[ozarkcdn]

Really, what would only work, and no doubt would lead to many scratching scalps, is a blind ABX.  I would love to get a switcher and do that here, but dont have many head-fi'ers in these parts. That would squash a lot of hyperbole, IMO. Anyone live close enough to other gear heads to do something like this?
 
 
 
Quote:

 
I'm not chipping into to defend MLE, but he has a very valid point.  A lot of emphasis gets placed on how good or how bad something is, but the scale is a large scale. If someone makes a purchase, and it's a good one for them, the abilities of the product can get a bit embellished due to the initial excitement of the purchaser.  I think all MLE is striving for is to level-set expectations.  The more honest we are, the better off all of us will be.  By honesty, I'm implying our own honest view of something base upon what we've read.  If we read good things, our mind tends to multiply the information by a large factor.  Up until receiving the item, our expectations are set pretty high.  If, what we receive is actually lesser than we had built it up to be, we end up getting disappointed.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

Is HE-400 more 'open'-sounding than LCD-2 rev.2?
Is there more air, more space in sound of HE-400?

Slightly.
 
The Lcds have the best center imaging and realism I have yet to experience with a head phone, I would describe the sound stage as a bit intimate but realistic.
 
The He-400s have a bit more air to them, but phenomenal instrument separation.
 
Bass is close between the two with the advantage going to the Lcd-2s. (better bass with the J-money pads but not up to the Lcds)
 
* I did not realize you owned the Lcd-2s already, are you looking to buy a complimentary HP or are you looking to switch?

 

[ninjames]

Pictures of my newly painted pink HE-300 coming soon!

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

Pictures of my newly painted pink HE-300 coming soon!

 
Looking forward to that!

 

[wje]

Quote:

Pictures of my newly painted pink HE-300 coming soon!

 
Thanks for the warning.  I'll start mentally preparing for the release of the pictures. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I can't wait. Someone should Photoshop ferrari red on the HE-400, just to see what it'd look like.

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

 
Thanks for the warning.  I'll start mentally preparing for the release of the pictures. 

Haha. I'm just very excited myself, as I am waiting on the pictures from the guy who painted them for me!

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

I can't wait. Someone should Photoshop ferrari red on the HE-400, just to see what it'd look like.

 
Your wish is my command. Using that iPhone pic from a few pages back. Two version, one more subtle and the other more extreme.
 
 

 
 

 

[davidsh]

What about painting the HE-400 in a matte white color. That would be special and possibly quite uggly.
Matte black or gray would be cool

 

[Implar]

I just went ahead and ordered an HE-400 and a set of velour pads, can't wait for them to arrive 

 
It will be an upgrade from an HD-555 for me, hopefully they sound as expected. I'm going to be connecting them to a Fiio E17 (already have it), would it be a big difference to go with a Schiit Modi/Magni or even Bifrost/Asgard?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Your wish is my command. Using that iPhone pic from a few pages back. Two version, one more subtle and the other more extreme.

Both of those (wine red and ferrari red) are INCREDIBLY sexy. Sexier than any of the current offerings, IMHO.

 

[korzena]

Quote:

Slightly.
 
The Lcds have the best center imaging and realism I have yet to experience with a head phone, I would describe the sound stage as a bit intimate but realistic.
 
The He-400s have a bit more air to them, but phenomenal instrument separation.
 
Bass is close between the two with the advantage going to the Lcd-2s. (better bass with the J-money pads but not up to the Lcds)
 
* I did not realize you owned the Lcd-2s already, are you looking to buy a complimentary HP or are you looking to switch?

Thanks a lot for your reply.
I am considering buying HE-400 as a complimentary headphone to my LCD-2s. I love my Audeze, but sometimes they are too polite and intimate sounding. I am looking for an additional headphone with more aggressive and engaging sound. The headphone will be used mainly for listening to electronic/trance/ambient music. I'd like it to have more air and 'spaciousness' as well as good speed. Many people seem to say HE-400 performs very well with electronic music / synthetic sounds.

 

[Shrew]

Had these babies for almost 3 weeks and I still get amazed. Best audio decision so far. Makes it hard to want to listen to any other audio source without the warm love the HE-400s provide.

 

[MrMateoHead]

Quote:

So you are saying that J-money pads do not make a difference, but yet you have never tried them?  You really need to experience some things and then draw conclusions.....

I didn't say anything about "not making a difference". Jerg has already recording some variation between pleather / velour. I did note that getting some measurements on the mod pads would be a good idea. It would be nice to see if there is a measurable difference, and if there is, what it amounts to.
 
I don't need to "experience everything" first-hand to make my judgements. I am one of those persons that thinks that, if you are looking for a big change, you need to switch headphones. I straight up wouldn't be expecting anything from a pad swap, cable swap, or even amp swap, provided the amps spec'd out about the same. In my experience, over and over, there are certain specs you should try to meet, but otherwise its always speakers speakers speakers that matter. That and a good recording

.
 
There are times when measured changes do not equal audible changes, and times when subjective opinions do not equal measurable differences. For example, I used to have a 100 dB SNR amp, then I got an 87 dB SNR. Noisier? No. Why? Because anything about 90 dB or better is beyond my ears capability, and in fact the amp does a little better than 90 dB. Then I had someone try to tell me that amp A "had more bass" than Amp B. Needless to say, the assumption (which they based on brand) was just wrong. So, sorry, but my **** amp is good nuff' and you couldn't tell in a blind test.
 
What I said in essence was, No, I will not mod my ear pads and grills and so on. I paid $400 bucks for these things, and that's my budget for the next 3 years or so. I also intimated that all that modding would not be worth the "cost" (losing my warranty or damaging the phones). I doubt the audible impact would be noticed by myself, who is but an average guy.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

Thanks a lot for your reply.
I am considering buying HE-400 as a complimentary headphone to my LCD-2s. I love my Audeze, but sometimes they are too polite and intimate sounding. I am looking for an additional headphone with more aggressive and engaging sound. The headphone will be used mainly for listening to electronic/trance/ambient music. I'd like it to have more air and 'spaciousness' as well as good speed. Many people seem to say HE-400 performs very well with electronic music / synthetic sounds.

Then you will be very happy with the HE-400s, it does in fact do that. I find myself reaching for them more often the not.