[Sonic Defender]

  ... neighbors would not be too happy with the walls shaking.

I think you're wrong, they would almost certainly thank you. You should take my advice and try it. I know what people like, and neighbours love hearing what their neighbours are listening too, in fact they prefer if they can feel the bass. I wouldn't lie to you my friend.

 

[James Myers]

I get a lot of speaker time in (685's). I really like the R300's!

But I am really enjoying the 400i for night time. They put a bit of pressure on my jaw which gets fatiguing but otherwise they're great.

I just listened to Caecelie Norby's rendition of Summertime and was blown away.

I had the same problem, and the Brainwavz pads fixed that for me 100%.

 

[sghound]

   
x9XX is a great match for 400i, eh?

 
yep almost perfect

 

[mysticstryk]

So the Brainwavz HM5 angled pads are supposed to increase comfort, soundstage, bass impact and reduce treble glare, correct?  Is there anything bad with this upgrade?  Such as a reduced midrange or vocals pushed back, etc?

 

[DavidA]

  I think you're wrong, they would almost certainly thank you. You should take my advice and try it. I know what people like, and neighbours love hearing what their neighbours are listening too, in fact they prefer if they can feel the bass. I wouldn't lie to you my friend.

Many years ago when I was living in a 4 story walk up I used to play the music fairly loud on weekends and my neighbors from above and next to me came by to listen.  The ones that lived above were musicians and were surprised by my choice of music, I was mixing so many different genres of music they were interested in some of the K-pop, J-pop, classical and jazz that they had never heard before.
 
Being retired my hours are really off, I usually go to sleep around 7am and get up around 12pm, just in time to play a afternoon round of golf with GF.  My neighbors are still in the get up and go to work phase and are getting up when GF and I are going to sleep, really don't want to bother them.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Many years ago when I was living in a 4 story walk up I used to play the music fairly loud on weekends and my neighbors from above and next to me came by to listen.  The ones that lived above were musicians and were surprised by my choice of music, I was mixing so many different genres of music they were interested in some of the K-pop, J-pop, classical and jazz that they had never heard before.
 
Being retired my hours are really off, I usually go to sleep around 7am and get up around 12pm, just in time to play a afternoon round of golf with GF.  My neighbors are still in the get up and go to work phase and are getting up when GF and I are going to sleep, really don't want to bother them.

While I was joking, that was a cool story. Golfing for a living now are we. Awesome my friend, how long have you been retired?

 

[DavidA]

  While I was joking, that was a cool story. Golfing for a living now are we. Awesome my friend, how long have you been retired?

Knew you were joking but had to tell the story anyway

 
I've been retired since Feb 2014, got in to headphones with my retirement bonus because my GF and I were living in a 1 bedroom condo.  We have since moved to a much larger place so I have my speakers out of storage, prefer to use speakers but for late night/early morning headphones will have to do.  I do work once in a while, part time project manager, carpenter, bartender and building computers.
 
Using my Stax SRD-34 right now, even for a cheap Stax these are better than almost anything under $500, compared to the HE-400i its got a much better low end and highs are more extended and easier to listen to for me.  Mids on HD-650 still one of the best

 

[biggysmalls]

  Could an under-powered amp induce sibilance? Listening with my Meridian Explorer and noticing a bit of wince inducing sharpness to the notes and pronunciation of words ...

So it turns out most of my troubles with my He-400i (outside of them arriving broken from Head Director) were due to a faulty Meridian Explorer ...
 
Russell Phillips from Meridian support helped me out, contacted their dealer in South Africa, and organised a replacement all without checking the faulty unit! This kind of support from Meridian needs to be recognised and I honestly have never come across this level of support!
 
The difference is night and day, I no longer need to pump this thing with volume to get some nice music and the sibilance/weird treble is gone, bass is there in nice amounts. While I'm sure it could do with a better amp, this little beaut is doing a great job on it's own and I'm much more content.
 
Thanks Meridian!

 

[fjrabon]

  So it turns out most of my troubles with my He-400i (outside of them arriving broken from Head Director) were due to a faulty Meridian Explorer ...
 
Russell Phillips from Meridian support helped me out, contacted their dealer in South Africa, and organised a replacement all without checking the faulty unit! This kind of support from Meridian needs to be recognised and I honestly have never come across this level of support!
 
The difference is night and day, I no longer need to pump this thing with volume to get some nice music and the sibilance/weird treble is gone, bass is there in nice amounts. While I'm sure it could do with a better amp, this little beaut is doing a great job on it's own and I'm much more content.
 
Thanks Meridian!

Good on Meridian and I'm sure you're relieved as well.  

 

[Matthew720]

Can the 400i original's two can connections be nodded into what the new version's have?

 

[DavidA]

Can the 400i original's two can connections be nodded into what the new version's have?

If you want to change the SMC connectors to 2.5mm, try contacting Hifiman, they will give you the best answer.  Based on my experience with SMC and 2.5MM TRS connectors it should not be a problem since the SMC and TRS plugs are about the same size.  I'm one of the few that prefer the SMC connectors, its more secure.

 

[Sonic Defender]

It might be expensive to get done. I would contact PETEREK here in the forums. He modded my TH 900 to have removable cables, and believe it or not, I had him put SMC connectors (what older HiFi Man cups use like you have now) on it as my speaker tap cable had been made when I owned the HE 560 which at that time only had SMC.
 

Can the 400i original's two can connections be nodded into what the new version's have?

 

[WildStyle-R11]

Can't quite put these away just yet it seems. The one thing is clear I won't use the 400i's for gaming, but other than that I guess You will find me using 400i's still.

 

[ChesterYonany]

  Can't quite put these away just yet it seems. The one thing is clear I won't use the 400i's for gaming, but other than that I guess You will find me using 400i's still.

actually they are very good for gaming, competitive gaming anyway.
the soundstage isnt big but the imaging is extremely good, and that is what really matters.

 

[WildStyle-R11]

 
actually they are very good for gaming, competitive gaming anyway.
the soundstage isnt big but the imaging is extremely good, and that is what really matters.

And yet Using DT990 vs 400i in CS:GO feels like night and day. 400i is like In that general direction. Where as with 990 it is Quick shoot trough that wall hes right there! Not to say that 400i's gaming performance is bad, but it is not that good. With 990's I am able to tell the difference between up and down, right underneath you and somewhere in front of you. Where 400i is up, down no idea, but not here. Could be right underneath or somewhere in front rather than having a clear difference.