[reiserFS]

I highly doubt that.
Quote:

 I went through 3 external dacs worth up to about £300 then bought an STX and it is similar / better than any of them really... Any differences are subtle anyway between dacs....

 

[KLJTech]

I thought that was rev. 2 graph, I'd love to see the one for the latest version as I'm not hearing this midrange suck out and brightness in the treble.
 
Its probably a good thing that I had low expectations for the "dark" sounding HE-400's with the "harsh treble" as now I'm very, very pleased with them. I still think that it may have something to do with planar magnetics in general, Magnepans often don't measure well yet they can sound stunning.  

 

[Zuckfun]

I thought that was rev. 2 graph, I'd love to see the one for the latest version as I'm not hearing this midrange suck out and brightness in the treble.


Its probably a good thing that I had low expectations for the "dark" sounding HE-400's with the "harsh treble" as now I'm very, very pleased with them. I still think that it may have something to do with planar magnetics in general, Magnepans often don't measure well yet they can sound stunning.  

It's possible the music you're listening to is recorded well. Generally, these headphones sound as amazing as the recording sounds.

 

[KLJTech]

Quote:

It's possible the music you're listening to is recorded well. Generally, these headphones sound as amazing as the recording sounds.

 
Maybe so, I've only listened to CD's and FLAC files of music I enjoy...the only MP3's I have are of Audiobooks. Of course there are plenty (to say the least) of poorly recorded CD's but I haven't sought out recordings that I know to be a bit on the bright side. Then again, the job of any speaker or headphone is to pass along the signal sent to it as accurately as possible...as the whole "garbage in garbage out" saying goes.
 
If my speakers or headphones take a bright/poorly made recording and turn it into something a bit more tame and enjoyable then they're also going to editorialize the great recording I feed them. As I've only heard this pair of HE-400's I can't say why some are finding them "dark" and others "bright" (or both) and it may be nothing more than they mate well with the Lyr...I'm truly not sure. The DAC's I've used thus far with the Lyr have been the Bryston BDA-1 and a Parasound Zdac. 

 

[davidsh]

The HE-400 is in audiophile terms dark and sparkly. Bright and dark sound are attributes of the upper mids.

 

[davidsh]

HE-400 rev2: 

 

[KLJTech]

Quote:

HE-400 rev2: 

 
[size=small]Thank you![/size][size=small][/size]

[size=small]I guess what surprises me is that when I listen to a good recording, one that I know very well, like something from Alison Krauss, I'm not noticing that dip in the mid/highs like you'd think one would when you see that frequency response graph. I'll listen to a track with the HE-400's and then I'll switch to the K701's (that I'm very familiar with) and yes there's a tiny bit more "presence" in the midrange with the AKG's. Though what stands out even more is that the AKG's are not nearly as full sounding in the lower midbass and bass region. I was expecting to hear a lot more midrange from the K701's than from the HE-400's. Possibly my 400's just aren't burnt in yet or they're just sounding good with good recordings as they should. [/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]I do believe that there's more to a planar magnetic's sound than just a measured frequency response...maybe its speed, more transparency...I don't know. As I've already stated, I do know that Magnepans haven't always measured well yet can still "sound" incredible. Its also possible that the Bryston and Parasound DAC's I'm using are more forgiving in the region in which some are finding bright. I've not found either to be 'soft" sounding in my main system (through speakers) when compared to other DAC's I've [/size]auditioned.[size=small] [/size]
 
Usually when I find a piece of gear that I like I'll try my best to forget about the equipment itself and get back to focusing on the music. I found out years ago that if I worried too much about the gear (even after having done A TON of homework on the unit I just bought) that I tended to keep switching out DAC, amps, CD players and speakers so often that I stopped enjoying MUSIC all together unless it was in my car when I couldn't have cared less about the system itself. In other words, once you find that piece of audio gear that you enjoy, try your very best to stop thinking about the gear itself and get back to what this is all about in the first place....MUSIC!

 

[nicholars]

Quote:

I highly doubt that.

 
Ok well you can go and spend £1000 on an external DAC and I will spend it on headphones.

 

[jmsaxon69]

Quote:

 
[size=small]Thank you![/size][size=small][/size]

[size=small]I guess what surprises me is that when I listen to a good recording, one that I know very well, like something from Alison Krauss, I'm not noticing that dip in the mid/highs like you'd think one would when you see that frequency response graph. I'll listen to a track with the HE-400's and then I'll switch to the K701's (that I'm very familiar with) and yes there's a tiny bit more "presence" in the midrange with the AKG's. Though what stands out even more is that the AKG's are not nearly as full sounding in the lower midbass and bass region. I was expecting to hear a lot more midrange from the K701's than from the HE-400's. Possibly my 400's just aren't burnt in yet or they're just sounding good with good recordings as they should. [/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]I do believe that there's more to a planar magnetic's sound than just a measured frequency response...maybe its speed, more transparency...I don't know. As I've already stated, I do know that Magnepans haven't always measured well yet can still "sound" incredible. Its also possible that the Bryston and Parasound DAC's I'm using are more forgiving in the region in which some are finding bright. I've not found either to be 'soft" sounding in my main system (through speakers) when compared to other DAC's I've [/size]auditioned.[size=small] [/size]
 
Usually when I find a piece of gear that I like I'll try my best to forget about the equipment itself and get back to focusing on the music. I found out years ago that if I worried too much about the gear (even after having done A TON of homework on the unit I just bought) that I tended to keep switching out DAC, amps, CD players and speakers so often that I stopped enjoying MUSIC all together unless it was in my car when I couldn't have cared less about the system itself. In other words, once you find that piece of audio gear that you enjoy, try your very best to stop thinking about the gear itself and get back to what this is all about in the first place....MUSIC!

ABSOLUTELY!! Been saying that for a few years now.  Listen the the music once you've got a good system in place, not the equipment.  All listening to the equipment gets you is broke and anxious about the next upgrade and "does it sound good?"  I can be happy listening to a boom box if I HAD nothing else...But i have a bunch of "pretty good" audio equipment, nothing extravagant, but all good stuff.

 

[egokun]

Whoa, some people actually believe it when they say the HE-400 is satisfying out of an iPod? My poor iTouch can't even get close to loud with these

The HE-400 absolutely requires juice to perform. I'd never before tried a headphone that can't get enough volume from a PA2V2 without getting in the distortion zone. I need my M-Stage to get volume and performance out of this can.

From my first two hours of listening, I can only confirm what many other users said. Tremendous energy. Good speed. Thumping, rumbling bass. Perceptibly recessed vocals. Tizzy, slightly sibilant highs: not harsh or offensive, but possibly fatiguing in the long run. Not very airy. Good resolution and separation, but not a huge soundstage.

 

[jmsaxon69]

Quote:

Whoa, some people actually believe it when they say the HE-400 is satisfying out of an iPod? My poor iTouch can't even get close to loud with these

 

How loud do you listen? My older Nano got plenty loud for me.  I don't listen super loud though....

 

[egokun]

How loud do you listen? My older Nano got plenty loud for me.  I don't listen super loud though....

I don't go loud for long stretches of time, but 100% volume on my US (non volume-capped) iPod Touch is definitely not enough for my daytime listening.

 

[jerg]

Just FYI I know quite a few of the regulars here have ordered the Modulor's jergpads (batch 1), I received the pair he sent me a couple of hours ago, will be posting some pics and impressions in a bit (either here or HE500 thread or the jergpad thread).

 

[MattTCG]

Waiting on my pair and your impression Jerg. Pics!! 

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

I don't go loud for long stretches of time, but 100% volume on my US (non volume-capped) iPod Touch is definitely not enough for my daytime listening.

 
How's the volume on those recordings?  I usually listen at about 80% with my ipod touch.