[endallchaos]

So my 400s just arrived. First impressions are ok. The soundstage is nice and the bass is really clear, but it feels like something is missing. They do feel pretty comfy, but quite a bit heavy. I'm only powering them off my PC atm. I don't know how I feel about them right now.

Oh, man. Now you're getting me kinda worried... Mine get here tomorrow, I hope they don't disappoint. 

 

[teofilrocks]

  massdrop is currently offering the Firestone Audio Headphone Stand on sale. Similar to the Hifiman stand as it has two points for the headband to hang off of with the earpads free from contact. Not sure if it is tall enough, but perhaps ask in the massdrop discussion if any HE-400 users.
 
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/firestone-audio-headphone-stand?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Personalization%20Email%2020150115%20%28Personalized%29&utm_campaign=Personalization%20Promo%2020150115&mode=guest_open

I purchased that Firestone headphone stand from the last drop. It is tall enough for the HE-400, but I cannot recommend it. As an aside, it took way too long to ship, but that's besides the point. The real problem as that the two supports are two relatively sharp pieces of painted metal. They make noticeable indentations on both my HD650 and HE-400. Not cool, and pretty dumb considering the stand is supposed to protect the headphones as part of it's function. Kind of a design fail. I have a replacement leather suspension strap resting over the top of the supports so that my headphone bands don't get marks on them.

 

[Tempest228]

Oh, man. Now you're getting me kinda worried... Mine get here tomorrow, I hope they don't disappoint. 

 


I wouldn't.

 

[520RanchBro]

  ya, I agree that is a bit silly as they could have easily made the stand a tad bit taller for wire clearance, but I actually really like the stand for my HE-560s as you just place it on an edge. I actually taped the stand in place hhahah & its nice because I route the wire underneath my desk to the amplifier so very clean look. 
 

Oh okay, I see how that could come in handy, making the wiring cleaner. With three cats and being generally messy, I wouldn't  want my phones on the edge of my desk. Even though I'm pretty confident the HE-400s would survive a fall, the connectors do not inspire much confidence in me.
 
Fairly pricey but I love the design of these: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WoodWarmth?section_id=15219605#
 
I ordered this one, I wanted some cable management: https://www.etsy.com/listing/187840412/unique-handmade-custom-headphone-stand?ref=shop_home_active_6
 
No I'm not going to wrap my cable around it tight like in the picture, but do it the proper way and then place it on the stand.

 

[Oregonian]

   
Shoot, thought I finally found a compatible stand. I won't be able to place it at the edge like that. Even if I could, I don't really want to. Thanks for the swift replies!
 
I've come across the wooaudio stands during my search for stands and it was the one I liked the most, but my university-student-wallet wasn't very enticed by the cost + international shipping to where I live 

Also, they were out of stock and will only be available in late Feb. Still, might end up getting them after all though. I have more trouble picking a stand than choosing headphones..

http://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Gypsum-Headphone-Stand-Sizes/dp/B00D741DRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421353000&sr=8-2&keywords=brainwavz+headphone+stands
 
I've got two of these.  I don't like the ones that the pads get compressed nor the ones that the headband gets dented so this is a good solution.

 

[money4me247]

  I purchased that Firestone headphone stand from the last drop. It is tall enough for the HE-400, but I cannot recommend it. As an aside, it took way too long to ship, but that's besides the point. The real problem as that the two supports are two relatively sharp pieces of painted metal. They make noticeable indentations on both my HD650 and HE-400. Not cool, and pretty dumb considering the stand is supposed to protect the headphones as part of it's function. Kind of a design fail. I have a replacement leather suspension strap resting over the top of the supports so that my headphone bands don't get marks on them.

For all my headphone stands, I actually place foam over the top of them so that the headband is resting on the foam rather than the actual stand.
 
Shipping from Massdrop always takes forever because you have to wait for the drop to end, shipping from the manufacturer, then processing order at the Massdrop facility, then shipping to you. That is the price you pay for their group buy deals.
 
For the Firestone stand in particular, you can easily wrap bubble wrap on the bars so there is a nice cushy pad for your headphones to rest on.
 
From my experience shopping headphone stands, it is difficult to find a good quality headphone stand for the HE-400s at the sub-$50 or sub-$20 price point. I have a really nice Cosmos metal stand that I would highly recommend for the HE-400 in particular but they no longer make it.

 

[Tempest228]

I'm pretty much guessing I need to get an amp for these things. Would the Schiit Fulla be good enough for someone on a budget?

 

[520RanchBro]

I'm pretty much guessing I need to get an amp for these things. Would the Schiit Fulla be good enough for someone on a budget?

They'll benefit from it but it certainly isn't a necessity. Haven't used the Fulla but I'm sure you'd hear a noticeable improvement.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

  They'll benefit from it but it certainly isn't a necessity. Haven't used the Fulla but I'm sure you'd hear a noticeable improvement.

I don't agree. These things need power. I tried them out of my phone and they were garbage. I tried them out of my Little Dot 1+ and they sounded fantastic but the volume had to be turned up all the way. With any other headphone I've ever had, 12 o'clock was as high as I could stand. The HE-400 needs 5 o'clock and that's maxed out. With my receiver I can listen to my Grados or the X2 at -40dB to -30dB. The HE-400 needs -30dB to -20dB or even higher. I find that the HE-400 isn't great for low level listening. They need to be turned up a bit or you lose detail and the mids are even more recessed....IMO.

 

[seitil]

I have a Little Dot Mark III amp, would that be enough power for the HE-400s to get the most out of them?

 

[520RanchBro]

  I don't agree. These things need power. I tried them out of my phone and they were garbage. I tried them out of my Little Dot 1+ and they sounded fantastic but the volume had to be turned up all the way. With any other headphone I've ever had, 12 o'clock was as high as I could stand. The HE-400 needs 5 o'clock and that's maxed out. With my receiver I can listen to my Grados or the X2 at -40dB to -30dB. The HE-400 needs -30dB to -20dB or even higher. I find that the HE-400 isn't great for low level listening. They need to be turned up a bit or you lose detail and the mids are even more recessed....IMO.

Generally a necessity is something absolutely necessary for something to work, yes? Does it work with an iPhone without an amp? Yep. Would it sound better with an amp? Absolutely.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

If you want to split hairs then yeah. But when I think headphones amps and necessary I think the difference between sounding like complete garbage and sounding good. Such is the case here....sure, the HE-400 will "work" off a phone or iPod but will sound like shiit. It "needs" an amp to run properly and not be a complete waste of money.
 
By telling people they don't "need" an amp with these headphones, IMO you are giving bad advise and setting them up for failure. Setting them up for not liking the headphones because they are only getting a fraction of what they are capable of producing. 

 

[520RanchBro]

  If you want to split hairs then yeah. But when I think headphones amps and necessary I think the difference between sounding like complete garbage and sounding good. Such is the case here....sure, the HE-400 will "work" off a phone or iPod but will sound like shiit. It "needs" an amp to run properly and not be a complete waste of money.
 
By telling people they don't "need" an amp with these headphones, IMO you are giving bad advise and setting them up for failure. Setting them up for not liking the headphones because they are only getting a fraction of what they are capable of producing. 

Yeah I tried them again with my iPhone (usually only use IEMs with my iPhone) as it had been a while and they don't sound great. The treble is grainy as all hell and the bass feels weak. Whole sound just kind of feels like a mess, even with the volume all the way up.
 
Thank you for calling that out.

 

[teofilrocks]

When I ran my HE-400 straight from my iMac, I would say it was about 75% of what I got with the Modi/Magni. And the Modi had just as much to do with the improvement as the Magni did.

I think telling people an amp is required can be just as misleading as telling them an amp is not required. Both are assumptions of what they will be satisfied with. Does that mean having to qualify more answers to new headphone listeners? Yea, but that's ok, right?

 

[ArmAndHammer]

When I ran my HE-400 straight from my iMac, I would say it was about 75% of what I got with the Modi/Magni. And the Modi had just as much to do with the improvement as the Magni did.

I think telling people an amp is required can be just as misleading as telling them an amp is not required. Both are assumptions of what they will be satisfied with. Does that mean having to qualify more answers to new headphone listeners? Yea, but that's ok, right?

If I spend the kinda money that I did on a pair of headphones...I don't want 75%. I want 100%. So I think it's perfectly fine to tell people that they need an amp and that they will not hear the headphone's potential without one. Let the buyer decide if they want to spend money and only get a portion of what they are paying for. 
 
It's like buying a car that has a certain amount of power and being told it can be ran just fine on regular gas only to find out after you buy it that to get all the power that car offers you need to use premium. Sure, it'll run on regular, but you want it to run to full potential...gotta pay more at the pump.