[MattTCG]

Quote:

 
 in the $1500 setup thread, the HE-400/Lyr/Bitfrost seems to be the consensus way to get flagship SQ for minimal dollars

 
I'd agree with this^^

 

[musicinmymind]

Quote:

Yeah, it's like a low hum, like off transformers or something. I've used two sets of different tubes and they both had the exact same hum. It's not too bad when listening to music, but during quite passages, it's just 'there'.

 
Right now I am on HE-400/Lyr/Bitfrost, when no music is play I can hear hum only after 12 o'Clock, even that is not visible when music is on. 
 
9 o'Clock is normal vol with this setup, where it hits 80 db

 

[Biscuitz]

Heyo! I've stalked this thread for a while now. I've had private conversations with other headfi'ers about the HE-400 and my other upgrade options. Well, tonight I finally decided and ordered the HE-400. I'm cautiously excited, as I've been let down many times before when trying out a highly praised headphone that's new to my ears.

I'll try to post some impressions when I get them!

 

[Skp44]

Yeah, it's like a low hum, like off transformers or something. I've used two sets of different tubes and they both had the exact same hum. It's not too bad when listening to music, but during quite passages, it's just 'there'.

Hum is a PITA to track down, so many different causes. Ground loops, placement( near other electronic devices), a low 60hz hum can often be transformer induced. I own a Valhalla, which is dead quiet and the two times I listened to the Lyr, it was quiet. Some tube amps are just noisy, usually the type of tube used in the design. You can get some shorting plugs( an RCA plug with a 5-10k resistor attached to the ground and center pin), and.put them on the Input of the Lyr, if you still have hum you know it is the amp.

 

[MattTCG]

I've owned both the Asgard and the lyr and found both to be almost dead silent with the setups that I had. Granted I'm more of a lower volume listener and never listened past 12:00.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

 
I'd agree with this^^

 
Me too! (Or HD650 depending on your personal preferences...)
 
Quote:

 
Right now I am on HE-400/Lyr/Bitfrost, when no music is play I can hear hum only after 12 o'Clock, even that is not visible when music is on. 
 
9 o'Clock is normal vol with this setup, where it hits 80 db

 
Cranking past 12 o'clock on Lyr & Bifrost with HE-400 should be exceedingly rare.  Even with a -15dB digital gain cut in my EQ loop I couldn't actually listen in that position.   That's more where I'd keep it for HE-6!
 
Quote:

I've owned both the Asgard and the lyr and found both to be almost dead silent with the setups that I had. Granted I'm more of a lower volume listener and never listened past 12:00.

 
12:00 would be in use for HE-6 or for VERY low input sources, IMO....that would be a lot of output into HE-400 from a normal 2v or even 1.8v ipod input.   I can get a "whining" sometimes which can alternately be the result of tubes or a dimmer/coffee maker on elsewhere.  I can get a hiss from tubes.  I can get a hum when up really loud from tubes (without music playing and just cranking the knob to hear humming.)  But serous hum problems almost ALWAYS mean a ground loop issue. I saw one instance of a defective Lyr where something was wrong with the soldering of the IEC power connector on the back that caused a similar ground loop but was indeed an amp problem. 
 
Quote:

Yeah, it's like a low hum, like off transformers or something. I've used two sets of different tubes and they both had the exact same hum. It's not too bad when listening to music, but during quite passages, it's just 'there'.

 
It could be a defective amp...it's worth considering...but usually there's a wiring issue.  One thing to try: A two prong "cheater" plug to get rid of the ground pin.  If the hum goes away, you've got a ground loop in circuit somewhere. if it doesn't it's in the amp.

 

[IcedTea]

So is there a rev.3?? 
 
Or is there just a rev.2 after the first batch was made? I've just ordered my he-400 from head-direct so I'm kind of curious on which ones I'm going to get.  o.O O.o 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

So is there a rev.3?? 
 
Or is there just a rev.2 after the first batch was made? I've just ordered my he-400 from head-direct so I'm kind of curious on which ones I'm going to get.  o.O O.o 

 
All we know for sure is that there are three different batches of HE400s in terms of driver material; first batch used black plastic, second batch = clear white plastic, and third batch = sandy yellow plastic. Now we know there is a clear transition and improvement of driver assembly going from black to white plastic versions, where they solved the driver cut-out defect. The intrigue at the moment is whether or not the white -> sandy yellow drivers is another revision change, or just a simple change of plastic colour.
 
Personally I've noticed that my new yellow driver pair is noticeably brighter than my previous white driver pair that I returned, and it's not sure if that is simple manufacturing variance or actual re-tuning.
 
Another smaller detail I noticed is that the new yellow driver HE400s have better, more scratch-resistant logo decal.
 
 
Also if you order from head-direct now, you will get the yellow driver version I think.

 

[IcedTea]

I don't know if that is a good or bad thing...
 
o.O 

 

[TMRaven]

I really wanna know if those sandy yellow driver versions with their supposed finer tracings have less distortion as a result.  Someone needs to send a pair to tyll or purrin for thd measurements.

 

[MattTCG]

I'm not encouraged by this new possible revision. For now, I'll say that the jury is still out. 

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

The Lyr is noisier than my Mixamp 5.8. The HE-400 has an audible noise floor with the Mixamp 5.8, so I can imagine I'd be annoyed by the Lyr hum. I had the HE-4 with the Lyr, and the HE-4 has a considerably lower noise floor than the HE-400, and they still had that annoying hum.

Mine is dead silent with the HE-400/500, I can hear the tubes a bit with D7ks, but there is no hum what-so-ever.

 

[phanboy_iv]

Got the Dr. DAC DX2, it's got more than enough power for the HE-400s. At $250 it's a pretty good match for these, if you don't want to go with tubes.

 

[MattTCG]

Shout out to another GA boy!! And another he400 owner...

 

[vintage64]

Did the fitz mod on my Darkvoice 336SE - 220 uF output caps - to fit my HE-400. It is a dream come true ! 

For me, the Shuguang 6N13P sounds best and beats the best 6AS7 and 6080 from US and russian origin (did not expect that). The Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z
is unbelievable nice sounding. Beats every NOS 6SN7 from US and russian origin. For my ears only ?!