**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread**
Sep 13, 2018 at 3:46 AM Post #21,976 of 22,116
Well I said **** it and ordered one for $15 on amazon, been modding my HE4XX so far I've done the grill mod, got Ori pads, felt ring under the pads and some felt furniture pads under the pads to get rid of air pressure issue(which also seemed to increase bass and a bit of soundstage), I'm loving the sound with these mods but the treble is still a tab bit too peaky at times, hopefully once I do this last mod it'll finally tame the treble. Btw what sizes should I cut the sorbo into?
There were a few post a few years back on how much sorb to put and IIRC it was 3/8" x 3/8" squares with about 1/8" between them all around the cup, its what mine measures out
 
Sep 30, 2018 at 3:46 PM Post #21,977 of 22,116
That though crossed my mind, but I have to admit my wife let me use her card and I have to grovel to let me get the $299 HE-400s. Plus if I got the HE-500's and, of course, I'd need to upgrade the cable. And the cables I bought for the HE-400s would probably not be up to stuff for the 500's. I've done some research on recommended cables for the HE-500's and the prices vary from $250 to $300. So were talking $600 for the phones and say $270 for the cable. So were talking about $850. Look my goal is to save up enough to get a pair of HE-6s or Audeze LCD-X. And if I do this I'll have to upgrade my amplification and DAC. So were talking a lot of $$$. About $2500 to $3000. Of course by the time I save that much money, new models will have been introduced...

Headphones are transducers. Cables have a minor effect - if that Going balanced over SE if you have a balanced amp that runs better that way will make a big difference. Pads and some mods can make a big difference. Picking the right headphones for you at the high end of your budget will make a big difference.

There is not price range required for a HE-500 over a 400. That's marketing baloney. I use the stock cables, cut them short (3.5' - I do check to be sure solder joints are good), stick and XLR on them, and stick another XLR on the remainder of the wire to the SE portion for possible resale and that's it.

BTW, the 500 with Ether Flow Angled Pads, XLR, fuzzor mod bury any 400/400S/400i/4XX/Sundara - and I'll add the 560 too.
 
Nov 11, 2018 at 6:01 PM Post #21,979 of 22,116
My final setup for my HE-400: Brainwavz HM5 pads (pleather, angled), powered by little bear P9 fu32 & op chip headphone amplifier. Pro-Ject Pre Box DS for volume control. Yamaha KX-493 with play trim and pre-recorded (comercial) audio cassettes for glorious analog sound. Already tried ... ? :beyersmile:
 
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Jan 21, 2020 at 11:02 PM Post #21,980 of 22,116
Reviving a dead thread here, but.. I just recently picked myself up a pair of HE-400's with a canare cable and the stock velour pads, really clean unit and I got it for a decent price.

These headphones are great fun. Really enjoying the sound, they're a lot less V-shaped than I had expected from reading posts on different threads. There's a very real sense of transparency and resolution to the sound but simultaneously they sound warm enough to just be a great listen. Really liking how quick the bass decays given just how damn much of it there is. Running them out of a warm amp like the R2R 11 I presume did help take the edge off the treble spikes, but I'm still getting occasional sibilance on some tracks - quite bothersome when it happens, but it doesn't happen often. I think my favorite genre with these is UK Grime/Garage, the subbass and low midrange warmth work really well for it. Happy listening everyone :beyersmile:
 
Jan 22, 2020 at 9:12 AM Post #21,981 of 22,116
Reviving a dead thread here, but.. I just recently picked myself up a pair of HE-400's with a canare cable and the stock velour pads, really clean unit and I got it for a decent price.

These headphones are great fun. Really enjoying the sound, they're a lot less V-shaped than I had expected from reading posts on different threads. There's a very real sense of transparency and resolution to the sound but simultaneously they sound warm enough to just be a great listen. Really liking how quick the bass decays given just how damn much of it there is. Running them out of a warm amp like the R2R 11 I presume did help take the edge off the treble spikes, but I'm still getting occasional sibilance on some tracks - quite bothersome when it happens, but it doesn't happen often. I think my favorite genre with these is UK Grime/Garage, the subbass and low midrange warmth work really well for it. Happy listening everyone :beyersmile:

Search back into this thread for information on how to mod them in ways that can improve the sound somewhat at a reasonable cost. I use the velour pads and a little bit of "sorbathane" - 40 duro, which cleaned up the midrange "congestion" enough to make these even better. A little EQing - 50 hz bass bump and a cut around 9k - 11k (and possibly 13k) were all I needed to find a much more comfortable and fun listening experience. That said, even stock, these have better bass punch and resolution than my other headphones, so I've never been able to get rid of them so far. I look forward to finding another pair of planars someday tuned to the Harmon curve! For now the headphone world seems obsessed with wireless designs and noise canceling etc, and I haven't listened to anything in the $200-$400 range that really seems worth it.
 
Feb 4, 2020 at 8:53 PM Post #21,982 of 22,116
New headphone (Hifiman HE-400) heavily modded by a good friend. Only 2 of this mod exist (mine and his). (mod notes in the pictures)

The short version of how it sounds: an exquisite, beefed up, more technical version of the Senn 600. More space, more air, very organic sound and clean. Very detailed. Wiide soundstage. Depth is lacking but height and width are beautiful. Lots and lots of air and space between the instruments, so it's like you can hear all the intricate workings together of the recording, like clockwork pieces.

Nothing is really emphasized but everything does make itself known and can be heard/viewed. Sibilance can be an issue on bad recordings, but the TP helps tame that. Bass is solid but doesn't "slam". Overall, I'm really happy with how this turned out.
 

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Apr 14, 2020 at 4:45 PM Post #21,985 of 22,116
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Nice! I was looking at Amazon, but this site gives out much wider options on sizes, thanks!
I guess you still have to carve out a notch in the wood base for the cable? Also, if you drill a hole in the center of the wood base I bet you can find a metal T shaped support to bolt in as an internal support to hang the headphones on.
 
Apr 14, 2020 at 8:53 PM Post #21,986 of 22,116
Can anyone confirm if this is either the HE400 Rev 3 or Rev 2/4? Colour is a bit sandy but the material is see through. I own two HE400 and this driver looks more yellow than my other HE400.
The pictures I saw of the Rev 3 look distinctly brown when you google them. I also have a HE400 and it looks like your picture, I've always assumed it was Rev2 even though it isn't perfectly white.
 
Aug 11, 2020 at 12:40 PM Post #21,990 of 22,116
Hi, fellow HE400 lovers. I used to frequent this thread years ago and am just coming back to say how much love I still have for my trusty HE400. I have modded the cup interiors with sorbothane but having caught up with this thread, might try to add more as some of you think the more, the better. However, I just have one question I can't seem to find the answer to - what is this hard rubber part to be fixed into the middle of the driver about? Does it bring up the mids?
 

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