[ethan7000]

@conquerator2 sweet review, thanks for taking the time. The question now is: which set will you keep? My 400i comes in on Thursday, I'm excited

 

[conquerator2]

@conquerator2
 sweet review, thanks for taking the time. The question now is: which set will you keep? My 400i comes in on Thursday, I'm excited

I'll try them grill modded before the final decision is made...
But so far I am pretty set on the 560.

 

[SoundDragon]

I'll try them grill modded before the final decision is made...
But so far I am pretty set on the 560.

 
What do you prefer: HE-6 or the HE-560 overall? Thanks for the detail review.

 

[SkyBleu]

What's the difference between focuspad A and the standard focuspads?

Which is better?

And what do these pads generally do to the sound? Make it warmer? Widen soundstage?

 

[TMRaven]

Focus Pad A has less emphasis at 4khz than Focus Pads.  Having more emphasis at 4khz might be a good thing for the HE-400i.  It's not such a good thing for 560.
 
The Focus Pad has slightly better fit and finish, with a wider ear-opening, but no lip underneath the opening, so the overall ear-space is about the same on both pads.  Focus Pad A used to be asymmetric, but has since been made to be symmetric.

 

[SkyBleu]

Focus Pad A has less emphasis at 4khz than Focus Pads.  Having more emphasis at 4khz might be a good thing for the HE-400i.  It's not such a good thing for 560.

The Focus Pad has slightly better fit and finish, with a wider ear-opening, but no lip underneath the opening, so the overall ear-space is about the same on both pads.  Focus Pad A used to be asymmetric, but has since been made to be symmetric.

Interesting. Thanks for that comparison.

Let's say I own another set of headphones (SoundMAGIC HP200) which are a detailed neutral sounding headphone, would you say these pads would provide more comfort (which I'm sure it will) and not compromise the neutrality of the headphone? I ask this because I was running Shure 1540 alcantara earpads on them and the sound became a touch warm. Would this happen with the focus pads?

 

[conquerator2]

What do you prefer: HE-6 or the HE-560 overall? Thanks for the detail review.

I am not saying it is overall the better headphone, but I definitely prefer the tonality of the 560.

 

[MichaelJames99]

Has anyone compared the HE-4 vs. 400i?

 

[conquerator2]

The grill-mod first day.
 
As for the sound with and without the grills, I am slightly disappointed. Day 1 impressions follow.
I do hear the slight bounce-backs when I run white noise through them but in real song usage the difference seems much smaller.
A little more openness. Slightly better imaging. Maybe a bit clearer treble. I honestly wouldn' bet expecting much improvement, as the HE-560 is pretty impressive but reading the mod guide, the differences should been a bit clearer... But what I hear seems to attribute to maybe like 5%...
 
Maybe it works better with the 500, maybe it will improve the 400i more but with the 560 the difference is pretty small on a good setup IMO [NFB7 - SA31SE].
 
Covering the grills with your hands [or just partial covering] creates a massive difference in comparison.So do Focus and Focus-A pads. 
 
I think I can distinguish the difference - that it is noticeable, but I am not completely sure.
 
And that is why I will do a controlled test tomorrow [this is something I'd probably recommend to anyone who says the difference is big] - I'll get a second individual, who will switch between three different modes - obstructing the open headphones with the stock grills, putting them away and altering [at will, like 5 seconds obstructing, 5 put away, etc.] I'll have my eyes close so I won't know which one he chose. I selected a few segments from different songs where I believe the difference is discernable. I'll play one and see if I can guess which one fo the three choices he did, then repeat with a different segment, his choice again randomized and unknown. Pretty simple and will confirm whether I can consciously tell the difference, or not.
 
 I'll also test the 400i tomorrow [and probably will perform the same controlled test, unless the differences are clearer] 
 
I will or won't do the grill mod depending on the outcome. 
The way the mod is described, however, made me think noticeable differences will be clearly heard but this doesn't seem to be the case entirely. I'll be wiser after tomorrow.
 
After day 1, the possible 5% of difference or so [as it is now] is not enough to mandate the mod, or make it really worth it. I know Jerg himself repeatedly that the differences are subtle. I understand that the mod is written for the 500 and thus it probably does more good [as I guess, it should do to the 400i then, which I'll find out]. Still, I was expecting a bit more, going by all the psitive, enthusiastic feedback in the 560 thread...
 
Stay tuned for tomorrow - for the controlled tests and 400i no-grills impressions! 

 

 

[money4me247]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

  The grill-mod first day.
 
As for the sound with and without the grills, I am slightly disappointed. Day 1 impressions follow.
I do hear the slight bounce-backs when I run white noise through them but in real song usage the difference seems much smaller.
A little more openness. Slightly better imaging. Maybe a bit clearer treble. I honestly wouldn' bet expecting much improvement, as the HE-560 is pretty impressive but reading the mod guide, the differences should been a bit clearer... But what I hear seems to attribute to maybe like 5%...
 
Maybe it works better with the 500, maybe it will improve the 400i more but with the 560 the difference is pretty small on a good setup IMO [NFB7 - SA31SE].
 
Covering the grills with your hands [or just partial covering] creates a massive difference in comparison.So do Focus and Focus-A pads. 
 
I think I can distinguish the difference - that it is noticeable, but I am not completely sure.
 
And that is why I will do a controlled test tomorrow [this is something I'd probably recommend to anyone who says the difference is big] - I'll get a second individual, who will switch between three different modes - obstructing the open headphones with the stock grills, putting them away and altering [at will, like 5 seconds obstructing, 5 put away, etc.] I'll have my eyes close so I won't know which one he chose. I selected a few segments from different songs where I believe the difference is discernable. I'll play one and see if I can guess which one fo the three choices he did, then repeat with a different segment, his choice again randomized and unknown. Pretty simple and will confirm whether I can consciously tell the difference, or not.
 
 I'll also test the 400i tomorrow [and probably will perform the same controlled test, unless the differences are clearer] 
 
I will or won't do the grill mod depending on the outcome. 
The way the mod is described, however, made me think noticeable differences will be clearly heard but this doesn't seem to be the case entirely. I'll be wiser after tomorrow.
 
After day 1, the possible 5% of difference or so [as it is now] is not enough to mandate the mod, or make it really worth it. I know Jerg himself repeatedly that the differences are subtle. I understand that the mod is written for the 500 and thus it probably does more good [as I guess, it should do to the 400i then, which I'll find out]. Still, I was expecting a bit more, going by all the psitive, enthusiastic feedback in the 560 thread...
 
Stay tuned for tomorrow - for the controlled tests and 400i no-grills impressions! 

 
 

omg i love you!!!! finally someone who does legit blind controlled tests when testing differences.

 

[Ron12]

  The grill-mod first day.
 
As for the sound with and without the grills, I am slightly disappointed. Day 1 impressions follow.
I do hear the slight bounce-backs when I run white noise through them but in real song usage the difference seems much smaller.
A little more openness. Slightly better imaging. Maybe a bit clearer treble. I honestly wouldn' bet expecting much improvement, as the HE-560 is pretty impressive but reading the mod guide, the differences should been a bit clearer... But what I hear seems to attribute to maybe like 5%...
 
Maybe it works better with the 500, maybe it will improve the 400i more but with the 560 the difference is pretty small on a good setup IMO [NFB7 - SA31SE].
 
Covering the grills with your hands [or just partial covering] creates a massive difference in comparison.So do Focus and Focus-A pads. 
 
I think I can distinguish the difference - that it is noticeable, but I am not completely sure.
 
And that is why I will do a controlled test tomorrow [this is something I'd probably recommend to anyone who says the difference is big] - I'll get a second individual, who will switch between three different modes - obstructing the open headphones with the stock grills, putting them away and altering [at will, like 5 seconds obstructing, 5 put away, etc.] I'll have my eyes close so I won't know which one he chose. I selected a few segments from different songs where I believe the difference is discernable. I'll play one and see if I can guess which one fo the three choices he did, then repeat with a different segment, his choice again randomized and unknown. Pretty simple and will confirm whether I can consciously tell the difference, or not.
 
 I'll also test the 400i tomorrow [and probably will perform the same controlled test, unless the differences are clearer] 
 
I will or won't do the grill mod depending on the outcome. 
The way the mod is described, however, made me think noticeable differences will be clearly heard but this doesn't seem to be the case entirely. I'll be wiser after tomorrow.
 
After day 1, the possible 5% of difference or so [as it is now] is not enough to mandate the mod, or make it really worth it. I know Jerg himself repeatedly that the differences are subtle. I understand that the mod is written for the 500 and thus it probably does more good [as I guess, it should do to the 400i then, which I'll find out]. Still, I was expecting a bit more, going by all the psitive, enthusiastic feedback in the 560 thread...
 
Stay tuned for tomorrow - for the controlled tests and 400i no-grills impressions! 

 

 
No, it doesn't work any better with HE-500... The mod works well but it's nowhere near lifechanging or something like that. Don't believe everything you are told on the internet, it's full of hype and exaggerating.

 

[MattTCG]

   
No, it doesn't work any better with HE-500... The mod works well but it's nowhere near lifechanging or something like that. Don't believe everything you are told on the internet, it's full of hype and exaggerating.

 
Do you own either of these hp's? If so do you have either grill modded?

 

[Ron12]

   
Do you own either of these hp's? If so do you have either grill modded?

 
I have owned HE-4 and tried the grill mod on HE-500 and HE-400... I also performed this mod on Audeze LCD-2. I think this is more than enough, right?

 

[money4me247]

hahaha i love the way conversations on head-fi develop.
 
1) X makes such an amazing difference, go try it!!!
2) dude, X sucks... it doesn't make any difference
3) gtfo, did you even do X or own Y to do X on??
4) lol errrr... yes?
 
the wide range of opinions, experiences, and random arguments over silly things makes me love this forum sooo much heh.

 

[MattTCG]

   
I have owned HE-4 and tried the grill mod on HE-500 and HE-400... I also performed this mod on Audeze LCD-2. I think this is more than enough, right?

 
What does that have to do with the discussion here? Those are completely different hp's. Please don't chime in with responses without personal first hand knowledge. Otherwise people who read this thread for information to make decisions will assume that you own both of these hp's and have done the grill mod for both.