[preproman]

Quote:

The HE400 and D7000 were really the only two headphones that wowed me...like jaw dropping. Everything else I've loved but always had something that bothered me, like too much treble, etc. The HD650 is the first to wow me solely on vocals, but not overall like on the levels of the first two I mentioned.

 
Ah - the HE400s has:
 
Too much treble 
Just right treble
Spiky treble  
Sparkly treble
 
For me the treble is Spiky..

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The HE400 does have spiky treble, but its not a big deal to me. The overall sound is more of a wow factor than that one deficiency.

 

[DarthUnnamed]

Hm, so im going to assume the he-400's are going to wow me
but as i asked before, how was it when you guys got your first "audiophile" headphones, as in something that costed more than budget iems

 

[TMRaven]

My first true headphones were AD700.  It did wow me a good bit.  

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The AD700 wowed me for gaming, for sure. If it wasnt for those, I think my headphone journey would have been non-existent.

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

I have to disagree, especially comparing to other open headphones the HE-400 have a big wow factor.

 
Well I was talking in terms of my experience, so I don't disagree with you. I did say there is a wow factor, but for me it wasn't immediate. I played a couple of songs and they sounded somewhat lifeless. But 10 minutes in and I started to get what all the hype around these headphones are about. It was probably my ears and brain adjusting to a new kind of sound.
 
I believe I documented my experience in this thread at the time when I got them. 

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

 
Ah - the HE400s has:
 
Too much treble 
Just right treble
Spiky treble  
Sparkly treble
 
For me the treble is Spiky...

 
 
 

 
I think the treble is spiky aswell. But using these eq settings the spiky-ness of the treble is nullified to me.
 
It brings out voices, but reduces the treble spike. The HE-400 responds quite well to eq-ing. And I feel the sound is much more neutral, but still very much alive, and fun.
 
The bass boost below 100 hz really isn't necessary, but I like it

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

Hm, so im going to assume the he-400's are going to wow me
but as i asked before, how was it when you guys got your first "audiophile" headphones, as in something that costed more than budget iems

 
The HE-400s are my first audiophile full size cans, and I already mentioned how I found them, but I did have audiophile IEMs before the HE400s. The Senn IE80 was my first "audiophile" experience and those absolutely blew my mind. I never knew sound could be so crisp and engaging. They don't hold a candle to the HE400 though.

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

 
Well I was talking in terms of my experience, so I don't disagree with you. I did say there is a wow factor, but for me it wasn't immediate. I played a couple of songs and they sounded somewhat lifeless. But 10 minutes in and I started to get what all the hype around these headphones are about. It was probably my ears and brain adjusting to a new kind of sound.
 
I believe I documented my experience in this thread at the time when I got them. 

A 'wow factor' is something that is very subjective ofcourse. But coming from my closed german maestro's and HD650 on the fiio e9 the HE-400 carried a big wow factor.
 
I was immediately impressed by the clarity, amazing seperation, and textured sound.
 
They do carry some sort of amazing texture, it's not just bass either. The sound is just so, tangible?
 
What was your audio setup before the he-400?

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

A 'wow factor' is something that is very subjective ofcourse. But coming from my closed german maestro's and HD650 on the fiio e9 the HE-400 carried a big wow factor.
 
I was immediately impressed by the clarity, amazing seperation, and textured sound.
 
They do carry some sort of amazing texture, it's not just bass either. The sound is just so, tangible?
 
What was your audio setup before the he-400?

 
Perhaps I wasn't using the best material when I first auditioned them which may explain why I wasn't impressed at first, but I don't remember the song though.
 
I had a Sennheiser IE80 hooked up to a Fiio E17 through USB to my computer. Not the best setup but sounded really good to my ears. I really wish I still had them, for those times I can't use open cans. But of course the M-stage + HE400 demolishes it.

 

[wje]

Quote:

Hm, so im going to assume the he-400's are going to wow me
but as i asked before, how was it when you guys got your first "audiophile" headphones, as in something that costed more than budget iems

 
Quote:

A 'wow factor' is something that is very subjective of course. But coming from my closed german maestro's and HD650 on the fiio e9 the HE-400 carried a big wow factor.
 
I was immediately impressed by the clarity, amazing seperation, and textured sound.
 
They do carry some sort of amazing texture, it's not just bass either. The sound is just so, tangible?
 
What was your audio setup before the he-400?

 
Exacly.  We can't predict "wow" factor for other listeners, just like we can't predict if they'll win $2 Million dollars in tomorrow's lottery.  

 

[sbtruitt]

Quote:

but as i asked before, how was it when you guys got your first "audiophile" headphones, as in something that costed more than budget iems

 
For me, I like detail, so when I got my D2000's after many years of not having any good HPs, I just loved hearing stuff in my music I hadnt heard or noticed before. Plus hearing the way instruments and voices really sound. I was hooked for sure after that.

 

[catspaw]

Im havving a small problem with micro distortions on the headphones (mostly on rock), anyone expirinced this?
 
The thing is, its the same sort of distortion that you can hear in a cinema when it turnes on the screen and you can slightly hear the tape recording before the volume masks it.
 
Its somehow related to the recordings and not to the device itself i fear, since in games with very good soundtracks its non existant. Anyone knows how to try to get rid of this? (even 3000+kbps FLAC shows this problem).

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

Im havving a small problem with micro distortions on the headphones (mostly on rock), anyone expirinced this?
 
The thing is, its the same sort of distortion that you can hear in a cinema when it turnes on the screen and you can slightly hear the tape recording before the volume masks it.
 
Its somehow related to the recordings and not to the device itself i fear, since in games with very good soundtracks its non existant. Anyone knows how to try to get rid of this? (even 3000+kbps FLAC shows this problem).

 
Im taking a wild guess here, but if you have a 3000 kbps flac it is most likely a vinyl rip at 96/24, in which case they're known to have these 'micro distortions' or noise in quiet passages. 

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
Im taking a wild guess here, but if you have a 3000 kbps flac it is most likely a vinyl rip at 96/24, in which case they're known to have these 'micro distortions' or noise in quiet passages. 

 
Good suggestion.  I was going to suggest the the poster also try the original our "source" disc from where the FLAC files were ripped from.  Or, if another pair of headphones are available, listen to the ripped FLAC files and see if the distortion is present on those, too.