[billqs]

Can someone summarize the difference between the HE400i and HE500?

 

[fjrabon]

  Can someone summarize the difference between the HE400i and HE500?

HE560 is a little brighter, much better soundstage, slightly more detailed.  HE400i is a little bit smoother.

 

[rez11]

Anyone that is sensitive to treble / sibilance can give opinion on the treble spike with these? On some female vocal tracks like Jewel or Natalie Imbruglia - Torn, noticing some S's making me flinch or have to turn down volume. May just be my Tinnitus but wanted to see if its possible i may be treble sensitive. Luckily I have the Polaris which can tone down the treble with a setting.

 

[leo5111]

anyone have comparison between these and Fostex th600? is bass slamm more or less?

 

[DavidA]

  anyone have comparison between these and Fostex th600? is bass slamm more or less?

TH-600 has more bass, by a large margin, its one of the recommended bass-head cans.

 

[HC Over Lambda]

 
HE560 is a little brighter, much better soundstage, slightly more detailed.  HE400i is a little bit smoother.

Smoother? Does that mean the midrange is better?

 

[DavidA]

  Smoother? Does that mean the midrange is better?

I don't think the HE-400i is smoother than the HE-560, but if smoother means less detailed and easier to listen to then to some it might be.  The HE-560 properly driven is fairly different from the HE-400i but with sub par recordings its not something I would use, the HE-400i is a more forgiving headphone of sub par recordings.

 

[marhol]

  Smoother? Does that mean the midrange is better?

My impression was that HE-400i mids were more forward in comparison to HE-560 but despite that HE-400i did not sound aggressive. HE-560 were slightly more detailed but mids were more laid back and brighter thus it sounded more aggressive with some recordings. HE-400i was definitely more forgiving and smoother sounding to me. For my taste midrange was a bit fuller and richer on HE-400i, He-560 was a bit clearer headphone altough details were easier to pick especially in treble or subbass.

 

[marhol]

  Can someone summarize the difference between the HE400i and HE500?

 
 

 
HE560 is a little brighter, much better soundstage, slightly more detailed.  HE400i is a little bit smoother.

Wasn´t the intial question about the difference between HE-400i and HE-500 ? 
I don´t have personal experience with HE-500, maybe this thread could be useful for you http://www.head-fi.org/t/756200/he-400i-vs-he-500

 

[mandrake50]

 

 
HE560 is a little brighter, much better soundstage, slightly more detailed.  HE400i is a little bit smoother.

Smoother? Does that mean the midrange is better?

Better is always a relative term. I guess it depends on what you like. To me, the balance on the 400i is more pleasing. Voices are done with a more natural timbre. Keep in mind though, I am one of the few that had real problem with theupper midrange/ lower treble peakiness of the 560.  To me this adds too much energy to the upper registers of the human voice. It also adds a bit of thinness to guitar, horns etc. We can talk about technical prowess, speed, sound field reproduction etc. In many areas like these the 560 has an edge. In the area of frequency balance, I like the 400i "better" for my tastes.
 
When I got my 400i and listened for the first time my reaction was (without analytic listening, just putting them on my head for the first time)) WOW, these sound very , very nice. In contrast, I put the 560s on and immediately thought, WOW, these are going to take some getting used to.  This triggered a long search for cables, mods and DAC/AMP combinations that would make this (560) sound closer to what I enjoy. I got there for the most part, but I still prefer the basic audio presentation from the 400i.
 
So to directly answer the question, to me the midrange presentation, strictly from a frequency balance perspective, IS "better" from the 400i. 

 

[HC Over Lambda]

How would you all describe the HD600 mids, especially in comparison to the he-560 and 400i?

 

[Ancipital]

 
Better is always a relative term. I guess it depends on what you like. To me, the balance on the 400i is more pleasing. Voices are done with a more natural timbre. Keep in mind though, I am one of the few that had real problem with theupper midrange/ lower treble peakiness of the 560.  To me this adds too much energy to the upper registers of the human voice. It also adds a bit of thinness to guitar, horns etc. We can talk about technical prowess, speed, sound field reproduction etc. In many areas like these the 560 has an edge. In the area of frequency balance, I like the 400i "better" for my tastes.

 
The 400i has a different tuning, it has a warm midbass hump-centric tuning, which is more "consumer" and accessible. However, in terms of actual detail resolution, and indeed frequency range, the 560 does seem to be better. You'd hope so, too, given the price differential!
 
A lot of people would actually be happier with the tuning of the 400i, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a friendly, good-sounding headphone, and extremely forgiving of poor amplification. It's remarkably easy to live with, compared to some planars, especially older models. I think the advice should be to only buy the 560 if you're sure that's what you want. For a lot of people, who want a nice-sounding headphone on a budget, to plug into a fairly unremarkable source, the 400i is a shoe-in.

 

[peter123]

Yeah I agree that the HE400i sounds good with most sources but I also find it to sound considerably better with some. As always ymmw.....

 

[rez11]

Thinking of purchasing the Ember 2 with 6N6P tube for the 400i, anyone with experience with this setup? 

 

[DavidA]

  Thinking of purchasing the Ember 2 with 6N6P tube for the 400i, anyone with experience with this setup? 

Very good pairing IMO, based on original Ember