[Sorrodje]

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Originally Posted by Sorrodje /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...i'm really in trouble with its trebles. I listened all style of Music form Infected Mushroom to Schubert and besides some jazz and some EDM  I really can't live with these trebles

. With he-400, my favourite Schubert piece (String quintet op 163) makes me grind my teeth.
 

 

 
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Then, i'm currently listen to the he-400. I really want to love it so I will persever .

 
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I think we have the same experience and i have same feelings.
 
I'm using a Aune T1 Tube DAC/AMP  ( Like RMac http://www.head-fi.org/t/604583/hifiman-he-400-impressions-and-discussion-thread/5700#post_9077560)  and fortunately, it seems I found a tube which does a good job to tame these sibilant , sparkly trebles . IMO the problem is not only with trebles but with recessed mids. A bit lack of mids gives the focus on trebles ant that's hurting me. I tried to EQ my he-400 and the results is +2 for midrange and -2 from  8 KhZ to highest frequencies. Then I change the tube for a 6DJ8 instead of my 6N23p-EB .. and it made a kind of miracle.
 
Forwarder mids and a bit tamed trebles tend to eliminate sibilance in most cases. I listened to very different music yesterday and  I think I could now keep my he-400 . Not sure yet but I think I can 
 
I should be honest and say that it could only be a "brain and ears"  burn but he-400 stays quite hard to listen from another source (my living room gear) 

 
 
A week later: I Iike these headphones more and more. it seems my brain and ears need time to accustom to their signature. and Aune T1 + 6DJ8 Tube ( both Mullard and Amperex) seems to do the best job .  Very strange experience in fact but I'm happy to be able to enjoy the he-400 now. I would have been so disapointed to really dislike the hifimans.
 
i was disappointed too when I listened to my Ultrasone SP for the first time but only few hours was necessary to understand the SP.

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

 
Oh, and I'm very happy to be on the 400th page, too -- or, at least I hope it's still the 400th page.
 
Edit: I see it wasn't possible for me to post on the 400th page.  Well, maybe if Ninjames didn't have to post "3" times on the 400th page, some of us others could have made it too.  Such a selfish, greedy guy. 

  

:] You snooze you lose!
 
Alternatively, we can say that every page before 400 wasn't up to par, but every page above 400 is now exceeding expectations? You're posting on a page that is one better than 400!

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Snooze you loose Wayner...

 
Oh, official announcement. The first poster of the 400th page wins a free pair of j$ pads and Jergpads!!!! Wait....that's me. Then I congratulate myself. 

 

[wje]

Quote:

:] You snooze you lose!
 
Alternatively, we can say that every page before 400 wasn't up to par, but every page above 400 is now exceeding expectations? You're posting on a page that is one better than 400!

 
Really?  I may have missed posting on Page # 400, but I am celebrating my 10-Year anniversary here on this forum.  Yes, that's right, please feel free too look up in the right corner of my post.  You will see 1/2003.  That is the date that I officially joined this site.  You wouldn't believe the old stories that I could tell you about.  At the time, we didn't have headphones that would sound nearly as fine as those that are in circulation today.  At the time, we were using two tin cans tied together in the middle with a piece of string to listen to our music.  The upper frequency "sizzle" was very, very horrible screechy sibilants were like nails on a chalkboard when compared to what we have today.  My, how a decade has brought about so much change in the headphone industry.  Ahhh ... those were the "good old days." 

 

[MattTCG]

Okay, okay congrats on the anniversary. Wayne also wins a prize. You have won two cd's that I know you will enjoy. Ray LaMontagne: Live and Casandra Wilson: Belly of the Sun. Do you accept the terms and conditions of your prize? 

 

[wje]

Quote:

Okay, okay congrats on the anniversary. Wayne also wins a prize. You have won two cd's that I know you will enjoy. Ray LaMontagne: Live and Casandra Wilson: Belly of the Sun. Do you accept the terms and conditions of your prize? 

 
No.  I suspect you'll charge me $25.00 shipping on two CDs worth a total of $20.00.  Have I been able to recite the terms and conditions related to the free prize that isn't so free after all? 

 
In all serousness, I'm not sure that I have done so many upgrades to my headphones in the time spent here.  Most of it has been side-steps, which can or can't be a good thing, depending on how you view it.  I think with the HE-400s, I am at a good level now.  But, certainly not anywhere near the Stax level or the Sennheiser Orpheus as one would expect to be at the 10-year mark.  Instead, I've had too many interrogations about money spent on this hobby with my wife than I'd care to count.  Additionally, I've personally spent enough money with the U.S. postal system that I can't figure out why they're even having financial issues at this point.  But, I think you all get the point, and might suffer from the same derangement that I do as certainly, there must be something in the water that we get to drink around this place. 

 

[ninjames]

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Really?  I may have missed posting on Page # 400, but I am celebrating my 10-Year anniversary here on this forum.  Yes, that's right, please feel free too look up in the right corner of my post.  You will see 1/2003.  That is the date that I officially joined this site.  You wouldn't believe the old stories that I could tell you about.  At the time, we didn't have headphones that would sound nearly as fine as those that are in circulation today.  At the time, we were using two tin cans tied together in the middle with a piece of string to listen to our music.  The upper frequency "sizzle" was very, very horrible screechy sibilants were like nails on a chalkboard when compared to what we have today.  My, how a decade has brought about so much change in the headphone industry.  Ahhh ... those were the "good old days." 

And I'm assuming that you also had to walk uphill in the snow for the chance to listen to those headphones? :]

 

[richierich]

Got my J$ pads in today as well. Love the comfort and sound.

 

[MattTCG]

^^ How is the install? Easy peasy? 

 

[richierich]

@ Matt:
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Nah it's easy, just transplant the plastic earpad mounting ring over from the stock pads to these and bam you're game.

 

[korzena]

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You want other options around the same cost of the HE-400?

Sure! It would be great if you could suggest me some other headphones that will satisfy my requirements?

 

[korzena]

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Sounding so much like the LCD-2 that it's scary?  Where are these J-Money Beyer pads and how much are they?

Is the purpose of the other pads to make HE-400 more similar to LCD-2 or to get the most of them while retaining their specific character?

 

[chewy4]

Quote:

Is the purpose of the other pads to make HE-400 more similar to LCD-2 or to get the most of them while retaining their specific character?

Comfort is the primary reason I got mine.

 

[BrokeStudent]

Well my M&M stack finally came in and I must say that I am absolutely blown away by these headphones now. I was running it off an onboard PC DAC + E11 and even though it did sound good, I felt like it was missing something. Now, this is my first dive into the head-fi world so I don't have much to compare to however, I must say that the sound coming from these headphones is phenomenal. At first, I was getting what I best describe is a buzz'ing type of bass when I tried to raise the volume. Now the bass sounds as it sound no matter how high I crank it.
 
Also, I don't know if I'm deaf or something, but most people say they listen to their 400's with this stack at around the 8-9 o'clock position and beyond there it is 'too loud'. I find normal comfortable listening level to be closer to 12 oclock. 
 
Back to happy listening. 

 

[TMRaven]

It depends largely on the dynamic range of the songs you're playing through it.
 
Take, for example, a Jethro Tull song:
 

 
 
And next, a Kanye West song:
 

 
 
 
 
 
The Kanye West song is dynamically compressed so that it sounds loud on lesser systems that would otherwise run into clipping issues if they tried to play the high dynamic range song at a volume that matched the average level of the compressed song.
 
It could be that you're listening to lots of high dynamic range songs without much dynamic compression.
 
 
Another reason is maybe that your computer's volume level isn't maxed.  I know that on Windows at least, Modi does not disallow volume control on the computer's internal volume.  On OSX it does.  So if you're not using OSX, then max your computer's volume.
 
 
Reductive EQ needs lots of headroom, so you'll always find yourself turning the volume pot position up on the amp.  For instance, whenever I use a reductive EQ that gives me 6db of bass boost, I usually turn the Magni to around 11 o' clock.
 
 
If your computer's volume is maxed, you're not using any reductive EQ and the songs you're using don't have much dynamic range, then you're listening at very high levels and might be damaging your hearing.