dakanao
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2012
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Are there any earpads that make the vocals more forward? I can't get over the usually distant sounding vocals on this headphone, atleast with the stock pads that is.
Clarity and Details? Really? I would like to disagree. I think you 'feel' the sound is more detailed because of the more restricted soundstage? because the sound feels closer to you. I tried my Fostex X00's right after the brainwavs 400i's. and the fostex were offering identical width and space. it was just appalling really. the 400i's on stock are a brilliant pair of headphones for my preferences. but then again each and every person has a slightly different opinion of what 'Good sound' is.
HE400i with stock pads for me is simply anemic, poor, not worthy headphone .
Sound stage is not the best quality of this headphone ,,
you are loosing a lot by expanding the sound stage withe the stock pads ,,
to the opposite , the TH-900 for example have huge sound stage without loosing any details at all ,
so i think if you wont better sound stage go for different headphone like the HE560 with the stock pads
or you can go for more populer headphones with huge sound stage like the TH-900 or K812 or HD800 with all the details and clarity you can get ..
Agree with you about the sound stage not the best on the HE-400i. For those which the sound stage is important these are not headphones I would consider and all the pad rolling is really just to find the best compromise between comfort and sound IMO.
Don't agree about these headphones being bad with the stock ear pads, to me they give the best compromise to the sound signature that I like.
Yup, definitely not the best open headphones for soundstage. Still has good depth for gaming, though. The K7XX (other gaming favorite, but no longer own) had a bigger soundstage but nowhere near the detail and instrument separation as the 400i.
if sound clarity, details and bass attack is better by 30-50% i think 5% loss in sound stage is reasonable ,
HE400i with stock pads for me is simply anemic, poor, not worthy headphone .
We cant really quantify 'soundstage' but its quite drastic. its enough to make me want to switch back to the focus pads. and yes the sound is slightly better if you consider the sub-bass and the bass, which have more texture to them. BUT the sparkly highs have diminished slightly IMO. and I feel that the 'depth' is definitely reduced, its not the same. but thats just my opinion, I've spent a good amount of time A/B ing them and this is what I've noticed. In the end it comes down to what kind of music you're listening to, really.
If I'm listening to the eagles on DSD, I'd like to have the open soundstage and the treble of the focus pads. and if I'm listening to EDM/Spotify I like the sound that the Brainwavz offer. So its not set in stone which Pads are better. It's a matter of personal preference.
I think we've covered the topic rather extensively, as @DavidA
said.
The treble issue I mentioned earlier in this thread got a wee bit smoother; which I compared to ripping paper inside your ear canal in certain songs/mixes, brought up the sub-bass a tad, and felt that even with the negligible soundstage reduction, clarity/instrument separation/details didn't suffer.
I'm happy, and so seem a vocal? majority of people who have tried the pads according to this thread&some others, and wouldn't want to go to stock FocusPads for general listening - only for some genres I use them though. If I want a larger soundstage, I can go to other cans as well. No problem.
And genre-wise, what I personally think, if you're interested, kind of related to your post:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/698974/hifiman-he-400i-impressions-and-discussion/11010#post_13172991
http://www.head-fi.org/t/698974/hifiman-he-400i-impressions-and-discussion/9690#post_12865610
And what @GU1DO
said; I could agree on the anemic sounding, but not on the worthy part
Anemic was quite coincidentally the word first sprang to mind after the first A/B vs. the LCD-X.
Don't get me wrong, the 400i are of stellar value nonetheless.
Edit: Stock pads or without