hierarchy.
 
I briefly owned the HE-500 and paired it with a Decware Taboo. The HE-500 delivered satisfyingly deep bass and excelled with certain instruments such as the piano. What bothered me most was the uneven soundstaging. Human voices sounded as if they were coming from a different area of the venue, as if artificially recessed or encased within a plastic bubble. This lack of cohesiveness across the band was frustrating to experience. My mind wanted to enjoy the excellent rendering of individual sounds but was unable to integrate them uniformly. By comparison, my Grado 225's (despite being less sophisticated and having a smaller soundstage) were much more fun to listen to via the Taboo because the sound was consistent across the spectrum.
 
I didn't keep the HE-500's very long. I found them to be rather heavy, hot, and required occasional adjustment to prevent the hard surfaces of the speaker area from brushing against the top of my ears. Overall refinement & appearance was a bit rough in comparison with other peers at this price point. I dunno... the HD800 in my opinion vastly outclasses it in terms of detail retrieval, neutrality, comfort, soundstaging, fit and finish, and realism. Like, no contest.
 
*shrug* I'll have to confirm this at the next Head-Fi meet & contrast with some LCD's to find out what's what.

 
Thank you!!!

The Hifiman headphones have hurt my ears at times too.  I know what you're talking about.  It was especially a problem with the original HE-6.

 

[DavidMahler]

Speaking of the HE-500, I'm bummed today because I went to resume my review of the HE-400 and in the process of switching the cable back and forth several times, I think the twisting over and over has created a short in the left side of my connector.  And since APS no longer is in business, I doubt I can get it fixed easily.  It's like the headphone gods don't want me to finish this HE-400 review.

 

[viralcow]

Quote:

Speaking of the HE-500, I'm bummed today because I went to resume my review of the HE-400 and in the process of switching the cable back and forth several times, I think the twisting over and over has created a short in the left side of my connector.  And since APS no longer is in business, I doubt I can get it fixed easily.  It's like the headphone gods don't want me to finish this HE-400 review.

 
Wow, that sucks. and I was really looking forward to this review...