[samandhi]

Glad you are finding that you like them!

I don't think it is the HE400SE. And I don't necessarily think it is the stereo itself, though it could be. The most likely suspect and the weakest link in your chain is the phone and connection to the stereo. You are basically double amping the music, and you are sending it via an unclean connector. Try listening to a different source from the stereo without the phone in the mix. Put a record on and listen to it. If it isn't the stereo (or the input you are using into the stereo) then you shouldn't have distortion. On the other hand, given the age of that amp/stereo it COULD be the KA.

Remember, the best sound you will get will be decided by the weakest part of your chain. To avoid spending a ton of money down the road, I have curtailed buying a bunch of separate equipment, and just bought a great mid-tier DAP. Now I can just go straight from that to the headphones, and don't have to worry about portability, power, clean connections, etc...

 

[cappuchino]

Glad you are finding that you like them!

I don't think it is the HE400SE. And I don't necessarily think it is the stereo itself, though it could be. The most likely suspect and the weakest link in your chain is the phone and connection to the stereo. You are basically double amping the music, and you are sending it via an unclean connector. Try listening to a different source from the stereo without the phone in the mix. Put a record on and listen to it. If it isn't the stereo (or the input you are using into the stereo) then you shouldn't have distortion. On the other hand, given the age of that amp/stereo it COULD be the KA.

Remember, the best sound you will get will be decided by the weakest part of your chain. To avoid spending a ton of money down the road, I have curtailed buying a bunch of separate equipment, and just bought a great mid-tier DAP. Now I can just go straight from that to the headphones, and don't have to worry about portability, power, clean connections, etc...

Double amping never crossed my mind. Thanks for pointing that out.

I did try listening to some vinyl with them, though quite a short time. I'm still listening to them, and when I turn the volume down a certain degree, that distortion/crunch disappears.

But considering the distinct characteristic and quality of vinyl sound, it would be hard to determine . I'll also try to connect an external player and listen to some CD or something once I get some "drive" to do that.

Thank you very much for the advice



Update: Used some electric contact cleaner I also use on my electric guitars, played around with the stock cable insertion, and the sometimes appearing distortion at higher volumes disappeared.

 

[pk4425]

Just hooked up the HE400se to an old Kenwood KA-7100 we had lying around the house. And one thing's for sure - I don't think I can go back to the HUD100 MK2 with the HIFIMAN + KA-7100.

I'm at a lost with the sonic difference. Imaging is sharper. Soundstage opened up. Bass hits harder and deeper and is more bodied. Separation vastly improved. Detail-retrieval is astonishing.


I do have to mention that this setup is very getto as I'm using the DAC of my phone as well as a random RCA cable I found here somewhere (not sure what its really called but I used it to connect to AUX; White and yellow-colored). Still using the stock cable and the pads which are heavenly.


Here's the specs of the amplifier I am currently running them with:



One bummer is that I hear distortion. Not sure if it's just due to dirty components (the amplifier's internals haven't been cleaned for years now. I am very sure of that.) or it's the HE400se itself.

Try running them with a balanced cable and a powerful amp with balanced output. Your mind will be blown.

 

[SilverEars]

Double amping never crossed my mind. Thanks for pointing that out.

I did try listening to some vinyl with them, though quite a short time. I'm still listening to them, and when I turn the volume down a certain degree, that distortion/crunch disappears.

But considering the distinct characteristic and quality of vinyl sound, it would be hard to determine . I'll also try to connect an external player and listen to some CD or something once I get some "drive" to do that.

Thank you very much for the advice



Update: Used some electric contact cleaner I also use on my electric guitars, played around with the stock cable insertion, and the sometimes appearing distortion at higher volumes disappeared.

Don't worry about double amping. All DACs have an amplified output, but people will never say it's double amping or really can point out what is wrong with double amping in general.

Consider all the preamps used for input to the main amplifiers. It's common, but people don't complain about it.

 

[cappuchino]

Try running them with a balanced cable and a powerful amp with balanced output. Your mind will be blown.

Unfortunately, I still haven't integrated balanced in my system...


On a different note, here's the custom cable I ordered from a local modder I paid 18 USD for (pic from modder).

 

[pk4425]

Unfortunately, I still haven't integrated balanced in my system...


On a different note, here's the custom cable I ordered from a local modder I paid 18 USD for (pic from modder).

Nice-looking cable!

 

[Qpalzm]

Yes, the vocals is a bit recessed so upper-mids?

I don't know if its just due to driver variation or maybe you don't have the international version but on my pair there's virtually no recession in the mids

 

[Qpalzm]

I don't know if its just due to driver variation or maybe you don't have the international version but on my pair there's virtually no recession in the mids

or maybe just running it off of different things

 

[chrjohns]

It looks like they are now shipping the international version with both cables. My purchase from Amazon came with China version cable loose inside the shipping box. The international version cable was inside the product box.

 

[Qpalzm]

It looks like they are now shipping the international version with both cables. My purchase from Amazon came with China version cable loose inside the shipping box. The international version cable was inside the product box.

I got the second cable in a bag taped to the back of my box

 

[antdroid]

I bought the HE400SE this week and it came today. Posted some measurements below.

HE400SE first impressions:

$150. Great tuning. Really really good job. Slightly mid-forward compared to most hifimans. Bass level is good. Does roll-off slightly but not a big deal. The treble is very smooth compared to other entry level hifimans in the past up to their $1500 arya level. There is still a hint of sharpness in the treble range on occasion. I hear it when there's a heavy piano note with sustain in the upper octaves. Its not beyer bright or anything, its just ever so there, and not as smooth as Susvara or HE6SE V2, or even HD600. It doesn't have the microdetails or staging of the big boys, but its tuned very well and image separation is really good at this price.

The biggest difference I hear from this and its older and more pricey siblings is the speed of the driver. This one plays within its price point and has slower transient speeds than the HE6SE V2 and the king Susvara. This makes the little micro-details not as audible, and also makes it sound a little slow at times when stacked against pricier competition.

At $150, this is easily my favorite I heard. When you have to consider this or HD6XX/600/650 for $220-$400, its a tougher pick for me and I could go either way.

Build material is super cheap on the HE400SE. Feels cheaper than HE6SE V2 even though its the same part geometry. I think the finish/coatings are worse giving it a much more plastic feel.

Default cable sucks a lot, but Hifiman snuck in a new cable outside the retail box, but inside the brown shipping box. Its probably their best cable they've ever made, even though it feels like a $10 cable. That's not saying much, but its at leasst usable and feels durable, though its short (1.2m)

 

[Philimon]

I got these today. Not bad. Ordered focus-a pads to roll in hopes to increase bass and decrease highs a little.

While wearing, pushing down on the cups/pads causes what sounds like membrane/driver crinkling. Do you guys experience the same? Should I exchange?

 

[theangelboy]

I got these today. Not bad. Ordered focus-a pads to roll in hopes to increase bass and decrease highs a little.

While wearing, pushing down on the cups/pads causes what sounds like membrane/driver crinkling. Do you guys experience the same? Should I exchange?

That's well documented effect with planars and it's not very good for the diaphram so you should avoid it in the future. https://audeze.zendesk.com/hc/en-us...cking-static-sound-when-I-press-on-the-earcup

 

[Philimon]

That's well documented effect with planars and it's not very good for the diaphram so you should avoid it in the future. https://audeze.zendesk.com/hc/en-us...cking-static-sound-when-I-press-on-the-earcup

Hmmm. I wasnt trying to create the issue. I was just trying to make sure I had a good earpad seal. Still wonder if my case is extreme and might be indicative of some driver issue. I messaged Hifiman support. Will update with response.

 

[samandhi]

Hmmm. I wasnt trying to create the issue. I was just trying to make sure I had a good earpad seal. Still wonder if my case is extreme and might be indicative of some driver issue. I messaged Hifiman support. Will update with response.

Nah, it almost seems like (from reading this thread) they use cheap(er) drivers in this one compared to previous HE400 models (400, 400I, 400S, and maybe even the 400I 2020). I would be interested to hear what response you are given from Hifiman?!