[Wildcatsare1]

^ Mike, you should try to make it up to Nashville on September 20th for the Meet. Pam sent.

 

[MattTCG]

^ Mike, you should try to make it up to Nashville on September 20th for the Meet. Pam sent.

 
Would you send me a Pam also. My wife is getting on my last nerve. 

 

[Wildcatsare1]

^ Whoops, typo, I meant I was going to send you a Stephanie........

 

[Mike In Bama]

I just want to beg this from all of you. PLEASE under no circumstances send me a Jennifer or a Virgo. I have nothing to do with either anymore.

Crazy &@#^*+=s !

 

[swspiers]

I'm trying to duplicate that sound with a headphone and amp due to current apartment accommodations. Listening to this passionate discussion among us 0.01%ers is so comfortable to me! It helps me to know I'm not so crazy after all.

In my experience, the HE-560 is the closest to maggies I've ever heard from a headphone.  I cannot state that the 400i's are the equal of the 560 in that regard.  Yet strangely, so far I prefer the 400i to the 560.  Something about them that just zings,whereas the 560's were refined- even polite.

 

[Mike In Bama]

Wow! That impression means a lot!

This headphone and amp are going to be my last gear purchase, unless I mess this up.

Today, based purely on words from fellow enthusiasts, my leading contenders are the 400i and a Project Polaris.

It has everything I want.
*High quality sound above their respective price points.
*Sound that should approach the open, boxless sound of the Maggies.
*Under my $1K budget.

 

[mandrake50]

So many well made points are in the last couple of pages that I won't even consider addressing them one by one.

I think that maybe the simplest statement that can be made may be this. At some point most of us had to be "taught" what to listen for. Most of my friends are blissfully happy if they can recognize the song at all. It doesn't matter if the sound is only AM radio sound!

Thankfully, my uncle introduced me to hi-fi and completely spoiled my ears. However, we are the minority, period. One look at my profile will show a lifetime of trying to achieve the best possible sound I could, within my budget. No one has a better home system, to my ears, than I do.

I'm trying to duplicate that sound with a headphone and amp due to current apartment accommodations. Listening to this passionate discussion among us 0.01%ers is so comfortable to me! It helps me to know I'm not so crazy after all.

One look at my profile will tell you nothing. But I can say that I have been a passionate audio hobbyist for in excess of 40 years. I spent 17 years in the business. We di sound reinforcement, amp design and build and a bunch of custom installations. I spent lots of time replacing caps and resistors in high end gear because people said they could hear a difference. In some cases so could I.
 
I also have built a home system that I think is pretty good, better than some at several times the cost. I sincerely doubt that I will ever find any combination of headphones and electronics that will duplicate the sound. That does not mean I stop looking (within a self imposed budget, not lack of funds). But I am a realist. A set of transducers less than half an inch from my eardrum never will make that happen.
 
Yes we have to be taught to listen. In some cases ignorance IS bliss. It can save one lots of time and money... and still leave one with a great deal of enjoyment. If the major method of that education has been reading internet forums, it might be good to broaden ones horizons though!
 
When I say some of the things that I do, it is because I know that everyone is not coming from the same place that I am. When someone ask if they NEED an amp to "enjoy" some headphone, the answer has to be .. no.
To wring the last few percent out of a headphone, and if you have the time and money, it may (depending on what one is looking for) be beneficial. Joy, or enjoyment of music need not be tied to having what someone else tells you that you NEED! It is definitely not tied to getting the last 5% to 10%, let alone the last  0.01% of technical perfection out of a system!
 
I think that most of us started out with a system that they would not think optimal from their current perspective. I would hope that one of the reasons that they decided to pursue things is that they enjoyed what they had to begin with.
I find that many in the hobby become obsessive about sound. Likely beyond the simple enjoyment of music. That is really fine, but there should be a realization that not all of us are there.
 
There are far more people out there with iPhones, or Fiio, or Sansa devices than there are with high end  systems. We can forget that, and seems that we do regularly. That does not mean that all of those people cannot enjoy a given headphone with what they have.
 
It is all perspective. From the perspective of a student that just blew his savings on a $500 set of headphones... telling them that they just have to spend another $1K to ~~  on a DAC and amp before they can "enjoy" their new headphones, is first inaccurate, but most likely also counterproductive.
 
In any case, I can "enjoy" my set of HE 400i out of the Sanas Fuze directly when needed. I can also recognize that they are noticeably  better using other gear, but if all I had was the Fuze, I would still have enjoyment...

 

[MattTCG]

 
One look at my profile will tell you nothing. But I can say that I have been a passionate audio hobbyist for in excess of 40 years. I spent 17 years in the business. We di sound reinforcement, amp design and build and a bunch of custom installations. I spent lots of time replacing caps and resistors in high end gear because people said they could hear a difference. In some cases so could I.
 
I also have built a home system that I think is pretty good, better than some at several times the cost. I sincerely doubt that I will ever find any combination of headphones and electronics that will duplicate the sound. That does not mean I stop looking (within a self imposed budget, not lack of funds). But I am a realist. A set of transducers less than half an inch from my eardrum never will make that happen.
 
Yes we have to be taught to listen. In some cases ignorance IS bliss. It can save one lots of time and money... and still leave one with a great deal of enjoyment. If the major method of that education has been reading internet forums, it might be good to broaden ones horizons though!
 
When I say some of the things that I do, it is because I know that everyone is not coming from the same place that I am. When someone ask if they NEED an amp to "enjoy" some headphone, the answer has to be .. no.
To wring the last few percent out of a headphone, and if you have the time and money, it may (depending on what one is looking for) be beneficial. Joy, or enjoyment of music need not be tied to having what someone else tells you that you NEED! It is definitely not tied to getting the last 5% to 10%, let alone the last  0.01% of technical perfection out of a system!
 
I think that most of us started out with a system that they would not think optimal from their current perspective. I would hope that one of the reasons that they decided to pursue things is that they enjoyed what they had to begin with.
I find that many in the hobby become obsessive about sound. Likely beyond the simple enjoyment of music. That is really fine, but there should be a realization that not all of us are there.
 
There are far more people out there with iPhones, or Fiio, or Sansa devices than there are with high end  systems. We can forget that, and seems that we do regularly. That does not mean that all of those people cannot enjoy a given headphone with what they have.
 
It is all perspective. From the perspective of a student that just blew his savings on a $500 set of headphones... telling them that they just have to spend another $1K to ~~  on a DAC and amp before they can "enjoy" their new headphones, is first inaccurate, but most likely also counterproductive.
 
In any case, I can "enjoy" my set of HE 400i out of the Sanas Fuze directly when needed. I can also recognize that they are noticeably  better using other gear, but if all I had was the Fuze, I would still have enjoyment...

 
For me, it was pretty much the opposite. I got my first taste of true fidelity with the Pioneer sx-650 and a pair of Large Advents back in the late 70's when I was 15. Took me two summers of cutting grass to save the money. When I got out of college and got a real job, I tried lot's of speaker system to take me to the promised land. None of them did. Then I found headphones about 5 years ago and got amazingly close to where I wanted to be in terms of music reproduction...and quickly. 
 
There is just too much room treatment, and high dollars with speaker systems compared to hp setups. The "room" with a hp will always be perfect. Plus with speaker setups and a house full of kids usually don't mix. 

 

[swspiers]

   
For me, it was pretty much the opposite. I got my first taste of true fidelity with the Pioneer sx-650 and a pair of Large Advents back in the late 70's when I was 15. Took me two summers of cutting grass to save the money. When I got out of college and got a real job, I tried lot's of speaker system to take me to the promised land. None of them did. Then I found headphones about 5 years ago and got amazingly close to where I wanted to be in terms of music reproduction...and quickly.
 
There is just too much room treatment, and high dollars with speaker systems compared to hp setups. The "room" with a hp will always be perfect. Plus with speaker setups and a house full of kids usually don't mix.

I pretty much found nirvana with my Ohm Micro Walsh Talls.  With omni speakers, the room actually tends to work with the speaker, rather than against them.  Since I got the Ohm's, I've been searching for a headphone that matches their ability. So far, both new HFM models are zeroing in on what I'm looking for.  I suspect, with judicious use of EQ to take down the mids relative to the treble and bass, I have a contendor with the 400i's

 

[MattTCG]

  I pretty much found nirvana with my Ohm Micro Walsh Talls.  With omni speakers, the room actually tends to work with the speaker, rather than against them.  Since I got the Ohm's, I've been searching for a headphone that matches their ability. So far, both new HFM models are zeroing in on what I'm looking for.  I suspect, with judicious use of EQ to take down the mids relative to the treble and bass, I have a contendor with the 400i's

 
If you haven't done the grill mod with 400i (or 560), you really should. Trust me on this one. Then put some current to the 400i, it actually scales nicely (think lyr2, vintage amp ect). The 400i is an amazingly good hp and a great bargain. 

 

[YtseJamer]

  If I were reading this thread as a person new to this hobby, unfamilira with planars, and prone to taking everything litererally, I would have the impression that the 400i's are light in bass, lacking air, and having a narrow soundstage or headstage. These qualities are relative, mostly to the tastes of the person and the other headphones one has been using.
 
So, for someone coming from the Alpha Dogs, HFM HE-5LE, and Grado SR-225i, as well as spending time with the HFM HE-560's and Grado GS-1000e, I think that both observations may be slightly exaggerated. Bass is every bit as deep, and even more impactful, than the Alpha Dogs, and the soundstage exceeds all of the aforementioned cans with the exception of the HE-560. Of course none of those cans are notable for their wide presentation, but watching episode 9 of season 4 of The Walking Dead, the ambient noise of crickets and wildlife extended way outside the perceived limits of the headphones, giving me an indication that if there is a wide soundstage in the recording, it's going to be in these cans.  They do not appear to create soundstage, which to me is a perceptual distortion.
 
The mids are slightly forward, but otherwise they present the best rendition of heavy guitar of any planar I have heard so far, and according to my notes that I took, far exceed even the HE-560's in delivering a Gibson SG through an over-driven tube guitar amp. Bass guitar is clear, articulate and distinct, and percussion has excellent snap and decay.  While I don't think that this is a neutral set of 'phones, so far they come across as very natural.
 
Anyway, I'm only two hours-in to ownership.  For the price and performance, these are fine headphones indeed.

 
Thanks for your impressions!
 
Do you think that they are better than the Alpha Dog and the 225i for Prog-Metal music ?

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I just want to beg this from all of you. PLEASE under no circumstances send me a Jennifer or a Virgo. I have nothing to do with either anymore.

Crazy &@#^*+=s !

Interesting, my Ex was a Virgo too, trade up for a Leo

 

[swspiers]

   
Thanks for your impressions!
 
Do you think that they are better than the Alpha Dog and the 225i for Prog-Metal music ?

Grrrrrrr.  I hate to write this, and it really hurts...
 
yes, yes I do.  I admit it.
 
Whew. That was hard!

 

[YtseJamer]

  Grrrrrrr.  I hate to write this, and it really hurts...
 
yes, yes I do.  I admit it.
 
Whew. That was hard!

 
Ok thanks.  I'm sold and I need them ASAP 

 

[MickeyVee]

Yes.. me too.. selling my Grado RS1i this weekend and have an order in with my local dealer for the 400i.  Auditioned the 560 last time I was there and was really impressed.  If the 400i is a more 'fun' version of the 560, I'm in.  Either way, I will shortly own either the 400i or 560 but my gut feeling is that the 400i would be a better compliment/fun HP to the HD800.
Cant wait! 

 
Quote:

   
Ok thanks.  I'm sold and I need them ASAP