[disastermouse]

Maybe not you, others for sure. There do seem to be a number of 500 owners who like the 400i quite a bit, but yes, as a 500 owner wouldn't make much sense overall.

Why the 400i over the 400s?

 

[bavinck]

Why the 400i over the 400s?

 


400i reminded me of the 500 a lot, never heard the 400s but it is not as well received in general.

 

[cycev]

400i are overall more neutral and has a better soundstage

 

[bavinck]

400i are overall more neutral and has a better soundstage

Actually, I find the pm3 to be almost perfectly neutral flat. The 400i has a treble spike that prevents it from being perfectly neutral. I also find their soundstage to be similar. The 400i soundstage is its weakness. YMMV of course.

 

[cycev]

Actually, I find the pm3 to be almost perfectly neutral flat. The 400i has a treble spike that prevents it from being perfectly neutral. I also find their soundstage to be similar. The 400i soundstage is its weakness. YMMV of course.

Sorry forgot to quote. Was referring to 400i vs 400S

 

[disastermouse]

Girlfriend is sleeping so I'm back on the HE-500. The PM-3 are not mini-HE-500s and that's okay, but wow, the HE-500 delivers the transparency of my system so much better than the PM-3.
 
I can't wait to bring the PM-3s on holiday, though. It's so nice to not have to leave all the comforts of home behind when I'm in the hinterlands.

 

[lukeap69]

I don't use my PM-3 at home. I have other cans for home use. But when out and about, PM-3 is always being used. It is probably my most used HP because of that.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Girlfriend is sleeping so I'm back on the HE-500. The PM-3 are not mini-HE-500s and that's okay, but wow, the HE-500 delivers the transparency of my system so much better than the PM-3.
 
I can't wait to bring the PM-3s on holiday, though. It's so nice to not have to leave all the comforts of home behind when I'm in the hinterlands.

Same for me with the 400i. I love the PM3, but I have always preferred the transparency of a well done open headphone design. Cup reflections will always exist and impact the sound in one way or another and this is one great example of that. Regardless, home or on the go the PM3 sound fantastic, but they really are in my mind a portable headphone, or for wearing with people around you. If I was to select a headphone without concern for others around and portability I would not likely take the PM3 in that role as there are so many open back models available that can bring me enough bass impact. Always trade offs right?

 

[natalieann]

I adore this headphone so much....I can't pinpoint it, but it makes metal and distorted guitars sound like no other headphone can

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I adore this headphone so much....I can't pinpoint it, but it makes metal and distorted guitars sound like no other headphone can

You can pinpoint it, the signature has rolled off treble and warmed up upper mids. Those would be some critical frequencies to fix up. The fact that you really like the PM3 with this music strongly suggests that while you may think you like distorted guitars, you really don't, or at least not as raw as they can be presented. I have spent my life with hard rock and metal, came of age in the 80s, but once you turn it up, those overdriven guitars become a very unpleasant wall of noise and suck the bass right out of the music.
 
I can't stand rock recordings that during melodic passages give you nice thick and chewy bass, but then when the crashing choruses and bridges slam in, all you get is a distorted blast of guitar that makes the music thin and strained with no impact at all beyond screeching highs. Now this isn't always the case, Tool for instance seems to record awesome power passages that are listenable, but in my experience this isn't common. Essentially people like us who like a smoothing signature for rock are considered losers by hard-core fans who think that terrible distortion tolerance is a badge of manhood and courage and the worst thing you could do would be to clean anything up, pure sacrilege. Personally I like the craptastic sounding edge taken off myself.

 

[cderrick14]

Has anyone used these while plugged into a PS4 controller? That is my primary use for headphones at home. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Has anyone used these while plugged into a PS4 controller? That is my primary use for headphones at home. 

Might be overkill for that purpose. I think there are plenty of other gaming oriented headphones that wouldn't cost anywhere near as much money.

 

[cderrick14]

  Might be overkill for that purpose. I think there are plenty of other gaming oriented headphones that wouldn't cost anywhere near as much money.

Yeah I agree, I keep thinking I will use headphones for more than that...and I never do. Currently have the V-Moda M100s and they seem to be good enough.

 

[urbino]

  You can pinpoint it, the signature has rolled off treble and warmed up upper mids. 

 
How rolled off?  I ended up getting a pair of Sennheiser M2's for my office cans, and so far I'm finding them so rolled off they sound pretty lifeless.  They're still new, so we'll see, but I'm wondering how the PM-3's compare.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
How rolled off?  I ended up getting a pair of Sennheiser M2's for my office cans, and so far I'm finding them so rolled off they sound pretty lifeless.  They're still new, so we'll see, but I'm wondering how the PM-3's compare.

Sadly I haven't heard the M2s, but the roll off on the PM3 is modest, and pretty well done. Using it with my DP-X1 has actually made them sound less rolled off than when I was using them with my Blackberry Leap. That makes sense as the Sabre DAC signature is known to be brighter so that makes sense to me. Wish I could help, I'm sure somebody else will have heard both and be able to offer you some feedback.