[nabwong]

Interesting comments on the O2+ODAC combo vs the Modi/Magni combo. I currently have the magni and was looking to get the modi dac to pair with it since I've read good things about these compared to the O2+ODAC. I had not noticed that there was no gain dial on the modi but figured it would not really be needed. Does the gain help that much? As of now using the magni connected to my mobo it sounds great to me, but I knew I wanted to get a dac at some point to get a better output to the HE400. I have a e17 that I use for my ath-m50s and the sounds is much better than using my e11 and headphone jack to power them. 

Those with the Modi+Magni combo what are your thoughts?

I don't have the magni. Only vali. So I can't talk about that. But I've had the e17, modi and now odac. The odac is the cleanest and airy-est dac out of the 3 to me.

About gain, the 2.5x/6.5x gain is really helpful. For pop, I use 2.5 and classical 6.5 (especially piano concertos). You get to use the middle part if the volume instead of extremes.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

alright guys.  i feel like an idiot for posting this video after seeing how bad i chopped the pads up but i didn't have a fresh pair of pads to work with showing the slits only going to the beginning of the velour.
would also like to note the the slits never open up more than the length you cut them at.
EDIT* the slits help with making a larger cavity but will not dampen as they go behind the ear.  however i don't see how making slits around the whole headphone would hurt
 
 
L 

 

[ZacRobbo]

Just ordered some he 400s this morning. Should get them next week.

Not sure if I will cut up the ear pads though, I'll just stick with the vealours. I'm not handy enough to be successful at modding the ear pads without doing some serious damage.

Unfortunately I won't have an amp for them for a few weeks, as I have to order them from overseas. Will they still sound somewhat ok out of my iPad? Otherwise I have an old sony stereo reciever, would the headphone out on that power them ok, I have no idea what it sounds like.

 

[MrMateoHead]

Just ordered some he 400s this morning. Should get them next week.

Not sure if I will cut up the ear pads though, I'll just stick with the vealours. I'm not handy enough to be successful at modding the ear pads without doing some serious damage.

Unfortunately I won't have an amp for them for a few weeks, as I have to order them from overseas. Will they still sound somewhat ok out of my iPad? Otherwise I have an old sony stereo reciever, would the headphone out on that power them ok, I have no idea what it sounds like.

Modding the pleathers is really quite easy. The trick is more to have some razor-sharp scissors around so you don't go ape through the cutting process. The rest is just patience. But certainly, stick with the velours. I am going to switch back to them myself in a little while, not that my ears have been on the pleathers (modded) for awhile. I want to see if my impressions have changed, or whether the velours can still be 'the best' for the HE-400s. Honestly,  I expect they will prove again to be the 'smoothest' sound. So that is my expectation bias.

 

[wjp007]

I know some people say these are fine without an amp, I simply cant agree. They definitely need an amp. The dynamics improve greatly.

 

[dxanex]

^ +1

 

[manbear]

I definitely agree that you need an amp to get the most out of the HE-400, but IMO they suffer less on a stock headphone jack than my DT990 pro or especially my Q701 did.

 

[BenF]

I know some people say these are fine without an amp, I simply cant agree. They definitely need an amp. The dynamics improve greatly.

HifiMeDiy Sabre DAC drives HE-400 about 90% where it should be, but it sounds so much better with FIIO E12 or NFB-11.32.

 

[Kursah]

Just ordered some he 400s this morning. Should get them next week.

Not sure if I will cut up the ear pads though, I'll just stick with the vealours. I'm not handy enough to be successful at modding the ear pads without doing some serious damage.

Unfortunately I won't have an amp for them for a few weeks, as I have to order them from overseas. Will they still sound somewhat ok out of my iPad? Otherwise I have an old sony stereo reciever, would the headphone out on that power them ok, I have no idea what it sounds like.

 
Give them a couple hours or better as-is if you can. I honestly feel they sound their best with the pleathers. The Velours I found LESS comfortable but maybe I received the uber cheap ones, i dunno. But then the pleathers were just okay, then I removed the foam ring under the pleathers and that took them to the next level. Then I decided to slap my D2000's pads on...and that's where I've stayed. I am thinking about putting the stock pleathers back on just to compare.I can't really comment on the iPad, i'm sure it'll sound okay or decent but not great. Heck I have a FiiO E9 and Denon AVR-1613 that make them sound really good, but I'm sure not great. To my ears though I am pretty damn impressed!
 
I am thinking about replacing the Auzen Forte/E9 combo with something else, external dac/amp, I dunno. But then it's spending money I don't have...so I'm undecided.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

http://youtu.be/wyr-dg7j5f0
 
someone was saying they didn't want to spend "all their free time" modding the he-400
this only takes 2 minutes with the cotton balls. 

 

[Kursah]

  http://youtu.be/wyr-dg7j5f0
 
someone was saying they didn't want to spend "all their free time" modding the he-400
this only takes 2 minutes with the cotton balls. 

Nice man.
 
I used the foam ring from the stock pleathers where you put foam on the D2000 pads. It added some depth for comfort, didn't seem to change the sound to my ears though.
 
I may try that with the velours though! Thanks for the share!

 

[ZacRobbo]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I seriously can't wait for the he 400s to turn up at my door.

I see where y'all are coming from with the amp situation, I will be ordering the schiit magni + modi later this week (when I get some more money). I have changed my mind on what amp/dac combo to pair with my new cans multiple times, is the magni/modi stack a good option, some say they are the best out there for the price, and others say the O2 + odac is a better option. I'm really not sure since I haven't been able to demo any of this gear. I think the schiit amp is more powerful, but does it really make that much of a difference? And apparently the odac is the better of the dacs, but mainly I'm going for the schiit magni/modi over the O2/odac is because it's slightly cheaper.

 

[worldtipper]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I seriously can't wait for the he 400s to turn up at my door.

I see where y'all are coming from with the amp situation, I will be ordering the schiit magni + modi later this week (when I get some more money). I have changed my mind on what amp/dac combo to pair with my new cans multiple times, is the magni/modi stack a good option, some say they are the best out there for the price, and others say the O2 + odac is a better option. I'm really not sure since I haven't been able to demo any of this gear. I think the schiit amp is more powerful, but does it really make that much of a difference? And apparently the odac is the better of the dacs, but mainly I'm going for the schiit magni/modi over the O2/odac is because it's slightly cheaper.

While some might say otherwise, the difference between those amp/DAC setups is marginal. I think you'll be pretty happy with the 400's alone and either amp/DAC will improve that experience. The Magni supplies a lot of power, but I just like how the M/M stack neatly whereas the O2 is sort of a mess with all in ins/outs and ac adapter on the front. And personally I like the Vali more than my Magni, though I hate to complicate this even further for you lol

 

[Halonoonan]

I'm in a similar situation. Just bought a used pair from a head-fi'er here today and trying to decide on an transportable amp. Vali vs Magni vs O2 or even E12

 

[KLJTech]

My son is using his HE-400's with the Schiit Audio Magni/Modi stack and is getting great results. I admit that I'm a bit biased towards Schiit Audio gear as the amp I use most often with my headphones is the Lyr.