[MattTCG]

I agree with this. The hd650 holds it's own against the he400, but lot's of other mid-fi cans can't say the same. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah after spending a while with the HE-400, it really exposes the weird timbre qualities of the D2000, which sounds hollowed, plastic and cold in comparison.  I had the same feeling listening to M50 after D2000, so I couldn't imagine listening to M50 after HE-400.

I have, and still love the M50s, KSC35s, , and DT990s, even after having spent all those days of awesomeness with the HE400.

People just immediately think that at first listen you'll love a headphone. It takes time to adjust to an inferior headphones sound. However, give it time, and you'll start hearing why you loved them in the first place.

Hate that "OMG, I used to like these?" mentality. They throw a pair of old headphones back on for a day and judge it. Biggest mistake.

 

[TMRaven]

I won't make that mistake, I'm not going to willingly downgrade from my Hifimans, next in line is either an LCD2, HE6 or nothing.  

 

[Madmollusk]

Quote:

 It takes time to adjust to an inferior headphones sound. However, give it time, and you'll start hearing why you loved them in the first place.

 
I have to say: buried in all the tripe that people spew on Head-fi, I keep discovering little bits of wisdom. The above qualifies as such. Someday, someone needs to extract all the these little gems and compile them into some sort of manual for publication. I can see it now: Aphorisms for urban headphone users. Of course, someone else could compile all the crazy stuff, which might just oblige a familiar publisher to respond with this title: Headphones for Dummies. And lastly, I'm sure there is one among us, whose obsession with headphones is so all consuming, that he/she could write: Confessions of an Audiophiliac. Or, even better, American Audiophiliac--the unofficial sequel to American Psycho.

 

[Marleybob217]

I'm going to audition these headphones very soon. There is a headphone specialist in my street, how lucky am I?
 
Pretty sure I'm buying these on the spot, even my wallet will not like me :}

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I'm going to audition these headphones very soon. There is a headphone specialist in my street, how lucky am I?
 
Pretty sure I'm buying these on the spot, even my wallet will not like me :}

Are you getting any savings from this purchase? Also make sure that those ones you'll be auditioning have 1) rev 2 drivers, and 2) good warranty left still.

 

[RushNerd]

Any word on how to do your HE-400 felt mod, Jerg?

 

[yokken]

This is the first weekend in a long time that I wanted to go by quickly. My headphones are still on Lantau Island, or were earlier today... I can't wait for some planar goodness.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

This is the first weekend in a long time that I wanted to go by quickly. My headphones are still on Lantau Island, or were earlier today... I can't wait for some planar goodness.

Mine just left Tennessee, heading straight to Canada at the moment...I'm definitely getting em tomorrow then it was still in Hongkong just early yesterday so it's quite fast (esp as you are in the States so it's another like 10 hours off the total transit time).
 
 
 
 
 
 

Any word on how to do your HE-400 felt mod, Jerg?
 

I posted about this some time ago back when I was trying to "fix" the treble issue with the rev3 driver. Basically I ripped out these thin acoustic felt foams off of M50 earpads, and just stuck them onto the drivers, the side facing the ears. It sort of diffused the overall sound, made the sound signature softer, more mellow and helped with that treble, but it also made the bass a bit more organic and solid. It instantly reminded me of how the Audezes sounded like.
 
Seriously though if you look at LCD2s, you can indeed see very liberal use of felt / foam in acoustically damping the drivers. Maybe that's the main reason why they sound so different from Hifiman planars.
 

 
Edit: either I never noticed or did no one ever try their Audezes without all that foam?

 

[yokken]

Quote:

Mine just left Tennessee, heading straight to Canada at the moment...I'm definitely getting em tomorrow then it was still in Hongkong just early yesterday so it's quite fast (esp as you are in the States so it's another like 10 hours off the total transit time).

 
Whoa, okay. So I might actually get them Tuesday then. C'mon, FedEx!!!

 

[TwinQY]

Quote:

 
Edit: either I never noticed or did no one ever try their Audezes without all that foam?

 I took out the foam to try that mod you mentioned for the HE-400s, the vocals were smoother, but everything became excessively dark...then I though of listening to the LCD-2s without the foam. In short, don't, it makes them unnaturally bright and anemic. Like if someone took a cheap, tinny set of earphones you get at the airport, and stuck them in the LCD-2 cups

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 I took out the foam to try that mod you mentioned for the HE-400s, the vocals were smoother, but everything became excessively dark...then I though of listening to the LCD-2s without the foam. In short, on't, it makes them unnaturally bright and anemic. Like if someone took a cheap, tinny set of earphones you get at the airport, and stuck them in the LCD-2 cups

 
You have the rev2s though, the felt mod attempt I carried out was done to try to remedy the rev3 treble peak issue (at the time Hifiman still did not admit that it was a whole revision's defect).
 
It's interesting though that the LCDs can't function without all that damping scheme. Hm I wonder if some subtle cup damping can be done with the HE400s (e.g. along the inside of the cups, not directly on the drivers) to further refine it.
 
Oh also can you try implanting the LCD2 damping foams onto the same locations in the HE400s? I.E. the square one onto the backside of the drivers and the circle one on the grills. Maybe that will have a subtle effect that turns HE400s into mini-LCD2s?

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

 
You have the rev2s though, the felt mod attempt I carried out was done to try to remedy the rev3 treble peak issue (at the time Hifiman still did not admit that it was a whole revision's defect).
 
It's interesting though that the LCDs can't function without all that damping scheme. Hm I wonder if some subtle cup damping can be done with the HE400s (e.g. along the inside of the cups, not directly on the drivers) to further refine it.
 
Oh also can you try implanting the LCD2 damping foams onto the same locations in the HE400s? I.E. the square one onto the backside of the drivers and the circle one on the grills. Maybe that will have a subtle effect that turns HE400s into mini-LCD2s?

I would love to hear the results of that experiment.

 

[TwinQY]

Quote:

 
You have the rev2s though, the felt mod attempt I carried out was done to try to remedy the rev3 treble peak issue (at the time Hifiman still did not admit that it was a whole revision's defect).
 
It's interesting though that the LCDs can't function without all that damping scheme. Hm I wonder if some subtle cup damping can be done with the HE400s (e.g. along the inside of the cups, not directly on the drivers) to further refine it.
 
Oh also can you try implanting the LCD2 damping foams onto the same locations in the HE400s? I.E. the square one onto the backside of the drivers and the circle one on the grills. Maybe that will have a subtle effect that turns HE400s into mini-LCD2s?

I don't think there's too much difference with or without the square pieces. The foams on the grills have an interesting effect on the HE-400s. Seems to make things narrower (and deeper?) like the Audezes. Not sure about the deeper part just yet, so will report back later after listening to them more. 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I don't think there's too much difference with or without the square pieces. The foams on the grills have an interesting effect on the HE-400s. Seems to make things narrower (and deeper?) like the Audezes. Not sure about the deeper part just yet, so will report back later after listening to them more. 

Cool beans, thanks. Looking forward to further impressions. Funnily enough I think we are some of the very first to experiment with damping mods on Hifiman cans.