drwlf
500+ Head-Fier
currently I am leaning more towards nighthawks,oppo and then hifiman
Having tested out all three, the 400i is technically superior, even after running NightHawk with an aftermarket cable.
currently I am leaning more towards nighthawks,oppo and then hifiman
I'm having somewhat the same reaction. Got these today, so zero burn-in. Listening to some tracks, there is definitely a bit of harshness in the highs (~13khz). It's often perceivable with vocals. It doesn't seem to be so severe that it's constant and will be introduced constantly by the headphones, but where in the recordings there is a slight harshness, these do seem to bring out it; bit more in evidence. For this particular issue Senn 598 < AKG Q701 < HE400i. Hopefully will mellow out burn-in... But on the upside, while it can be somewhat distracting on some vocals, it does seem to give some twang to strings, ex; acoustic guitar, or any type of electronic/bell type sound.
Listening to more tracks, it definitely doesn't happen on every or even most recordings, seems more limited to some recordings... Hmmm.. I'm actually not even sure it's the headphones now, as some have none of it... Or maybe it's related to the dynamic vs magnetic planar? An example of a song where there is no voice harshness on Q701, but definitely noticeable harshness on HE400i; Def Leppard's Women; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtgF2q-zEmU Actually throughout the entire song you can hear the sort of constant hashness; a sort of overtone... :/
PC (flac) -> Modi -> Magni
Listen to Björk - Pagan Poetry ! =D
The recording in this song defeats every headphone. regardless of volume^^ pretty much my favorite song tho.
Therefore the additional harshness of the 400i is a bit annoying.
Don't get me wrong.. otherwise the 400i sound much better than the 400s...
I think with the 400s sound boomy because of the mid-bass and the HM5 pads don't help there.
The 400i sounds much more exiting but at times a bit fatiguing especially with loud music.
All using HM5 pads but they don't really change the treble difference
Listen to Björk - Pagan Poetry ! =D
The recording in this song defeats every headphone. regardless of volume^^ pretty much my favorite song tho.
Therefore the additional harshness of the 400i is a bit annoying.
Don't get me wrong.. otherwise the 400i sound much better than the 400s...
I think with the 400s sound boomy because of the mid-bass and the HM5 pads don't help there.
The 400i sounds much more exiting but at times a bit fatiguing especially with loud music.
All using HM5 pads but they don't really change the treble difference
Made a few more 400i upgraded cables, the stock one sucks!
Funny, I can't seem to find these electronic sounds offensive at all. (Tidal lossless)
Try Kavinsky's "ProtoVision", now there's a synthwave mix which takes it over the edge for me on 400i, and I really need to EQ down the treble. Regarding Q701, it's just unbearable. The mix is intentional.
Then again, Infected Mushrooms "Psycho" from their debut The Gathering, the electronic ripples starting at around 0:27, combined with the attack/decay properties make them IMO as harrowing, exciting and deconstructive as the duo intended. Too much for some of my friends, especially when they're coming from slower dynamic drivers, some seemed to miscontrue the attack/decay properties as harshness.
Made a few more 400i upgraded cables, the stock one sucks!
My post was meant as a general recommendation. To make myself clear I had positive results with putting the headband forward. I felt headphone driver got better angle towards my ear canals and that resulted in subjectivelly better sound to me. He-400i bass became tighter with better slam and soundstage/imaging became more precise. It added airness to treble and timbres sounded more realistic to the recordings. Also the overall clarity of HE-400i was simply better. I would say the difference was quite noticeable to me, maybe 10-15 % better (?), its difficult to quantify. Pictures are bellow:
"traditional" position - HE-400i is more warmish, bass is more bloomy, worse seal and bass extension, imaging is slightly fuzzier, soundstage more compressed, overall clarity still very good albeit not the best I got from HE-400i
headband is put more forward, pads got better angle for my ear canals - bass is tighter and deeper with better slam, imaging is more precise, soundstage more holographic with increased width and depth, more detailed treble, overall sound signature moved towards neutral (still slightly warm), best overall clarity and transparency I got from stock HE-400i
As always YMMV, try to experiment with positioning on your own and use the angle which fits you best. My impressions are with older stock HE-400i with the backplate.
Listen to Björk - Pagan Poetry ! =D
The recording in this song defeats every headphone. regardless of volume^^ pretty much my favorite song tho.
Therefore the additional harshness of the 400i is a bit annoying.
Don't get me wrong.. otherwise the 400i sound much better than the 400s...
I think with the 400s sound boomy because of the mid-bass and the HM5 pads don't help there.
The 400i sounds much more exiting but at times a bit fatiguing especially with loud music.
All using HM5 pads but they don't really change the treble difference
This guy is on to something here!
I've been playing around with his recommendations above. I haven't noticed his reported results with moving the headband forward like he recommends. However, sliding the cups themselves around creates a massive difference in sound quality and signature. Sliding them forward so that my ears bend out a little against the cups kills the bass and brings up a lot of sibilance. This is without making any changes to music through my DAP. Pushing the cups back so that they are resting on the front edge of my ear makes everything muffled and wooly and brings the mids closer. Fortunately, for me both ways are too uncomfortable to be my natural way of wearing these headphones. But, people's heads and preferences are different. Experimentation is key.
I would recommend any having issues with sibilance or lack of bass try out some different ways of wearing these cans. Even weird ways. The changes in sound can be surprising. You may not be lucky enough to have the Chinese engineers' ideal of a human head.
This guy is on to something here!
I've been playing around with his recommendations above. I haven't noticed his reported results with moving the headband forward like he recommends. However, sliding the cups themselves around creates a massive difference in sound quality and signature. Sliding them forward so that my ears bend out a little against the cups kills the bass and brings up a lot of sibilance. This is without making any changes to music through my DAP. Pushing the cups back so that they are resting on the front edge of my ear makes everything muffled and wooly and brings the mids closer. Fortunately, for me both ways are too uncomfortable to be my natural way of wearing these headphones. But, people's heads and preferences are different. Experimentation is key.
I would recommend any having issues with sibilance or lack of bass try out some different ways of wearing these cans. Even weird ways. The changes in sound can be surprising. You may not be lucky enough to have the Chinese engineers' ideal of a human head.
Is it any wonder that people have such varied opinions on the sound of headphones & audio equipment in general.
Maybe we need to have our ear/head/age/auditory test results data listed in our sig.
kev
As the Focuspads are rather soft, wearing comfort is still very good for me.