[Saoshyant]

I must admit I've become quite curious, but I'm a little concerned that using a vintage receiver will require a lot of maintenance.

 

[Atavax]

so my focuspads arrived a day early! The only problem i have with them so far is that because they have more give then the velor, the clamping force is significantly less.

 

[Oregonian]

   
 
Are you referring to using the headphone output on an old receiver or using the actual speaker outputs to amp the headphones? I used to have my dad's old Denon set up and I never really took a special interest in the headphone output. I liked having the EQ knobs available right on the face of the unit, though, so that was a bonus. Aside from that, it wasn't really anything too special. Granted, this isn't vintage in the same sense as an old Marantz or Pioneer so maybe it was just missing that magic.

Yessir, using the headphone out on a vintage receiver is exactly what I mean.  Some folks use the speaker taps for high impedance planar phones but generally for most phones other then the HE-6 it's not necessary. 

 

[Oregonian]

I must admit I've become quite curious, but I'm a little concerned that using a vintage receiver will require a lot of maintenance.

 
That's a fair concern.  I can say this - I have 8 vintage amps and have had to do some repair/tune up work on three of them when I bought them but for the $95 tune up cost it was worth every penny.  Not that every vintage will be in pristine shape and not need work, but if you "buy right" (meaning look at what you are buying, eyeball the condition inside and out), you can generally get a good feel for the overall condition. 
 
And you don't need a high power unit either.  One of my favorites in my collection is a Realistic STA-64B, which has I think 18 wpc, and it's headphone out sounds really good. 

 

[Oregonian]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/537704/calling-all-vintage-integrated-receiver-owners/12945#post_10716644
 
By the way, here's the thread on Head Fi for the vintage gang.  Lots of great help can be found on this thread with many knowledgeable folks. 

 

[LarryKingsShoes]

 
Yessir, using the headphone out on a vintage receiver is exactly what I mean.  Some folks use the speaker taps for high impedance planar phones but generally for most phones other then the HE-6 it's not necessary. 

 
Ah, good deal. That's kind of what I figured after digging through some threads on the subject. I wish my experiences with my dad's Denon had been more impressive but that thing was probably entry level or just a hair above in its prime. Actually, I may have lucked out since now I don't have any inclination to keep that on my already cluttered desk.
 
There's a vintage shop just down the road from my place that has a bunch of records and old stereo equipment. Maybe I'll swing down there sometime with my HE-400s and run some of the receivers through their paces. I had been thinking about getting one use with my turntable and speakers in the other room, anyway. It would be awesome to find one that mates well with the HiFiMAN. Not that I really need any more stuff around the apartment.

 

[Oregonian]

   
Ah, good deal. That's kind of what I figured after digging through some threads on the subject. I wish my experiences with my dad's Denon had been more impressive but that thing was probably entry level or just a hair above in its prime. Actually, I may have lucked out since now I don't have any inclination to keep that on my already cluttered desk.
 
There's a vintage shop just down the road from my place that has a bunch of records and old stereo equipment. Maybe I'll swing down there sometime with my HE-400s and run some of the receivers through their paces. I had been thinking about getting one use with my turntable and speakers in the other room, anyway. It would be awesome to find one that mates well with the HiFiMAN. Not that I really need any more stuff around the apartment.

 
That's a great idea!  That's how I got all my equipment - found a local vintage shop, brought along my headphones, iPod and the RCA connectors, walked in and started listening.  Guy and I are now on a first name basis.............he appreciates the biz. 

 

[Saoshyant]

One thing I should remember is for awhile I was under the impression, couldn't begin to tell you where I heard/read it, that current receivers generally have horrid headphone capabilities, at least compared to vintage receivers.  Doing some reading just now, and it turns out there's a chance my stereo might actually be an exception.  Going to do some more reading first, but when I get home I'll have to test out my HK 3480 and really put it to work.

 

[Oregonian]

  One thing I should remember is for awhile I was under the impression, couldn't begin to tell you where I heard/read it, that current receivers generally have horrid headphone capabilities, at least compared to vintage receivers.  Doing some reading just now, and it turns out there's a chance my stereo might actually be an exception.  Going to do some more reading first, but when I get home I'll have to test out my HK 3480 and really put it to work.

I'm thinking that is based on the vintage amps/receivers headphone out doing direct off the amplifier via a resistor network while the newer units have Opamps. 

 

[Saoshyant]

I think I read it's feeding off the amp, yes

 

[AxelCloris]

First impressions are very promising. I absolutely adore Wicked on these babies.

 

[Lohb]

I'm buying them used from someone. And they said the plastic ring in the cup which the pad/ring hooks on to came off.

He said he just hooks it to the lip inside the cup now.

You can contact HiFiMan and buy new earpad lock-in rings and ask for slower postage for a cheaper total price or ask user Modulor on here (search his name with @ in front on the search bar up top) if he has spare rings....he made custom earpads so may have some lying around.
He is in USA and I'm guessing you are in Canada...but from China may be fastest.
 
Regarding vintage amps, you may lose on dynamics if the capacitors have dried out over time. My vintage stuff local place advised me against one of his amps due to lack of dynamics as there were very old caps inside.

 

[LarryKingsShoes]

My HE-400s arrived earlier this evening and it sure does feel good to add them back to my collection. The memories of getting my first pair came flooding back as soon as I hooked them up and hit play. The shock of going from the Ultrasone Pro 900s to the HE-400s is incredible. They sound so different (not necessarily better or worse and, if I'm being honest, they sounded pretty bad during that stage of readjustment). Thankfully, it didn't take long at all to get right back into them and remember exactly what I loved about them before. They're a great set of headphones. The Pro 900s are excellent, too, but it is nice to have something with a different flavor.
 
It was weird because I had the same reaction when I was caught off guard by the seemingly weak bass. It's exactly what I went through on my first pair. I can't remember if I had done something wrong, if they were faulty, or if I just had to adjust to the different bass quality/quantity. All I know is that, after a short amount of time, I was thoroughly impressed by the HE-400's bass performance. I'm going to stay away from the Pro 900s for a while so I can get fully indulge in these new babies. They sound so freaking nice as they are and I haven't even swapped the pads to the velours that were included, done the grill mod, or set up any EQ in JRiver Media Center.
 
---
 
Edit: I just installed JRiver Media Center on my desktop (I forgot that I never reinstalled it after reinstalling Windows 8.1 when I set up my RAID0 for the boot drive) and imported my music. After a couple of strategic cuts in the EQ, the HE-400s are back on top and rocking my socks off. My goodness, they're phenomenal! I listened to Beck's Morning three or four times and loved every second of it. I want to be listening to them right now but I've got to pretend to go to bed so I can get up for work in the morning.

 
I did some quick comparisons before I put them away for the night between the Schiit Magni and the FiiO E09K with the Modi as the DAC and I was surprised at how much I prefer the Magni. I love the E09K on my Pro 900s but the Magni seems to play nicer with the HE-400s. I did this before installing JRiver and adjusting the EQ, though. Either way, I'm really starting to like the Schiit stack and I love how responsive the HE-400s are to EQ tweaks. What a great combo!

 

[thug behram]

You can contact HiFiMan and buy new earpad lock-in rings and ask for slower postage for a cheaper total price or ask user Modulor on here (search his name with @ in front on the search bar up top) if he has spare rings....he made custom earpads so may have some lying around.
He is in USA and I'm guessing you are in Canada...but from China may be fastest.

Regarding vintage amps, you may lose on dynamics if the capacitors have dried out over time. My vintage stuff local place advised me against one of his amps due to lack of dynamics as there were very old caps inside.

You're taking about the lock ring inside the cup right? Not the one with the pad. How would I attach it once I get it? Superglue?

 

[Lohb]

You're taking about the lock ring inside the cup right? Not the one with the pad. How would I attach it once I get it? Superglue?

Sent you info on repair....Modulor would not have spare locking rings. My mistake.
What I mean by buying from China is I read US to Canada post can be super slow sometimes.
Send HFM a photo of what you need as there is no published terminology for some HFM internal spare parts I think...