Latest Thread Images

Hifiman HE400se
Jul 28, 2023 at 11:44 AM Post #557 of 674
MarcoGV said:
Thank you very much for the suggestions. I am about to order the following: 1. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XK862QJ/ (4.4mm balanced male to dual 3.5mm), and 2. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0828K966Q/ (4.4mm balanced female to 3.5mm balanced male). This is more expensive than I would have liked, but I prefer to order on amazon for speed and ease of returning.
Click to expand...
A quick update. I received both cables yesterday and have just tried them. They work fine with the HE400se and the iFi UNO DAC/AMP. I have not done any critical listening and am not equipped to do measurements. I doubt that I will note any difference between the unbalanced and balanced connections in actual use. Thanks again to theangelboy.
 
Jul 28, 2023 at 12:09 PM Post #558 of 674
MarcoGV said:
A quick update. I received both cables yesterday and have just tried them. They work fine with the HE400se and the iFi UNO DAC/AMP. I have not done any critical listening and am not equipped to do measurements. I doubt that I will note any difference between the unbalanced and balanced connections in actual use. Thanks again to theangelboy.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you were able to find something that works with that uncommon connector type! :o2smile:
 
Jul 28, 2023 at 12:48 PM Post #559 of 674
MarcoGV said:
A quick update. I received both cables yesterday and have just tried them. They work fine with the HE400se and the iFi UNO DAC/AMP. I have not done any critical listening and am not equipped to do measurements. I doubt that I will note any difference between the unbalanced and balanced connections in actual use. Thanks again to theangelboy.
Click to expand...
This headphone is the most hungry headphone I have seen for a 25Ohm....

For planars don´t look on the Ohm but sensitivity. They are more hungry than my Arya V2, atleast the same power!.

When you give them power they open up even more.

I have 15Watts of 25ohm and the HE400SE is NOT bothered!

This headphone is the best headphone money can buy! - -saying it again, Sundara is out of the way!
 
Jul 28, 2023 at 12:59 PM Post #560 of 674
OCC7N said:
This headphone is the most hungry headphone I have seen for a 25Ohm....

For planars don´t look on the Ohm but sensitivity. They are more hungry than my Arya V2, atleast the same power!.

When you give them power they open up even more.

I have 15Watts of 25ohm and the HE400SE is NOT bothered!

This headphone is the best headphone money can buy! - -saying it again, Sundara is out of the way!
Click to expand...
Its non-stealth cousin, the HE-X4, is the same, super power needs and has the same 91dB sensitivity and 25 Ohm impedance. I actually grab my HE-X4 before my Edition XS, lately anyway.

I actually prefer the Drop, old school thinly padded headband pad, as I can stick on a Senn HD650 pad and, in spite of it being extended out all the way, it's a comfort king now. I added a Senn 600 pad onto the Edition XS (pad is same as your 400SE) and it stays on better and no hotspot.
 
Aug 1, 2023 at 7:18 AM Post #561 of 674
samandhi said:
Keep in mind that with planars it isn't all about the voltage and wattage. On paper they only require 79.43mW and 1.41VRMS to drive to a whopping 110dBSPL, given the 25Ohms impedance, and 91dBSPL/mW sensitivity stated on their website. I have to assume it is in mW rather than VRMS, though some ARE indeed listed in VRMS. If it were in VRMS though, it would take a whopping 3.2W to drive them. BUT.......

Unlike DD transducers that operate on a voltage swings, the planar driver operates on amperage swings, while voltage stays steady. So while you DO need the minimum amount of voltage to drive these, it will be the sources output amperage capability that decides how well (or not) the driver is excited or damped. If your source isn't capable of putting out xx amount of amperage, then it doesn't really matter how many Watts it is capable of. This is why it is harder to drive planar drivers on a portable system (most times). Some are capable of plenty of amperage output. For instance the iBasso DX300/DX320, because it has dual batteries (one for the OS and one dedicated for the amplifier), it can output as much as 2+ amperes.

The problem (that I see) is that voltage and wattage are really the only numbers given when listing specs of head gear (especially orthos). It is not common to list the amperage requirements of these devices, so while technically it is true that you CAN drive it from a phone and it WILL get plenty loud, that is only part of the truth.

Also keep in mind that if you use a very high wattage amplifier, most times they are meant for very high impedance headphones (or very low sensitivity ones), and because of that, the output impedance will also be pretty high. With the very low impedance that the HE400SE are at, they would sound pretty terrible. The rule of thumb here is to make sure your source output impedance is 8 times (or less of) what your headphone impedance is. Anything higher than that and you start to change (very noticeably) the FR curve, and most times not in a good way. So for these, if your output impedance of your source is higher than 3.125Ohms, you will start changing the sound.

Having said that, if you like your bass slow and a bit bloated for really bassy songs, this could be a way to achieve that..... :)
Click to expand...
Would be any of these Audio Interfaces a good match? I'm not really certain how to read it.
jk-hpout-2-jpg.1381606
 
Aug 1, 2023 at 7:07 PM Post #562 of 674
finubi said:
Would be any of these Audio Interfaces a good match? I'm not really certain how to read it.
jk-hpout-2-jpg.1381606
Click to expand...
This chart just shows the product information. You would simply read it straight across. The text at the top tells what the number represents, and the text on the left tells the name of the device... As for any of these being good with them, I can't say for sure, but none of them look to be able to push more than 250mW at 32Ohms, so I would hazard a guess as: probably not. Having said that, your ears might tell you a different story. I CAN say that most of those probably won't (at least) drive them properly. That doesn't mean they can't sound good to you though.
 
Aug 5, 2023 at 1:07 PM Post #563 of 674
I think Julian favored the Motu M4 as an overall good one.

I actually think a good delta sigma dac will suit the HE400SE better after some further testing. Motu M4 might be a good choice if you are musician and use the features.

I will always recommend iFi in the lowend market. I would recommend the Earmen TR-AMP but I think the ZEN DACs with 4.4mm cable could outperform it.
 
Aug 9, 2023 at 6:14 PM Post #564 of 674
OCC7N said:
This headphone is the most hungry headphone I have seen for a 25Ohm....

For planars don´t look on the Ohm but sensitivity. They are more hungry than my Arya V2, atleast the same power!.

When you give them power they open up even more.

I have 15Watts of 25ohm and the HE400SE is NOT bothered!

This headphone is the best headphone money can buy! - -saying it again, Sundara is out of the way!
Click to expand...
You're 100% right here. These can sound soooo different depending on source. They sounded very brittle at first and pretty meh... then much much better with a warmer sounding DAC/AMP. Still... I can sense they still need more power than what my equipment offers to sound their best.
 
Sep 18, 2023 at 10:37 AM Post #569 of 674
Does anyone have a link for some 3.5mm M to 3.5mm F plugs that can fit in the cans? I already have some custom cables with a 3.5mm termination but the plug casings are too wide for this headphone.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 10 (members: 0, guests: 10)
Back
Top