[Ameloblast]

I have some Dekoni ear pads, also from Massdrop, on the way. They’ll be my first “pad rolling” experience. Hope they deliver some of the sonic improvements described above.

Edit: I just noticed ZMF pads are up on Massdrop again if anyone is interested.

What are your thoughts on the Dekoni ear pads on your He-4xx? Which one did you get?

 

[joostdh]

What are your thoughts on the Dekoni ear pads on your He-4xx? Which one did you get?

I bought the Dekoni Premium Ear Pads for Fostex / TH900 Sheepskin. They fit very well. Bass is more assured than with the stock pads but don’t expect any miracles. I do find them slightly more comfortable than the stock pads which already are very nice.

As they don’t come with rings and those on the stock are glued, I bought the cheapest Hifiman pads from amazon for the rings. I’m in europa and afaik this was the cheapest route to get rings.

Hope this helps.

Edit: my (limited!) understanding is that fenestrated lessen bass which if probably not what you want.

 

[Sonnycz]

So I just received mine. Is it normal that I need to set twice higher volume level to achieve same volume as with my DT990 600 Ohm ? Literally I need to put volume from 40 to 80 to have the same volume ! O_O

 

[hsdrggr]

So I just received mine. Is it normal that I need to set twice higher volume level to achieve same volume as with my DT990 600 Ohm ? Literally I need to put volume from 40 to 80 to have the same volume.

I don’t have DT990s, but I have 300 ohm Sennheisers and depending on the amp I’m running the HE4xx’s require more volume knob level to get adequate sound from them. I know that a FIIO Q1 Mk2 dac/amp will not push them to adequate levels, but the Topping NX4 DSD dac/amp will.

 

[crazywipe]

So I just received mine. Is it normal that I need to set twice higher volume level to achieve same volume as with my DT990 600 Ohm ? Literally I need to put volume from 40 to 80 to have the same volume ! O_O

I use the same volume setting for my 4xx and hd600

 

[Sonnycz]

Ok, maybe it will become louder with burn in. Definitely not all the way but it could go by 10% - 25% up I guess. The 990 became louder by time too , although very slowly.

 

[displayname]

So I just received mine. Is it normal that I need to set twice higher volume level to achieve same volume as with my DT990 600 Ohm ? Literally I need to put volume from 40 to 80 to have the same volume ! O_O

Even though the impedance is lower on the 4XX, the sensitivity is also lower. 4XX is 93db, DT990 is 96db, meaning it will take more power to drive it.
Similarly the HD650 is 103db.

Think of impedance as how much of the amps power reach the speakers/drivers, and sensitive as how much power it takes to push the driver to a specific SPL.

 

[MF Kitten]

Even though the impedance is lower on the 4XX, the sensitivity is also lower. 4XX is 93db, DT990 is 96db, meaning it will take more power to drive it.
Similarly the HD650 is 103db.

Think of impedance as how much of the amps power reach the speakers/drivers, and sensitive as how much power it takes to push the driver to a specific SPL.

For context, 3dB is a 100% difference. If you go from 93dB to 96dB, you have doubled the volume output. The sensitivity rating is something like "decible per watt", isn't it? I don't remember.

 

[BrotherKathos]

For context, 3dB is a 100% difference. If you go from 93dB to 96dB, you have doubled the volume output. The sensitivity rating is something like "decible per watt", isn't it? I don't remember.

You are close to being correct. As I understand it, If your headphones require 1 watt to reach 93dB, then you will need to give them 2 watts to reach 96dB. 3 watts for 99dB. In order to double the volume coming out of the phones, they will need to be given 10 times the amount of power. This is why a set of phones that are 600ohm but have a sensitivity of 110dB will be more likely to reach higher sound levels than a set of 30 ohm phones with a sensitivity of around 90 at the same volume setting. People often overlook this when they put a speaker system together. They wonder why their 85dB efficient floor standers don't seem to get as loud as their buddy's bookshelfs even though their amp is rated for twice the power. If their buddy has a pair of klipsch speakers with a 93dB efficiency rating they will play louder on a 50 watt amp than the 85dB floorstanders will with a 100 watt amp. The floorstanders would need at least 275 watt per channel amp to match the perceived volume levels of the more efficient bookshelf speakers when only driven at 50 watts.

 

[displayname]

You are close to being correct. As I understand it, If your headphones require 1 watt to reach 93dB, then you will need to give them 2 watts to reach 96dB. 3 watts for 99dB. In order to double the volume coming out of the phones, they will need to be given 10 times the amount of power. This is why a set of phones that are 600ohm but have a sensitivity of 110dB will be more likely to reach higher sound levels than a set of 30 ohm phones with a sensitivity of around 90 at the same volume setting. People often overlook this when they put a speaker system together. They wonder why their 85dB efficient floor standers don't seem to get as loud as their buddy's bookshelfs even though their amp is rated for twice the power. If their buddy has a pair of klipsch speakers with a 93dB efficiency rating they will play louder on a 50 watt amp than the 85dB floorstanders will with a 100 watt amp. The floorstanders would need at least 275 watt per channel amp to match the perceived volume levels of the more efficient bookshelf speakers when only driven at 50 watts.

I don't know all the math that goes with this, but this is a prefect illustration of the key points of this discussion. In the headphone world people are very contentious of the ohm ratings because so many highly regarded headphones have higher ohm/resistance, and you do need an amp that can still get enough power to the driver after that resistance is factored in. But the efficiency is still a big part of the equation. Just because the lower ohms allows more wattage to hit the driver doesn't automatically mean it's enough power to drive it well.

 

[Yeswecan]

I would like to find a replacement cable for 4XX, longer than the original cable. 3 meters or so would be fine. Does anyone know if f.ex. this one works? https://www.amazon.com/NEOMUSICIA-Replacement-Hifiman-HE-400I-headphone/dp/B01N5O8S4M
It seems to me that at a closer look the shape of the replacement cable terminal is somewhat different from that of the original 4xx cable. Which of course does not necessarely mean that it should be left out...

 

[hsdrggr]

I would like to find a replacement cable for 4XX, longer than the original cable. 3 meters or so would be fine. Does anyone know if f.ex. this one works? https://www.amazon.com/NEOMUSICIA-Replacement-Hifiman-HE-400I-headphone/dp/B01N5O8S4M
It seems to me that at a closer look the shape of the replacement cable terminal is somewhat different from that of the original 4xx cable. Which of course does not necessarely mean that it should be left out...

That cable will work fine. The HE4XX uses two 2.5mm TRS connectors at the ear cups which is exactly what that cable has. The only thing different is the single plug end which is straight instead of 90 degree which is not a concern unless you have very little room in front of your headphone amp output.

 

[riffrafff]

I would like to find a replacement cable for 4XX, longer than the original cable. 3 meters or so would be fine. Does anyone know if f.ex. this one works? https://www.amazon.com/NEOMUSICIA-Replacement-Hifiman-HE-400I-headphone/dp/B01N5O8S4M
It seems to me that at a closer look the shape of the replacement cable terminal is somewhat different from that of the original 4xx cable. Which of course does not necessarely mean that it should be left out...

I have that cable. It works, it's just not much of a cable. It's stiff, and tangles easily. I think I'm going grab some Mogami quad and make my own.

 

[Yeswecan]

Thanks for the info. Let's see...

 

[Zippy0]

I have just seen that Dekoni pads are finally available here in Germany too for quite a reasonable price.
Bought myself a pair of the TH900 Hybrid pads for 27€ which seem to be pretty close to the original Focus A pads, but hopefully higher quality.
Are the Dekoni Audeze Elite pads that much better, as they cost double of what they want for the TH900 pads? Initially I wanted to buy those, but the price of the TH900 pads intrigued me.