[samandhi]

I think I will, I'm most curious about the very low distorsion of planars and the supposed timbre. Things I prioritize. I want it to sound as much as live instruments as possible, and I know how those sounds as I have played live a lot. Eq curve can be tuned.
Most worry is if I will need a super-duper amp to drive them, we will see.

You won't need some uber elite amp to drive them. As a matter of fact, you can drive them from your regular phone (if you still have a jack), but keep in mind that to drive them properly, you will need something that can provide more current than a phone can. This is not to say that they don't still sound terrific from it, they just scale very well (most all planars act this way) with more power.

I wouldn't even necessarily say they sound "better" from a more powerful source (depending on your desires), just that if powered properly they sound as intended. Sometimes under damping orthos can give them the sound that most planars lack (that dynamic driver "lows"), so it will be up to your ears to decide what is better to you.

Though, one thing I CAN say is that you could have (basically) 2 different sets of headphones by buying a set of leather earpad replacements. They do noticeably change the sound/acoustic properties. I have done this with my HE400S and also with my Focal Elegia to great effect (IMHO).

 

[xeizo]

I received them, all I can say is wow! The openness of the sound is unheard of with dynamic drivers. Really impressed. And yes, they wasnt that hard to drive, my Presonus HP4 drives them to high enough level, and nothing seem to be missing. Very straight curve, very low distorsion, great impact. Sounds like a much much more expensive headphone. They are even comfortable and doesn't look cheap. I got the thick rubber cable which does the job.

 

[samandhi]

I received them, all I can say is wow! The openness of the sound is unheard of with dynamic drivers. Really impressed. And yes, they wasnt that hard to drive, my Presonus HP4 drives them to high enough level, and nothing seem to be missing. Very straight curve, very low distorsion, great impact. Sounds like a much much more expensive headphone. They are even comfortable and doesn't look cheap. I got the thick rubber cable which does the job.

Congratulations! IMO, I don't think that Hifiman make a "bad" set of headphones (though their QC has been called into question some years ago).

 

[xeizo]

Thanks! Tweaked some with parametric EQ, plus a few dB at 2k and down a few at 10k and enhanced sub 80Hz, possibly even better sound, but I'm new to planars so I don't know anything yet LoL anyway I like these a lot

 

[xeizo]

Must say I am impressed how well the Presonus HP4 drives these, it has nothing in specs compared to those chi-fi dedicated headphone amplifiers but it does play subjectively very loud and distorsion free on these 25 Ohms / 91dB cans. Also, the sound is warm and fluid, no sterile brightness. Pretty good slam and weight in the bass when given a few extra dB below 80Hz. Can't say I would need any better amplifier; it sounds pretty mint as far as I can tell.

Also, it's very well gain matched with my Tascam Model 12 digital mixer on its balanced sub outs. I adjust volume on the mixer and have set 0dB on the mixer as being deafening loud from the HP4 and move between low and 0dB on the mixer. The volume on the HP4 is set and forget. Works excellent. The HP outs on the mixer itself are total crap, that's why I have the HP4.

I've read that people have endless problems with gain on the chi-fi gear as they need 5V in to have proper gain and most equipment is max 2V so those enormous specs are for the most unusable. And it's not inspiring to read here and there about headphones popping and smoke coming out of those and that they usually gets very hot to the point of warming up a room, it looks like corners have been cut. In short, the headphone amp market is a wild jungle LoL

 

[xeizo]

Well, curiosity bested me, I want to hear how the HE400SE sounds with ample of power as it already sounds extreme good as is. Is there any improvement to be had - at all?

I browsed the net up and down and it looks like SMSL have had the least problems of the chi-fi crowd as in "it just works". Traditional HiFi-brands are too expensive for me for these kinds of tests, they just can't compete in price. Not even close.

By far the most watts/dollar I could find is in the form of the SMSL SH-6, 2x1.3W in 32 Ohm for 86$ is as cheap as it gets. And I love it has a power switch and no wall wart!

As for SQ SH-6 measures ultra-low distorsion, flawless frequency curve, vanishing low noise and everything else measure-wise is mint so should be good enough. Most probably close to transparent.

I will drive it from the TRS-OUT of my MOTU M.2, I already have suitable cables. Will be easy enough to compare with my usual playback chain of Tascam Model 12 -> Presonus HP4(which benefits from being a fully balanced chain = noiseless). Will I notice any difference? Ideally, I should not, if everything is straight and distorsion free as it should be. It's only the question of, if the power output of the HP4 really is enough that nags me LoL. Will know the result in the middle of next week.

The con in this case of not using the Model 12 from start is I miss out on the digital EQ of the Model 12, but not that HE400SE needs much EQ - after a couple of days I only use a slight bump around 2k. The pro of using the M.2 is it has documented good converters in the ESS 9016S and a general rumor of good SQ for being an audio interface. I do think it sounds great on the HP-out, but of course that has very little power as is the norm for audio interfaces. No one knows which converters the Model 12 has. Only known entity is Tascam made a new revision because the old converters where indefinitely out of stock (AKM-fire?). I have the old revision and if I would guess the new revision has Cirrus Logic converters, the only thing I know is I think for me it sounds really good. It's not marketed as a playback device, it's a digital mixer for musicians/creators and chances are no one will measure its audio performance - ever. Good enough is good enough.

Anyway, it will be exciting to see how well this ultra-cheap chi-fi device handles the Hifiman HE400SE (which by themself are ultra-cheap). I saw someone on Reddit running SH-6 with Sundara and he wrote he was happy with the combo. Chances are it is good, but as said, is it better than the HP4? Soon I will know.

 

[xeizo]

The SMSL SH-6 actually did bring out quite a few improvements over the Presonus HP-4, the Presonus sounds good enough and has a warm and likeable sound not obstrusive in any way. But the SH-6 sounds much cleaner, there is plenty lower distorsion.

Detail retrieval is phenomenal and even very quiet ambience trails bloom out fully. Of course, it can play much louder, fully possible to damage the hearing, restraint is needed. It's amazing such a cheap device can be so good, but well, no marketing, no distribution network, hardly any support etc can keep costs low. Anyway, very powerful hardware for very little money and it realizes a lot of the potential of the HE400SE as far as I can hear. And even if tiny, it's built like a tank.

As I planned, I'm using the TRS out of the Motu M.2 and thankfully it works flawless, no background noise and no distorsion and gain is plenty.

 

[xeizo]

After a day of listening with SH6 + HE400SE, low gain is enough and ultimately also a litter better sounding than high gain. The middle of the soundstage is more in focus and the sound is slightly "warmer" compared to high gain.

Distorsion is so low it's hard to set the volume, it really doesn't sound loud even if it starts getting painful loud, impressive.

 

[samandhi]

Distorsion is so low it's hard to set the volume, it really doesn't sound loud even if it starts getting painful loud, impressive.

That is also because there is nothing in the tuning that is offensive. Hifiman is known for this type of tuning, and it is getting more rare all the time (with most makers boosting either too much bass or too much pina gain) nowadays.

 

[xeizo]

That is also because there is nothing in the tuning that is offensive. Hifiman is known for this type of tuning, and it is getting more rare all the time (with most makers boosting either too much bass or too much pina gain) nowadays.

Yes, they seem to stay true to their name "Hifiman" which is not "BassBoostMan", me like

 

[samandhi]

Yes, they seem to stay true to their name "Hifiman" which is not "BassBoostMan", me like

haha So true!

 

[tendou]

Is the stealth magnet version sounds vastly different from the non stealth magnet version? The non stealth magnet is nearly half the price of the stealth magnet.


And is the hifiman he400se able to use balanced plug and play like hd600?

 

[r31ya]

Is the stealth magnet version sounds vastly different from the non stealth magnet version? The non stealth magnet is nearly half the price of the stealth magnet.


And is the hifiman he400se able to use balanced plug and play like hd600?

the stealth magnet have smoother treble
HE400SE should have removable cable, you could switch it with balanced in cable. tough you need to buy the balanced cable

 

[tendou]

the stealth magnet have smoother treble
HE400SE should have removable cable, you could switch it with balanced in cable. tough you need to buy the balanced cable

Thanks. So it's the same like hd600 family just plug and play unlike k702 that needs modding.

 

[samandhi]

Thanks. So it's the same like hd600 family just plug and play unlike k702 that needs modding.

Yes.

I find it strange that contemporary headphones (especially ones that claim to be reference/studio headphones) don't wire their headphones in a balanced fashion. This is pretty uncommon for headphones that have a changeable cable because if it is wired balanced then you can use either a SE cable (3.5mm SE), or balanced (2.5mm or 4.4mm) and be fine, but if it is wired SE only then you can only use that cable (3.5mm SE).