[nScott89]

  That sounds like just likes a psychological difference. I would wait some more days of test before making such big difference statements.

I still feel the same after listening to them all day, going back to the FocusPads. They are definitely darker, but sound even more detailed. And not as warm and muddy.

 

[Morkha]

Hi guys,
 
i'm currently thinking of bying the HE400s as and additional headphone to complement my DT990.
I read quite a lot about different pads and think that i would like the sound more with them.
 
Since i like velour more than leather i wanted to ask if someone testet the Brainwavs Angled HM5 Velour pads?
Are the much different compared to the leather one in how they improve bass and so on?

 

[Moochibond]

  Ok. So. I wanted more highs, and more detail. I wanted a less warm sound. Essentially, I fell out of love with my HE400S.
 
NOT any more!
 
Welcome, ZMF Lambskin pads. The HE400S has never sounded so smooth, detailed, or less muddy, while still retaining bass impact, while not exactly as bass heavy as the FocusPads. They do require a little bit of porting but they retain sub-bass surprisingly well despite the porting. Also, despite not being nearly as warm, they still retain that amazing soundstage. 
 
If you have some lying around, give it a shot and let me know what you think of them.

 
Same but different; Just received some HE400S and on swapping original pads to HM5 angled pleather the following changes to the sound are to my ear immediately apparent: much tighter bas, more air/less mud, lifted treble and wider sound stage.

 

[nwavesailor]

   
Same but different; Just received some HE400S and on swapping original pads to HM5 angled pleather the following changes to the sound are to my ear immediately apparent: much tighter bas, more air/less mud, lifted treble and wider sound stage.

Yep, I first tried the FocusPad A and found some improvement. I then installed the BrainWavz angled and found them WAY more comfortable as well as better sound overall!
 
Are there better pads out there? I'm sure there are but I'm happy with where I am with the 400S and I don't want to spend any more $$$ on pads.

 

[relikk356]

  Ok. So. I wanted more highs, and more detail. I wanted a less warm sound. Essentially, I fell out of love with my HE400S.
 
NOT any more!
 
Welcome, ZMF Lambskin pads. The HE400S has never sounded so smooth, detailed, or less muddy, while still retaining bass impact, while not exactly as bass heavy as the FocusPads. They do require a little bit of porting but they retain sub-bass surprisingly well despite the porting. Also, despite not being nearly as warm, they still retain that amazing soundstage. 
 
If you have some lying around, give it a shot and let me know what you think of them.

If you want to keep the bass too (and IMO it increased it) get the ZMF cowhide version. 

 

[toysub]

   
Same but different; Just received some HE400S and on swapping original pads to HM5 angled pleather the following changes to the sound are to my ear immediately apparent: much tighter bas, more air/less mud, lifted treble and wider sound stage.

Similar here, HM5s... but thought the increased bass slightly muffled the mids until I did a grill mod... just what the doctor ordered.  Increased bass and clear defined natural sounding mids/highs.

 

[Moochibond]

Similar here, HM5s... but thought the increased bass slightly muffled the mids until I did a grill mod... just what the doctor ordered.  Increased bass and clear defined natural sounding mids/highs.

Oh, forgot to mention that I bought my HE 400s from a headfi'er who had performed the grill mod. Interesting to hear the mod had its own part to play in improving the overall sound.

 

[Philimon]

Hello,
 
Do these benefit much from an amp/dac, like the schiit magni and modi ubers? Or would it better to save the amp/dac funds and buy more expensive headphones like the LCD2 at $700?
 
Thank you!

 

[DavidA]

  Hello,
 
Do these benefit much from an amp/dac, like the schiit magni and modi ubers? Or would it better to save the amp/dac funds and buy more expensive headphones like the LCD2 at $700?
 
Thank you!

Then you are going to need funds for an amp for the LCD-2, while the M/M combo is okay, the LCD2 will benefit from a better DAC and amp combo

 

[jnak00]

 

  Hello,
 
Do these benefit much from an amp/dac, like the schiit magni and modi ubers? Or would it better to save the amp/dac funds and buy more expensive headphones like the LCD2 at $700?
 
Thank you!

 
They sound far better out of the Modi/Magni than through my phone, NWZ-ZX1 walkman, Fiio E17, and Schiit Fulla.  So yes, they do benefit from an amp/dac.  And as DavidA said, if you get the LCD2 you'll definitely need a DAC/amp.

 

[Philimon]

Thanks David. Yeah, my question is flawed.
 
How about the M/M combo only being okay? Are you saying that those two particular pieces aren't that great, or don't synergize well with 400s, or are you saying that a 400s is not that dependent on getting the most out of it with a $300 amp/dac combo? The value proposition of the 400s is diminished if not just using it as intended as an easily driven headphone. 

 

[Philimon]

 

Thanks jnak00. Can you describe in what ways they sound better please? Thank you. I'm just concerned because I listen at low volumes, so like 1-click on the volume up button on my macbook pro. And when I've had headphone amps in the past, I would listen so low that I was always dealing with volume imbalances from the analogue pots or whatever, so I had to either turn the volume up a little too loud or I had to find some other volume control to use in conjunction like the digital volume controller on iTunes... If amps are mainly beneficial when volume needs to be higher then will it be worth it for me?

 

[jnak00]

 
Thanks jnak00. Can you describe in what ways they sound better please? Thank you. I'm just concerned because I listen at low volumes, so like 1-click on the volume up button on my macbook pro. And when I've had headphone amps in the past, I would listen so low that I was always dealing with volume imbalances from the analogue pots or whatever, so I had to either turn the volume up a little too loud or I had to find some other volume control to use in conjunction like the digital volume controller on iTunes... If amps are mainly beneficial when volume needs to be higher then will it be worth it for me?

 
I listen at similar volumes to you - often just one notch up on the volume control.  With the Modi/Magni I do have to turn the PC volume down a bit to get out of the volume imbalance at the bottom of the knob on the Magni.  I just find the sound to be fuller, more open, and more expansive with the Schiit stack.  I feel like the individual parts of the music (instruments, vocals, etc.) are better defined.  On the E17, for example, the sound felt small and congested.
 
I'm not sure whether the improvement is from the DAC or the amp, but it is a definite improvement. 
 
 

 

[DavidA]

  Thanks David. Yeah, my question is flawed.
 
How about the M/M combo only being okay? Are you saying that those two particular pieces aren't that great, or don't synergize well with 400s, or are you saying that a 400s is not that dependent on getting the most out of it with a $300 amp/dac combo? The value proposition of the 400s is diminished if not just using it as intended as an easily driven headphone. 

Much better question, while I had the original M/M stack, it was decent for the price and worked with my HE-400, X1 and HD-650 back then.  I didn't get to hear the HE-400S with my M/M stack, only heard the HE-400S with my friends high end equipment (Liquid Gold and AudioGD Master 7) and from my Fiio X3, between these two extremes there was not much difference so I don't believe the M/M stack would have a large effect on the 400S, or as you noted that since the HE-400S is easy to drive the value proposition is diminished.
 
I think EQ might be a better solution if you wanted to tune the sound signature of the 400S.
 
I have a Modi2uber but passed on the Magni2uber since I have better amps.  My suggestion for a DAC/amp in this $300-400 range would be the Teac UD-301 that is on MassDrop for $349, to me its a better DAC than the Modi2uber and the headphone amp section is decent, probably close to the Magni.  I've been thinking of getting a second one for my bedroom since it runs cool and I don't have to hold it down every time I plug or un-plug a headphone, unlike the Magni.
 
Since you mentioned channel imbalance, I think the UD-301 would be better since the volume pot is not linear and most of the time its around 12-1 location, well above any problems of channel imbalance but the Magni2uber has a gain switch so that might help also.

 

[Philimon]

  Much better question, while I had the original M/M stack, it was decent for the price and worked with my HE-400, X1 and HD-650 back then.  I didn't get to hear the HE-400S with my M/M stack, only heard the HE-400S with my friends high end equipment (Liquid Gold and AudioGD Master 7) and from my Fiio X3, between these two extremes there was not much difference so I don't believe the M/M stack would have a large effect on the 400S, or as you noted that since the HE-400S is easy to drive the value proposition is diminished.
 
I think EQ might be a better solution if you wanted to tune the sound signature of the 400S.
 
I have a Modi2uber but passed on the Magni2uber since I have better amps.  My suggestion for a DAC/amp in this $300-400 range would be the Teac UD-301 that is on MassDrop for $349, to me its a better DAC than the Modi2uber and the headphone amp section is decent, probably close to the Magni.  I've been thinking of getting a second one for my bedroom since it runs cool and I don't have to hold it down every time I plug or un-plug a headphone, unlike the Magni.
 
Since you mentioned channel imbalance, I think the UD-301 would be better since the volume pot is not linear and most of the time its around 12-1 location, well above any problems of channel imbalance but the Magni2uber has a gain switch so that might help also.

Thanks!
 
I don't know what the non-linear thing is, but if it fixes the imbalance issue then I'd much rather have the Teac over the other Schiit. Also, the Teac has balanced pre-outs, and I've always wanted to try a balanced setup. Would the Teac's XLR pre-outs work in that configuration of connecting HE-400s straight to Teac via XLR and being properly driven? If not, I could still utilize the preamp for some desktop monitors, and/or buying a separate amp later if I want a balanced balanced headphone setup. If I had to guess, the preamps cannot drive headphones, otherwise why would people need balanced headphone amps...