[MattTCG]

It would be fair to label this operation..."basic." I'll back him up though. I've bought two dacs from him and he also stands behind his product. He sent me another odac when I was getting some feedback I couldn't put my finger on. Turned out not to be his dac but my motherboard. He's a good guy. Communicates through email very quickly. Ships from Canada. 

 

[DangerToast]

Hi everyone,
 
To begin with, the HE-400's are the first pair of audiophile-grade headphones I've ever owned, and this is my very first post on head-fi!
 
While I am loving the HE-400's overall, I have some concerns I'd like to discuss with all of you. I'll start by saying I have the revision 2 drivers (white) and the faux leather earpads. I listen mostly to flacs and use a sound card (Xonar DX) and a dinky amp (fiio e6). Even with the revision 2 drivers, I find these headphones can, at times, be distractingly sibilant and shrill. This is especially the case when a female voice is swelling or the symbols are crashing away.
 
My other question is about the stage - it sometimes sounds as if I'm standing at one end of a giant tunnel, and the band is playing 300 yards away, way down at the other end. By the time the sound reaches me, I've lost a little bit of the detail and everything sounds tinny (and even muffled, at times).
 
Lastly, with certain songs I feel like the sound lacks body.
 
Will burn-in address these issues, or does the sound of the HE-400 pretty much stay the same? Is three days of pink noise the answer?
 
Will a good amp fix these issues? Part of the reason I bought the HE-400's was because they don't require a super-high-end amp to work well. If, however, an amp will tone down the highs and give the sound a little more body, and maybe even fix the stage problems, I would be willing to invest around $300, but would like to stay lower. Can anyone recommend a good, portable (USB), "dark" amp or amp/dac combo that would take care of my problem?
 
Do the velour pads really make that big of a difference?
 
Should I just throw in the towel and try the HD600?   
 
I WANT to love these headphones unconditionally. Sometimes when I'm listening to them I get so wrapped up in the sound that I can't imagine returning them. I find that vocals sound particularly crisp and colorful on the HE-400's (unless the singer gets too high up there, and that harsh sibilance comes into play). The bass is detailed and tight but still somehow packs a punch. If only I didn't cringe so often while listening to them...
 
Thanks guys!

 

[MattTCG]

Danger toast..welcome to head fi and to the he400 club!! Yes the velour pads really do make a difference. Will it fix the issues you have? I will only cost you $10 to fin out. 

 
You do need to get a better amp though as well. 
 
If those things don't provide a solution, the he400 will sell quickly for most of it's retail. 

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

While I am loving the HE-400's overall, I have some concerns I'd like to discuss with all of you. I'll start by saying I have the revision 2 drivers (white) and the faux leather earpads. I listen mostly to flacs and use a sound card (Xonar DX) and a dinky amp (fiio e6). Even with the revision 2 drivers, I find these headphones can, at times, be distractingly sibilant and shrill. This is especially the case when a female voice is swelling or the symbols are crashing away.
 
My other question is about the stage - it sometimes sounds as if I'm standing at one end of a giant tunnel, and the band is playing 300 yards away, way down at the other end. By the time the sound reaches me, I've lost a little bit of the detail and everything sounds tinny (and even muffled, at times).
 
Lastly, with certain songs I feel like the sound lacks body.
 
Will a good amp fix these issues? Part of the reason I bought the HE-400's was because they don't require a super-high-end amp to work well. If, however, an amp will tone down the highs and give the sound a little more body, and maybe even fix the stage problems, I would be willing to invest around $300, but would like to stay lower. Can anyone recommend a good, portable (USB), "dark" amp or amp/dac combo that would take care of my problem?

Sibilance, distance from the music, lacking body and tinny sound are all something that someone would describe if a headphone was not properly amped. Judging by what you have, yes they could use an upgrade, for sure. The E17 is a good choice, but for someone with the issues you have, you might want something just a little bit better. I really like the sound of the HE-400 with my E17, but I have definitely felt that my music "lacks body" with it from time to time. Everything you describe makes me firmly believe you need a better amp (you would anyway if you decided you ultimately didn't like the HE-400, but wanted to get another headphone in the price bracket).

 

[buencamino]

Bought the he 400 and used it on the fiio e7 for a while.. its great but i think i need an upgrade on dac amp.. does anybody know what would be a good next step..

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Bought the he 400 and used it on the fiio e7 for a while.. its great but i think i need an upgrade on dac amp.. does anybody know what would be a good next step..

E17, Magni+Modi, O2+ODAC are all good next steps, in order of cost.
 
I remember trying to drive the HE400s with E7, it struggled real hard lol.

 

[ninjapirate9901]

I recently (well a month ago) got a pair of used rev1 HE-400's. Everything was working fine up until last weekend when I started getting channel imbalance issues. I contacted Head-Direct about this and they said I was covered under warranty and to ship them back. I was planning on packing them up tonight for shipping and decided to give them another shot with the stock pads (I was using velours for a while).
 
Now everything seems to be back to normal, switching back to the velours also confirms that they are no longer out of balance. My question is would it still be worth sending them back to Head-Direct for repair/replacement (they are working fine at the moment)? Also is this an issue with rev1's in particular and is it likely that it will reoccur should I not send them back (assuming its not human error on my part)?

 

[wje]

Quote:

Of what? The pleathers or the J$s? The stock pleathers have a white fairly dense memory foam, while the J$'s use a blue looser and more elastic kind of foam.
 
(Oh btw I sent you a PM earlier today)

 
Thanks.  The memory foam sounds kind of good.  It would probably be great to get a few pair from HifiMAN and build a "super" pair of pads with the foam and some real leather.  I'm sort of rationing my real leather for a few other projects at the moment.
 
Regarding the PM, yes.  I did get it and I should know a bit more in the coming week as there should be about 20 pair headed my way, plus a possibility of a few pair of the Denon J$ pads, too.
 
Matt, Checking out "Walkin' Down the Road" at this time.  I don't think I'm listening to the remastered version, but it's still very clean and the bass guitar is as you describe - quite prominent.  However, I'm not listening with the HE-400s, just the $4.97 JVC "miracle" ear buds driving by the Schiit at my computer.  Really, really good stuff.  I need to try it all out on the HE-400s.  I was looking through Amazon and saw that "Another Ticket" was also re-released a few years back.  It has "Floating Bridge" on it.  I've never heard Clapton's version of that song, just Greg Allman's on his latest blues covers album.  It is a great listen, too - nice and thick on the lower end.  None of that hissy over-abundance of treble either.

 

[wje]

Quote:

I recently (well a month ago) got a pair of used rev1 HE-400's. Everything was working fine up until last weekend when I started getting channel imbalance issues. I contacted Head-Direct about this and they said I was covered under warranty and to ship them back. I was planning on packing them up tonight for shipping and decided to give them another shot with the stock pads (I was using velours for a while).
 
Now everything seems to be back to normal, switching back to the velours also confirms that they are no longer out of balance. My question is would it still be worth sending them back to Head-Direct for repair/replacement (they are working fine at the moment)? Also is this an issue with rev1's in particular and is it likely that it will reoccur should I not send them back (assuming its not human error on my part)?

 
As to sending them back or not, it should be up to you if you think waiting 3+ weeks on the turn-around would be worth it.  However, I also believe for those who purchased the HE-400s via the Pre-order period for $349.00, which are the Version # 1 of the headphones, HifiMAN has extended the warranty by another year - if, I'm not mistaken.

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

Hi everyone,
 
To begin with, the HE-400's are the first pair of audiophile-grade headphones I've ever owned, and this is my very first post on head-fi!
 
While I am loving the HE-400's overall, I have some concerns I'd like to discuss with all of you. I'll start by saying I have the revision 2 drivers (white) and the faux leather earpads. I listen mostly to flacs and use a sound card (Xonar DX) and a dinky amp (fiio e6). Even with the revision 2 drivers, I find these headphones can, at times, be distractingly sibilant and shrill. This is especially the case when a female voice is swelling or the symbols are crashing away.
 
My other question is about the stage - it sometimes sounds as if I'm standing at one end of a giant tunnel, and the band is playing 300 yards away, way down at the other end. By the time the sound reaches me, I've lost a little bit of the detail and everything sounds tinny (and even muffled, at times).
 
Lastly, with certain songs I feel like the sound lacks body.
 
Will burn-in address these issues, or does the sound of the HE-400 pretty much stay the same? Is three days of pink noise the answer?
 
Will a good amp fix these issues? Part of the reason I bought the HE-400's was because they don't require a super-high-end amp to work well. If, however, an amp will tone down the highs and give the sound a little more body, and maybe even fix the stage problems, I would be willing to invest around $300, but would like to stay lower. Can anyone recommend a good, portable (USB), "dark" amp or amp/dac combo that would take care of my problem?
 
Do the velour pads really make that big of a difference?
 
Should I just throw in the towel and try the HD600?   
 
I WANT to love these headphones unconditionally. Sometimes when I'm listening to them I get so wrapped up in the sound that I can't imagine returning them. I find that vocals sound particularly crisp and colorful on the HE-400's (unless the singer gets too high up there, and that harsh sibilance comes into play). The bass is detailed and tight but still somehow packs a punch. If only I didn't cringe so often while listening to them...
 
Thanks guys!

 
Before we get into possibly buying more expensive amps and dacs, it might be worthwhile to see how the HE-400 sounds off some guaranteed decent sourcees.  Do you have any recent generation ipod or iphone?  I find the HE-400 to sound relatively clean off those and having a good balance, not too thin or sibilant at all.
 
Second, I'd try lots of different recordings, including verified good recordings.  A really badly recorded song makes all the difference in the world.
 
The 'tunnel' soundstage effect can be partially due to the pleather pads.  I didn't think they sounded too focused with the pleathers, but velours will definitely help flesh out their mids.

 

[Sniping]

Quote:

Oh boy, I just cannibalized a pair of Hifiman pleather pads, and transplanted their nylon screens over to the J$'s. Perfect earpads achieved.

Can I trouble you to take a picture of what they look like now?
 
And Matt, can you tell me more about what Fang did to your headphones? Very interested.

 

[wje]

Quote:

Can I trouble you to take a picture of what they look like now?
 
And Matt, can you tell me more about what Fang did to your headphones? Very interested.

 
The good doctor didn't do anything to Matt's headphones.  It was a joke, which is why Matt indicated that he the headphones weighed less when he pulled Dr. Fang out of one of the cups.  

   

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Can I trouble you to take a picture of what they look like now?
 
And Matt, can you tell me more about what Fang did to your headphones? Very interested.

 
Sure.
 
 
The nylon screen cannibalized from the stock pleathers superglued onto one of the mounting rings:

 
End result:

 
 
 
The mutilated stock pleathers:

 

[YGuyG]

Quote:

just pulled the trigger on these with velour pads included. I'm looking for a significant upgrade from srh-840 and hopefully this is the end of the road for me. My wallet considers the 450 canadian to be a pretty significant hit I've heard that my fiio e17 isn't able to bring out the full potential of the he-400, but I really hope it does a good job because I don't feel like spending money for a different amp. Anyway I can't wait to hear them!!

Woah man, $450 Canadian? I payed $402 total after Paypal to Justin at HeadAmp and wasn't charged duty. You lost like $50 

 

[mindflayz]

Hello, some days ago I bought a new pair of headphones - HiFiMAN HE-400!
 
I'm now looking to buy an Amp. It has to be better  than my current (Asus Xonar Essence ST headphone amp)
 
I feel like I could use some more bass and I like warm, fun sound.
 
I listen to Hiphop and Dubstep.
 
Budget ~300 euro
 
Feel free to inform me what's good for my headphones, budget, preference and upgrade-worthiness.
 
Edit: It's gonna stand at home @ my computer so no need portability.