[loonacy]

Thanks for the fast reply  I had the velour pads on it, I switched to the pleather pads and it seemed to improve.

 

[earphiler]

yeah velour stock pads sound more like hd650 (and hd600 i'm sure, as well as hd595 to an extent) but make a lot of attributes worse besides mid-high range. They weaken the bass too

They're also airier, but lose out on details of sound when a lots going on. But jergs make the pleathers airy in a good way.

 

[wje]

Quote:

I thought I was a senn guy, but demoing the lcd2 and he500 next to to 600/650 left me wondering why I used to only buy senns...I'm not done with dynamics (actually looking at grado now) but I'm done with senns for a long while

 
I'm actually the opposite.  I was a Grado / Magnum guy for years. Then, I moved away from them and onto other headphones.  I have a pair of HD-600s by Sennheiser, and when I listen to them, I often wonder what it was that I liked in the Grado.  

 

[steste1122]

Quote:

I just got my he-400's so this is my first time posting here.  I have only had about 2 hours of listening on them so take this with a grain of salt.  So I am not impressed at all.  I am listening to lossless format music through my peachtree decco 2.  I also have tried my matrix m-stage amp and it doesn't sound very good.  The simbilance is HORRIBLE.  Maybe I am just not used to the sound yet.  I also have a Schiit Lyr coming tomorrow but so far not impressed at all.  I fond the bass VERY VERY mild and barely present.  My normally listening is with the Denon ah-d5000 so that could be why.  I also had the Sennheiser hd600's and they blew these away, heck even my Sennheiser hd555 sound as good.  
 
They are used so they are already burned in.  Am I just getting used to the sound?  Will the Lyr help?
 
Sorry for the rant I was just expecting more for some reason.
 
update:  Well my wife just came in and listened to them and said they sound amazing and was impressed so maybe it is just me.

I literally just got my He-400 yesterday.  Just give your ears a few more hours to adjust.  My first reaction was the same--too much sibilance and low bass.  I listened to them most of yesterday and they really start to shine after you play them a bit.

 

[loonacy]

Well they are already starting to grow on me, maybe I jumped the gun here  nicholars, thanks for the advice I reduced the treble above 7k and it helped a TON!!!.  Added just a very slight touch of bass switched to pleather pads and they came alive to me (and i am proabably getting used to them too).
 
Thanks for all the help 

 

[ferday]

I'm actually the opposite.  I was a Grado / Magnum guy for years. Then, I moved away from them and onto other headphones.  I have a pair of HD-600s by Sennheiser, and when I listen to them, I often wonder what it was that I liked in the Grado.  

This hobby will earn me a divorce yet

So many 'house sounds' to try before I even start down the end game path, if there is such a yellow brick road...

But I do adore my he400's, a lot

 

[j0val]

I've had my pair for less than two weeks. At the time of their arrival, I had the grado ps500s for a few weeks and was deciding which one to keep. Although i miss the ps500s, I think I made the right choice by keeping the hifiman.

In comparison, the he400 have a much wider soundstage and are generally less fatiguing than the grados.

I used to have the sennheiser hd650s, but as smooth as those were, they were a little too polite for me.

 

[zachchen1996]

"brain burn in" is incredibly important. When I first heard the he400s, I was thinking "whats all the rage about this, I hate it!" but now I have one XD, it grows on you. The only headphone so far that I've heard that I instantaneously fell in love with was the 009.

 

[modulor]

Quote:

"brain burn in" is incredibly important. When I first heard the he400s, I was thinking "whats all the rage about this, I hate it!" but now I have one XD, it grows on you. The only headphone so far that I've heard that I instantaneously fell in love with was the 009.

Agreed on 'brain burn in' and it actually occurs with most headphones, especially if you are switching around a lot.  For me there were a few that impressed me right off the bat...SR-007 MKI, LCD-3 and naturally the HE-500, all at the May meetup too 

 

[wje]

Quote:

Agreed on 'brain burn in' and it actually occurs with most headphones, especially if you are switching around a lot.  For me there were a few that impressed me right off the bat...SR-007 MKI, LCD-3 and naturally the HE-500, all at the May meetup too 

 
I've realized that when attending the meets, I don't listen to anything out of my budget range.  For if I do, I might become more addicted to the beautiful sound of those $4,500 headphones and it will be worse than a street person addicted to crack. 

 

[zachchen1996]

I've realized that when attending the meets, I don't listen to anything out of my budget range.  For if I do, I might become more addicted to the beautiful sound of those $4,500 headphones and it will be worse than a street person addicted to crack. 

Your strategy is a wise one indeed. Just a few hours ago my buddy came over and I told him, "hey have a listen to my he400s again, I just upgraded my amp" I was sure he would be impressed. After he finished listening to them, he said "all I could think of the whole time listening to them was the stax sr009's and how good they were when I heard them at that HF meet you dragged me too" hahahahah It's crazy how the 009's ruin everything.

 

[zachchen1996]

Agreed on 'brain burn in' and it actually occurs with most headphones, especially if you are switching around a lot.  For me there were a few that impressed me right off the bat...SR-007 MKI, LCD-3 and naturally the HE-500, all at the May meetup too 

I think the lcd3's left me the most disappointed, but then again it was probably in a suboptimal setup. I just felt they sounded too closed in, I felt very claustrophobic listening to them, very odd.

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

Well they are already starting to grow on me, maybe I jumped the gun here  nicholars, thanks for the advice I reduced the treble above 7k and it helped a TON!!!.  Added just a very slight touch of bass switched to pleather pads and they came alive to me (and i am proabably getting used to them too).
 
Thanks for all the help 

Well, if this helps, there will come a time when the HE-400 will sound awesome unmapped. These days I just plug it into my MacBook Air (lossless files of course) and the music is where I want it to be.
 
Edit: Oops, I meant ...awesome unamped. Funny, the editor changed it to unmapped. 

 

[loonacy]

4 hours in and I have to say they are sounding a HELL of a lot better to me now.  Maybe it was just my brain getting used to the ortho sound.  Didn't realize I was such a noob!!!

 

[j0val]

I'm somewhere in between 10-15 hours now. They definitely sound better than the first time I heard them. Plus, I just did part 1 of the jergpad mod to the pleathers. Now all I need is a good amp.