[ilmothedude]

  dont sell them.... this is my experience before adequate sorbothane application, and adequate grill mod.  they will transform in a new headphone....i dont listen often  my 2 Stax, and trust me they are good with sorbothane....I know for sure that because of the bad grill that hifiman sell with them( the reason is their  grill must be first and for all protective before anything), and because of cups resonance, they sound hollow yes, but not anymore for me....ratio quality/price of the he 400 with these 2 mods is over the roof....

 Before that 2 mods i was eaten alive by envy when i read review of expansive headphone, now i relax, wait some years to come , and smile....
 
P.S. I forgot that a hybrid chineese cable made also some difference with the silver he 500 basic cable i had with my He 400 ...But also i forgot to say that all my gear are sorbothanized  from the power filtration to the headphone dac, amp, energizer, speakers included, that accumation of cleaning resonance installation  with all the links of my chain transfered at the end  to the  resulting sound of the hifiman also....In a word :  read about  sorbothane...
 
People think that if they pay thousand dollars there is no more work to improve the sound, the cie. that sell their gear is suppose to know what they do, but in reality this is not absolutely the case, they sell their product  and dont want to say at a customer this 2 thousand dollars amplifier is the best in the world but you must put 70 duro sorbothane under his feet and a load of granite or bricks (25 pounds for example) to compress the sorb. adequately, this woul be very bad marketing!  indeed !

... 

 
Don't worry, not gonna sell them,

I really love HE-400 actually despte some drawbacks. I've read about sorbothane with HE400 making big improvement but never got around buying sorb! Seems like I REALLY should

. I feel grill mod doesn't do much at all right now, so I'm still with stock grills without fabric dust cover. I have Forza Audio Works Color Series HPC cable that I got bundled with HE400 from previous owner.

 

[richard51]

   
Don't worry, not gonna sell them,

I really love HE-400 actually despte some drawbacks. I've read about sorbothane with HE400 making big improvement but never got around buying sorb! Seems like I REALLY should

. I feel grill mod doesn't do much at all right now, so I'm still with stock grills without fabric dust cover. I have Forza Audio Works Color Series HPC cable that I got bundled with HE400 from previous owner.

the grill mod in itself without the sorbothanization of the headphone, and of the other pieces of gear will only be subtle change, you must put sorb. before appreciating it, and there is more than one method to change the grill i have try 3 form of grill and only one improve more than subtle change...You must experiment...

 

[ilmothedude]

  the grill mod in itself without the sorbothanization of the headphone, and of the other pieces of gear will only be subtle change, you must put sorb. before appreciating it, and there is more than one method to change the grill i have try 3 form of grill and only one improve more than subtle change...You must experiment...

 
Does grill material matter, for example plastic vs metal? I've seen some handsome computer fan grill designs applied to HE400 which some of them are I believe acrylic plastic. My other original plastic ring is a bit broken so those fan designs would be quite great options as rings are not needed with them.

 

[richard51]

   
Does grill material matter, for example plastic vs metal? I've seen some handsome computer fan grill designs applied to HE400 which some of them are I believe acrylic plastic. My other original plastic ring is a bit broken so those fan designs would be quite great options as rings are not needed with them.

i have try plastic, and  now some other unknown material grill ( in fact a golden coloured  mesh to place pizza in the oven 

)... the grill mesh i use was relatively open not a too small square grid , i cut a donut form in a sheet of silk paper, and glued it on this mesh, hence the center is void with only the mesh grill,the result were very great improvement for me... with only a grid mesh without the silk paper the sound was more airy but less meatier, the imaging were better with this design...
 
Try and experiment 
 
this is my last attempt with a new cable  and this is  way better than my last  plastic grill mod that was itself better than the original grill .....not too cosmetic, but i dont give a damn to appearance, the sound is very good...
 

 

[DavidA]

   
Does grill material matter, for example plastic vs metal? I've seen some handsome computer fan grill designs applied to HE400 which some of them are I believe acrylic plastic. My other original plastic ring is a bit broken so those fan designs would be quite great options as rings are not needed with them.

I haven't noticed any difference between plastic or metal, it has more to do with how much space is open or blocked by either plastic or metal.  From what I've noticed, if the grill is really open the mids get too recessed but the sound stage gets a bit better, so if you want more mids then you might have to put a rubber or any other material to block of some of the open area of the grill.
As @richard51 noted you need to experiment a lot to fine tune the sound to your liking

 

[richard51]

  I haven't noticed any difference between plastic or metal, it has more to do with how much space is open or blocked by either plastic or metal.  From what I've noticed, if the grill is really open the mids get too recessed but the sound stage gets a bit better, so if you want more mids then you might have to put a rubber or any other material to block of some of the open area of the grill.
As @richard51 noted you need to experiment a lot to fine tune the sound to your liking

I have the same opinion about the material of the grill.... the important point is the thickness of the mesh to be able to insert it easily and the  not too small aperture of the square grid....I experience great success with this donut silkpaper with an open hole in the center, way less  recess mids with that, better imaging also ...

 

 

[ilmothedude]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Isolate-It-Sorbothane-Vibration-Damping-Sheet-Stock-70-Duro-1-8-3-18mm-x-/232099891619?hash=item360a3b49a3:g8QAAOSwTZ1Xn~HP
 
Is this right stuff? I'm also going to order some 80mm fan grills for grill modding. Don't know yet which pattern but something from Inspired Laser Designs.

 

[richard51]

  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Isolate-It-Sorbothane-Vibration-Damping-Sheet-Stock-70-Duro-1-8-3-18mm-x-/232099891619?hash=item360a3b49a3:g8QAAOSwTZ1Xn~HP
 
Is this right stuff? I'm also going to order some 80mm fan grills for grill modding. Don't know yet which pattern but something from Inspired Laser Designs.

this one is 1/8 inches.... Better if you try 1/4 inches that insert naturally in the groove around  the he 400 membrane ... and TAKE NOTICE  that there is no adhesive on this ad, you need  the sorb. sold with self- adhesive....
 
better to go there :
 
 
this is the site adress....
 
 there you must carefully choose in the option  section :
 
  first :the thickness(1/4 inches)
 Second : the duro 70
  Third : psa adhesive , click yes
 
http://www.isolateit.com/vibration-isolating-sheets-pads-36/sorbothane-thin-film-with-3m-adhesive-backing-1-8-x-6-x-12in-1-sheet.html

 

[ilmothedude]

  this one is 1/8 inches.... Better if you try 1/4 inches that insert naturally in the groove around  the he 400 membrane ... and TAKE NOTICE  that there is no adhesive on this ad, you need  the sorb. sold with self- adhesive....
 
better to go there :
 
 
this is the site adress....
 
 there you must carefully choose in the option  section :
 
  first :the thickness(1/4 inches)
 Second : the duro 70
  Third : psa adhesive , click yes
 
http://www.isolateit.com/vibration-isolating-sheets-pads-36/sorbothane-thin-film-with-3m-adhesive-backing-1-8-x-6-x-12in-1-sheet.html

Thank you for info, but since I'm in Finland, delivery cost is more than sorb itself

. But how about this:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SORBOTHANE-SHEET-3X3x1-4-VIBRATION-ISO-RUBBER-PAD-70D-with-3M-ADHESIVE-BACKING-/371258034855?hash=item5670b40aa7:g:a9EAAOSwDlxU3TYd
 
Not sure if one sheet would be adequate, but I could aways order two. Anyway cost is so low that I wouldn't need to pay stupid custom fees

 
 

 

[DavidA]

 
Thank you for info, but since I'm in Finland, delivery cost is more than sorb itself

. But how about this:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SORBOTHANE-SHEET-3X3x1-4-VIBRATION-ISO-RUBBER-PAD-70D-with-3M-ADHESIVE-BACKING-/371258034855?hash=item5670b40aa7:g:a9EAAOSwDlxU3TYd
 
Not sure if one sheet would be adequate, but I could aways order two. Anyway cost is so low that I wouldn't need to pay stupid custom fees

 
 

That will work and I think one sheet should be enough

 

[ilmothedude]

  That will work and I think one sheet should be enough

Thank you, I might aswell order two so I have some for spare for future projects.

 

[richard51]

 
Thank you for info, but since I'm in Finland, delivery cost is more than sorb itself

. But how about this:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SORBOTHANE-SHEET-3X3x1-4-VIBRATION-ISO-RUBBER-PAD-70D-with-3M-ADHESIVE-BACKING-/371258034855?hash=item5670b40aa7:g:a9EAAOSwDlxU3TYd
 
Not sure if one sheet would be adequate, but I could aways order two. Anyway cost is so low that I wouldn't need to pay stupid custom fees

 
 

perfect.... for only one headphone ....go for it! 

 

[MrMateoHead]

  perfect.... for only one headphone ....go for it! 

I am using the 40 Duro sorb, 1/8th inch I think.
 
Is the 70 duro truly different / superior? I'm still not fully understanding how, why the stuff works so darn good. But then again I had my HE-400s sounding just about right - not sure its worth the trouble all over again, and the expense . . .

 

[ilmothedude]

 
Ordered two sheets of sorb, and pair of fan grills like this for grill mod. Not fanciest grills ever but I think those would provide good open design and protection aswell, what other designs might not provide. Symmetrical design might be good for finer tuning aswell. I'm still wondering how sturdy those grill designs are since they're plastic. I guess at least this model will be sturdy enough.

 

[DavidA]

@ilmothedude, I've been using an aluminum grill that is used for automotive applications which is really strong and for dust protection I use silk organza:

Since the grill material is too thick to fit the plastic retaining ring back I made the grills a tight fit to hold them on