[Okamoto]

Quote:

Wow, really? It's fascinating how differently we all hear things. Granted, I've now managed to vastly improve my HE-400 for jazz but I still wouldn't call them ideal... Specifically because they are not open sounding enough for a lot of music with a lot of overtones. Maybe we listen to different sorts of jazz though. My instrumental jazz is mostly horn driven whether that's Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Stan Kenton, or Tuba Skinny.

 
HE-400 sounds open enough to me. Maybe not as open as other headphones like K70x, AD700... but open nonetheless. However, it's the airy, natural soundstage, sparkle treble, juicy low end and instrument separation that makes it really shine for Jazz to me.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

HE-400 sounds open enough to me. Maybe not as open as other headphones like K70x, AD700... but open nonetheless. However, it's the airy, natural soundstage, sparkle treble, juicy low end and instrument separation that makes it really shine for Jazz to me.

Again, I'm just fascinated how differently people hear.

 

[modulor]

Quote:

Again, I'm just fascinated how differently people hear.

As am I (I love to read and hear others opinions and experiences) but then again I personally don't have alot of experience in general since I am fairly new to the game.  I've never heard a K70x or the AD700 for example (both known to present a large soundstage and sense of air) so maybe I don't know what I'm missing...yet, anyway!

 

[Limniscate]

Quote:

Again, I'm just fascinated how differently people hear.

HE400 definitely don't have as wide of a soundstage as the DT880 or AKG K702 65th Annies, but I think it's the depth that gives it a great sound.  There's definitely a 3D effect.

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

The Lexicon installed its own driver. Could that be part of the difference? I notice it defaults to 24 bit, but most if not all of my files are 16 bit so does that even make a difference?

Nope, 24 bit just support higher bit rate files. I don't think you could actually hear a difference though. I can barely hear a difference between 320kbps and flac so... Anything above wav/flac is way way way overkill imo.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

As am I (I love to read and hear others opinions and experiences) but then again I personally don't have alot of experience in general since I am fairly new to the game.  I've never heard a K70x or the AD700 for example (both known to present a large soundstage and sense of air) so maybe I don't know what I'm missing...yet, anyway!

I'm in the same boat as you and just bit the bullet by buying a few different headphones to figure out what I really like and to understand other's comments. My AD700 is now kind of superfluous since getting my AD900X so I might let them go if you're really curious.

 

[sbtruitt]

+1  I agree.  While I don't listen to alot of conventional Jazz, I think they represent that genre very well.

Yep. Both classic and fusion/experimental Jazz work very well with HE-400. Truly a Jazz master.

I'm listening to Coltrane's Giant steps right now and I don't see how it can get any better.

A fusion album I listen to very often that is simply magical with HE-400 is Billy Cobham's Spectrum.

+1

Spectrum is one of my favorite albums as well. (Stratus is an awesome listen with these cans).

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Quote:

Just bought the balanced leads from HiFiman for the HE400s, bass control better with a smoother and more open midrange when compared to the standard factory lead, overall sound signature simialr to original so not a major stepup but certainly worth having, the lead by the way is much more flexible and lighter in mass than the original. I still use some frequency modification of around + 3db between 2khz to 5khz using the dsp on my TC Electronics 48 firewire dac. Although the HE400s are not perfect I find I use them a lot more than my earlier Sennheisner HD800s which I couldn't get the right setup for having tried various amps including Woo Audio.

 
Your midrange comments interest me. I wonder how you came to choose this cable over the myriad of options? I'm thinking that if I were to recable, I'd want to change out connecters as I really don't like the stock ones. But then I think I'll probably want to try the HE-500s before sinking more money into the HE-400s anyway.

 

[gopanthersgo1]

I didn't like the K702s... too cold and icy...

 

[M-13]

Quote:

 
HE-400 -> HE-500
http://graphs.headphone.com/differenceGraph.php?graphType=&graphID[]=3651&graphID[]=3241
 
Here's the other way around:
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/difference-graph.php?graphID[0]=3241&graphID[1]=3651&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones
 

Wow this is pretty nice tool to play around with. Thanks for the link. I was unaware of this tool.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

TMRaven,
 
Thanks for your feedback. I don't want to derail this thread but feel I should comment on your questions.
 
There is a way to measure overall SPL but this takes into account all frequencies and doesn't give a number that is very meaningful. What is more important is the difference in output between frequencies. If we pump pink noise into a headphone and measure the SPL and base our measurements on that, we still have to pick a frequency on the graphs which is the zero point.
 
We have considered providing the option to choose the frequency at which these headphones are compared but this is not an easy tool to build. This is essentially what you are doing when you photoshop the images like you have. You have simply chosen a different frequency for your reference point. If we were to zero the graphs at 100 Hz for example, this would in theory show you what the mid range and high end response is relative to the bass. The 1k frequency is chosen as it is an audio industry standard. From a consumers point of view, I can see how it would be beneficial to change this reference point.
 
For a different perspective, take a look at this difference graph tool which is supposed to show you the difference in frequency response from your reference headphone or one you may own, compared to one you're curious about.
 
HE-400 -> HE-500
http://graphs.headphone.com/differenceGraph.php?graphType=&graphID[]=3651&graphID[]=3241
 
Here's the other way around:
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/difference-graph.php?graphID[0]=3241&graphID[1]=3651&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones
 
To me, this would mean that if the measurements are correct, our tools for displaying the data are working properly, and if frequency response were the main indicator of sound quality, that to make a HE-500 sound like a HE-400, you would need to boost 600-1.5kHz and to cut 1.5-7k, and finally boost 7-20k. In theory that is....

Cool, awesome comparison graph,  thanks Jamey. Now about a B-stock Astrodyne power supply for my HUDA...............

 

[ninjames]

Here's some more pics of the pink HE-300 next to the HE-400. Sorry about the quality, finally fully back from my vacation and all of that. Am painting the HE-400 very soon, going with either a nice matte black or gold flake. Leaning toward matte black. As far as the HE-300 goes, we're going to tackle it again to fix some of the imperfections in it which you can probably see in the picture.
 
 

 

 

 

[beaver316]

I don't see any imperfections, they look as good as stock paint-wise.

 

[Sniping]

Yeah, I'm really digging your paint job there.

 

[Lohb]

Quote:

Here's some more pics of the pink HE-300 next to the HE-400. Sorry about the quality, finally fully back from my vacation and all of that. Am painting the HE-400 very soon, going with either a nice matte black or gold flake. Leaning toward matte black. As far as the HE-300 goes, we're going to tackle it again to fix some of the imperfections in it which you can probably see in the picture.
 
 

 

 

Did you use acrylic enamel paint on them plus a lacquer seal ? Any base coat ? I was going to tackle a pair of Fostex at some point.