[jerg]

   
How does the treble on the HE4 compare the the HE400?

There's a whole thread dedicated to the comparisons.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/692229/he-400-vs-he-500-vs-he-4-comparison

 

[DoctaCosmos]

So i feel personally that i wasted my money on the velour pads.  To me, the phone lost all of its body.  It used that resonance to give it a meatier sound.  The phone was voiced with the pleather and without it the sound is hollow, soundstage stayed the same but dynamics are lacking, less but sharper sibilance.  I definitely liked the less dark background and think some people might confuse that as making it a better headphone.
THEN, i found myself immediately noticing echo when i put the pleathers back on.  Usually when you think of echo you think of a sound getting hollower but that's not it.  vocals seamed almost wobbly (thinking high noise phase ringing). 
probably going to try the jerg mod now as i really am not liking this headphone that much anymore and need to do something as i can't send it back because i gave away the bag.

 

[ben_r_]

Okay guys, so I am still bouncing back and forth between the HE-400's and the HE-500's for my next set of cans and right now the question is what amp is the more recommended for the HE-400's? I know the Emotiva Mini-X A-100 is highly recommended for the HE-500's, is that also the case for the HE-400's? What I have is listed in my sig lists, would I be fine with something I already have if I went with the HE-400's? Help me out here please

 

[TMRaven]

I think the HE-400 sounds more hollow with the stock pleather than stock velour.  The velour added more upper mids which it desperately needed.

 

[MattTCG]

  Okay guys, so I am still bouncing back and forth between the HE-400's and the HE-500's for my next set of cans and right now the question is what amp is the more recommended for the HE-400's? I know the Emotiva Mini-X A-100 is highly recommended for the HE-500's, is that also the case for the HE-400's? What I have is listed in my sig lists, would I be fine with something I already have if I went with the HE-400's? Help me out here please

 
The emotiva is not the best amp for the he400. It will amp easily from just about any hp amp including the e17 in your sig. It will respond somewhat to the kind of amp you pair with it. For example, it will sound a little cleaner and tighter with an Asgard 2 and more punchy and dynamic with the lyr. But honestly it doesn't need a spendy amp to sound very good. 

 

[ben_r_]

   
The emotiva is not the best amp for the he400. It will amp easily from just about any hp amp including the e17 in your sig. It will respond somewhat to the kind of amp you pair with it. For example, it will sound a little cleaner and tighter with an Asgard 2 and more punchy and dynamic with the lyr. But honestly it doesn't need a spendy amp to sound very good. 

Wow, if thats truly the case that would make the HE-400's WAY cheaper than the HE-500's. Almost $500 in fact (at MSRP pricing for the HE-500 and the Emotiva Mini-X A-100 that is). Huh, my Sennheiser HD-598's still have to sell, but once they do perhaps Ill just go with the HE-500's...

 

[nabwong]

So i feel personally that i wasted my money on the velour pads.  To me, the phone lost all of its body.  It used that resonance to give it a meatier sound.  The phone was voiced with the pleather and without it the sound is hollow, soundstage stayed the same but dynamics are lacking, less but sharper sibilance.  I definitely liked the less dark background and think some people might confuse that as making it a better headphone.
THEN, i found myself immediately noticing echo when i put the pleathers back on.  Usually when you think of echo you think of a sound getting hollower but that's not it.  vocals seamed almost wobbly (thinking high noise phase ringing). 
probably going to try the jerg mod now as i really am not liking this headphone that much anymore and need to do something as i can't send it back because i gave away the bag.

I felt that way in the beginning but the sound changed after roughly 150 hours of burn in. The pleather started sounding muddy. The velours allowed the sound to breathe. Also it sounds better amped.

 

[money4me247]

  The are some recent production of the he4 but it's certainly EOL and I think that the units from Justin are about it. I emailed him about a week ago and he said that he could still get them FTM. 
 
There is a bit more sparkle to the he4 on the treble than the he500 which has a somewhat smoother treble presentation. But understand that the he4 treble is not harsh at all. I liked the jergpads with the he4 while others did not. YMMV
 
I would encourage anyone interested in the he4 to give it serious look provided that you are willing to put the proper amp with it. It's simply a wonderful hp and IMO outclasses the he400 across the spectrum and yes, that includes bass. 

I heard that the HE-4 requires alotta juice to sparkle. from what I've read, it sounds a bit picky w/ its dac/amp pairing as well. I am sure if you find the right combo for it though, it would really shine. I believe they are heavier than the he400s though, so if you are already at the edge of your comfort limit, they might not be the best alternative.
 
Edit: corrected lol

 

[MattTCG]

The he4 is 350 grams and the he400 440...

 

[jerg]

  So i feel personally that i wasted my money on the velour pads.  To me, the phone lost all of its body.  It used that resonance to give it a meatier sound.  The phone was voiced with the pleather and without it the sound is hollow, soundstage stayed the same but dynamics are lacking, less but sharper sibilance.  I definitely liked the less dark background and think some people might confuse that as making it a better headphone.
THEN, i found myself immediately noticing echo when i put the pleathers back on.  Usually when you think of echo you think of a sound getting hollower but that's not it.  vocals seamed almost wobbly (thinking high noise phase ringing). 
probably going to try the jerg mod now as i really am not liking this headphone that much anymore and need to do something as i can't send it back because i gave away the bag.

That's exactly the reason why I modded the pleathers in the first place 

 I loved the full-bodied sound that ONLY the stock Hifiman pleathers offered, and hated the resonance issues it also introduced, so I worked on getting rid of the latter while retaining the former.

 

[MrMateoHead]

I don't think eliminating all the resonance issues is possible with the pleather, but I am still trying. It isn't clear why the velours should be (to my ears), a bit less resonant. They have a solid, hard plastic bottom piece.

 

[money4me247]

  I don't think eliminating all the resonance issues is possible with the pleather, but I am still trying. It isn't clear why the velours should be (to my ears), a bit less resonant. They have a solid, hard plastic bottom piece.

more sound absorbent?
 
edit: that would explain why the velours soak up the resonance at the cost of decreased bass response. tho I haven't really experienced this phenomena personally.

 

[MrMateoHead]

The velour is thick and uses more foam overall I think, so there is more opportunity to trap reflections. I think the foam is also less dense and lacking the memory effect. I'll be switching back to the velours for a renewed sonic impression in awhile, but I am willing to argue that so far, the velours have proved to have better long term comfort and less listening fatigue (especially EQ'd). I keep thinking about two things with the HE-400s - what would angled drivers sound like? Also, what would pleathers with a cylindrical, rather than a donut shape, sound like with preforations that ran in the back and up the sides? I can picture them made in layers, like a modern bed. Pourus foam in half, with a memory foam 'topper'. Abandon the spacers and make them a little bigger.
 
They again the mild mods I have done have already brought out most of the best in the HE-400s - nice fat warmish sound and still lots of detail. I will do some sweeps eventually to see if I can figure out the ringing frequencies a little more clearly.

 

[DangerToast]

Okay guys, so I am still bouncing back and forth between the HE-400's and the HE-500's for my next set of cans and right now the question is what amp is the more recommended for the HE-400's? I know the Emotiva Mini-X A-100 is highly recommended for the HE-500's, is that also the case for the HE-400's? What I have is listed in my sig lists, would I be fine with something I already have if I went with the HE-400's? Help me out here please

I drive the he 400 with just my little magni. Works great but I only use a quarter to a half of the volume pot. After that it gets way too loud.

 

[money4me247]

cable twisting question. hey anyone else notice having to screw in the cable causes the cables to have a lot of tension & the cable gets all twisty? i'm just worried about the long-term stress of having the cable all strainy-twisty like that.