[bullbuchanan]

Hummmmmm now you are making me want to try .45 cm foam.. my drop by tomorrow and give it a try.

Haha, I don't know if I'd bother over .05cm. It CAN'T be a substantial difference

 

[kejar31]

Lol yeah very true... Idk the two pad combo was too much mid bass.. think I am going to stick with the standard pads.. if someone wants to purchase my perf pads pm me.

 

[Beau Cauchemar]

Maybe it’s my source synergy, but that’s a bummer you guys aren’t hearing what I’m hearing with the perf+grill. Granted I do have over 180 hours on my 4XX and the modded sound took a minute to grow on me, but I guess my ears just differ.

 

[bullbuchanan]

Maybe it’s my source synergy, but that’s a bummer you guys aren’t hearing what I’m hearing with the perf+grill. Granted I do have over 180 hours on my 4XX and the modded sound took a minute to grow on me, but I guess my ears just differ.

Beau, If I had to guess I'd say at this pricepoint and given the variety of small build issues people are seeing, I'd say it's possible that there's a difference in various sets of cans. That said, I did try the perf pads on a couple audio technica cans that use velour, and I found they threw a rather thick veil over those as well. If these were cheaper, or I knew exactly what would happen, I'd try cutting out the backing of the pads to see if that brightened everything up, but I think I'm just going to sell/trade them instead.

Amps might also be having an effect. I'm using a PS Audio Sprout.

Edit: After reading briefly about the Burson V6 Vivid it could be that combo made your cans sound too bright and the Perf pads brings everything back in line for you. Unfortunately I don't have any other decent amp to test differences in that stage.

 

[kejar31]

I use my 4XX's on an NFB11.28 and a Magni3/Mimby stack.. I will say that with the standard ZMF Ori lamskin pads I do prefer the 4XX's over my 6XX's on either set with most music.. With Jazz and Laid back music in general I go for the 6XX's

 

[bagwell359]

I take back what I said. I don't at all like these (or the HE-500's) with the back screen off.

It's true that the mids and highs sound freer. But instruments are too big. Images now tend to bleed into each other.

The rear plane of the sound stage is totally gone. Along with many recording artifacts that are there on the recordings. Missing or heavily muted.

Bass volume and impact are also lost, although perhaps a bit tighter sounding.

As an aside I tried a pair of MrSpeakers Ether on them, and found two spikes - perhaps at 2.5K and 10K that made my ears bleed, same with the HE-500's. I also tried a pair of Fostex 500 pads and they were bad too. Note that they pads are unmodified. So far the stock felts are winning. I'll try a set of deeper ones.

I'm new to headphone mods, but an old hand at speaker, amp, pre-amp builds, mods, and kits. I have a number of items on order that should prove interesting as I try them out.

 

[bagwell359]

Beau, If I had to guess I'd say at this pricepoint and given the variety of small build issues people are seeing, I'd say it's possible that there's a difference in various sets of cans. That said, I did try the perf pads on a couple audio technica cans that use velour, and I found they threw a rather thick veil over those as well. If these were cheaper, or I knew exactly what would happen, I'd try cutting out the backing of the pads to see if that brightened everything up, but I think I'm just going to sell/trade them instead.

Amps might also be having an effect. I'm using a PS Audio Sprout.

Edit: After reading briefly about the Burson V6 Vivid it could be that combo made your cans sound too bright and the Perf pads brings everything back in line for you. Unfortunately I don't have any other decent amp to test differences in that stage.

Oops I didn't mean to piggy back that poster. Sorry.

 

[kejar31]

To each his own but I personally did not hear the issues you described after removing the grills.. Did you also use the zmf Ori pads when you removed the grills?

 

[dgindlespergerd]

I take back what I said. I don't at all like these (or the HE-500's) with the back screen off.

It's true that the mids and highs sound freer. But instruments are too big. Images now tend to bleed into each other.

The rear plane of the sound stage is totally gone. Along with many recording artifacts that are there on the recordings. Missing or heavily muted.

Bass volume and impact are also lost, although perhaps a bit tighter sounding.

As an aside I tried a pair of MrSpeakers Ether on them, and found two spikes - perhaps at 2.5K and 10K that made my ears bleed, same with the HE-500's. I also tried a pair of Fostex 500 pads and they were bad too. Note that they pads are unmodified. So far the stock felts are winning. I'll try a set of deeper ones.

I'm new to headphone mods, but an old hand at speaker, amp, pre-amp builds, mods, and kits. I have a number of items on order that should prove interesting as I try them out.

Did you remove the grill or just take the cloth off of it? I just removed the dust cloth on mine and like the difference it makes.

Dan

 

[desmoface]

I’m really tempted to jump on these - can anyone compare these to the Beyerdynamic DT-990’s? I love the 990’s, especially the treble reproduction. Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[Humblepie]

I feel like I am the only one here that likes mine stock!

 

[Beau Cauchemar]

Edit: After reading briefly about the Burson V6 Vivid it could be that combo made your cans sound too bright and the Perf pads brings everything back in line for you. Unfortunately I don't have any other decent amp to test differences in that stage.

The thing is most of my listening lately has been straight out of my 100R. Adding it as a source for the Burson V6 modified HA200 just improves everything slightly along with plenty more headroom in the volume department. So basically it doesn't change the signature much from what I can tell rather it just enhances what I'm already hearing/appreciating.

I listened last night to quite a few different albums trying to hear what you guys have been referring to in terms of veils, instrument separation, and bass quantity/quality. Granted when it came to the bass, I'll chalk that up to preference although initially (right after modding) I thought that it might be a bit too much, but my ears must have adapted since I feel as though it's definitely a sweet spot now. Still on 2 sheets (1cm total) mind you. Impactful for tracks clearly mixed with emphasized bass in mind (dance tracks mostly) but also enough of a slight hump to help with tracks that previously I felt lacked a bit of balance down low. Could not detect any veils for the life of me and it's worth mentioning that, coming from the Q701s, I definitely do not tolerate any noticeable roll-off in the treble. Dark cans just aren't my thing. Lastly with instrument separation, I'm at a loss understanding this issue as well. It seems to me that it's worth remembering that some recordings are just better mixed/mastered than others since I usually have no trouble picking out precise parts from the mix and their location in it. Meanwhile some tracks would bunch things together while otherwise still keeping the same sound signature. So I know they're capable of very good imaging/separation it just depends on the track. Granted the 100R has excellent measured stereo separation so that could be playing a factor.

Anyway, I don't mean to ramble on about how I disagree with your listening assessments since it's totally subjective and pretty pointless given the countless variables, so I guess what I'm getting at is merely suggesting that you give it some time, comparisons, and trying different amp/dac combinations to see what works with these because when you find it, they really shine.

 

[SchwarzeWolke]

Drop is open again! 450 units for whooping 169,99$!
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-hifiman-he4xx-planar-magnetic-headphones

 

[luckybaer]

I went totally bat-s**t crazy today!

I joined the drops for the following:

Hifiman HE4XX
Fostex TH-X00 Ebony
Focal Elex

Based on the drop schedule, I’ll be getting something in the mail for Feb, Mar, and Apr. I can’t wait! These are the nicest headphones I’ve purchased for myself in over 8+ years.

I look forward to hearing how they each sound and how they “work” with my gear.

To think I gave up good whiskey and whisky to get back into this hobby!

 

[bagwell359]

Did you remove the grill or just take the cloth off of it? I just removed the dust cloth on mine and like the difference it makes.

Dan

No.

I'm thinking about a number of mods. I decided to screw the 4 units I want to mod back to stock, and then do one at a time changes to gauge what is happening - when my materials come in. Two are hifiman (this and 500), senn 600, fostex 500. I'll start with the fostex, because what has to happen seems clear, and I'm not worried about screwing them up. What it needs IMO is different then the other 3 so it'll be an interesting start. I'm also moving so it could be some time before I get back to the hifimans, which are my main cans.