[realmassy]

What is the cheapest cable replacement for the he400? Don't need anything sonically 'better' but a bit softer, less stiff

 

[Subatomic]

 
Thanks for the impressions! Are these the stock pads that come with the 560's?

 

  Thanks for the feedback. I am still waiting on my order. It keeps on getting pushed out. I ordered the FocusPads (production) as well.

 
Yep, stock (Production) pads from the HE560/400i. It's funny, ordered wednesday, shipped Thursday from HK via DHL, arrived Friday. Think for the US guys HFM seem to like shipping from the US factory, where as since i'm from Australia it comes straight from HK, so that may be cause for delays etc.
 
Some more impressions. Comfort may take a bit getting used to, they're not as padded as the original pleathers, so my ears tend to slightly touch the drivers. Bit annoying, not sure yet. I feel like there may be room to add the foam ring underneath the pads like people did with the original pads to give them a bit more padding/bring them out so your ears don't touch the drivers as much. May have to experiment.
 
Sonically, still think its too early to tell. Mids seem to be possibly brought out a little bit, though.

 

[thug behram]

Canuck, these are not bass head headphones.  And they are sibilant, so far with at least 20 hours of burn in anyway.  They suck up a LOT of juice too.  So you'll need an amp that puts out at least 400mw, and that has bass boost to get 'normal' bass out of them (that's alot for open backs).  They will clip with a weaker amp/source.  I find these are really great with orchestral music though.

Not necessarily looking for basshead levels. I already have the d2000, this will compliment them. Ive also seen people say the e17 amps them pretty well. I am worried about the sibilance though ...

 

[chengsta]

Actually only the female vocals are siblant when they scream.  Listening to JTmoney doesn't hurt my ears, everything sounds good.  You still notice the 'Z' for high hats and instruments of that nature though.  But it's not as bad as I make it sound.  It could just be the recording because on some tracks there is no 'z' sound.

 

[Empty Flower]

  Canuck, these are not bass head headphones.  And they are sibilant, so far with at least 20 hours of burn in anyway.  They suck up a LOT of juice too.  So you'll need an amp that puts out at least 400mw, and that has bass boost to get 'normal' bass out of them (that's alot for open backs).  They will clip with a weaker amp/source.  I find these are really great with orchestral music though.

 
HE-400 not bass friendly? Aren't they known as one of the bassier headphones? 

 

[TMRaven]

They are one of the bassiest open headphones, but open headphones in general aren't basshead worthy.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

   
 
Yep, stock (Production) pads from the HE560/400i. It's funny, ordered wednesday, shipped Thursday from HK via DHL, arrived Friday. Think for the US guys HFM seem to like shipping from the US factory, where as since i'm from Australia it comes straight from HK, so that may be cause for delays etc.
 
Some more impressions. Comfort may take a bit getting used to, they're not as padded as the original pleathers, so my ears tend to slightly touch the drivers. Bit annoying, not sure yet. I feel like there may be room to add the foam ring underneath the pads like people did with the original pads to give them a bit more padding/bring them out so your ears don't touch the drivers as much. May have to experiment.
 
Sonically, still think its too early to tell. Mids seem to be possibly brought out a little bit, though.

I have never used the pleather pads much with my HE-400's, only the velours. I thought the pleathers sounded a tad warmer but the velours brought out a bit more clarity. Just some minor differences to be honest (I tried the jerg mods as well and found them uncomfortable). I've only used the velours, mostly for comfort reasons (my ears sweat in the pleathers)
 
These production 560 pads seem to be a combination of the two and they aren't super expensive so I'm still thinking about giving them a shot.The pictures make them look a bit thicker then the original velours but it's a bit hard to tell. As long as it's velour against my head and not pleather they are probably worth trying for me.

 

[Skyfall]

I own HE 400 for a while and this was a huge upgrade from my 10 year old beloved M50 and nice compliment to my HD 650.
 
Things that I learned over the time with ortho like HE 400 is that you really need to give it some time to burn in. Leave it over night playing everyday for several days let's say 100-150 hrs.
The sound will keep changing as the components works together, just like a well aged fine wine the longer the better..more refined.
During this process you'll hear lots of sibilance, thin and recessed mids, less intimate vocal, hollow to thinner bass etc, but it's all part of the process which Hopefully it will get Better.
After the burn in, you will find the sound has opened up and has more body. The bass feel tight and soild..the best bass they say out there and less sibilant.
They also say HE 400 is darker sound but bright on top which I agree.
 
Now, about amping HE 400 is not as complicated as I thought. It is fairly easy to drive like some people say here. It does need a good amount of power but not necessarily way more expensive amp.
I personally use Fiio E12 to drive this can out of X5 and it sounds good. Definitely have more energy and punch, also it makes it a little more forward and intimate which I like. E12 has a nice sub bass boost prob at 30hz slide down to 60 hz. This is a perfect compliment when listening to EDM and other genre that require bass boot. E12 bass boost doesn't bleed to the mids but it does add more body to the sound and it's punchy. Of course this not suitable for every song but it's there ready for you when you crave for it. There is nice review on E12 pairs with HE 400 here:
http://www.headfonia.com/fiios-power-pack-the-fiio-e12-mont-blanc/
 
 
I bought the hype of replacing the pleather with velour but to me it makes it sound ..less warm, lighter and even more sibilance, didn't like it. What I did and to me it significantly improve the sound is placing one ply of tissue kleenex cut to match the size of the pad..and tuck them in under the round pleather. So now you have xtra thin layering on top of the original sheer. How does it sound ? To me I hear more body in the sound, vocal sounds more intimate and a bit warmer, it still retains the original huge sound stage and depth and ..less sibilance. Everything feel more "together".
 
Another discovery!
I find HE 400 is a little choosy in terms of the sound source. It really adores a warmer side sound source DAC.
I have Marantz SR 7007 A/V receiver which has a clean and warm sound signature and HE 400 sounds absolutely delicious with it. An even sound across the Frq spec, nice full body and lush mids and highs..NO sibilance. Very enjoyable.
 
At this set up: Fiio X5> E12> HE 400
will provide more than enough power energy. It sounds very clean, transparent, good punch and dynamic, great sound stage and depth. But .. I always feel that something missing..I want more body and a bit more bass (without the bass boost on E12). In this set up you still occasionally hear some sibilance here and there depends on the recordings of course. But I wish it was gone.
 
While Fiio X5 >E12 > HD650 is much better combo in short.
 
Out of the blue I recently purchased another DAP Hidizs AP100. It has neutral sound and a bit warmer than X5. This DAP is equipped with 24 bit/196 Khz Cirrus Logic :CS4398 which is warmer sound.
 
In short when paired with HD 650 I wasn't impressed neither with M50. Weird!
I reached for my HE 400 and...Wow ! The sound is as good as with the Marantz.
I've never heard HE 400 sound so good coming off a DAP by it self or definitely better with E12.
The full body sound I've been craving for is there, the bass is definitely improved onto more textured, solid and rounded and also more separation. Mids are really good and more importantly NO more sibilance. Instead you get a creamy lush highs that is very pleasings to my ears.
 
If you see my other post I was putting AP100 for sale due to incompatibility with HD 650 and M50. But with HE 400 I just discovered a whole new sound and I decided to keep it.
I am not trying to brainwash everyone to buy this DAP but this this is only my personal experience re-dicovering my HE 400. I am sure that they are many ways other than this.

 

[utee05]

The one song I hear the most sibilance is "Crazy On You" when that cymbal hits. It is the one song I use to see how well my current EQ is doing. I try to tone that down a bit. Overall this is really the one song that it really bothers me the most. Other than that I enjoy pretty much everything on these cans. 
 
Now to find something to complement these while I am at work.

 

[TheGame21x]

So...I got my HE-400s in last week.
 
Favorite headphone. Without question.

My HD 600s are great for when I want to relax to some jazz or classical but for everything else, the HE-400s are going on my head. Love these things.

 

[AxelCloris]

Hello everyone. New HE-400 owner here. Should hopefully be arriving in the next 2-3 days. Can't wait to start experimenting with them.

 

[Oregonian]

You're gonna love them........

 

[ninjames]

Boom! I sold my Fiio and all of my headphones ... EXCEPT my HE-400! I posted a couple weeks back that I had to sell it to get some food for my sister, but I managed to swing things in such a way that I held on to my precious. :] I had a deal that almost went through too, but I got a buyer for another piece of equipment and all is now well in headphone-land. Had a nice, relaxing, eight-hour listening session on the HE-400 to celebrate.

 

[jodgey4]

Yo guys. I think I mentioned in a post earlier that I was borrowing these from Saoshyant... not to derail, but I just did a big review with these and 7 other cans, here's the link to that - http://www.head-fi.org/t/726848/headphone-palooza-shoot-out-8-cans-reviewed-here. I hope I don't make y'all too mad from it, haha.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

  Yo guys. I think I mentioned in a post earlier that I was borrowing these from Saoshyant... not to derail, but I just did a big review with these and 7 other cans, here's the link to that - http://www.head-fi.org/t/726848/headphone-palooza-shoot-out-8-cans-reviewed-here. I hope I don't make y'all too mad from it, haha.

"plastic sounding bass"