[Hifi Man]

Quote:

If you can manage to get the Magni to complement the Modi, you will most certainly be golden - it is an excellent value for what you can get out of these headphone for the price.  The extra wattage really brings the HE--400 to life from my experience.  I currently use the Magni connected to my sound card, a Titanium HD, but will plan on getting the Modi eventually.  If you have a decent sound card, I'd say swap the DAC for the amp for the time being if funds are short.  I listen to quite a bit of metal (Ulver's Bergtatt is melting into my ears right now), and I find my current combo works brilliantly, albeit with the occasional minor EQ tweak here and there.  
 
As for an alternative, I've not had an opportunity to try many other full size headphones out yet, but I'd suggest looking into Beyer's DT880/DT990, Denon D2000 (if you can find one) or possibly Grado's SR225 or lower models (I have a friend who has these and is also an avid metal fan).

I love ulver! That is a good idea. I also listen to quite of bit of death metal such as defeated sanity. In the album psalms of the moribund I noticed that the headphones don't really emphasize on the punchy quality of the bass. It all kind of sound flat.

 

[Okamoto]

Here's my modded pad

 
I solved the side gap problem by sticking the ring to the pleather sides with cloth tape.
 
I hope there isn't any problem in doing that.
 
I'm liking the sound with these pads more than with the velours, so i guess i did it at least half right.

 

[Sorrodje]

Quote:

I have had the same problem at the begining of using the HE-400.
 
...  
I love them over all, but at some points they are way too dark for my taste.

 
 
I don't use EQ and i don't want to use it with any headphone. if the signature is wrong to  my ear , I sell the headphone. Fortnunately I hav my "end-game " headphone for the most part of my use. I just need a compliment. it seems he-400 is just not the good candidate for that.  he-500 seems to be a far better one but too expensive for me now.  he-400 gave me a taste of otho-dynamic headphones and hifiman stuff . I liked all of the he-400 except its signature

 

[ninjames]

Just got my HE-300 in and I really, really like the sound. I think it's different enough to make me want to use it alongside the HE-400. I can offer more detailed impressions if anybody is interested but as it's the lesser of the Hifiman line, I'll just keep it to this brief mention right now. Also: sooo light in comparison.

 

[earphiler]

 

[modulor]

Quote:

I love ulver! That is a good idea. I also listen to quite of bit of death metal such as defeated sanity. In the album psalms of the moribund I noticed that the headphones don't really emphasize on the punchy quality of the bass. It all kind of sound flat.

I sampled that album as well as some others I have, and like most death metal, I think that is the nature of the recording unfortunately.  The lower end certainly is present and well textured, but will probably never be as impactful as say a closed back headphone (the Denon D2000 comes to mind, as I think they would  complement the genre's recording style better).  After a little EQ, that album sounds pretty decent to me just streaming from youtube, but again it won't have the punch that a higher quality recording or closed back headphone might provide.  The moments of sub-bass (track 4 for example) are quite nice.  It's totally listenable to me and I'm enjoying it quite a bit - cymbals can sound incredible on these headphones as this album is showcasing.  I'll have to pick it up haha!  

  You also have to remember the sound signature of these is a bit unique, and after listening to them more or less exclusively for a period I find it grows on you.  The extra power from a good amp would be most beneficial.  The D2000/D5000/D7000 is a headphone series I've always wanted to try, but since being discontinued they are harder to come by - one day I will own one, oh yes...  If I were to pick a closed back headphone right now, it would have to be one of those based on what I've read.

 

[modulor]

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Do these headband pads have memory foam, standard foam or fiberfill/pillow form type stuff?  Not sure if it's easy to tell from the outside.

 

[earphiler]

I wanna say fiberfill/pillow form type stuff, definitely not memory foam and i don't think it's standard foam but I could be wrong. I like it though

 

[jerg]

Honestly, I thought that since HE400 has such a big velour following, that you all would have at least 1 pair of stock pleathers just collecting dust in the corner.
 
Those are just huge sonic potential earpads just waiting to receive the mod and become reborn.
 
 
 
...Grant those pleathers their wish please.
 
 
 
 
There's a reason why I named this mod "jergpad" instead of "awesomepad" or other random names, it is because the mod improves the sound so much that I want my forum namesake on it as soon as I heard it. Kind of like Kramer mod for KSC75s. I would never say name the grill mod "Jergrills", as that mod only has a subtle impact on the sound.

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
I don't use EQ and i don't want to use it with any headphone. if the signature is wrong to  my ear , I sell the headphone. Fortnunately I'm my "end-game " headphone for the most part of my use. I just need a compliment. it seems he-400 is just not the good candidate for that.  he-500 seems to be a far better one but too expensive for me now.  he-400 gave me a taste of otho-dynamic headphones and hifiman stuff . I liked all of the he-400 except its signature

 
Why is that?  Such a journey may last a lifetime and you'll still not be able to achieve the right sound because the perfect headphone might not be out there for you.  Plus, you'll spend / lose a fair amount of money with so much buying and selling going on.

 

[ninjames]

So I've tried the velours for the first time ... on the HE-300. They're nice. I'll try them on the HE-400 sometime. Am trying Jerg's mod tonight, sans the dust screen removal, because I fully believe dust can kill headphones in less than a year.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

So I've tried the velours for the first time ... on the HE-300. They're nice. I'll try them on the HE-400 sometime. Am trying Jerg's mod tonight, sans the dust screen removal, because I fully believe dust can kill headphones in less than a year.

So you'll do the optional step of regluing the dust screen onto the mounting ring?
 
If you are planning to do everything else without even at least cutting out the dust screen temporarily, it's gonna be nearly impossible to pull off a neat mod job. The dust screen is right in the middle of everything, and you'll need it out of the way to work on e.g. creating all the holes.

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

So I've tried the velours for the first time ... on the HE-300. They're nice. I'll try them on the HE-400 sometime. Am trying Jerg's mod tonight, sans the dust screen removal, because I fully believe dust can kill headphones in less than a year.

 
I'd like to know your results, so far nobody has posted any impressions (or pics) of his new mod with the dust screen.
 
Im really contemplating this, maybe tomorrow.

 

[Jabse]

Quote:

Honestly, I thought that since HE400 has such a big velour following, that you all would have at least 1 pair of stock pleathers just collecting dust in the corner.
 
Those are just huge sonic potential earpads just waiting to receive the mod and become reborn.
 
 
 
...Grant those pleathers their wish please.
 
 
 
 
There's a reason why I named this mod "jergpad" instead of "awesomepad" or other random names, it is because the mod improves the sound so much that I want my forum namesake on it as soon as I heard it. Kind of like Kramer mod for KSC75s. I would never say name the grill mod "Jergrills", as that mod only has a subtle impact on the sound.

although jergrills sounds quite cool, similar to bear grylls
 
also.. J$ beyer pads vs jergpad
 
can you please quickly note the main difference?

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

So you'll do the optional step of regluing the dust screen onto the mounting ring?
 
If you are planning to do everything else without even at least cutting out the dust screen temporarily, it's gonna be nearly impossible to pull off a neat mod job. The dust screen is right in the middle of everything, and you'll need it out of the way to work on e.g. creating all the holes.

 
Hey jerg, something that would make me feel a lot more secure about trying this mod is if you could put the dust screen on one of your pairs and report as to whether it sounds the same as without it. I may try this but the dust screen is a must.