[thug behram]

I'd say they are v-shaped with neutral tonality. 

 

[MrMateoHead]

  It does seem to be repeatable! It seemed to be random while I was using them to listen to youtube or streaming audio but, after playing some songs (apple lossless from iTunes) I could get repeated "pops" from some songs. The Pearl Jam Yellow leadbetter for example. Still strange that it would only seem to be the right channel isn't it? Thanks for helping BTW!

Most likely you are hearing clipping within the recording through the phones.
 
You can take any file you hear the static on and play it back through Audacity. Audacity can highlight clipping, and you will hear it as a kind of static. An unfortunate side-effect of having fast, low-distortion headphones - you find out that a lot of music you like is badly recorded. Generally speaking, Rock and Metal seem to be the worst offenders, but it has also ruined some good pop that I like.

 

[Lohb]

Is the music really badly recorded, or is this something about planars that can swing an album to either OMG or Meh ?
Yet, with a quality dynamic can the 'Meh' album can sound great.....

 

[jodgey4]

Also, since they are open... the problem sound similar to when hair gets in near the driver. Certain frequencies at certain levels can cause problems like that.

 

[IllidanStR]

New HE-400s owner.  Previous experience: AKG K81-DJ, Koss KSC75, UE Triple-Fi 10, AT AD900. 
 
Buying these, I was looking for one pair of headphones that sounded good with everything from pop/rock to metal and country and classical and blues and jazz and electronic.  
 
The open (and bass-deprived) AD900 sounded spectacular for classical and vocals, but lacked that kick for country/rock/metal.  
 
The UEs sounded closed off after hearing the AD-900s, and neither the k81s or the KSC75s measured up after hearing the UEs.  Still, there's always been something about the AKGs bassy sound I missed with "better" headphones.
 
The HE-400s have everything I've wanted for every genre of music.  I had to EQ the low end a little to get the bass I want, but it hasn't negatively impacted the high end at all.  These are the first headphones I can switch from Nina Simone to Illdisposed to Justice and they all sound magnificent.  
 
The only real problem I have with them is, as others have said, poorly mastered music with crackling.  Sounds worse on these than any other pair I've heard..
 
Also, I broke one of the connectors already!  Part of it is still attached to the rubber cable, part is not.  Not sure if I can get it off/out of the cable so I can just buy the new connector, or if I have to buy a whole new cable.  For now I'm just screwing the two together when they pop apart.

 

[HarleyZH]

Yep, you can buy connectors for the headphones for $10.99 off the Head Direct store.
 
 
----
 
 
Good to see plenty of people still getting into the HE400 experience, its a bloody good can for electronic that much is assured. I kind of miss their unique sound - they were such fun. Cost peanuts now days as well (well at least from my perspective). I remember how much fun listening to them straight from a FiiO E11 and Sony Dap was - as simple as a set up as that was - I rarely used them from my Audio GD at the time. 

 

[GreenMachine]

Well my headphones came in today and I will say that initial impressions are stellar! Since my headphone amp won't be in for 2 weeks or so, I've been running them through my Yamaha RX V671 receiver and I absolutely love them! I've heard that headphone amps still sound much better for headphones than a receiver so if that's the case, I'm going to be ecstatic when my project Polaris comes in as well as my Glow Audio DAC!

Initial impressions after a couple of hours are that the bass is great, though I wish that it could go deeper (maybe that'll change with the amp), the sound stage sounds massive to me, and the treble is not piercing at all! These headphones also seem fantastic for movies (watched Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit). Also to me, classical music sounds great on these!

I will say I heard some odd static type noises but I'm assuming that is due to the quality of the music I was playing through youtube. The movie is a bluray and the static seemed basically non-existant.
 
All in all I'm extremely happy with these! Such a fun headphone!








 

 

[MrMateoHead]

  Is the music really badly recorded, or is this something about planars that can swing an album to either OMG or Meh ?
Yet, with a quality dynamic can the 'Meh' album can sound great.....

 
Both really - IMO, recordings shouldn't clip. But any speaker sensitive / resolving enough can play the "static". I've also heard it on my pioneer speakers.
 
As far as speakers making albums sound great or not, I guess sometimes a "colored" sound is desirable. But generally, I like the speakers that are able to "reveal" the obvious work that goes into making albums sound so unique sometimes.

 

[Benaan]

Considering these are quite heavy, do these headphones slide down when tilting your head backwards or lying down in bed?

 

[TMRaven]

Yes.

 

[chengsta]

you call these heavy?  You ain't seen nothing yet until you got an oculus rift dk2 strapped to your face + the he400 for 6 hours straight.... turning your head to and fro enjoying the virtual reality space dogfights. 
 
My neck is just fine, I think some may be exaggerating.

 

[HesterDW]

Yes they slide down, but they don't slide off. The cups will rest on your pillow so you'll be fine.

 

[gab840]

I would like to know how the HE-400 sounds with asgard2 or with vali. Many own the equipments , should shed some light upon it.
 
Many recommend Fiio E17 with He-400 But i would say NO. Its not that it is bad sounding , it sounds fine but there are two disadvantages :
 
1)Soundstage - it is compact & normal , nothing extraordinary.
 
2)Treble - E17 are such amplifiers which really colours the hp & adds a lot of treble. I have used the same amplifier with AD700 & you wouldnt believe how much treble really increases & became bright that it was hard to listen to.(was Playing DMC4 with this setup & it wasnt playable just due bright nature of treble, the hack n slash sound with such treble were ear-piercing). Though i can listen to High or bright treble. Also same goes with He400 its just its heavier bass just edows the bright treble but if one compare he400 without using any amp.One will see that that brightness & hissing sound is not present or v.less, which shows this nature is coming due to amp E17. Infact for Anime watchers this setup is just not good due to the hissing sound in Dialogues in Japanese Language.The issue is not that such bright odd treble is ear-piercing but it reduces the Musicality of a song.
 
Would like u all to recommend me an amplifier where treble is smooth is sparkling and airy for He-400.

 

[ClayCamera]

Hi folks,
 
Is there anyone here who uses the HD-400 with the Fiio X3? Does the amp do justice to the headphones? The X3 did a lot for my HD558 and M50, but worried about the hard-to-drive tag that the orthos have built up. Would love to hear from people who've already heard the combo. Thanks!

 

[HesterDW]

  I would like to know how the HE-400 sounds with asgard2 or with vali. Many own the equipments , should shed some light upon it.
 
Many recommend Fiio E17 with He-400 But i would say NO. Its not that it is bad sounding , it sounds fine but there are two disadvantages :
 
1)Soundstage - it is compact & normal , nothing extraordinary.
 
2)Treble - E17 are such amplifiers which really colours the hp & adds a lot of treble. I have used the same amplifier with AD700 & you wouldnt believe how much treble really increases & became bright that it was hard to listen to.(was Playing DMC4 with this setup & it wasnt playable just due bright nature of treble, the hack n slash sound with such treble were ear-piercing). Though i can listen to High or bright treble. Also same goes with He400 its just its heavier bass just edows the bright treble but if one compare he400 without using any amp.One will see that that brightness & hissing sound is not present or v.less, which shows this nature is coming due to amp E17. Infact for Anime watchers this setup is just not good due to the hissing sound in Dialogues in Japanese Language.The issue is not that such bright odd treble is ear-piercing but it reduces the Musicality of a song.
 
Would like u all to recommend me an amplifier where treble is smooth is sparkling and airy for He-400.

 
I haven't owned as wide a range of dac/amps as many people here, but I'll give it a go. I used to have the Fiio E7/E9 combo. The E9 was neutral and detailed, but as someone who is very sensitive to treble, it was just too bright and cold for me. Not sure how the new models work, but on the old E7/E9 when the E7 was docked it got rid of the E7s warmer sound signature. It was so bright to me I had to use the E7 --> line out --> E9 to retain that warm sound sig. When I switched to the Icon HDP however I never had that problem. Its warmer/smoother than the E9, still very detailed, and delivers enough power, so I have no complaints.