[Vigrith]

 
Kind of makes my single pair look sad

in comparison.

 
Gotta start somewhere, I had 1 as well three years ago, have 6 now. Trick is to wait long enough in between purchases so that you don't need to sell your old pairs to get new ones. 

 
Better trick yet is to just enjoy the music rather than the equipment, though nothing wrong with taking pride in the gear you attain through your hard earned money, I do as well.

 

[ikkx]

which is better for vocals 400s or 400i? I have the X2's (good edition), but they suck.

 

[Terrynj]

  which is better for vocals 400s or 400i? I have the X2's (good edition), but they suck.

I have a 400s, and bought a pair of 400i's figuring they had to be better than the 400s. The 400i is more detailed and really has some nice sounds to it, but the sound is small imho, compared to my 400s. The 400i's stage image seemed about the size of a grapefruit...small melon at best. The soundstage on the 400s is really open and has a live feel to it. Voices on the 400i's are great, but the S puts the singer large and right in your head. (try the album Linda Ronstadt- "What's New)...
 
The 400s may not be quite as "tight" as the 400I, but I LOVE the large open and lively sound of the S. My wife concurred.. she wouldn't even listened to the I's any more after a few weeks and we fought over the 400s all the time...I sent the 400i's back. There wasn't anything I preferred them over the 400s. I listen to everything ...as long as its recorded extremely well.
 
I listen to Tidal Lossless, I have a Creative Labs E5 DAC/AMP (which I LOVE), and a PA 1502A APPJ Tube amp. I have modded my grills and run Focus Pads A. I have never heard any other high-end headphone, but I am pretty familiar with what sounds good. For the money, I am VERY pleased with my setup.

 

[MLGrado]

  I have a 400s, and bought a pair of 400i's figuring they had to be better than the 400s. The 400i is more detailed and really has some nice sounds to it, but the sound is small imho, compared to my 400s. The 400i's stage image seemed about the size of a grapefruit...small melon at best. The soundstage on the 400s is really open and has a live feel to it. Voices on the 400i's are great, but the S puts the singer large and right in your head. (try the album Linda Ronstadt- "What's New)...
 
The 400s may not be quite as "tight" as the 400I, but I LOVE the large open and lively sound of the S. My wife concurred.. she wouldn't even listened to the I's any more after a few weeks and we fought over the 400s all the time...I sent the 400i's back. There wasn't anything I preferred them over the 400s. I listen to everything ...as long as its recorded extremely well.
 
I listen to Tidal Lossless, I have a Creative Labs E5 DAC/AMP (which I LOVE), and a PA 1502A APPJ Tube amp. I have modded my grills and run Focus Pads A. I have never heard any other high-end headphone, but I am pretty familiar with what sounds good. For the money, I am VERY pleased with my setup.

 
Fearing that the 400i is more 'different' than 'better' compared to the 400s is one of the reasons I have gone right past it, up to the HE-560, which should be arriving in the next couple days.  
 
As far as I am concerned, the 400s is the best headphone under $500, and that includes the venerable Sennheiser models, one of which I owned for the better part of a year.  
 
Here is to hoping that the HE-560 is as good as the reviews say!  And I have my fingers crossed that the one major flaw in the 400s doesn't carry over.. that would be the vibrating grills, and other annoyingly resonant parts of the enclosure.  Or maybe this is just a problem with my particular 400s.  

 

[Vigrith]

 
that would be the vibrating grills, and other annoyingly resonant parts of the enclosure.  Or maybe this is just a problem with my particular 400s.  

 
Don't think it's just you. The enclosure in general is not the greatest on the 400S - the grills on mine only resonate if I listen very loud (I'm a quiet listener) and/or bass boost so it's not an issue for me, however if I move around a lot the springs/screws in the cups can be pretty noisy for example because the build quality isn't the greatest ever, then again at their price they surely had to cut costs somewhere. Doesn't bother me but still, it's a quality of life thing.

 

[serman005]

I occasionally listen rather loudly to low frequency-resonating music and I haven't noted any untoward grill resonance. Maybe I am not paying attention? Maybe this is an issue for some people and not others? Very happy with my 400S on the whole. Perhaps I will notice some resonance in the future--mine are quite new, maybe thirty hours on them. I guess we will see what happens.

 

[nwavesailor]

My pair have had 0 resonance w/ the OEM grill. After doing the grill mod, using the mesh material I used, it it now even tighter so I doubt there will be an issue with mine.
 
I guess it's the luck of the draw............some may resonate and others......... thankfully my pair........ do not.

 

[Phryq]

  YIKES!
 
By my count there are 17 pair there.....................and if you have 17 out there 'hanging out',  something tells me there are others near by!?!?
 
Kind of makes my single pair look sad

in comparison.

Since you have so many sets, I wonder if you can compare how they sound relative to the others? Flat? Accurate?
 
Also, I'm finding so many EQ graphs with different info on different sites. I'd like to EQ them flat, but don't know which graph to chart. Any thoughts on that?
 
Thanks

 

[DavidA]

 
Since you have so many sets, I wonder if you can compare how they sound relative to the others? Flat? Accurate?
 
Also, I'm finding so many EQ graphs with different info on different sites. I'd like to EQ them flat, but don't know which graph to chart. Any thoughts on that?
 
Thanks

I don't use EQ due to logistics and I like headphones just as they are for their own unique signature.  I have done some mods to various headphones but only if they can be reversible.  If you need a flat/neutral/accurate headphone for mastering then that's different but I have no reason to have a flat/neutral/accurate headphone other than it doesn't distort badly or have a really bad FR like many consumer (under $100) headphones.
 
I just plug in a headphone to which ever amp I feel like at the moment and if someone ask for a comparison then I'll usually compare the two headphones on the same amp and then on the amp that I think they sound best on to me, I can also switch DACs since they both run to a SYS switch so changing DACs is fairly easy.
 
I don't look at EQ graphs or FR graphs much, I just trust my ears.  Another thing, not everyone has the same definition of "flat" so you will have to decide what you consider "flat" and everything will fall on either side.  For me the HD-600 is my definition of "flat" and its boring.  I have all the different headphones to enjoy music and each presents the music in its own way, it doesn't bother me where they fall in the spectrum of sound signatures.

 

[Gino]

I was surprised the Chromecast Audio could drive the HE-400s. It is a treat streaming Spotify (Spotify app) as well as local iPhone music files using AllCast app. 

 

[serman005]

So, I've had my HE400S for some number of weeks now and am very pleased for the most part. Really feel good about my buying decision. Now, I am curious what other people's primary criticisms of the 400S are (those with more experience than me). If I have one it is that bass extension is not always what I might wish (granted, using stock pads because I am too afraid I won't be able to get replacement pads in position and secured). Very happy with mids, top end, and soundstage. Anyhoo, just curious if other people have had a similar experience with the bass. Or is that entirely dependent on which pads are employed? Looking for guidance. Thanks for the feedback--I appreciate it.

 

[bixby]

  So, I've had my HE400S for some number of weeks now and am very pleased for the most part. Really feel good about my buying decision. Now, I am curious what other people's primary criticisms of the 400S are (those with more experience than me). If I have one it is that bass extension is not always what I might wish (granted, using stock pads because I am too afraid I won't be able to get replacement pads in position and secured). Very happy with mids, top end, and soundstage. Anyhoo, just curious if other people have had a similar experience with the bass. Or is that entirely dependent on which pads are employed? Looking for guidance. Thanks for the feedback--I appreciate it.

To get bass you just buy the Focus A pads, they snap right on and bass extends...................... period.  No need to funk around with a donor pair of pads and glue crap to a plastic connector.  Do a search in this thread and you will see early on some well versed users who tried all sorts of combos only to find the Focus A pads the best for them.  Having done it myself the transformation was impressive.

 

[KepinCemit]

@serman005 get the focus pads or focus pads A, simple plug & play, comfy too
 
Using the pads A on mine
 
 
==================================================
 
 
Cross posting with the hifiman grill mod thread
 
 
Here's my 400s with a modded grill
 
Ordered from a local guy i know who got a laser cutting machine. Grill is made of thin piece of plastic, wrapped in carbon fiber sticker. Somewhat flimsy, but should be good enough if I'm careful with them.
 
Use speaker cover cloth for the anti dust, not sure what the cloth is called, it's the regular cloth used in speakers.
 

Spoiler: Pics

 
 
 
 

 

[jnak00]

  So, I've had my HE400S for some number of weeks now and am very pleased for the most part. Really feel good about my buying decision. Now, I am curious what other people's primary criticisms of the 400S are (those with more experience than me). If I have one it is that bass extension is not always what I might wish (granted, using stock pads because I am too afraid I won't be able to get replacement pads in position and secured). Very happy with mids, top end, and soundstage. Anyhoo, just curious if other people have had a similar experience with the bass. Or is that entirely dependent on which pads are employed? Looking for guidance. Thanks for the feedback--I appreciate it.

 
I fully agree with you - the bass extension is weak on these headphones.  That, and the stiff cable, would be my only complaints.  I have the Focus pads which help the bass a little bit...not very much to my ears.  The pads are pretty easy to change.  I might try the Focus-A pads someday, but for now I'll stick with the Focus pads.

 

[Phryq]

I created a thread, but maybe I should have posted here instead?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/805136/i-think-my-400s-are-not-lr-balanced
 
Is this thread for people who [might] have problems with their 400s?