[BaTou069]

I'd love an IEM that sounds exactly like these...

 

[Saoshyant]

I wonder what's close to it... I have to admit that question's making me curious

 

[tim3320070]

The RE-400 aren't wildly off- less bass impact but similar clarity.

 

[chrismini]

The velour pads make a huge difference in both comfort and sound quality. It'l be the best $10 you ever spent.

 

[Za Warudo]

  The velour pads make a huge difference in both comfort and sound quality. It'l be the best $10 you ever spent.

The velour pads may improve the SQ, but they are much less comfortable than the pleather pads due to their stiffness.

 

[tim3320070]

  The velour pads make a huge difference in both comfort and sound quality. It'l be the best $10 you ever spent.

Don't they reduce bass?

 

[spacequeen7]

I'm super impressed with the service from both TTVJ (bought my cans from) and HiFiMAN ..it only took three emails to get green light for my HE400 replacement 
 
Thank you Todd (TTVJ)and Summer (HiFiMan)

 

[Bogatyr]

Attached Q701 pads to my HE-400, the results were mixed. Comfort was great, the sound was not.
 
Here is a photo of various pads for comparison.
 

 
If you're interested, take a look here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/710122/hifiman-akg-q701-hybrid-earpad-mod

 

[MattTCG]

  I'd love an IEM that sounds exactly like these...

 
vsonic gr07mkii bass edition would be close. At least it's the closest that I can think of. 

 

[tim3320070]

I tried some Beyer velour pads and I get what people are saying about reducing the hollow sound some (overstated IMO) but I prefer the fuller sound the leather pads offer. I think part of it is, the velours let the drivers sit closer which provides less of a tunnel- press the drivers (with leather pads) closer to your ears and you can hear the difference.

 

[chrismini]

Well obliviously different headphones are going to have their sonic signatures altered in different pieces of gear. I'm just saying the HE-400's sound much better than the stock pads which I found to be uncomfortable to boot. HiHiMan ain't cheap and we're talking about a $10 experiment. If you like the stock pads better, than bully for you. Myself, I found the velour pads better both sonically and comfort.

 

[Marximus]

I just got the HE-400s in today, and I like the aesthetics, as well as the depth of the earpads.  But the most important factor, the sound, seems different from most of the impressions I've read.  They sound distant and veiled, even compared to my HD 558s.  Is this because they're new?  The manual recommended 150 hours of burn-in.

 

[TMRaven]

They can sound distant often times, especially compared to sennheisers, because the upper midrange is withdrawn compared to the lower midrange.  The effect is much like you're setting back at an orchestral performance vs sitting very close.  Veiled though, not so much.  A lowered upper-midrange could give the impression of that just as a lowered treble could, but they're definitely not veiled.

 

[Marximus]

That's weird, because I've had plenty of Sennheisers, and almost all of them sounded distant compared to other, other headphones.  I will say that the soundstage is quite something, though.

 

[TontonJoK]

I've had the same feeling when comparing HD 595 to HE 400's (not the HD 650), you'll get used to the sound signature.

With musics based on vocals imo some sennheisers are more captivating, for EDM or complexed songs the hifimans are in an other league.