[htr2d2]

 
to tell you the truth I was going to try to use a source my nokia Lumia 1520 so I don't spend extra money on a audio player but to tell you the truth the lumia didn't impress me that much for music.sound was so confused so I had to spend extra money on the audio player. I could bought an portable amp to give more power to my phone but im pretty sure the x3 will sound better than my Lumia +an amp. Later I had to spend an extra micro sd flash for my x3 so I can also upgrade his original firmware. Im so looking forword to receive the fiio x3 and the hifiman he-400. Maybe in 3 weeks will both of them be in my hands and yes I read about x1 but I thought its not an option to drive these type of headphones but im sure if you have a portable amp the sound will improve alot 

A bit off topic, sorry guys.
 
I did the firmware update on the X1. Painless, but it did have a MicroSD FAT32 32 GB or less requirement. Note that the X1 is painfully slow for copying data. For example, the X1 took 2.5 hours to copy ~60 GB of FLACS. On my next copy, I pulled the SDHC and use an external USB3 reader which took less than 30 minutes.
 
Enjoy the HE-400 headphones! With the exception of the velour pads that sound great but are overly firm, I am very satisfied with them. The focus pads at $40 seem a bit over priced, but if the consensus is they are more comfortable and sound as good or better than the velour, I will make the move when they go on sale.

 

[retskrad]

It's kind of incredible how the HE-400 does bass than other headphones. The bass is so visceral and I feel like it has a personality and is articulate, while my Beyerdynamic Dt990 & sennheiser HD650 have better mids and treble, but their low end cannot compare. It's just bom bom bom, they don't express the bass well. 
 
Too bad the treble and vocals are a bit off, otherwise perfect bass IMO.

 

[coletrain104]

  It's kind of incredible how the HE-400 does bass than other headphones. The bass is so visceral and I feel like it has a personality and is articulate, while my Beyerdynamic Dt990 & sennheiser HD650 have better mids and treble, but their low end cannot compare. It's just bom bom bom, they don't express the bass well. 
 
Too bad the treble and vocals are a bit off, otherwise perfect bass IMO.

I used to think this, but recently I've thought the bass sounded kinda fake and plasticky.Funny thing is that I laughed at another member for saying the same thing only a few months ago. Now I much prefer my ZMF Master Model V1

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The HE400s bass is better than any bass ive heard in any other headphone. Period. The only reason people think it isnt, is because they're used to polite bass responses that come off as textured and tight. Yeah, that tends to happen without the power the HE400s bass.

One of the most realistic. Bass is supposed to have some decay, not just dissipate immediately.

 

[Lohb]

  It's kind of incredible how the HE-400 does bass than other headphones. The bass is so visceral and I feel like it has a personality and is articulate, while my Beyerdynamic Dt990 & sennheiser HD650 have better mids and treble, but their low end cannot compare. It's just bom bom bom, they don't express the bass well. 
 
Too bad the treble and vocals are a bit off, otherwise perfect bass IMO.

Yes, a dark and bright can at the same time in stock config....
 
 
 

 

[Lohb]

If the new metal grid over the outside of the planar is the only upgrade to the 400i planar disc (?)....a variation on its hole sizes and spacing may yield the best of 400 bass and 400i mids/treble....Not entirely sure that was the only upgrade on 400i...more of a question than statement. Just another way to maybe tune the 400's vs what has already be done on this mammoth thread.
 
Some say 400i lost some of the 400's visceral magic....That put me off buying 400i from the get-go.
 
The T50RP mod thread is busy with its own open source Fazor type thing just now and of course Jerg's Fazzor mod.

 

[coletrain104]

The HE400s bass is better than any bass ive heard in any other headphone. Period. The only reason people think it isnt, is because they're used to polite bass responses that come off as textured and tight. Yeah, that tends to happen without the power the HE400s bass.

One of the most realistic. Bass is supposed to have some decay, not just dissipate immediately.

I agree and realize this. The ZMF V1 has a little bass and more decay, actually. The real difference maker for me is that drums (except for the higher pitched ones like snare) specifically sound a little off on the 400, I think the ZMF nails realistic timbre for drums.

 

[manbear]

it leaks so much? you can hear stuff around even with half volume on?

 


Don't know what half volume means, but yes, they leak a lot and they block 0 outside noise.

 

[Hellkitchen]

There are noticeable differences in using HE400 with an amp with high power at 32ohm (like 1W) and onother with for istance 200-300 mW?
 
I mean... it is something really evident or just a bit more power on low frequencies? 
 
I have this doubt since I would like to buy another amp for this reason (mine has low power at 32 ohm) but the SQ is really good anyway! I wonder how these can sound with a proper amp!

 

[ClayCamera]

  There are noticeable differences in using HE400 with an amp with high power at 32ohm (like 1W) and onother with for istance 200-300 mW?
 
I mean... it is something really evident or just a bit more power on low frequencies? 
 
I have this doubt since I would like to buy another amp for this reason (mine has low power at 32 ohm) but the SQ is really good anyway! I wonder how these can sound with a proper amp!

 
I'm using the HE400 with the Fiio X3 and found that I could not get full capability until I added an amp. Using the X3 on hi gain helped, but still dint sound effortless.
 
Tried the O2 and the Fiio E12 and found a huge improvement. The low end came to life and the overall texturing became crisper. So I got an E12 yesterday and it's sounding fantastic now. Well worth adding a powerful amp IMO. It may be only 32 ohms but it needs a bit more than the X3's amp to be driven well IMO.

 

[Hellkitchen]

   
I'm using the HE400 with the Fiio X3 and found that I could not get full capability until I added an amp. Using the X3 on hi gain helped, but still dint sound effortless.
 
Tried the O2 and the Fiio E12 and found a huge improvement. The low end came to life and the overall texturing became crisper. So I got an E12 yesterday and it's sounding fantastic now. Well worth adding a powerful amp IMO. It may be only 32 ohms but it needs a bit more than the X3's amp to be driven well IMO.

Well.. I feel a better sound quality using my desktop amp (a nice Matrix Mstage V2 with opa627) rather than put them directly into DX50.
Instrument separation, detail and bass are better. The problem here is that both FiiO and MStage V2 have similar power output at 32 ohm since this amp has been probably designed for high impedance headphones.
 
So I would like to understand it's worth to go with a more powerful amplifier.

 

[Oregonian]

There are noticeable differences in using HE400 with an amp with high power at 32ohm (like 1W) and onother with for istance 200-300 mW?

I mean... it is something really evident or just a bit more power on low frequencies? 

I have this doubt since I would like to buy another amp for this reason (mine has low power at 32 ohm) but the SQ is really good anyway! I wonder how these can sound with a proper amp!

It is so worth getting a more powerful amp for the HE 400. Out of my vintage speaker amps the HE 400 is not that far behind my HE-6 if that gives you an idea of how good they are. Seriously scale very well.

 

[Hellkitchen]

There are noticeable differences in using HE400 with an amp with high power at 32ohm (like 1W) and onother with for istance 200-300 mW?

I mean... it is something really evident or just a bit more power on low frequencies? 

I have this doubt since I would like to buy another amp for this reason (mine has low power at 32 ohm) but the SQ is really good anyway! I wonder how these can sound with a proper amp!

It is so worth getting a more powerful amp for the HE 400. Out of my vintage speaker amps the HE 400 is not that far behind my HE-6 if that gives you an idea of how good they are. Seriously scale very well.

Thank you for your feedback. I have the opportunity to get a Little dot mkvii for 150€. It has plenty of power and should be OK. What do you think about this?should I go with something different?

 

[lynx121]

Hey guys, I need an advice. I'm about to buy an HE-400, but I don't know if I should buy a used one or a new one. The used one is $100 cheaper but without warranty. How is the build quality of HE-400? If anyone already broke a pair, how long did it last you?

 

[manbear]

There are noticeable differences in using HE400 with an amp with high power at 32ohm (like 1W) and onother with for istance 200-300 mW?

I mean... it is something really evident or just a bit more power on low frequencies? 

I have this doubt since I would like to buy another amp for this reason (mine has low power at 32 ohm) but the SQ is really good anyway! I wonder how these can sound with a proper amp!

There is absolutely no difference. Either you have enough power or you dont.

I used a speaker amp with the HE-400. Depending on the resistors i used, i could have a max power rating anywhere from 8 watts to 180 mw. The only difference was how much volume travel i got before it was too loud. I used the resistors that gave me the lowest power for this reason.

A different, more powerful amp might happen to sound better than your current one. If so, the improvement will not be due to the power itself, but to other aspects of the amp's design.

The only way to get more power at low frequencies is to turn up the volume. At the same volume, a 200mw amp and a 2000w amp will put the exact same power, voltage, and current into the HE-400 at all frequencies.