[mandrake50]

I have something like 20 sets of headphones. I like some better than others. I don't have any that are unlistenable.
Percentages are highly relative, that is why I refuse to make any statements that involve that kind of comparison.
That having been said, there is more than a small difference between the two in just their signature/tonality, not to mention the technicalities.
I like the 400i for daily use more than the 560. I need to be in a certain mood and be seeking the more analytic sound to put them on my head.
Honestly, I have gotten several headphones in the interim, including the Aeon and HEK V1 that have been getting all of my limited listening time for quite a while.
I haven't sold either the 400i nor the 560, I guess that says something.

I looked at the new set of 560. I can't tell if there is a back plate or not. Don't have time or inclination to pull the grills right now.
As I said, I don't think they changed that. Check the 560 thread. If the change was made, I am sure it was documented there.

 

[leeperry]

ok, thanks! this would be a new 560:

 

[mandrake50]

From DavidA on the 560 thread

"
Do you know where the dealer got the info on the sound/tuning change? A friend of mine who has both the old SMC (his) and newer 2.5mm (daughter) didn't notice any difference when I asked him about it and I think his daughter even asked Hifiman about it. We were thinking that there might have been some changes since the new HE-400i doesn't have the back plate but the drivers in the HE-560 look the same, just different connectors."

I assume that David said this because he looked.

 

[mandrake50]

ok, thanks! this would be a new 560:

OK, what about the "old" ones....?

Well, my curiosity was piqued. I dug out the "OLD" SMC version of the 560s. The SBAF boys were correct. They do have a back plate.

 

[leeperry]

Old 560, grills went bye-bye just like 400i apparently: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...scussion-thread.711824/page-635#post-10987086

! I already find SMC 400i kinda too detailed tbh lol, I'm not sure if I should bother upgrading

But then again I've been doing my homework lately and all those details are put to good use now, just not sure if I'd need moar.

 

[Tetonpowskier]

Are these still as good for electronica as the original 400?

 

[leeperry]

Are these still as good for electronica as the original 400?

less bass but you get mids this time coz they were out on vacation in 400.

 

[Slim1970]

I have the focusA pads on mine and I like the low end that they provide. I use them with my iFi iDSD BL with XBass+ on and now I have plenty of bass. No other mods are necessary to my ears.

 

[Tetonpowskier]

less bass but you get mids this time coz they were out on vacation in 400.

Lolz.

After listening to Z's sound demos of all three X00 variants, with my HE-400, I feel like they still have great treble, yet without as much sibilance and fatigue as the hifimans.

For some reason I liked the Mahogony sound the best, followed closely by the purple heart. Maybe it was the track list, but they sounded the thickest and most in your face. As price increased, the clarity did too. I could tell through those demos that the Ebony was most clear, although it lacked some of the oomph of the cheaper variants.

What am I missing here? I want the Purplehearts, based on their looks and their in yo face FR chart, as well as Z saying their the best/most fun. However through those demos the Mahogony sounded the most exhilerating in the lows and highs..

 

[leeperry]

What you are missing is that listening to mp3's of headphones is like watching pictures of TV's and videoprojectors.

No grills BTW: http://www.ebay.com/itm/253130168617

 

[mandrake50]

Lolz.

After listening to Z's sound demos of all three X00 variants, with my HE-400, I feel like they still have great treble, yet without as much sibilance and fatigue as the hifimans.

For some reason I liked the Mahogony sound the best, followed closely by the purple heart. Maybe it was the track list, but they sounded the thickest and most in your face. As price increased, the clarity did too. I could tell through those demos that the Ebony was most clear, although it lacked some of the oomph of the cheaper variants.

What am I missing here? I want the Purplehearts, based on their looks and their in yo face FR chart, as well as Z saying their the best/most fun. However through those demos the Mahogony sounded the most exhilerating in the lows and highs..

Without actually listening to the headphones you really can't make decisions on what they sound like. Most especially with low resolution impressions that depend on someone else's impression of what the original sounds like.
I have listened to some of his other "impressions" and they missed in major ways. Consider that, even if he could exactly match everything about the headphone (frequency response, phase errors, damping, cup resonances All just about impossible, other than "MAYBE" FR) there is no way to account for what your equipment is doing to change things up.

It is an interesting game, but do take it for what it is... a very limited and poor imitation at best, completely misleading at worst.

 

[Tetonpowskier]

For sure. I still might just go with a 400i, save some money and know for sure I'm getting an upgrade in sound. I just cant seem to avoid the hype train on the Massdeop Fostex.

 

[koover]

For sure. I still might just go with a 400i, save some money and know for sure I'm getting an upgrade in sound. I just cant seem to avoid the hype train on the Massdeop Fostex.

The hype train is real because they're good solid HP's for the price. The PH's with Lawton 1 driver dampening only with Ori leather pad swap, this is one detailed, tight, fast and deep bass sounding HP. The treble is also tamed with mods.

 

[phthora]

Having heard several Fostex, Massdrop or not the Purplehearts are priced appropriately within the Fostex line-up. Not a bargain, but not an overpriced 'phone either. I haven't heard anything Fostex that I thought really delivered much more value than the price would suggest, and only a few that I thought were slightly overpriced. I rather enjoyed the Mahogany's, but they were still about what I would expect at $400. Same for the Purplehearts with the right pads on. I have higher hopes for the E-Mu Teak mod, but only because I think that will better fit my preferences (aesthetic and sonic).

If you want something that delivers more quality than its price would suggest, the 400i is damn near unbeatable. At $250, it is a no-brainer.

 

[leeperry]

Having heard several Fostex, Massdrop or not the Purplehearts are priced appropriately within the Fostex line-up. Not a bargain, but not an overpriced 'phone either. I haven't heard anything Fostex that I thought really delivered much more value than the price would suggest, and only a few that I thought were slightly overpriced. I rather enjoyed the Mahogany's, but they were still about what I would expect at $400. Same for the Purplehearts with the right pads on. I have higher hopes for the E-Mu Teak mod, but only because I think that will better fit my preferences (aesthetic and sonic).

If you want something that delivers more quality than its price would suggest, the 400i is damn near unbeatable. At $250, it is a no-brainer.

Heard 560? 400i provides 90% of it or what? I have a Mahogany TH-X00 here and it kinda sounds like a bad joke compared to 400i to my ears. It's a d2k with wooden cups AFAICT, pretty steep for 4 benji's if you ask me.

I just cant seem to avoid the hype train on the Massdeop Fostex.

You meant massderp, right?