[pauldgroot]

Bill, I have tried exactly the same liner as your black one and it didn't do much. I'll measure them again for you to see.

 

[Ron12]

 
Ah, okay. No wonder I like it more than the one on the left.
 
The one on the left sounds like it boosts treble a bit too much, and attenuates everything else by a lot. The one on the right really does exactly what you described would happen: no sibilance, more bass.
 
So glad to know I'm on the right page now. 

 
Now, you have found the truth - as much as I appreciate jerg for his modding attempts, once you get more into this stuff, you'll find out that the only way to get the sound you want is to mod the headphone yourself. HE-500 are a great example - the only match between jerg's and mine HE-500 modding procedures are the jerg pads (which are lovely, jerg, truly!). I spent months trying out everything possible and found quite a few better things to do with the headphone to my ears than those mentioned in jerg's guide - and I would expect you to come to the same conclusion, as already being the case obviously with the shelf liner. Dig deeper if you really wish to get the best out of your HE-560.
 
I don't blame jerg at all - he has no chance of being objective or finding the best way in an absolute sense how to modify something. I became suspicious after finding out that bass of HE-500 was even more bloated + muddy than stock with his pad adhesion and vent mods - this made me dig deeper... On the other hand, in the end, I realised that extreme subbass is most probably something he loves while I find too much subbass to cause muddiness in the sound of a headphone. My personal view corresponds with the next image: 
 

 
That's one of the reasons why I don't like pads that seals too much...

 

[pauldgroot]

Here are measurements with the square liner Bill. It might change something from 11KHz and up but that could just as well be a measuring artifact.
 

 

[Bill-P]

  Now, you have found the truth - as much as I appreciate jerg for his modding attempts, once you get more into this stuff, you'll find out that the only way to get the sound you want is to mod the headphone yourself. HE-500 are a great example - the only match between jerg's and mine HE-500 modding procedures are the jerg pads (which are lovely, jerg, truly!). I spent months trying out everything possible and found quite a few better things to do with the headphone to my ears than those mentioned in jerg's guide - and I would expect you to come to the same conclusion, as already being the case obviously with the shelf liner. Dig deeper if you really wish to get the best out of your HE-560.
 
I don't blame jerg at all - he has no chance of being objective or finding the best way in an absolute sense how to modify something. I became suspicious after finding out that bass of HE-500 was even more bloated + muddy than stock with his pad adhesion and vent mods - this made me dig deeper... On the other hand, in the end, I realised that extreme subbass is most probably something he loves while I find too much subbass to cause muddiness in the sound of a headphone. My personal view corresponds with the next image: 
 

 
That's one of the reasons why I don't like pads that seals too much...

 
Well, I reverted mine back to pure stock yesterday.
 
I enjoyed the mod, but I need stock to complete my DIY amp. After that, I'll attempt some very extreme mods... including pushing the diaphragm baffle further away from the plastic baffle (the one you can see when you remove the ear pads) to see if that won't fix the "fluffy" bass response when the headphones don't achieve a good seal.
 
But I've just gotta complete my DIY amp first. In time for March hopefully.
 

  Here are measurements with the square liner Bill. It might change something from 11KHz and up but that could just as well be a measuring artifact.
 

 
Well, that's close to what I was expecting.
 
I was expecting to see a rise at either 5KHz or 6KHz, and it seems that this one does have that. Albeit the peak is at 4KHz and 5KHz was just pulled along. Not sure about that dip at 6KHz, though. I think that one is an artifact caused by ringing, but I could be wrong.
 
I think that's what I perceived as being "brighter". I'm more sensitive to the 5-10KHz region than the average folk, after all.

 

[stjj89]

Anyone tried these mods on the HE-400i yet?

 

[Semont]

  Anyone tried these mods on the HE-400i yet?

 
I might consider it but how great is the manufacturing variance between one pair to the next? The mods performed on one headphone might not reflect the same changes on another headphone of the same make. I'm also aware while Hifiman makes high quality products, they're not exactly the biggest players in quality control.
 
Might be placebo but the pair I'm currently using sounds different than the pair I returned a month ago. It's not as sparkly and it seems to be darker.
 
And for reference, my serials are 411XXXX while the previous ones were 407XXXX so there is a rather large gap between the two.
 
Edit: Also I've listened to both pairs with and without the grills. I could not hear an audible difference.

 

[stjj89]

   
I might consider it but how great is the manufacturing variance between one pair to the next? The mods performed on one headphone might not reflect the same changes on another headphone of the same make. I'm also aware while Hifiman makes high quality products, they're not exactly the biggest players in quality control.
 
Might be placebo but the pair I'm currently using sounds different than the pair I returned a month ago. It's not as sparkly and it seems to be darker.
 
And for reference, my serials are 411XXXX while the previous ones were 407XXXX so there is a rather large gap between the two.
 
Edit: Also I've listened to both pairs with and without the grills. I could not hear an audible difference.

 
That's the same risk you take with following jerg's instructions with a HE-560 though! Even with the variance reported between earlier/later HE-560s, it seems like there is a consensus on the effects his mods have on the HE-560.

 

[money4me247]

 
I might consider it but how great is the manufacturing variance between one pair to the next? The mods performed on one headphone might not reflect the same changes on another headphone of the same make. I'm also aware while Hifiman makes high quality products, they're not exactly the biggest players in quality control.
 
Might be placebo but the pair I'm currently using sounds different than the pair I returned a month ago. It's not as sparkly and it seems to be darker.
 
And for reference, my serials are 411XXXX while the previous ones were 407XXXX so there is a rather large gap between the two.
 
Edit: Also I've listened to both pairs with and without the grills. I could not hear an audible difference.

ya, there are probably pretty large variations with hifiman's track record.
 
i agree. from my experience, mods have a pretty small impact in sound quality. grill mod didn't make that big of a difference to me. i have not found earpads to make much of a sonic difference either despite lots of comparisons. ymmv tho

 

[Maxx134]

I did grill mod and listened to a fully moded he560 as well.

I dont agree with imperssions like these last ones, thinking its not a big deal..
because it is!

In this hobby it is inevitable your ears will get more sensitive to details and appreciate quality headphones.

Over time or extended listening the mods make up a noticeable improvement.

Bottom line, all the mods here combined add up together to a more refined he560.

 

[stjj89]

Performed all the mods on my friend's fresh pair of HE-400i and they sound great. I wasn't sure if the HE-400i would benefit from the shelf-liner backwave dampening mod too, but I definitely think it helped. To my ears, it makes the upper mid-range and treble sound cleaner and more realistic. Along with the grill mod, it makes the HE-400i sound more airy, open, and detailed than in its stock form. The openness is a big deal for me, since the stock HE-400i just sounded really closed to my ears (coming from the HE-560).
 
Highly recommended for all HE-400i owners!

 

[stuartmc]

Performed all the mods on my friend's fresh pair of HE-400i and they sound great. I wasn't sure if the HE-400i would benefit from the shelf-liner backwave dampening mod too, but I definitely think it helped. To my ears, it makes the upper mid-range and treble sound cleaner and more realistic. Along with the grill mod, it makes the HE-400i sound more airy, open, and detailed than in its stock form. The openness is a big deal for me, since the stock HE-400i just sounded really closed to my ears (coming from the HE-560).

Highly recommended for all HE-400i owners!

I did likewise with my pair of HE-400i's and I agree with your interpretation of the results. I would say more airy, open and detailed is spot on. The improvement is noticeable, but not huge. I would say it moves it about one place on a 1 to 10 scale. In my book, that's a worthy and worthwhile modification.

 

[manishex]

I agree it makes the he-400i that so much better, these percentage improvement towards perfection are invaluable.

If only reviewers could listen to a shelf lined, grill modded he-400i perhaps with something that recesses that midbass we would have an unanimous winner!

 

[mahelun]

It's the same shelf liner that I've used and linked in the guide, this is just the white foam variety.

 

Have you tried this type of liner, Jerg?


 


I think I like the sound from this one better the square ones.


 

 


I believe it is different from the one on the first page. The white one has those 2 size holes but the black one is just 1 big size hole (beaded). What s the name of the white one? Like what types of liner those are?

 

[jerg]

 

  It's the same shelf liner that I've used and linked in the guide, this is just the white foam variety.

 
 

  Have you tried this type of liner, Jerg?
   
  I think I like the sound from this one better the square ones.
   
 

 


I believe it is different from the one on the first page. The white one has those 2 size holes but the black one is just 1 big size hole (beaded). What s the name of the white one? Like what types of liner those are?

Again, this stuff billp used has identical patterning to what I initially used; maybe the photo in the one I linked in the guide was wrong, but that's irrelevant.
 
I'll link a photo from thurstonx's post some time ago, zoom in and compare:
 

 

[Bill-P]

Yeah, Jerg is right.
 
I think some people mistook the other one for your shelf-liner, Jerg... and that would probably explain the diversity in opinions.
 
The 2 liner materials sound... very different IMO. Even if measurements don't show them as different, they do sound different subjectively.