[jerg]

Quote:

Is this the right way to go about EQing HE-400 in order to achieve deeper bass and tamer treble?
 

Protips:
 
Make the bass -> midrange transition a lot smoother and more gradual than that, extend the high shelf into 400Hz or so.
 
Bump up 2kHz ~ 5kHz region by around 3~4dB, again, smooth like a gentle hill.
 
Make the upper treble dip more like a valley than a drop to a flat shelf, make the valley centered around 12kHz.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

Quote:

Right, I was more speaking in response to Mani's post.  When I hit the quote button on yours, I thought it would include his too.

Hey Ethan,

I don't have the capability (or desire to be honest) to do actual testing on frequency response before or after burn in.

I think what Jerg is saying about my ears being closer to the drivers actually isn't the case though.

The reason I would think this is because right out of the box my ears are sitting inside the pad openings virtually against the drivers.

The velours have softened but I'm not sure my ears have really gotten closer to the drivers, if they have it has to be by almost non existent measurements. (This is part of the reason the Jerg mod didn't really work for me, although I did notice a difference in the sound, the minimal padding had my ears pressed to the drivers which made the mod unwearable for me because of comfort - not willing to cut up my velour pads without access to another set.)

Again, no real conclusive evidence just rough guesses and estimates. So the possibility exists that it could actually be that my ears are a tiny bit closer with the softer pads and that could make the difference.

Either way, I'm still not sure I'm convinced about the benefits of burn in or whether the phenomenon is real. What I do know is that these headphones sounded great out of the box, and seem to only be getting better. I'm a pretty happy camper right now.

I'm going to be on a 5 hours flight in a couple of days, depending on the seating in the plane...I may be bringing out my HE-400, sound leakage be damned lol.



 

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

..................

Either way, I'm still not sure I'm convinced about the benefits of burn in or whether the phenomenon is real. What I do know is that these headphones sounded great out of the box, and seem to only be getting better. 
...........

Mani,
 
I have had a similar experience. When new, it sounded very quiet but repeated use has helped get it to a stage where I just plug into my Macbook Air and the 400 just sings ! I bought some j$ pads very early on and I continue to use them (I should switch to the jergpads by modulor since I now have them). My point is that I have heard the sound evolve from infancy (if you will) and I believe there are certain processes that are activated that result in these HPs becoming better. If those processes are collectively called burn-in, I have no problem with that.

 

[davidsh]

When I got my HE-500, I listened quite loud, slowly lowering the volume over the weeks. Dunno why, but that will definitely have an influence on perceived sound, mostly bass and treble being more prominent. Pads wearing in as well can affect the sound. Else, there is the brain burn-in as well. I suppose you'd perceive the sound as more balanced after a period of brain burn-in.
 
Have a story to share with ya, a little OT. I have had some problems with my Stax pads slowly sliding up the frame (they are glued onto the driver frame).
So, I removed the glue, and got some double sited adhessive tape, and taped the pads back on (what a hassle!).
 
The point is, that the double sided tape is somewhere between 1 and 2mm thick, which result in more space for my ears, which I really like, and this was ofc expected. BUT (!) it has also impacted the sound quality, IMO negatively, resulting in a drier bass, and sligtly brighter sound which I tend to find slightly annoying. In the beginning I thought it was because I came from using the HE-500's exclusively over for couple of days, but the effect hasn't subsided.

 

[ethan7000]

Hey Ethan,


I don't have the capability (or desire to be honest) to do actual testing on frequency response before or after burn in.


I think what Jerg is saying about my ears being closer to the drivers actually isn't the case though.


The reason I would think this is because right out of the box my ears are sitting inside the pad openings virtually against the drivers.


The velours have softened but I'm not sure my ears have really gotten closer to the drivers, if they have it has to be by almost non existent measurements. (This is part of the reason the Jerg mod didn't really work for me, although I did notice a difference in the sound, the minimal padding had my ears pressed to the drivers which made the mod unwearable for me because of comfort - not willing to cut up my velour pads without access to another set.)


Again, no real conclusive evidence just rough guesses and estimates. So the possibility exists that it could actually be that my ears are a tiny bit closer with the softer pads and that could make the difference.


Either way, I'm still not sure I'm convinced about the benefits of burn in or whether the phenomenon is real. What I do know is that these headphones sounded great out of the box, and seem to only be getting better. I'm a pretty happy camper right now.


I'm going to be on a 5 hours flight in a couple of days, depending on the seating in the plane...I may be bringing out my HE-400, sound leakage be damned lol.




 

Thanks Mani. I've experienced headphones sounding better over time as well. I was just wondering if anyone had read of conclusive tests being done on the phenomenon. So Jerg mod didn't work for you? Would you say you prefer standard velours over pleather and modded pleather?

 

[Thujone]

I have yet to see any objective evidence to support headphone drivers "breaking in". I have read several articles that claim it's never been done though... so far, like I said, I haven't seen otherwise so it is very possible.

 

[soundeffect]

I never understand the concept of break in, I don't see why not just use them and if it does happen then it does. Why not buy a product and just enjoy them.To me it's like buying a new pair of shoe and worry about bending and stretch them just make them more comfortable. Plain weird. Heck a slow break in is probable better than a rush one. Of course this is IMO. My he400 and all other headphones doesn't go through that process and I appreciate knowing my low hrs. Of use.

 

[wje]

Quote:

I have yet to see any objective evidence to support headphone drivers "breaking in". I have read several articles that claim it's never been done though... so far, like I said, I haven't seen otherwise so it is very possible.

 
Really?  Here's some great information on the "burn-in" for dynamic drivers.  Maybe, orthodynamics are different with respect to this process.  However, the numbers are factual.
 
http://www.gr-research.com/burnin.htm

 

[ethan7000]

Really?  Here's some great information on the "burn-in" for dynamic drivers.  Maybe, orthodynamics are different with respect to this process.  However, the numbers are factual.

http://www.gr-research.com/burnin.htm

Thanks this is the kind of thing I was looking for. I don't know how similar a woofer and a headphone driver is, or if a headphone driver even has a "spider" but these are some conclusive results.

 

[davidsh]

Tyll did do some testing on the k701's, but not anything conclusive..

 

[Thujone]

Quote:

 
Quote:

I have yet to see any objective evidence to support headphone drivers "breaking in". I have read several articles that claim it's never been done though... so far, like I said, I haven't seen otherwise so it is very possible.

 
Really?  Here's some great information on the "burn-in" for dynamic drivers.  Maybe, orthodynamics are different with respect to this process.  However, the numbers are factual.
 
http://www.gr-research.com/burnin.htm

I've read a decent amount about speaker burn in, but nothing on headphone drivers. Since the dynamic speaker, whether it be in a headphone or just a speaker, performs in the same way, I would assume that the dynamic headphones drivers will "burn in" a little bit, but enough to change the sound dramatically like with speakers? I doubt it. The reason is because speakers move a lot more than headphone drivers do in order to push enough air to make sound for an entire room. This requires much more driver movement than a headphone driver does (I don't think that the displacement/dB ratio is linear either). Breaking in a speaker just makes more sense to me I guess. Planar magnetic drivers are a whole different ballgame too.
 
Thanks for the link, I haven't seen this article before.

 

[davidsh]

Speakers breaking in more than headphones...? Speakers do have to play very loud in comparison, but that means the changes of the driver movements have to be bigger as well for significant changes to happen.
 
Whatever...

 

[TMRaven]

There is a case for the rubber surroundings on conventional speakers loosening up, but theoretically that should happen within the first few hours, not some magical number like 300 that a lot of headfi members will claim fixes every major flaw with their favorite headphones.

 

[cjc]

HE-400 after a month of daily use......awesome! My 1st pair of Ortho's and I really like what I'm hearing.
BTW, these cans sound excellent without a dedicated headphone amplifier too.  

 

[Mani ATH 87]

Quote:

Thanks Mani. I've experienced headphones sounding better over time as well. I was just wondering if anyone had read of conclusive tests being done on the phenomenon. So Jerg mod didn't work for you? Would you say you prefer standard velours over pleather and modded pleather?

I did all the steps to it except for the velour top mod part because I only have one set of velours (which I really like) and don't have access to another set if I had messed something up cutting them. 

I liked the jerg mod even thought the difference in sound was slight for me, they made the sound a little bit more airy which I kind of liked.

I found the comfort didn't work for me though. Taking the foam rings out of the pleather pads makes them super pliable and takes away pretty much any support or cushion. When I put on the headphones with the jerg mod my ears are basically pressed against the drivers and for me that doesn't work. Like I mentioned in the jerg mod thread, this is without the velour top mod which I'm sure would help with comfort. Based on the experience I had though I don't find that it would really be worth cutting up my velours to do it, the difference wasn't really substantial and I like the sound quality with the stock velours. 

As for the pleather vs velour, I prefer the velour for sound quality as well as comfort. I found the velours a bit stiff out of the box, but after a couple of weeks they feel much softer. To my ears the sound has a bit more impact and sounds a bit warmer, the pleather sounds brighter. I really don't like pleather or leather pads, they get warmer much quicker and I tend to sweat in them, not the case with the velours. I'm usually listening for long sessions so comfort is very important to me.