[Mark Up]

 What sounds like AKG K550? the K7XX from Massdrop?

I'd hope not. I've got K7XX on the way. K553 is supposed to have more bass and smoother highs than K550. K553 did have great highs, and mids, but lacked bass for me. I could get the bass right if I pushed them hard against my ears, but that is not practical. This is coming from a fan of the Senn HD650 and the Shure SRH1540 sound. Given the praise for the low end of HE400S I'm very surprised people think the AKG has better bass. It's disheartening to hear that. I'd expect better subs on the HE400S vs. the AKG.

 

[Music Path]

Both devices can drive HE400S to loud volume if they have enough power. That doesn't mean they can drive it well, most definitely they won't. I've used HE400S with both Meridian Explorer 2 and iFi iDSD Micro. With Fidelio X2, there is no difference between these amps, the sound is the same. There's a significant difference with HE400S, however. Explorer 2 can drive HE400S to loud volumes but with iDSD Micro, everything sounds better and more natural. The bass sounds much better. Explorer 2 just can't provide enough low end via usb power and the general sound is coarser.

I noticed the same with the fidelio, they very easy droven and dont scale much. So from what you sad, the 400S scale quite well and need grear source?
Im reading this comments about bass not being better then some AKGs, which sometimes are known to be bass light, i cant believe this that much.
I think its important to refer the gear here.

 

[conquerator2]

The AKG K7XX is an excellent headphone IMO, especially for the asking price. By all accounts, so is the Philips Fidelio X2 [I owned the X1 for a while it was already very good]. The HE-400S seems to close off the trifecta of excellent all-round 'budget' open headphones [and I should hear it soon, hopefully].
Just my 2c. 

 

[avitron142]

  The AKG K7XX is an excellent headphone IMO, especially for the asking price. By all accounts, so is the Philips Fidelio X2 [I owned the X1 for a while it was already very good]. The HE-400S seems to close off the trifecta of excellent all-round 'budget' open headphones [and I should hear it soon, hopefully].
Just my 2c. 

Lets add the HD 600 to that quad-force...

 

[gotak]

Arrived today.
 
So far so good.
 
Not sure what people are saying when they say this needs a lot of power to drive. Some folks might have hearing damage? Seems only slightly less sensitive than the momentums.
 
Most tracks sounds good but somehow Duffy sounds really grainy.
 
Keep listening as I go and see how they pan out. 

 

[obsidyen]

  Arrived today.
 
So far so good.
 
Not sure what people are saying when they say this needs a lot of power to drive. Some folks might have hearing damage? Seems only slightly less sensitive than the momentums.
 
Most tracks sounds good but somehow Duffy sounds really grainy.
 
Keep listening as I go and see how they pan out. 

As said before, driving loud doesn't mean driving well and proper. Meridian Explorer 2 can drive these really loud, but they really shine with iDSD Micro, not Explorer 2. The general sound quality, treble extension and low end suffer from phones or portable amps. Momentum and Fidelio X2 for that matter are much less sensitive to source/amp so their sound don't really improve with better source/amp.

 

[Tamirci]

 
As said before, driving loud doesn't mean driving well and proper. Meridian Explorer 2 can drive these really loud, but they really shine with iDSD Micro, not Explorer 2. The general sound quality, treble extension and low end suffer from phones or portable amps. Momentum and Fidelio X2 for that matter are much less sensitive to source/amp so their sound don't really improve with better source/amp.

Thumbs up!

 

[Music Path]

As said before, driving loud doesn't mean driving well and proper. Meridian Explorer 2 can drive these really loud, but they really shine with iDSD Micro, not Explorer 2. The general sound quality, treble extension and low end suffer from phones or portable amps. Momentum and Fidelio X2 for that matter are much less sensitive to source/amp so their sound don't really improve with better source/amp.

I do own fidelio x2 and momentum and they do improve a bit with better dac and source then better amp, especially the momentum. In relation to planars, can i expect them to scale with amping similarly to the HD650?
That would be great, because it would have better potential.

 

[obsidyen]

I do own fidelio x2 and momentum and they do improve a bit with better dac and source then better amp, especially the momentum. In relation to planars, can i expect them to scale with amping similarly to the HD650?
That would be great, because it would have better potential.

I had the 1st Momentum, didn't feel they scaled that much, speaking from memory.
 
HE400S scale a lot, similar to high impedance dynamic headphones. HE400S is a planar so by nature it scales. Is there a planar that doesn't? (Perhaps PM-3 with its small driver for a planar).

 

[Music Path]

I had the 1st Momentum, didn't feel they scaled that much, speaking from memory.

HE400S scale a lot, similar to high impedance dynamic headphones. HE400S is a planar so by nature it scales. Is there a planar that doesn't? (Perhaps PM-3 with its small driver for a planar).

I have the old model, it scales a bit but it takes some adjustments.
Now plannars, if they scale well thats great. I never used plannars, so i
dont have many notions on the potential
of the tecnology.

 

[Ultrainferno]

X2 and momentum don't scale that much. Haven't had a chance to try with the 400S but I will hook it up balanced to my Vio V281 later this week and see

 

[DrawTheLine87]

I've had my set for 2 days now, and I'm definitely liking the sound.

I've always heard of burning in headphones, but I had never experienced that phenomenon until now. These headphones sounded a little muddy out of the box (perhaps it was my expectations based upon reviews here), but after a few hours that seems to have changed. Perhaps it's my ears adjusting to the sound, but the mids sound like they're tightening up as they're played more. It's an interesting experience, for sure. The sound is impressing me so far, even directly off of my phone.


I will say this, I look ridiculous wearing these. As portable as they're made out to be, I'll be strictly using these in my home.

 

[avitron142]

Just tried mine straight from the Alien, and with the Beyer A20. An A/B comparison with the HD 600 shows that the HE-400S is better by far. I actually liked the HD 600 until now

 

 

[Ultrainferno]

Listening to the 400S in balanced mode from the Violectric V281, this thing is seriously good for the money. Agreed, the amp is overkill for this unit but the clarity and speed is impressive. Just expected a bit more bass body and deeper bass (but I'm used to the HE-1000)

 

[Tamirci]

clarity and speed is impressive

I completely agree with you