[golfinggino]

I picked up a used pair of these today for $100 US and I am pretty impressed with them so far I don't think they're broken in yet so I'm doing that right now. I wanted to find a cheap pair of headphones that sounded good that I could leave at work and not worry about leaving my more expensive headphone there. I have owned the 400i and 400s in the past, my main headphone is the HEX V2. Currently I run all my headphones off my LG V30 these put the phone into high impediance even though they are not 50 ohms so I do have to trick the phone into high impediance mode which is nice. Currently testing with my balanced hifiman cable with my V30 and fiio Q1 M2 and it really does sound great. I will use them at work along with my isine 10's. I would highly recommend the HE4XX

 

[Slashn77]

$100 sounds awesome. What balanced cable are you using from them to your Q1 mark ii

 

[golfinggino]

I got this cable for $30 used sounds great with both headphones

http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/crystalline-balanced-cable-4-pin-xlr-plug.html

 

[SirMarc]

I picked up a used pair of these today for $100 US and I am pretty impressed with them so far I don't think they're broken in yet so I'm doing that right now. I wanted to find a cheap pair of headphones that sounded good that I could leave at work and not worry about leaving my more expensive headphone there. I have owned the 400i and 400s in the past, my main headphone is the HEX V2. Currently I run all my headphones off my LG V30 these put the phone into high impediance even though they are not 50 ohms so I do have to trick the phone into high impediance mode which is nice. Currently testing with my balanced hifiman cable with my V30 and fiio Q1 M2 and it really does sound great. I will use them at work along with my isine 10's. I would highly recommend the HE4XX

That's good to know, I joined this drop and was planning on using my V30. Do you get good volume?

 

[golfinggino]

you will get pretty good volume with the V30 depending on the music you might want to use an amp with it

edit - I think these cans really need an amp - I wish I didn't sell my jds labs the element amp I think it would have pushed these really good

 

[SirMarc]

you will get pretty good volume with the V30 depending on the music you might want to use an amp with it

edit - I think these cans really need an amp - I wish I didn't sell my jds labs the element amp I think it would have pushed these really good

I've got an Asgard 2 laying around I can fire up if need be

 

[Drty LilBits]

I am curious to see if anyone here has compared the HE4XX to the M560's? I tried reading through the thread but did not see anything after 5-10 minutes of searching. I Don't have any planars but I wanted to give them a try. I just cannot decide between the two. I mainly listen to edm, hiphop, jazz and rock. And I like bass of course, especially when I listen to Spanish music (Salsa, bachata ect.) but I am not into the ghetto beats sound of bass. Can anyone tell me if either of these would work well for what I am looking for? And I am open to pad changes as well if needed.

 

[Humblepie]

I have them both and like the both. They both have excellent build quality. The M560 does lack bass in stock form though compared the HE4XX. I find the HE4XX bass at the right level for neutral, and it measures flat too. The music you listen to seems to be fairly bass heavy, so the HE4XX may be better stock for you. Both can be modded for more bass though.

They are of similar price, but there have more than a few recent deals from monoprice dropping the price of the M560 to $100. Other than that, it really is a toss up. Mids, and treble on both are nice, relaxing, and clear. Neither are spikey nor sharp in the treble. Mids aren't particularly recessed on either. So it really comes down to bass performance and/or price.

 

[Drty LilBits]

I have them both and like the both. They both have excellent build quality. The M560 does lack bass in stock form though compared the HE4XX. I find the HE4XX bass at the right level for neutral, and it measures flat too. The music you listen to seems to be fairly bass heavy, so the HE4XX may be better stock for you. Both can be modded for more bass though.

They are of similar price, but there have more than a few recent deals from monoprice dropping the price of the M560 to $100. Other than that, it really is a toss up. Mids, and treble on both are nice, relaxing, and clear. Neither are spikey nor sharp in the treble. Mids aren't particularly recessed on either. So it really comes down to bass performance and/or price.

I see. I hate that I am so torn lol. What type of mods can be done without damaging either one? I feel like i'm leaning more towards the M560's bc of price, build and the open-closed feature it offers. But if the He4xx sounds a bit better for what I listen to I may just go that route. Someone take my wallet and decide for me! lol

 

[loki993]

Not to be the devil on the shoulder but a hundred to 200 bucks isn't a ton of money in this hobby. You can buy one and if you don't like it you should easily be able to sell it to fund the other. If you go the used route, you could probably try them out and if you didnt like them resell them and nearly not lose a cent.

 

[Drty LilBits]

Not to be the devil on the shoulder but a hundred to 200 bucks isn't a ton of money in this hobby. You can buy one and if you don't like it you should easily be able to sell it to fund the other. If you go the used route, you could probably try them out and if you didnt like them resell them and nearly not lose a cent.

Good point.

 

[Humblepie]

I see. I hate that I am so torn lol. What type of mods can be done without damaging either one? I feel like i'm leaning more towards the M560's bc of price, build and the open-closed feature it offers. But if the He4xx sounds a bit better for what I listen to I may just go that route. Someone take my wallet and decide for me! lol

Pad changing helps bring the bass up on the m560. It brings it close to the stock level of the HE4XX, but still shy. Unfortunately, more than pad changing is really hard to do on planars. The M560, while it can be used closed, doesn't sound all that good closed at all. One thing to note is if the headphone is mostly being used on the PC, then windows APO application can be used to equalize the m560 to bring up the bass. You can REALLY bring up the bass on these that way. They do not distort at all in doing so. +30db without distortion can be done. So easy to equalize that way. There may be other ways to mod the m560 for more bass, but haven't looked into it.

 

[Drty LilBits]

Pad changing helps bring the bass up on the m560. It brings it close to the stock level of the HE4XX, but still shy. Unfortunately, more than pad changing is really hard to do on planars. The M560, while it can be used closed, doesn't sound all that good closed at all. One thing to note is if the headphone is mostly being used on the PC, then windows APO application can be used to equalize the m560 to bring up the bass. You can REALLY bring up the bass on these that way. They do not distort at all in doing so. +30db without distortion can be done. So easy to equalize that way. There may be other ways to mod the m560 for more bass, but haven't looked into it.

Yea I'd be using them on my PC so that's good to know. Would eqing them eliminate the need for a pad change?

 

[Humblepie]

Yea I'd be using them on my PC so that's good to know. Would eqing them eliminate the need for a pad change?

Sort of. The pads they come with are nice, but the sony XB700 pads on them are really nice. The generic ones are fine and cheaper, but ship from China.

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Cushion-MDR-XB700-Headphone-Generic/dp/B00LHHHKOE

If you shop around on ebay or aliexpress then you may save a few bucks more. The pads help with the punchiness of the bass that the Equalizer doesn't do as well. Hard to describe without hearing the difference yourself. Basically with pads and equalizer on the m560, the bass is loud and impactful and head rattling. Without pads it is loud and less rattling. The m560 is heavier though so I would also factor that in, but to me I can still wear them for hours without fatigue. I personally prefer the HE4XX stock to the M560 stock, but only because they are slightly more comfortable overall. The XB700 pads cause more heat retention that the stock HE4XX pads aren't as bad about.

 

[Drty LilBits]

Sort of. The pads they come with are nice, but the sony X700 pads on them are really nice. The generic ones are fine and cheaper, but ship from China.

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Cushion-MDR-XB700-Headphone-Generic/dp/B00LHHHKOE

If you shop around on ebay or aliexpress then you may save a few bucks more. The pads help with the punchiness of the bass that the Equalizer doesn't do as well. Hard to describe without hearing the difference yourself. Basically with pads and equalizer on the m560, the bass is loud and impactful and head rattling. Without pads it is loud and less rattling. The m560 is heavier though so I would also factor that in, but to me I can still wear them for hours without fatigue. I personally prefer the HE4XX stock to the M560 stock, but only because they are slightly more comfortable overall. The XB700 pads cause more heat retention that the stock HE4XX pads aren't as bad about.

Ok, thank you for all of your input. Comfort is a huge factor. And my small head another huge factor haha. I'll likely grab the HE4XX then and worse case scenario I'll do what Loki993 said and sell them and grab something else. I'm trying so hard to not get sucked in and buy and try too much but i'm failing lol.