[Makiah S]

I am well aware of who was making the cups in years passed and maybe even still. I am more interested in ideas for maybe a different design. I can hand the cups to my relative and he could make them, but maybe there's some fun to be had here.

ooh right, I had a soft Mango wood for my cups, an it has held up nicely over the years but it's still really soft. It got damaged during installation 

 

[hemipowered007]

I still want to go with black limba but man it's not all too durable. Maybe some nice maple. I am also entering myself back into this hell, started bidding on sx1010s again, bye bye money!!!

 

[Makiah S]

I still want to go with black limba but man it's not all too durable. Maybe some nice maple. I am also entering myself back into this hell, started bidding on sx1010s again, bye bye money!!!

at some point I'll need new wood cups, but my HE 4 is still kicking strong! 
 
let a friend hear my fully balanced system and the HE 4 the other day, her exact words were "this is the BEST I've EVER heard this song in my ENTIRE LIFE, if feels like I'm RIGHT THERE" was playing some music from Adele's Live @ The Royal Albert Hall CD 

 

[pbui44]

at some point I'll need new wood cups, but my HE 4 is still kicking strong! 

let a friend hear my fully balanced system and the HE 4 the other day, her exact words were "this is the BEST I've EVER heard this song in my ENTIRE LIFE, if feels like I'm RIGHT THERE" was playing some music from Adele's Live @ The Royal Albert Hall CD 

Man, I have a feeling that I will keep my HE-4, even after getting the Ether Electrostatic. Man, the HE-4 seems to withstand all tests of time, even with my spending habits!

 

[Rinx7]

The HE-4 is so great. I am working on selling my TH-X00s, they were good, but the HE-4 is just on a different level from everything I have tried in the mid-fi price range. Gonna get a Lyr 2 and some nice tubes for it I think. 

 

[mikey1964]

I'm now now using my HE-4 together with my Fiio X3 II + Tube Amp BL2 as a sorta bedside audio setup. It sounds so clean, clear with nice tight bass, the BL2 packs a hella lot of POWAH, easily hitting loud enough volume for me at about the 8 o'clock mark. I had a HE500 together with the HE-4, kinda fell outta love with the former, but still quite taken with the HE-4 sound. I've since traded my HE500 for a HE560 and have also acquired the HEK, I guess I'm kinda a HFM fanboy.

 

[Me x3]

  I'm now now using my HE-4 together with my Fiio X3 II + Tube Amp BL2 as a sorta bedside audio setup. It sounds so clean, clear with nice tight bass, the BL2 packs a hella lot of POWAH, easily hitting loud enough volume for me at about the 8 o'clock mark. I had a HE500 together with the HE-4, kinda fell outta love with the former, but still quite taken with the HE-4 sound. I've since traded my HE500 for a HE560 and have also acquired the HEK, I guess I'm kinda a HFM fanboy.

How does HE-4 compares with HE560 in your opinion?

 

[Makiah S]

 
How does HE-4 compares with HE560 in your opinion?

there's the question to be asked 

 

[bumrush101]

Hiya, 
Must have read about 100 pages on this thread.  Gray food for the brain...
Pretty much wanting to try these now.  
 
I'm pretty new to hierfierish audio stuff but have listened to music before;  now that I've settled down as a consultant, I'm looking to get some nice gear into my vicinity.  
I am liking what I have read about this model and it would be my 1st headphone purchase (have had a few IEM types before though).
 
So I have a question.  
Since it seems like a lot of tweaking can(should?) be done to these headphones (plus pairing with an amp), should I go for something simpler to use (straight out of the box)?
 
I have a huge vinyl collection, a pretty cool modded turntable, and some really nice speakers I found outside  (Luck?  Fate? and NO I didn't steal them).  Also have a lot of files on my computer.
 
My tendency in the past is obsessing ---> compulsive buying.  For all the newest hobbies..
I ended up owning 4 amps, 4 cabs and 5 guitars, before boiling it back down forming cohesive human interaction with society levels.  Expensive enterprise which I now try to mitigate for future inclinations.
 
Good (Bad?) advice I was given back in the day was to spend a little more from the get go (and do one's research) instead of constantly upgrading (read $) incrementally from entry level.  So I have set a budget of about $200-250 for a pair and this model is now 1st on my radar.  
 
Is this a rabbit hole or will it keep me frustrated enough to keep me occupied (and therefore satisfied)?
 
Thoughts please!
thanks mucho!
 
Oh, looking for a pair - found some selling recently, but didn't know I wanted them then...

 

[pbui44]

Hiya, 
Must have read about 100 pages on this thread.  Gray food for the brain...
Pretty much wanting to try these now.  

I'm pretty new to hierfierish audio stuff but have listened to music before;  now that I've settled down as a consultant, I'm looking to get some nice gear into my vicinity.  
I am liking what I have read about this model and it would be my 1st headphone purchase (have had a few IEM types before though).

So I have a question.  
Since it seems like a lot of tweaking can(should?) be done to these headphones (plus pairing with an amp), should I go for something simpler to use (straight out of the box)?

I have a huge vinyl collection, a pretty cool modded turntable, and some really nice speakers I found outside  (Luck?  Fate? and NO I didn't steal them).  Also have a lot of files on my computer.

My tendency in the past is obsessing ---> compulsive buying.  For all the newest hobbies..
I ended up owning 4 amps, 4 cabs and 5 guitars, before boiling it back down forming cohesive human interaction with society levels.  Expensive enterprise which I now try to mitigate for future inclinations.

Good (Bad?) advice I was given back in the day was to spend a little more from the get go (and do one's research) instead of constantly upgrading (read $) incrementally from entry level.  So I have set a budget of about $200-250 for a pair and this model is now 1st on my radar.  

Is this a rabbit hole or will it keep me frustrated enough to keep me occupied (and therefore satisfied)?

Thoughts please!
thanks mucho!

Oh, looking for a pair - found some selling recently, but didn't know I wanted them then...

Having the Hifiman HE-4 will be either a hit or miss...and it is usually a hit for many. For me, upgrading after getting the HE-4 has to do much more with DACs or Amps, which still can be pricey, but you will have to upgrade both eventually as you higher in price for headphones. For what I have, I have always been satisfied with my HE-4, even after going to two CanJams, several local meets, and even hosting a local meet myself. Anything that I have bought and kept after the HE-4 always had to prove itself on improving the HE-4 or complimenting the HE-4, which has kept costs down for me overall. Any mistakes in purchases has definitely made me feel like the HE-4 has given me the "I told you so" line, which is odd, but my wallet seems to always agree as well, since I have bills to pay and time that I need to spend on my life.

Hope this helps.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

If anyone wants to sell their he4 give me a shout!

 

[bumrush101]

If anyone wants to sell their he4 give me a shout!

Me first!  You already had these!  Like your write ups by the way.  Give peas a chance! (if my name was peas, I mean)  

 

[bumrush101]

Having the Hifiman HE-4 will be either a hit or miss...and it is usually a hit for many. For me, upgrading after getting the HE-4 has to do much more with DACs or Amps, which still can be pricey, but you will have to upgrade both eventually as you higher in price for headphones. For what I have, I have always been satisfied with my HE-4, even after going to two CanJams, several local meets, and even hosting a local meet myself. Anything that I have bought and kept after the HE-4 always had to prove itself on improving the HE-4 or complimenting the HE-4, which has kept costs down for me overall. Any mistakes in purchases has definitely made me feel like the HE-4 has given me the "I told you so" line, which is odd, but my wallet seems to always agree as well, since I have bills to pay and time that I need to spend on my life.

Hope this helps.

Yeah!  I'm basically interested in the inherent (flaws?), so I can experiment, and tweak, and hopefully learn.  Just want to start with a good baseline.  Much more satisfying to build something, than just to drop heavy change on prebuilt awesomeness (to me).  Thanks!

 

[pbui44]

Yeah!  I'm basically interested in the inherent (flaws?), so I can experiment, and tweak, and hopefully learn.  Just want to start with a good baseline.  Much more satisfying to build something, than just to drop heavy change on prebuilt awesomeness (to me).  Thanks!

The biggest thing is to keep it stock. It is mainly going to be your DAC or amp that needs changing.

The next thing is to get an amp that has a lot of power and gain options, preferably Low-Medium-High options. Source line-outs, analog or digital, will vary in power ratings, so the gain options will be there to fine-tune your sound.

The longest-term thing will be finding a DAC that will suit your musical preferences and needs, which will be largely based on your pre-existing music collection.

 

[pbui44]

Forgot to put this: ear pad rolling is fine and a headband wrap/support will work as well, just leave all of the internals alone.