[nicholars]

I do not use as much EQ as in that screenshot... It was just showing how much you can EQ the HE-400 and they still do not distort.....
 
I do use more EQ on the HE400 than I have on any other headphones though because to me they sound better with EQ and do not seem to have any distortion etc....
 
The "treble tizz" and sibilance on the HE-400 is too much for me without a 4-6db reduction, also I find that the bass on the He400 can be increased by about 6-8db with pretty much no distortion, also if you look at the FR graphs of the HE-400 they have a pretty massive spike in the treble, so lowering the treble by 4-6 db is not really that much.
 

 
That is more like what I usually use (depending on music genre).... Still quite a lot of EQ.... But it sounds better to me with the HE400.... I think that the HE-400 sound far too bright / sibilant without any EQ.... I don't think I have any issues with my hearing tbh because the fact that I find the headphones too bright and sibilant I guess would mean I have quite good hearing... If I was partially deaf it would probably not bother me, lol.

 

[wje]

Yes, but it has been proven that the sibilance does not occur across all of the upper frequencies.  Thus, reducing all of the upper frequencies does allow you to reduce some of the sibilance, but then you all also will kill other upper end detail in the HE-400s.

 

[phrozenspite]

Ok head-fi, I have 2 questions about these.  I've had my pair a month or so now, and love them. I'd come from the HFI 780 closed phones, primarily a metal fan but also into classical, dark ambient/industrial and some jazz.
 
1.  very rarely but occasionally when wearing the headphones i'll hear a plastic or mechanical click sound like something shifting into place, what am I hearing/what is happening?  It doesn't appear to distort or change sound quality before/during/after.
 
2.  I bought the velour pads, but I actually switched back to my regular pleathers.  The velour pads didn't feel like they had the same contact with my ears and I couldn't EQ them to sound good to me for the life of me(everything sounded very lifeless in comparison).  For the record with my pleathers I have the highs EQ'd down by about -5, some of the upper mids boosted and a very slight boost to bass.  Any thoughts what I didn't like about the velour pads/suggestions for differences in EQing them versus the pleathers if i put them back on?

 

[realityhas]

1. I had this too, I still get it after 6 months but its getting rarer.
   The first week I heard it every day.
    I'm guessing it's just the grill adjusting because you can reproduce it by gently pressing on the grill. Probably nothing to do with the driver.

2. I prefer pleather too. I'm too lazy to jergmod, maybe in the future.

 

[TMRaven]

Can't say I've ever had that.  I have had popping and clicking coming from the earpads moving around on the frame, but double sided taping those down solves that problem.

 

[nicholars]

Has anyone noticed cracks in the blue paint on the cups?
 
Mine have a crack, but I am not sure if it is the paint or the plastic cup... If it is just the paint then I am not bothered.

 

[MattTCG]

Post a good pic  and let's take a look...

 

[davidsh]

My cups are slightly cracked at the inside where the holes for the connectors are drilled. Else, flawless.

 

[nicholars]

Mine is cracked where the metal "U" bit connects to the cups, I will try and post a pic, it does not seem to move about or make any noise but I cannot tell if it is the paint or the actual plastic, I am guessing / hoping it is just the paint.

 

[TMRaven]

T minus 1 day...
 

 

[exiton]

Jumping on the HE-400 bandwagon, should have them this week sometime.  I'm also getting a Creative Sound Blaster ZXR since they are for computer use only.  Quick question, people say the HE-400 has a unique sonic signature.  Would anyone equate that with a Klipsch Horn?  If so, I like the Klipsch signature.  

 

[hemipowered007]

Still no woodied he400s? Guess ill start taking mine apart....to attempt what I fear will lead to destruction and a feeling of self hatred...but I shall try!

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

Still no woodied he400s? Guess ill start taking mine apart....to attempt what I fear will lead to destruction and a feeling of self hatred...but I shall try!

Fortune favors the brave...and if the expected happens, keep those anguished screams muted

. Good luck.

 

[wje]

Quote:

Still no woodied he400s? Guess ill start taking mine apart....to attempt what I fear will lead to destruction and a feeling of self hatred...but I shall try!

 
I'm not sure if the wood would provide an impact towards improving the sound, or would just be a nice feature to have.  Marty of Martin Custom Audio has cut wooden Audeze cups recently and they look pretty good.  However, I suspect the cost of the cups could nearly add up towards the cost of the HE-400 itself.
 
Also, please do keep in mind that Hifiman did offer their first headphone, the HE-5 only in a wood cup.  However, I've read about many issues with the items splitting which resulted in Hifiman changing the process and moving towards the painted plastic cups that they use today.  But, the HE-5 sure is purdy.
 

 

[hemipowered007]

Ya, its all aesthetics, for me, and I have a sheet of black limba here at home, so diy, no cost at all. Except for my ever precious time...