Mine are back in rotation after a long, long break. Forgot how awesome they can be (despite comfort issues and a cable that's slowly falling apart).
These days I'm running Equalizer APO through windows and I used it to tune these to the Harmon Curve, with the exception that I run the bass a couple dB hotter than "neutral". The stock sound is very good, though I've always needed a bit of treble cut and a bass boost as they've always been a little too polite on the bottom and too hot at the top. But the speed and resolving power seem intrinsic to the drivers and deliver what I think is true audiophile enjoyment. Tuned to the Harmon Curve, I think the HE-400 basically just take on a next-level sound that is just enjoyable and awesome.
I also changed my stack to an Atom / Topping combo which has so far been totally clean with tons of power.
I also got some JBL 650BTNC on a deep discount and absolutely love the things. Even EQ'd to take some of the bass out and fix other little niggles, they seem to somehow pound a little harder than the HE-400s. Fun cans (not quite perfect but what is?). Even tuned carefully, however, I don't think they have the treble/detail resolving power of the HE-400s at the top, which seem a bit more extended.
Having used a standard gaming headphones because I was gaming quite a lot, so my HE-400 didn't get a lot of attention.
Having it now on and listening to some techno/dance tracks the difference is absolute night and day, which is not weird because of the gaming headphones.
But the HE-400 keep on sounding so good, even after all these years. Using Equalizer APO too, just to remove the slight edges and give it a light midbass bump.
Having used a standard gaming headphones because I was gaming quite a lot, so my HE-400 didn't get a lot of attention.
Having it now on and listening to some techno/dance tracks the difference is absolute night and day, which is not weird because of the gaming headphones.
But the HE-400 keep on sounding so good, even after all these years. Using Equalizer APO too, just to remove the slight edges and give it a light midbass bump.
Yeah I have the grill removed and it sounds more open, more of an out of your head experience. With some sounds I have to take off the headphones to check if it isn't something from outside or behind me, its that spatial. I'm not too worried with the open grill, it's only used by me.
Have seen the Sorbothane mods in the past here but never did them, have to look into it again. Especially with the grills off it should be easy to place them right?
Yeah I have the grill removed and it sounds more open, more of an out of your head experience. With some sounds I have to take off the headphones to check if it isn't something from outside or behind me, its that spatial. I'm not too worried with the open grill, it's only used by me.
Have seen the Sorbothane mods in the past here but never did them, have to look into it again. Especially with the grills off it should be easy to place them right?
Yes they have to be off. The problem I had at the time was finding 1/4” Sorbothane and could only find it in 1” rounds so bought a 1/8” sheet and stacked it up . While it didn’t look too pretty it still sounded good . I’ve found a 12x12 square of 1/4 “ today but it is $57 . Oh I forgot to mention my old HE-400’s had a mishap a couple of years ago had a few people over and Bourbon was involved and they got put on the floor and were stepped on and hey Schiit happens so they are in 2 pieces now so for like a $100 picked up a new pair and going to mod this pair as well. So having enough Amazon points sprang for the 1/4” Sorbothane 12X12 sheet and the 1/8” sheet only took a inch to mod 1 so I’m guessing I’ll have enough of the 1/4” to mod about 20 or more so if your interested or anyone else I’ll have more than I need and for a small fee and shipping will save you quite a lot as I’m not looking to make money on this at all.
i just got he400 and i am amazed with the soundstage, imaging and overall resolution compared to he400i 2020, the only thing better in he400i 2020 is the midrange tonality
nice little headphone
i use them with leather th900 pads and the bass is big and dynamic, purchased some focus and focus A pads for them and the he400i 2020 to have spares but i like how tumpy they are in the low bass, i probably will stay with the leather pads if the bass impact suffers with the focus
i got them for fun, not looking for most accurate sound i can get out of them
Had a pair of HE400's years ago but sold them on, got another pair yesterday with white drivers, i'm just getting used to their sound after using Sennheiser HD 540's.
I would be interested in any advice (with links if possible) to improve the sound even further, although they damn good as they are.
so i did a bit of experimentation with pads and the results are surprising, my HE400i 2020 came with focus pads, they are nice and soft but a bit thin, also not too large of a opening, but i decided to remove them from the he400i and try them on he400, the result is spectacular, midrange no longer so dark and drowned in the upper mids, the treble is a bit less spicy compared to the leather pads, the problem i had with them is that i lost a lot of sub bass in the lowest octave, i though maybe the focus pads absorb the sub bass or something but it was really loose seal, they where spinning around, so i removed them and pushed hard on every clip the pads have and installed them back
with tight clips they where no longer spinning and the sub bass under 40hz was recovered
i purchased fake focus pads from aliexpress to try because they are a bit deeper, unfortunately the result with he400 was not very good, a bit of a tubby response, have no idea why there is such a big difference with pads that are so close in construction
however i tried the fake pads on the he400i and they sound much better, larger soundstage, smoother on top, a bit more bottom end, very different results with the pads on both headphones
go figure
I really like the build quality of he-400. It also sounds good at this price. It is a little bright to my ear that gives me more fatigue than hd650 in long listen sessions.
so i did a bit of experimentation with pads and the results are surprising, my HE400i 2020 came with focus pads, they are nice and soft but a bit thin, also not too large of a opening, but i decided to remove them from the he400i and try them on he400, the result is spectacular, midrange no longer so dark and drowned in the upper mids, the treble is a bit less spicy compared to the leather pads, the problem i had with them is that i lost a lot of sub bass in the lowest octave, i though maybe the focus pads absorb the sub bass or something but it was really loose seal, they where spinning around, so i removed them and pushed hard on every clip the pads have and installed them back
with tight clips they where no longer spinning and the sub bass under 40hz was recovered
i purchased fake focus pads from aliexpress to try because they are a bit deeper, unfortunately the result with he400 was not very good, a bit of a tubby response, have no idea why there is such a big difference with pads that are so close in construction
however i tried the fake pads on the he400i and they sound much better, larger soundstage, smoother on top, a bit more bottom end, very different results with the pads on both headphones
go figure
I own HE400s since came out but I didn’t like because sounds a bit buddy and Hansnt sub bass with stock pads and cable.
Wich pads cable can I buy? I need 4.4 cable
I own HE400s since came out but I didn’t like because sounds a bit buddy and Hansnt sub bass with stock pads and cable.
Wich pads cable can I buy? I need 4.4 cable
Has anybody ever tried ZMF Ori solid lambskin pads on the OG HE-400? This could be my favourite pad/headphone combo ever! Might seem overkill to spend half the cost of the headphones on pads, but the sound quality you're left with exceeds the overall investment for sure!
As fast and deep in the bass I've ever heard, second only to Dekoni THX00 hybrid pads in pure quantity. The overall treble detail is raised but is completely smooth, and the midrange is nice and warm.
I'm pretty sure that mine have the connector issue. Any suggestions about having it repaired? I have plenty of headphones, but there was something about 400 that I liked.
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