[allyl]

I still have had the same problem as well. The last shipment notification for me was
 
Jan 16, 2012 5:44 PM Shipment exception Tsuen Wan HK Undeliverable package

 

[lintonsofly]

Hi Fang, my he400's seem also to be stuck in tsuen wan. The "details" say that it is an "undeliverable package". If you could get into contact that would be great. 

 

[Phos]

Quote:

I'm not entirely sure where the fault is, there's no breaks or splits in the cable that are visible. I don't think it's the coax's at the ears as no amount of trying to reseat those did anything. I'll take a closer look tomorrow evening to see if I can narrow it down. It seems my problem is different from what others have as I didn't notice any channel imbalance, but I don't have another cable to test with, so can't really say.
 
And by 'just right' I meant the orientation of the 1/4" jack, at one point I could get sound out of both cups if it wasn't inserted fully, but if you pushed it in all the way it'd cut out on the right side.
 
The more I think about it, the more puzzling it seems to me now.

Are you sure you were getting stereo out of them?  Not inserting the jack fully usually gives you the right channel to both ears.  I suppose you know the jack is good, right?  
If you want to see where the problem is you could get a cheap multimeter to test them.  

 

[Nankai]

Quote:

Hi Fang, my he400's seem also to be stuck in tsuen wan. The "details" say that it is an "undeliverable package". If you could get into contact that would be great. 

We have got the new tracking about all "tsuen wan" problem packages. We got several new tracking info now, but we need to figure out which tracking number belong to whom. Still working on this. 

 

[MuppetFace]

To those who are having channel imbalances:
 
Try twisting the jack when it's plugged into your source or adapter. With the HE-6, often times one of the channels will cut out because of a faulty connection with the jack. Twisting the jack should establish a more secure connection.
 
Not saying this is the case, but it's something to try FWIW.

 

[Larryonfire]

You can´t hurry a dragon 

 

[Gribble]

Personally I am far more concerned about the channel imbalance/loss of one channel than the delay issue. I would rather wait a further few weeks and get a product that is 100% than go through all the headache of sending it back.....
Please Fang, keep us up to date on identifying and correcting the problem.

 

[Bas72]

Received mine today, and what do you know: channel imbalance! Only in my case it was the right cup that was not giving any sound. Jiggling the cables did not do anything for me, but I suddenly noticed the cup would give good sound when I pressed it against my head. Release it: sound gone. Press it: sound back. That got me thinking that the cup's screws might have loosened in transport. I removed the earpad and gave all screws an extra twist. (Easy there, it's still plastic.) That did it! I am now listening to them while I type this. 

 
My setup: iPod with Headstage Arrow 2.1G, silver interlink, cheapo 1/8"-1/4" adapter. First impressions, compared to Sennheiser DT990 Pro (250Ohm) and listening to Dark Side of the Moon: more spatious sound, much more detail in the high notes, very revealing, slight sibilance, slightly less bassy sound, but bass is very tight. Instrument separation is the best I've heard to date. (Then again: this is the most I've ever paid for a headphone, so that figures.) This is also the first headphone I've owned that actually removes the equipment from the equation and leaves just the music to enjoy. I don't feel the weight is a problem, even though it is slightly heavier than the Beyer. The overall wear is very comfortable.
 
Overall: woohoo! Very happy with my purchase. Critique: highs are more present than I'm used to. Let's give them a few hundred hours to burn in.
 
To conclude with: I've got my Arrow on maximum Gain. (Setting 'III'.) I feel they do need quite a bit of power to shine.
 

 

[mpp]

Quote:

The unanimously best choice for 1/4''->1/8'' seems to be the Grados 1/4''->1/8'' adapter. Look it up. I already ordered one.
 
So from your impressions, it seems your pair of HE400s does not have the channel imbalance defect?

Thanks for the tip on the Grado adapter.  I will order it.
 
I only listened to a few classical SACDs on the HE-400s for about an hour last night, but I experienced no channel loss/imbalance.  I kind of tempered my expectations of these headphones after reading some of the early comments, and was really surprised how great they sounded with everything I played.  
 
I don't think they are as comfortable to wear as the 580s though.  My wife complained that they were too heavy.  It didn't bother me, but I could understand that it might bother some people.
 
Btw, my package had a big piece of tape that said it was opened by US Customs and Border Protection.  Also, there was no card or documentation in the box.
 

 

[palmfish]

Quote:

Hi Fang, my he400's seem also to be stuck in tsuen wan. The "details" say that it is an "undeliverable package". If you could get into contact that would be great. 

Same here. My order says "Shipped" on my Head-Direct account, but FedEx tracking says it's undeliverable.
 
I called customer service again and this time she couldn't find my order in the system. She sent an e-mail to the shipping manager.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Received mine today, and what do you know: channel imbalance! Only in my case it was the right cup that was not giving any sound. Jiggling the cables did not do anything for me, but I suddenly noticed the cup would give good sound when I pressed it against my head. Release it: sound gone. Press it: sound back. That got me thinking that the cup's screws might have loosened in transport. I removed the earpad and gave all screws an extra twist. (Easy there, it's still plastic.) That did it! I am now listening to them while I type this. 

 
My setup: iPod with Headstage Arrow 2.1G, silver interlink, cheapo 1/8"-1/4" adapter. First impressions, compared to Sennheiser DT990 Pro (250Ohm) and listening to Dark Side of the Moon: more spatious sound, much more detail in the high notes, very revealing, slight sibilance, slightly less bassy sound, but bass is very tight. Instrument separation is the best I've heard to date. (Then again: this is the most I've ever paid for a headphone, so that figures.) This is also the first headphone I've owned that actually removes the equipment from the equation and leaves just the music to enjoy. I don't feel the weight is a problem, even though it is slightly heavier than the Beyer. The overall wear is very comfortable.
 
Overall: woohoo! Very happy with my purchase. Critique: highs are more present than I'm used to. Let's give them a few hundred hours to burn in.
 
To conclude with: I've got my Arrow on maximum Gain. (Setting 'III'.) I feel they do need quite a bit of power to shine.
 

Congrats on the fix lol, hopefully it's a permanent fix for your cans.
 
Interesting initial sound impressions, so they don't sound dark at all to ya?
 

 

[Bas72]

Not sure what you mean by 'dark'. (Sorry, just my English.) Dark as in: opposed to bright? I hear plenty of treble, to the point where I have considered swapping my LOD for a non-silver cable. Bass is tight, good punch, well present but not overwhelming. I'm hearing things I've never heard before in my music... Very happy customer.

 

[Katysax]

I will chime in that I am also having cable problems.  Left side cuts out - if I jiggle the cable sound comes back but it is more than just a matter of tightening - No matter how tight the problem recurs.

 

[Aaron1006]

Damn, sounds like there are tons of problems with the sound cutting out and whatnot. Hopefully they figure it out and get it fixed quick and easily. Let's just hope it's something easy and potentially DIY and not something wrong with the headphones themselves.

 

[Il Mostro]

Quote:

I will chime in that I am also having cable problems.  Left side cuts out - if I jiggle the cable sound comes back but it is more than just a matter of tightening - No matter how tight the problem recurs.

Exactly the same as the problem I have been experiencing.  The question is whether it is at the cable connection or father upstream.  I will not take them apart due to HFM stating that this voids the warranty and return policy -- not that this has ever stopped me before, but I guess I am just not that motivated.
 
When I get them to play for a while they sound quite nice -- especially at the price point.  They really do have a lot of things going for them.  Sounding even better off my Concerto hooked up to the big rig.  "Most Things Haven't Worked Out" from "You Better Run - The Essential Junior Kimbrough" actually sounds terrific on the HE-400's. They may be more benign of a load that the other offerings from HFM, but they do need an amp to sound good.  Good performance from the HP-P1 portable rig -- better still from the Concerto on high gain.  No so good directly from the iPod Classic -- they play, but that's about it.  Defintely would be a whole hell of a lot nicer if they could play continuously.  Is that too much to ask?

 
While I am not sure these have a place in my rotation, they do make me really jones for Audeze LDC 2's.  I think, despite the much higher price, the stronger clamping force plus first world build quality and top tier SQ will be very much worth the extra $$$ for me.