[money4me247]

@Thujone, lol why the repeat post

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

People probably are clicking over from the HE400 thread from the chatter and comparisons and gives it a nice bump up the thread lists.

Just a random thought, now that the HE400i and HE560s are coming out in March, I wonder if the HE4 will be phased out since it'll be technically 2 generations back.

 

[hemipowered007]

phased out= we all have a hifiman classic/original. Take care of these bad boys gents, i believe we have a gem that will fade away and be VERY sought after a few years from now. Or im wrong, who knows. Still glad i got the one of the "last batch".

 

[Thujone]

  @Thujone, lol why the repeat post

To be completely honest, I have no idea how that happened, haha. When trying to edit the first post, it seems I only quoted myself and made the edit on THAT post. Only a grammatical error but when I noticed it, eeek.
 
 
Definitely hold on to your HE-4's. We gotta be the people to tell everyone that the HE-400i is only a worse version of the HE-4 

 

[hemipowered007]

And ugly as hell....

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

In an attempt to make for a wider soundstage, I pulled the heavy felt off the driver and removed the dust cover on the grill. You can refer to the hifiman grill mod thread here for more info. On the grill mod thread, it just says to remove the star felt. Well you can't just yank it off without using a lot of force so it helps to take the pads off, unscrew the driver and remove the driver from the cup to expose the adhesive tapes used on the felt. You can't completely separate the driver from the cup because of the cable so mind how far your pulling or twisting the driver. Don't want to yank those contacts off and have to bust out the soldering gun.







I also removed the dust cover, the grill mod mentions it playing a roll with treble. One of my fears in doing this was making the treble more pronounced than it already is, which to me is just on the edge on how bright I want my cans to be. On the contrary however, it did just the opposite. It removed the air, which to me is treble from 12-16khz. Some might not like this but if you want the HE4 with a little more relaxed treble, this might be something you want to try. However, the lows and mids get pushed forward and the highs take a back seat (although still with presence). The soundstage gets very slightly wider but the instrument separation does improve where as before the treble seems to mask separation. This could just be me, who sits with the treble-sensitive group. The HE4 still retains its speed but a slight degradation of attack.

What you end up with is a slightly warm HE4 with better instrument separation, better depth, and less treble. Similar to an HE500 but without the thick mids. It can be favorable to some, but I've gotten so used to that airy sound. I may hit an arts/crafts store to find a thinner felt and trace the old one with a slightly larger star pattern. We'll see where it goes, for now I'll give the HE4 as it is some getting used to time.

 

[Thujone]

Oooo, removed the felt "star" and the grill dust cover, eh? They probably have AKG air now

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  Oooo, removed the felt "star" and the grill dust cover, eh? They probably have AKG air now

I was surprised to find the opposite! Believe it or not, the star felt makes the HE4 airy.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

After some listening time to the mods I did last night (removed dust cover, star felt,, and switched to pleather pads) I decided to try the he4 without the grill.

The airy-ness has returned along with a better edge to the sound! My guess is the grill was reflecting some sound or was effecting how the driver moved air. If you have any DIY bone to you I swear you will not be disappointed. Beneath the felt and grill are some drivers dying to breath, taking off them off brings a whole new level of clarity to along with that airy sound. At first listen I had to pick up my jaw from the floor. Loaded up some GnR and sure enough... attack and speed is back with that airy sound. Separation also improves substantially with a more natural soundstage. With the grill on (minus star felt and dust fabric) the sound had a hall-like sound to it, without the grill that doesn't happen.

 

[Thujone]

After some listening time to the mods I did last night (removed dust cover, star felt,, and switched to pleather pads) I decided to try the he4 without the grill.

The airy-ness has returned along with a better edge to the sound! My guess is the grill was reflecting some sound or was effecting how the driver moved air. If you have any DIY bone to you I swear you will not be disappointed. Beneath the felt and grill are some drivers dying to breath, taking off them off brings a whole new level of clarity to along with that airy sound. At first listen I had to pick up my jaw from the floor. Loaded up some GnR and sure enough... attack and speed is back with that airy sound. Separation also improves substantially with a more natural soundstage. With the grill on (minus star felt and dust fabric) the sound had a hall-like sound to it, without the grill that doesn't happen.

Interesting! Have you tried the grill with the dust cloth after removing the star felt underneath? I wonder if removing both the felt and dust cover causes some reflections off the grill. Man, I'm too scared to not have at least a little bit of protection

 
You aren't using the velour pads, eh? Interesting.

 

[hemipowered007]

Is the star felt attached with a spray adhesive ? Ive taken off the grills before, and as with the he400, there's a slight gain to be had. But, I wouldn't want to take that star off unless its easy to re install without glue

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I have not tried the grill dust cloth without the star felt. I no longer have the dust cloth and gut tells me it'll be the same with the dust cover on the grill. Fwiw HF had theirs without the grill or dust cover for 4 years testing with no issues. They did have the star felt however. If you're worried, more open grill plus a dust cloth might do the trick (this is my next step). I'll try velour later tonight or this weekend and report.

Interesting! Have you tried the grill with the dust cloth after removing the star felt underneath? I wonder if removing both the felt and dust cover causes some reflections off the grill. Man, I'm too scared to not have at least a little bit of protection

You aren't using the velour pads, eh? Interesting.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Its held on by double sided tape that is hidden inside the cup. You could take a blade to the double sided tape but a blade next to the driver just seems risky for me. I destroyed one cloth trying to remove it without taking the driver off (thanks grill mod thread, I should contact jerg to edit the instructions). The other came off just fine when the driver is pulled away from the cup and should be good to go back if the sound is undesired. The driver and cup also helps keep it in place by sandwich-ing the felt's edges.

Is the star felt attached with a spray adhesive ? Ive taken off the grills before, and as with the he400, there's a slight gain to be had. But, I wouldn't want to take that star off unless its easy to re install without glue

 

[Thujone]

If I get the balls, I may try some sort of grill mod.
 
I really didn't like the jerg pads (pleather) on the HE-4. I'm sure you'll have better results with the velour albeit a bit less comfortable.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

It's not that hard to do, just use common sense and relax when you're modding lol. The reward to the any risk is worth it, it really sounds better than stock or with the grill only. Maybe hemipowered will try it and post results.

Missing out Thujone!