[wje]

Quote:

I don't really see how the Modi can be the weak link in the Schiit stack. Or what "weak" actually is supposed to mean in that case, rather.

 
To put it frankly, I'm not too fond of setups that link to computers.  In general, these smaller amps and their offerings are good, but not great.  The headphone stage in my integrated Yamaha amps and 2-channel receivers is of a very good quality.  I'm feeding high bit-rate MP3s and FLAC files through my Squeezebox and into the Yamaha.  The sound, to my ears is a fair bit better.  Again, I think the amps / DACs for those purposes are good, but I'm just not completely getting the "wow" factor like I am with the Yammy.  I suspect if more people were to hear such an offering, it might cut down on the swapping in and out of amps and possibly headphones, too.
 
Again, just my .02.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Not all the time and not in every case.  Take LCD-2 vs. LCD-3 comparison above IMO.
 
I don't know the prices of Stax headphones.  So the SR-202 and the SR-203 cost 2X more than the SR Lambda?  

 
Well, comparing the prices in this case is a bit difficult, for a number of reasons.
 
-The SR-Lambda is a vintage 1979 design, out of production for over a decade. The only way to get them now is to buy used. I got mine with an SRD-7/SB here for just $250, but eBay prices have shot as high as $500 for that same combination!
 
-By comparison, the SR-202 and SR-303 are much more recent designs, only having been recently displaced by the SR-207 and SR-307, which are basically the same thing with minor modifications. Given how expensive those are on Yama's/STAX USA by themselves, I could easily have paid about twice as much, especially if you take the value of the SRD-7/SB out of what I paid.
 
-The original SR-Lambda is the only model to run on the old 230V Normal bias; all following models from the SR-Lambda Pro onward use 580V Pro bias. And of course, electrostatics don't run straight out of most sources; you need a transformer box like the SRD-7 with a speaker amp, or a specialized amp dedicated to powering electrostatic headphones like these, like the SRM-212 I had with the SR-202. Normal bias equipment tends to be a bit cheaper due to being unsuited for the newer Pro bias sets, but still crazy expensive when looking at eBay pricing.
 
If nothing else, it does show that newer designs aren't always better-sounding...
 
I didn't address the Audez'e LCD-2 vs. LCD-3 example because I've never heard either, and with those price tags, probably never will unless there's a Head-Fi meet in my state. I'm already fortunate enough to have auditioned the HE-400 with velours for two weeks without having to buy the whole thing first.

 

[Uber_Roxxorz]

Quote:

 
To put it frankly, I'm not too fond of setups that link to computers.

 

I'm just curious, what is it about linking to computers that you don't like? Or rephrased, what do alternative setups do better than this? I have the M/M stack and will be receiving my HE-400s next week, so I'm just wondering what other configurations would offer beyond what I currently have.  (Not that I can afford to really buy anything extra, but I figure it can't hurt to know what others think.)

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

 

I'm just curious, what is it about linking to computers that you don't like? Or rephrased, what do alternative setups do better than this? I have the M/M stack and will be receiving my HE-400s next week, so I'm just wondering what other configurations would offer beyond what I currently have.  (Not that I can afford to really buy anything extra, but I figure it can't hurt to know what others think.)

Yep Wayne,
Uber beat me to it. What is your current source of music? I'm sure you must have mentioned it somewhere earlier. Based on this and other threads, I have given up on my portable iDevices as music sources and "moved up" to my Macbook Air with all of my music in apple lossless. Am I right in inferring that you don't like the laptop itself as the source or do you just think that the dac/amp between the laptop and the cans are not up to snuff ?

 

[Caessa]

My pair of HE-400s arrived today, and I tried it out un-amped for a little while (waiting on my Schiit to get here) because I can never restrain myself with new toys.  So far I have mixed feelings.  As my first open (and planar magnetic) headphone, I'm certainly impressed with what it brings to the table, but I can also say that the pad change discussion definitely holds weight.  Just by pulling on the earcups a little bit to break the seal on my head vastly improves the sound quality using the stock pleathers.  The sound is more open and full, the sub-bass extends even lower, and the bass quantity/quality improves overall.  Even though they're awesome as-is, I feel like I'm missing out on what could be when I'm not constantly holding the earcups slightly away from my head.
 
Hopefully I can extract some more performance out of these with different/modded pads and the backvent mod.  In all, I really like the sound signature coming from them already, so I'm interested to see what some burn-in and a proper amp will do to them too.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

My pair of HE-400s arrived today, and I tried it out un-amped for a little while (waiting on my Schiit too get here) because I can never restrain myself with new toys.  So far I have mixed feelings.  As my first open (and planar magnetic) headphone, I'm certainly impressed with what it brings to the table, but I can also say that the pad change discussion definitely holds weight.  Just by pulling on the earcups a little bit to break the seal on my head vastly improves the sound quality using the stock pleathers.  The sound is more open and full, the sub-bass extends even lower, and the bass quantity/quality improves overall.  Even though they're awesome as-is, I feel like I'm missing out on what could be when I'm not constantly holding the earcups slightly away from my head.
 
Hopefully I can extract some more performance out of these with different/modded pads and the backvent mod.  In all, I really like the sound signature coming from them already, so I'm interested to see what some burn-in and a proper amp will do to them too.

Sounds like you've already read up on my mod, but yeah the main reason why the pleather pads sound "closed-in" is not because of the distance, but the fact that it is underdamped so all the "air" / nuance is masked by the junk chamber resonance.

 

[justin w.]

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does my he400 have a driver imbalance problem?
 
as I slowly turn the volume up from 0, I notice the right driver is slightly louder than the left.  I can actually only hear the right driver at first.  then as I turn it up slightly the left driver comes on but the right driver is still a little louder.  By 7:30-8 on the volume knob they sound equal but I cant tell if that's because its the left driver equalizing with the right at that point or if its just too loud for me to discern any imbalance

 
it's most likely imbalance in the volume control of the amp.  try something with a digital volume control

 

[Caessa]

Quote:

Sounds like you've already read up on my mod, but yeah the main reason why the pleather pads sound "closed-in" is not because of the distance, but the fact that it is underdamped so all the "air" / nuance is masked by the junk chamber resonance.

Yeah.  To be honest I thought it was a bit over-hyped and I was skeptical.  But after hearing what the headphones are capable of vs. what the stock pleathers offer, you can call me a convert.

 

[wje]

Quote:

 

I'm just curious, what is it about linking to computers that you don't like? Or rephrased, what do alternative setups do better than this? I have the M/M stack and will be receiving my HE-400s next week, so I'm just wondering what other configurations would offer beyond what I currently have.  (Not that I can afford to really buy anything extra, but I figure it can't hurt to know what others think.)

 
I've done various configurations to include:
 

1. Laptop (USB) --> Amp / DAC combo
2. Laptop (USB) --> Digital converter --> Optical cable --> Amp / DAC combo
3. Desktop (USB) --> Various DACs --> Amp 
4. Desktop (Optical) out of sound card --> DAC --> Amp

 
I'm not implying that the computer or laptop source is the weak link.  However, the real point I was trying to make is that the DAC / amp section which feeds off the computer, is good in my opinion, but not great.  I tend to prefer using the headphone stage of my Yamaha (analog) gear instead.  It is much more mature in the execution.  The sound is just more pleasing for my needs.
 
Quote:

Yep Wayne,
Uber beat me to it. What is your current source of music? I'm sure you must have mentioned it somewhere earlier. Based on this and other threads, I have given up on my portable iDevices as music sources and "moved up" to my Macbook Air with all of my music in apple lossless. Am I right in inferring that you don't like the laptop itself as the source or do you just think that the dac/amp between the laptop and the cans are not up to snuff ?

 
I currently have a great preference for using my Squeezebox players.  I use my computer as the source, which utilizes the music server software to manage the music.  I can stream FLAC and high def files, as well as high bit-rate MP3s through my house and to my headphone systems.  The sound from my analog Yamaha gear while connected to the Squeezebox devices is really a beautiful and lush sound.  I have spent hundreds on amps and DACs to connect directly to the computer, and I can never match the performance of my more mature (proven) full size gear.  I've even ran a series of vintage pieces to power the headphones.  The sound has always been quite lush in my opinion.
 
It is the lushness of the full-sized gear that I want to try and replicate while connected directly at the computer level.  This, to me, has been the impossible task.  I believe 100% in using the computer as the source for music, as I do it now, but wireless.  However, when playing at at $100 - $300 computer connected headphone amp / DAC level, I find it just can't compete.  Though I still do it, but only about 50% of the time, I still feel like I've gotten a big upgrade when I switch over to my full-sized gear for the evening and enjoy some serious listening.

 

[catspaw]

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I would accept that!

 
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Im guessing your 500th post will be an announcement for HE-500s? 

 
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^^ Yes you should get to posting. Given my post count I'll soon be ordering the d5000. 

 
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Logitech UE 9000 for me?

Well, i go get the HE-6 i guess, since im already past the 6 post mark .

 

[wje]

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Well, i go get the HE-6 i guess, since im already past the 6 post mark .

 
We're hoping that HifiMAN will produce a HE-700 model.  Perhaps that would be something to strive for?
 
With the HE-700 model, we'd hope for them to strive for: planer driver manufacturing to be more automated,as they've done with the HE-400 to keep costs done.  To work on frequency spikes and tame some sibilants.  To keep the efficiency of the headphone in the range of the HE-400, if not improve upon it.  To offer it in another color - possibly a hammered bronze finish, as I've performed in the past on the X-LS monitor speakers that I posed pictures of a few weeks earlier.  
 
Any other wishes for the HE-700?  I'll gladly type up a summarized "wish" list and propose it to Dr. Fang.  Granted, it may not go far, but progression at the least is worthy of presenting the question.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
We're hoping that HifiMAN will produce a HE-700 model.  Perhaps that would be something to strive for?
 
With the HE-700 model, we'd hope for them to strive for: planer driver manufacturing to be more automated,as they've done with the HE-400 to keep costs done.  To work on frequency spikes and tame some sibilants.  To keep the efficiency of the headphone in the range of the HE-400, if not improve upon it.  To offer it in another color - possibly a hammered bronze finish, as I've performed in the past on the X-LS monitor speakers that I posed pictures of a few weeks earlier.  
 
Any other wishes for the HE-700?  I'll gladly type up a summarized "wish" list and propose it to Dr. Fang.  Granted, it may not go far, but progression at the least is worthy of presenting the question.

 
 
Yes - Please make them need a 500wpc speaker amp to drive them

 

[Nion]

is there somebody who has problems with ears touching the driver of he400?
the cups are not that deep from what i saw on pictures, or is there other earpads for he-400 thats deeper?
q701 is deeper than hi-400?

 

[jerg]

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Yes - Please make them need a 500wpc speaker amp to drive them

That'd be the HE-7. HE-700 would be the efficient brother to it that has a bit less fidelity, but is more forgiving in tonality.

 

[chewy4]

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I believe 100% in using the computer as the source for music, as I do it now, but wireless.  

 
 
I find that kind of odd, wireless is a lot less reliable. But hey whatever floats your boat.