[amigomatt]

Thought to write this Jergpad story here: Several months ago I purchased the HE400's, and while clearly a step up in terms of perfomance, several things bothered me about them. They were unforgiving of less than stellar recordings and the presentation didn't seem very natural. So I ended up purchasing the HD650's- so forgiving and natural sounding. But they're slow- I missed the fast decay of the HE400's. Enter Modulor's Jergpads. Now the HE400's sound almost as natural as the HD650's, and the treble spike which caused earlier discomfort is much less pronounced. I now reach for the HE400's- they're more detailed, they're quicker- with Jergpads they're a superior headphone than the HD650's. Honestly the treble spike really turned me off for awhile. And if the recording is very sub par, the HD650's make virtually any recording listenable. Jergpads helped to demonstrate how great HE400's can be, and am considering one day HE500- if my wallet can handle it, and it's not too heavy. TL;DR
Jergpads are the saving grace of the HE400.

Now, this is what I need to hear. I'm counting on this result when I receive my Jergpads.

 

[money4me247]

hey anyone interested in picking up the HD600 headband cushion for the headband mod on the HE400? I'm probably going to return mine, but if someone wants it, PM me.

 

[money4me247]

Is the HE-500s treble similar to the HE400? I have found the treble to be the weak link on this pair of headphones. Just trying to figure out if it's a problem w/ my source or if it's something I can improve w/ a different tube or amp or dac or if I am going to have to find another pair of headphones I really love orthos tho and at the $300 price point (black friday sale price), I don't think there is anything else that can compete (or does someone know of any other options)? I really love the bass (texture/detail/extension) & overall sound quality (clarity, resolution, speed, sound stage) on the HE400.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

you can use a programs called REW (RoomEQWizard) or TrueRTA to see if you dac is altering the frequency response of your headphones by connecting your dac via usb to computer then looping an rca to 3.5mmm cable into your microphone jack on your computer and run a pink noise signal through to see what your frequency response looks like.  a ss amp should not change the frequency of a planar just possibly not competently power it resulting in less body.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

but i doubt it's your dac or amp

 

[Kursah]

Well I've been playing with the stock pleathers, the extra velours that came with my pair, and my D2000's stock pleathers. The velours are junk...the seams coming apart, the sound too tinny, bass is all but removed, the comfort level imho reduced...aside from the feel on skin, the pressure on skin is worse. At least with the set of velour pads I recieved. Junk.
 
Fair enough, well the stock pleathers were sorta comfy but sounded great. The range was there, the bass was present with slight impact. Then I removed the foam rings and the impact increased, yet I felt like I lost very little to no treble, mid or separation...though my untrained ears may just be trained for bass...and these being so clear by nature are amazing in comparison to my normal HP stock.  I was hesitant to remove the foam spacers below the pleather pads due to my ears already touching the grills, but the comfort increased substantially regardless of my big dome and big ears. 
 
Then a wild hair to try my D2000's earpads kept tugging at me...the most comfortable headphones with the most comfy pleather pads ever...sitting there. Why not?
 
Well worth it! Comfort increased! Clamp pressure is great and solid...not worried about them falling off yet they're soft on my dome. Great! Sub bass seems to have come out a little more, impact is as good if not a little better than stock pleathers minus foam rings. This is a winning combination for bassheads that want excellent bass and solid impact from an opened back planar magnetic headphone. I am so amazed by these, I am in disbelief what my FiiO E9 and Denon AVR-1613 bring from them. The E9 has more raw power and bass, but the Denon AVR brings out a more well-rounded sound and better separation. At this point I'm on the E9 and loving it! 
 
Anyone else try D2000 pads? Thoughts?

 

[DoctaCosmos]

kursah, i use to think the velours were junk too.  Then i received my amp back from warranty (asgard) and relized i had been under powering them (technically).  Once powered correctly the velours sounded better.  However i too thought they were uncomfortable and stil didn't agree with the over-all presentation of the 400.  I decided to do the jerg mod and it opened the headphone up a bit.  Now i think i liked the headphone more when i wasn't giving it enough power because i was hearing more details and microdynamics.  now the full body of the sound overwhelms them.     I might have to borrow my old denons to try the pads out.  Maybe more air space will calm things down

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Well I've been playing with the stock pleathers, the extra velours that came with my pair, and my D2000's stock pleathers. The velours are junk...the seams coming apart, the sound too tinny, bass is all but removed, the comfort level imho reduced...aside from the feel on skin, the pressure on skin is worse. At least with the set of velour pads I recieved. Junk.

Anyone else try D2000 pads? Thoughts?

Do the d2000 pads go on the plastic hifiman clip rings without modding the pads? Very interesting

 

[catspaw]

  kursah, i use to think the velours were junk too.  Then i received my amp back from warranty (asgard) and relized i had been under powering them (technically).  Once powered correctly the velours sounded better.  However i too thought they were uncomfortable and stil didn't agree with the over-all presentation of the 400.  I decided to do the jerg mod and it opened the headphone up a bit.  Now i think i liked the headphone more when i wasn't giving it enough power because i was hearing more details and microdynamics.  now the full body of the sound overwhelms them.     I might have to borrow my old denons to try the pads out.  Maybe more air space will calm things down

Personally i Used Beyerdynamics Pads on the HE-400. I had to do a minimal EQ and used the asgard with the HE-400, but eventually it was sounding about as well as id expect. 
I still belive with a good DAC those HPs might have just about 20% more road to go, but I am considering a HP upgrade since the HE-400 Do sound unnatural in some cases.

 

[money4me247]

After some testing, I have personally found both the 6-button (beyer?) headband wrap-around and the Sennheiser HD600 headband cushion mods to be unsuitable for me.
 
The 6-button wrap-around definitely did not wrap around the headband unless you were willing to really shove it in there & deform the headband, so I was not willing to try that.
 
The Sennheiser HD600 headband cushion is 4 bumps of foam, and I personally found that it actually makes the weight distribution worse than the stock headband that evenly distributes the weight across the top of your head. I actually felt discomfort a lot quicker with the mod as if there were pressure points at the four cushions. This mod actually made it more uncomfortable to wear for me.
 
Perhaps, the HD650 headband cushion might be better as it is 2 big slopes of cushioning, but I have officially given up on headband mods using 3rd party suppliers. Those two solutions were the cheapest at $13-20. At that price, you can easily get some memory foam + fabric + velcro and custom-make a headband wraparound cushion that fits perfectly and greatly improves comfort. I actually cut up some memory foam used for packaging something into a strip & tied it to the headphones and it is working amazingly well right now. I'll prob get around to making a less ghetto version in the future. 

 

[manbear]

  kursah, i use to think the velours were junk too.  Then i received my amp back from warranty (asgard) and relized i had been under powering them (technically).  Once powered correctly the velours sounded better.  However i too thought they were uncomfortable and stil didn't agree with the over-all presentation of the 400.  I decided to do the jerg mod and it opened the headphone up a bit.  Now i think i liked the headphone more when i wasn't giving it enough power because i was hearing more details and microdynamics.  now the full body of the sound overwhelms them.     I might have to borrow my old denons to try the pads out.  Maybe more air space will calm things down

+1

I couldn't stand the velours on my old Little Dot amp, but I tried them for the first time on my Emotiva the other day, and I like them a lot more now. I haven't taken them off yet. With the old amp, the bass was almost absent on the velours. Now it is all there, just a bit tighter than before, letting me appreciate the more open, airy presentation. Great for ambient like Global Communication. 

 

[money4me247]

Pictures of my first ghetto headband mod:
 

 

 

 
Cost = $0. Used some memory foam packaging I found & cut up + a black twist tie to attach it up top 

 def not the sexiest solution, but in terms of comfort, this beats everything else I've tried. I will attempt to make a sexy version some time later. The foam thickness is 1in, which I would say is probable too much for most people has that made me have to wear the headphones at max extension & I normally wear it at the tightest setting.

 

[jshaffe]

  technically i don't like the headphones.  I respect the technology but the presentation is not for me. 

I think that is a common theme among the he-400 owners.  They don't have the buttery smoothness of higher end dynamics.  Some people find the clarity worth it and some don't.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

the size of the sound is just so big and so close to my ears.  it's neat but too much presentation sometimes. that gets me before the highs do.  Which of course they do.  I think an he-500 with angled pads that put the headphone further away from my ears would be great for me. I just tried pushing the headphone towards the back of my head so i wasn't directly hearing so much of the driver and it helped a little (for me anyways)

 

[DoctaCosmos]

front of pad is touching the little nub at the beginning of my ear