[Little Bear]

The dandruff-laden, hairy photos of various Hifiman pads were kind of gross. I did find pics of clean Focus and Focus-A pads on the Hifiman (and Amazon) websites. I don't think nausea is an intended effect of the pads

It might make you feel better to know that all of the "grossness" in the photo I posted is nothing but cat hair, and the flash made it look far worse than it is. The pads are quite clean underneath the cat hair.

edit: No, that cat isn't using my headphones. Cat hair gets everywhere. Impossible to avoid if you have a cat.

 

[mandrake50]

The dandruff-laden, hairy photos of various Hifiman pads were kind of gross. I did find pics of clean Focus and Focus-A pads on the Hifiman (and Amazon) websites. I don't think nausea is an intended effect of the pads

I really wish I could have some sympathy for your sensibilities, but I can't.
I only wish I could have found online photos that illustrated what I wanted to.

Do me a favor.. take any closeup photos of any of your pads using any kind of velour. Take a look at them.
Just saying...

Though I almost asked LittleBear what kind of critters he has.

 

[pbarach]

I'm allergic to cats But seriously, these photos from the Hifiman website are hair-free, zoomable, and clearly show the visible differences between the two types of pads:
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/focuspad-a.html
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/focuspad.html

I ordered FocusPadA's from the Hifiman store on Amazon, and they should get here next week. I do find the upper midrange of the 400i's with the stock pads to be quite bright. I have little hearing over 10kHz (just retested last week, and little change over the last decade--I'm 64), so I can't tell you what these phones are doing up there.

 

[mandrake50]

I'm allergic to cats But seriously, these photos from the Hifiman website are hair-free, zoomable, and clearly show the visible differences between the two types of pads:
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/focuspad-a.html
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/focuspad.html
.

I thought it was a joke... hmmm
You do have a choice of which to look at. No nausea by choice.

And, if you can see the mesh on the A pads from those pictures... you have some kind of super monitor ..or Xray vision. But really. as I type this, I am wondering why this is even worth discussing.
If you are happy...mahvelous. Others asked for more detail. They got it. I apologize if we made you sick...

 

[Selfish Android]

Hey guys. i have seen people recommending the ZMF Ori Earpads for the HE400i's, they fit nicely not as HM5's which look quite ugly and fit isn't the best, the other option are the Dekoni earpads for Fostex TH-X00.
Right now i am leaning towards the Ori's since those have a bigger ear hole, i think those are a little more angled too which i like.

If any of you have any experience with those earpads i would like to know about Comfort, Sonic differences and build quality.

 

[HirschiAUT]

Hey guys. i have seen people recommending the ZMF Ori Earpads for the HE400i's, they fit nicely not as HM5's which look quite ugly and fit isn't the best, the other option are the Dekoni earpads for Fostex TH-X00.
Right now i am leaning towards the Ori's since those have a bigger ear hole, i think those are a little more angled too which i like.

If any of you have any experience with those earpads i would like to know about Comfort, Sonic differences and build quality.

I am using the ZMF Ori pads and already posted my initial impressions:

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/h...-and-discussion.698974/page-714#post-13130685

The pics got lost somehow, but i can tell you the build quality is top notch.
I really like the feel of the lambskin leather and they are very soft, so comfort is very good.

The sound changes to me are cleaner bass that reaches a bit deeper and a little smoother overall sound with less piercing highs i got sometimes with certain genres of music, especially electronic and poorly produced black metal.
To me the improvement is worth the price i paid, even tho it was 90€ all in all with shipping to europe.
If you are in the US they are a no brainer imho.

 

[buonassi]

I only use EQ for treble heavy and harsh recordings, but this is how I eq them usually:

-4 db might be too much for certain recordings, but I find it lowers the treble at 7-9 khz just enough to make them sound less revealing and harsh. On classical and most well recorded music, I don't use the EQ because it sounds great without it.

I too find this region to be sibilant. I have created custom eq settings that I'm happy to share. However, these settings are what work for my particular pair of he400i and ears. Remember everyone has different size pinnae and ear canal depths, so slightly different frequencies will resonate with each user. In My case 8.3k actually needed to be boosted very sharp to hear it and surrounding frequencies (avoiding a large grainy gap). However, here are my settings FWIW. Hours of sine sweeps went into this, and it's still not perfect, but so much improved over stock. I'll also snap a screen shot so you can check the relative curve to your eq plugin. These settings require a relaitvely high Q value, so not all eq software will be able to replicate this. Melda Production Mequalizer is free and handles these sharp Qs very well.

EQ settings:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11fj14v1I5KA1Vuqgv7mlez4HXZMYrHOvlYxqaRFhaN4/edit?usp=sharing
I find the balanced gain setting to be the most neutral to my ears - I deactivate the 3K filter to get vocals and guitars to be a little more present.

Pic Mequalizer:
attached to post - if you can't view it (for some reason I can't) I've also attached it in the spreadsheet link above

let me know what you all think.

 

[DivineCurrent]

I too find this region to be sibilant. I have created custom eq settings that I'm happy to share. However, these settings are what work for my particular pair of he400i and ears. Remember everyone has different size pinnae and ear canal depths, so slightly different frequencies will resonate with each user. In My case 8.3k actually needed to be boosted very sharp to hear it and surrounding frequencies (avoiding a large grainy gap). However, here are my settings FWIW. Hours of sine sweeps went into this, and it's still not perfect, but so much improved over stock. I'll also snap a screen shot so you can check the relative curve to your eq plugin. These settings require a relaitvely high Q value, so not all eq software will be able to replicate this. Melda Production Mequalizer is free and handles these sharp Qs very well.

EQ settings:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11fj14v1I5KA1Vuqgv7mlez4HXZMYrHOvlYxqaRFhaN4/edit?usp=sharing
I find the balanced gain setting to be the most neutral to my ears - I deactivate the 3K filter to get vocals and guitars to be a little more present.

Pic Mequalizer:
attached to post - if you can't view it (for some reason I can't) I've also attached it in the spreadsheet link above

let me know what you all think.

Thanks for the EQ settings. I have since sold the HE-400i, but I really want them back in the near future, as I have since been experimenting with EQ much more. I also use the sine sweep method, and I agree everyone has different sensitivities to different frequencies, and EQ needs to be adjusted accordingly. Using EqualizerAPO, I now use the HD650 with 1-3 dB filters to reduce resonances and increase sub bass.

 

[Little Bear]

Thanks for the EQ settings. I have since sold the HE-400i, but I really want them back in the near future, as I have since been experimenting with EQ much more. I also use the sine sweep method, and I agree everyone has different sensitivities to different frequencies, and EQ needs to be adjusted accordingly. Using EqualizerAPO, I now use the HD650 with 1-3 dB filters to reduce resonances and increase sub bass.

By any chance, have you tried the "play with the sliders until it sounds rockin'" method? I've tried all the other methods and this one seems to yield the best results time and time again.

 

[flora68f]

Hello..

Does anyone have this problem? The grill is shaking/moving on both sides. Is this normal?

 

[Little Bear]

Hello..

Does anyone have this problem? The grill is shaking/moving on both sides. Is this normal?

Mine don't do that.

 

[Mr Trev]

Hello..

Does anyone have this problem? The grill is shaking/moving on both sides. Is this normal?

Mine will move a bit, but aren't nearly loose enough to rattle or anything. It's supposedly easy enough to remove the grills, so I imagine that you could find a way to make them more secure if needed.

 

[DavidA]

Hello..

Does anyone have this problem? The grill is shaking/moving on both sides. Is this normal?

If it bothers you then use some rubber eraser or even a small strip of tape to keep the grill from moving. IIRC there were a few others who had the same issue, its hard to search for answers with the new format.

 

[pbarach]

I'm allergic to cats But seriously, these photos from the Hifiman website are hair-free, zoomable, and clearly show the visible differences between the two types of pads:
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/focuspad-a.html
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/focuspad.html

I ordered FocusPadA's from the Hifiman store on Amazon, and they should get here next week. I do find the upper midrange of the 400i's with the stock pads to be quite bright. I have little hearing over 10kHz (just retested last week, and little change over the last decade--I'm 64), so I can't tell you what these phones are doing up there.

I thought it was a joke... hmmm
You do have a choice of which to look at. No nausea by choice.

And, if you can see the mesh on the A pads from those pictures... you have some kind of super monitor ..or Xray vision. But really. as I type this, I am wondering why this is even worth discussing.
If you are happy...mahvelous. Others asked for more detail. They got it. I apologize if we made you sick...

I have a cheapie Acer laptop, and I have no problem seeing the little holes on the inside "sidewalls" of the FocusPads and the absence of them on the FocusPadsA. My A-pads just arrived in the mail, so I will be auditioning them to see if they make the tonal balance of the 400i more to my liking,

 

[pbarach]

I exchanged the stock 400i pads for FocusPadsA last night. The difference was obvious, and it was an improvement. The initial impact of bass hits (tympani, bass drum, tuba) was stronger, and the upper midrange was much smoother. I was ready to sell these cans, but now I'm keeping them.