[drwlf]

And which amps did you feel scaled best with the 400i? Out of everything you've listed, I've only heard Lyr2, M2U and an Asgard2. Of course all Schiit amps. I own the Lyr2 (have an extensive amount of tubes to roll) so obviously I'm interested how the 400i scaled with this amp and if the tubes you rolled made any significant change for the better.

Yeah, @Paradoxus , angled leather pads where the height is bigger than the stock pads gives a small increase in sub-bass, see my earlier posts #1, #2. There's always small changes when changing pads, some for the better, some parts might be caveats for you, depending on your personal preferences, but in the end the changes will be bordering on minute, depending on your view I thought my angled oval PU leather HM5 pads were pretty lovely, as they were reflecting the @James Myers measurements.

And yeah, the 560 seems to scale better than the 400i, it's technically a better headphone, and pickier about the amplification/chain. Doesn't take extremes to run or synergize the 400i to their full potential; or let's just say that it didn't particularly improve on any higher end gear I've tested it on, where the 560 did seem to improve, a bit at least

 

[Slim1970]

Yeah, @Paradoxus , angled leather pads where the height is bigger than the stock pads gives a small increase in sub-bass, see my earlier posts #1, #2. There's always small changes when changing pads, some for the better, some parts might be caveats for you, depending on your personal preferences, but in the end the changes will be bordering on minute, depending on your view I thought my angled oval PU leather HM5 pads were pretty lovely, as they were reflecting the @James Myers measurements.

And yeah, the 560 seems to scale better than the 400i, it's technically a better headphone, and pickier about the amplification/chain. Doesn't take extremes to run or synergize the 400i to their full potential; or let's just say that it didn't particularly improve on any higher end gear I've tested it on, where the 560 did seem to improve, a bit at least

The only thing I would add is the HE560's takes more power than the HE400i's to sound their best. The Mojo sounded pretty good with the 400i's not so much with the HE560's to my ears. My iDSD BL sounds great with HE560 and the HE400i's when I had them.

 

[Brahmsian]

Only the original pre-order HE560 came with the Focus-A IIRC while the HE400i always came with the Focus.

Hmm...so my 400i had the perforations as well? Interesting how I either didn't notice or don't remember them.

I agree with @DavidA on this this one. I just sold my HE400i’s in favor of the HE560’s. To my ears the HE560’s has better bass extension, goes deeper and has more impact than the HE400i’s. It’s really noticeable on bass heavy tracks. But sound is subjective and we all hear differently.

Same here and definitely consider it a move in the right direction. However, I have to warn people who are considering upgrading to the 560 that its treble does not sound completely natural/neutral to me. It is ever so slightly emphasized/colored. I hear it especially with massed strings and trumpets. It is not harsh treble, but it does sound a little artificial to me. I think the one and only thing I still prefer about the 400i is how it handled massed strings and brass, and maybe also the fact that everything sounded just a little closer (but that is a double edged sword because it also made things sound more congested; by contrast, the 560 is not congested but has good clarity and separation). I'm just saying be careful with the 560 if you don't like emphasized treble. If you do, then go for it because it's a much better headphone overall.

 

[Rpg2]

Just got the HE400i from the Black Friday sale for $180 and it sounds like a solid deal after listening to it for half an hour. I have a pair of HE400S with focus pads to compare it with, and the HE400S definitely has more boomy bass than the 400i making them more on the fun side. Both side pretty similar but with some variations on the sound to make them distinct.

Initial impressions are that the 400i sounds airier with better depth to the soundstage but having similar width. Technicalities like imaging and microdetail are better on the 400i. Bass is punchier and less boomy than 400S, and vocals are a bit recessed but only by a bit. Treble is forward in comparison but has good sparkle to it which could be fatiguing at higher volumes even for my treble oriented preferences. Both cables are equally bad, go figure. Listening to the 400i out of the box gave me that wow factor where the 400S did not because my previous headphones and IEMs have brighter sound signatures similar to the 400i.

One thing I wish the 400i had more of is bass because it's lacking a bit of that warmth and boominess. I don't need it to be as warm as 400S with focus pads, but more sub-bass definitely wouldn't hurt. This is probably because of the refreshed 2.5mm connectors and everyone mentioning how the sub-bass is now rolled off. I definitely hear a difference between the 400S w/ focus pads and 400i even though FR graphs show the 400S w/ focus pads having similar bass extension to the 400i with the old connectors.

If anyone is looking for the "old" 400i sound in regards to bass extension then the HE4XX might be a good buy since they share very similar FR graphs from what I've seen. Hoping burn in will help improve the bass on the 400i.

 

[DavidA]

Just got the HE400i from the Black Friday sale for $180 and it sounds like a solid deal after listening to it for half an hour. I have a pair of HE400S with focus pads to compare it with, and the HE400S definitely has more boomy bass than the 400i making them more on the fun side. Both side pretty similar but with some variations on the sound to make them distinct.

Initial impressions are that the 400i sounds airier with better depth to the soundstage but having similar width. Technicalities like imaging and microdetail are better on the 400i. Bass is punchier and less boomy than 400S, and vocals are a bit recessed but only by a bit. Treble is forward in comparison but has good sparkle to it which could be fatiguing at higher volumes even for my treble oriented preferences. Both cables are equally bad, go figure. Listening to the 400i out of the box gave me that wow factor where the 400S did not because my previous headphones and IEMs have brighter sound signatures similar to the 400i.

One thing I wish the 400i had more of is bass because it's lacking a bit of that warmth and boominess. I don't need it to be as warm as 400S with focus pads, but more sub-bass definitely wouldn't hurt. This is probably because of the refreshed 2.5mm connectors and everyone mentioning how the sub-bass is now rolled off. I definitely hear a difference between the 400S w/ focus pads and 400i even though FR graphs show the 400S w/ focus pads having similar bass extension to the 400i with the old connectors.

If anyone is looking for the "old" 400i sound in regards to bass extension then the HE4XX might be a good buy since they share very similar FR graphs from what I've seen. Hoping burn in will help improve the bass on the 400i.

If you want a touch more bass add some attenuation rings, I think I posted this a few pages back: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...-and-discussion.698974/page-888#post-13887571

 

[Rpg2]

If you want a touch more bass add some attenuation rings, I think I posted this a few pages back: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...-and-discussion.698974/page-888#post-13887571

Oh that seems like a neat trick. I'll give it a shot if burn in doesn't change the bass at all. How does it affect the other parts of the sound?

 

[Lurk650]

Just got the HE400i from the Black Friday sale for $180 and it sounds like a solid deal after listening to it for half an hour. I have a pair of HE400S with focus pads to compare it with, and the HE400S definitely has more boomy bass than the 400i making them more on the fun side. Both side pretty similar but with some variations on the sound to make them distinct.

Initial impressions are that the 400i sounds airier with better depth to the soundstage but having similar width. Technicalities like imaging and microdetail are better on the 400i. Bass is punchier and less boomy than 400S, and vocals are a bit recessed but only by a bit. Treble is forward in comparison but has good sparkle to it which could be fatiguing at higher volumes even for my treble oriented preferences. Both cables are equally bad, go figure. Listening to the 400i out of the box gave me that wow factor where the 400S did not because my previous headphones and IEMs have brighter sound signatures similar to the 400i.

One thing I wish the 400i had more of is bass because it's lacking a bit of that warmth and boominess. I don't need it to be as warm as 400S with focus pads, but more sub-bass definitely wouldn't hurt. This is probably because of the refreshed 2.5mm connectors and everyone mentioning how the sub-bass is now rolled off. I definitely hear a difference between the 400S w/ focus pads and 400i even though FR graphs show the 400S w/ focus pads having similar bass extension to the 400i with the old connectors.

If anyone is looking for the "old" 400i sound in regards to bass extension then the HE4XX might be a good buy since they share very similar FR graphs from what I've seen. Hoping burn in will help improve the bass on the 400i.

Brainwavz Round Sheepskin gave me the added low end I was looking for

 

[DavidA]

Oh that seems like a neat trick. I'll give it a shot if burn in doesn't change the bass at all. How does it affect the other parts of the sound?

It doesn't affect any other part of the sound signature but it might also depend on how large or small you make the attenuators. What is shown in the picture is how large I made mine and I don't hear any changes to the mids for highs.

 

[439598]

Hoping burn in will help improve the bass on the 400i.

I was asking about experiences on sound changes after pink noise burn in/normal use. for me, an overnight burn-in made the bass far more pronounced and weighty, along with fuller, richer mids , smoother but less sparkly highs and MUCH better seperation, they sound much more natural overall (more tracks sound good) but I kind of miss the hyper-clarity for certain tracks. they had only a few hours of use before this so you might notice these changes naturally over the next few weeks of using them.

if you want to try burn-in you can use this pink noise file and leave them for about 12 hours at low to moderate volume, I would be interested to see if you noticed the same changes or if it was just a placebo

 

[DavidA]

I was asking about experiences on sound changes after pink noise burn in/normal use. for me, an overnight burn-in made the bass far more pronounced and weighty, along with fuller, richer mids , smoother but less sparkly highs and MUCH better seperation, they sound much more natural overall (more tracks sound good) but I kind of miss the hyper-clarity for certain tracks. they had only a few hours of use before this so you might notice these changes naturally over the next few weeks of using them.

if you want to try burn-in you can use this pink noise file and leave them for about 12 hours at low to moderate volume, I would be interested to see if you noticed the same changes or if it was just a placebo

Of all the headphones that I've had only one had a noticeable change with burn-in since it was really easy to notice a change from dark/warm to warm/neutral and it was my EL-8 open which makes sense since when they first came out there were so many different impressions. I'm not a believer of burn-in but due to my experience with the EL-8 I don't dismiss it either.

With the HE400i I don't notice any changes due to burn-in but if there were any it was quite small and I think there is a larger difference between the old SMC back plate version and the newer 2.5mm no back plate version.

 

[big45-70]

Has there been a consensus on which pads improve the sub bass the most? I've been looking at the brainwavz round sheep skin.

 

[drwlf]

Has there been a consensus on which pads improve the sub bass the most? I've been looking at the brainwavz round sheep skin.

Well, there's these measurements: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...-and-discussion.698974/page-882#post-13816697

Basically any leather one which is thicker/has more height than the stock one.

 

[_daRK]

Brainwavz Round Sheepskin gave me the added low end I was looking for

Really ? I'm surprised because I had to sell my BW Sheepskin Rounded - they decreased sub-bass and bass totally.

 

[Lurk650]

Really ? I'm surprised because I had to sell my BW Sheepskin Rounded - they decreased sub-bass and bass totally.

Lol that's weird. It totally gave me the low end I wanted

 

[DavidA]

Lol that's weird. It totally gave me the low end I wanted

Borrowed some BW sheepskin round pads and a pair of Ori pads from a friend and I like the Ori on my HE560 (sorry my HE400i was being borrowed by another friend) since it does bring up the sub-bass a touch without messing up the mids and highs too much while the BW pads were just as comfortable it did lose some sub-bass over the Ori pads to me and the highs got even brighter. Might have to do with what @drwlf noted that a deeper pad will enhance the bass since the Ori pads don't compress as much and when looking at them both the Ori is deeper on the thicker side by 4-5mm but less deep on the shallow side by 3-4mm. It could also be the opening that change the sound since the BH has a round opening while the Ori has an oval opening.