[jerg]

Quote:

Thanks, I guess I'm going with the magni, and maybe the odac to go with it later on 

I wish I had a store around here like that... I think I'll just stick to my e11 for portable use.  I'm sure it will do fine with the he-400 since it's amp is more powerful then the amp in the e17.
Guess I'm just splitting hairs then 

 either one I go with would be good based on all the opinions here.  You guys sure I won't miss the eq options on the e17 (like bass/treble boost) if i get the magni, which has no eq options at all?

Don't hesitate to use software EQing.

 

[earphiler]

My headband didnt arrive today
 
Should be here tomorrow though.

 

[ninjames]

Have finally decided on some of my "favorite" songs to listen to with the HE-400. I think most of this benefit from the excellent instrument separation and just general all-around awesomeness. I'm not going to post links as I hope you guys can find better-than YouTube copies of these tracks on your own. Have labeled genres on the change there's just something you don't like at all.
 
(Indie) Lovedrug - She's Disaster (I get one of those "right next to the band" feelings when I listen to this song with HE-400, though that feeling may be amplified by the tube sound)
 
(Indie) Dr. Dog - The Old Days (The bass - and I don't mean the punch of the drums, I mean the bass itself - is so understated on this track on every other headphone I've heard. I didn't even know it was there before these headphones. That underlying line during the chorus is FANTASTIC)
 
(Folk/Punk/Bluegrass) Larry and His Flask - Closed Doors (I feel like I can reach up and pluck the banjo out from a specific location in my head, which is a quality I love)
 
(SID Metal) Machinae Supremacy - Indiscriminate Murder is Counter-Productive (Safe to say I'll be listening to more electronic-esque metal with these)
 
(Hip-hop) P.O.S - Wanted/Wasted (I don't know, maybe it's another one of those musty songs that the tubes lend themselves well do but I love hearing everything placed in there in highly-produced hip-hop)
 
(Hip-hop) Astronautalis - The River, The Woods and Astronautalis - Thomas Jefferson (I defy you to find a gritty hip-hop track that epitomizes the "dark yet bright" quality of these headphones like either of these two tracks)
 
(Indie/Folk) River City Extension - Slander (very warm song with a deceptive amount of background activity, love it with these)
 
(Folk Rock/Alternative) The Heavy - Short Change Hero (love the bass on this song)
 
(Indie/Alternative) Placebo - Meds and The Mountain Goats - The Diaz Brothers (both of these songs, the instrumentation takes over the vocals but I get the impression that I'm at a concert with the vocalist absent and playing through on a track on its own. weird I know but just listen)

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
Good on you for checking out Jeff Golub.. his work, more often than not, is consistently good.  Dangerous Curves is excellent.. I like the "Soul Sessions", "Temptation", and "The Three Kings" albums a lot.. "Three Kings," in particular, just hums with the HE-400.

 
I just saw Jeff Golub in a smaller club less than a year ago with Mindi Abair.  He played a few of the songs from The Three Kings, but he was just accompanying Mindi with her tour.  Given the loss of his eyesight, we are hopeful that he'll continue to create music and tour.  It's hard to tell, though.  Also, saw Al Di Meola within the past year and we're heading to see Matt Schofield in about a week and half.
 
With my HE-400s, I spend 90% of the time listening to blues and jazz.  The other 10%?  That's up for grabs.  However, the HE-400s just do so well with those genres of music, I couldn't imagine heavy metal or other genres on them.  

 

[Sniping]

Flysweep, how is the Paradox in comparison to the HE-400? I've been hearing that the Paradox is neutral and can't really be compared to the HE-400, but I just want to see what you think.

 

[CPhoenix]

Quote:

Don't hesitate to use software EQing.

You mean I can eq on my laptop while using the magni?

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Just way cool that you got to see Golub live. The older I get, the less I seem to be able to make the time to get out and hear music performed live. Oddly, it's one of my favorite things to do. There is nothing like listening to live acoustic music and then taking that memory home to see how well your system can reproduce that sound. 

 

[earphiler]

I am very much loving the velours after an extended run with the pleathers.
 
The airiness wins me over every time.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

You mean I can eq on my laptop while using the magni?

You can EQ on your laptop whatever amp or headphone you use. In fact even with FiiO products that have hardware EQ, it might still be better to use software EQ because you can better control where exactly you want to EQ up or down.
 
 
Quote:

I am very much loving the velours after an extended run with the pleathers.
 
The airiness wins me over every time.

 
The J$'s take the HE400's airiness to the next level and beyond 

 It is so open and clear-sounding with these pads that I can honestly say the finesse of these cans are on par with the HE500s.

 

[earphiler]

Too bad I can't get my hands on a set if the curiosity took control of my wallet
 
oh well, as with deciding to not audition he-500, i think I can learn to be happy with my current set up.
 
Can't have it all.
 
Plus that headband is gonna be a nice upgrade (not sonically of course, but)
 
Not to mention how substantial of a leap this is in my mind from hd595+udac2 that took place only three weeks ago or so.

 

[CPhoenix]

Quote:

You can EQ on your laptop whatever amp or headphone you use. In fact even with FiiO products that have hardware EQ, it might still be better to use software EQ because you can better control where exactly you want to EQ up or down.

Thanks!  I thought when a desktop amp took the place of the default player on a computer, the computer's eq options didn't apply to the amp.  Guess I'm going with the magni 

 
Thank you to every one on this thread, a lot of info on here.

 

[FlySweep]

Quote:

 
I just saw Jeff Golub in a smaller club less than a year ago with Mindi Abair.  He played a few of the songs from The Three Kings, but he was just accompanying Mindi with her tour.  Given the loss of his eyesight, we are hopeful that he'll continue to create music and tour.  It's hard to tell, though.  Also, saw Al Di Meola within the past year and we're heading to see Matt Schofield in about a week and half.
 
With my HE-400s, I spend 90% of the time listening to blues and jazz.  The other 10%?  That's up for grabs.  However, the HE-400s just do so well with those genres of music, I couldn't imagine heavy metal or other genres on them.  

 
Nice.. I discovered him thanks to my MOG subscription.  I'd love to get a chance to see him live.  Golub's music, by far, gets the most play when I'm in the mod for blues/soul.  I like how spacious, clean, and tonally accurate the mixing feels.  Everything just sounds so right with his albums from an engineering standpoint.. but the drums, bass, & pianos, in particular, are always impressive.  Same goes for vocals.  There's a sense of naturalness to his playing.. and that seems to carry over to the studio engineering..
 
I'll check out those other artists you mentioned as well.. thanks!

Flysweep, how is the Paradox in comparison to the HE-400? I've been hearing that the Paradox is neutral and can't really be compared to the HE-400, but I just want to see what you think.

 
My Paradox is on tour, atm.. so I can't get too in-depth.  Comparisons would be a little difficult since they're voiced fairly differently.  The Paradox would probably sound a bit more mid-centric if one was coming to it from the HE-400.  From memory, the Paradox has a (comparatively) drier midrange tonality that's a bit more full than the airy, crispier tone the HE-400's midrange carries.  Treble is probably where the two phones deviate most since that area is clearly boosted the HE-400.. and it's very flat on the Paradox.  DannyBai will be getting my Paradox soon, he's got the HE-400, too.. so he might be able to provide some insight until I get them back.  Inks/Rin will have them in the near future so they'll get measured again, too.  Generally speaking, I think the HE-400 & Paradox would be very good phones that would complement each other nicely.. much in the way the HD600 compliments the HE-400 quite well.

 

[MrMateoHead]

What is killing me lately is recognizing how many recordings I have that are so compressed they actually clip.
 
That and the HE-400s are so transparent that the distortion in bad recordings can be heard.
 
Too bad recordings don't post labels letting you know that they are clipped from the factory.

 

[FlySweep]

Originally Posted by MrMateoHead /img/forum/go_quote.gif

What is killing me lately is recognizing how many recordings I have that are so compressed they actually clip.
 
That and the HE-400s are so transparent that the distortion in bad recordings can be heard.
 
Too bad recordings don't post labels letting you know that they are clipped from the factory.

 
No kidding.. the one (other) thing that HeadFi has done (besides regularly liquidate my wallet), is enlighten me to the world of poorly mastered recordings (a world that's busting at the seams, apparently).  I still enjoy the music.. but now having gear which resolves that much more definitely makes the listening experience (with those recordings) a bit less enjoyable.
 
It's startling how many musicians respect their (recorded) art so much.. but let it get delivered to out ears in such shabby, lazy ways.

 

[cssarrow]

Quote:

I know how we can get to #1
 
HE-400 vs Beats impressions go go go

I be on that if i had a beat. thank god i had "head-fi" before beats or else i would of been "beat".
 
Joke of the day.
 
Tim