[obsidyen]

  Hmmmm I think I'm getting even more confused now haha. Why did you sell your L2s, if you don't mind me asking?
 
The L2 is almost the same price as the X2 for me, so I'm not sure it would be worth it, maybe  I should just get the X2s then.

I prefer warmer headphones so I preferred X2 over it. 

 

[eeggddss]

Just received my HE400s. Out of the box (without the recommended 150hs break-in) sound almost like heaven. I'm sure the price to take out "almost" of the equation is no less than an additional thousand bucks. For $299 they are a steal. I own FiiO X5 and FiiO E12, everything FLAC. Compared to BeyerDynamics, Sennheisers and Shures.
Don't hesitate, go for them.

 

[mrmoto050]

  Hmmmm I think I'm getting even more confused now haha. Why did you sell your L2s, if you don't mind me asking?
 
The L2 is almost the same price as the X2 for me, so I'm not sure it would be worth it, maybe  I should just get the X2s then.

@monkey4054 I think you may want to look into the refurbished PM2 offer from OPPO, comes with the same 3 year warranty and I believe it would fit your Sound Signature perfectly. articulate tight bass and beautiful mids, non fatiguing highs. They are also Planers. Even the PM3 would fit your requirements.But this a HE400s thread so it is my understanding form some of the posts here the OPPO's are very similar.

 

[obsidyen]

Guys remember the time when I said these headphones are not ideal for EDM and that X2 has better bass... I'm taking all of these back! I don't know if it's due to the Focus pads or burn-in but bass has become amazing. EDM now sounds stunning! X2 still has more mid-bass but sub-bass on the HE400S is definitely better and it's not mid-bass shy either. Dr. Fang tuned these headphones for the masses, these are audiophile headphones that anyone can enjoy.
 
I just wish they also made a more portable, closed back version of these.

I'd buy for it for portable use outside. These are marketed for portable device use but I'm afraid people would be really annoyed if I used them on the metro because these leak a lot of sound. 

Don't say PM-3 because its bass is nowhere near as present and hard hitting as HE400S' and you need bass outside otherwise it's going to sound too bright (just like PM-3 does, tested it) because some of the bass goes away due to environment noise.

 

[Francisk]

Don't say PM-3 because its bass is nowhere near as present and hard hitting as HE400S' and you need bass outside otherwise it's going to sound too bright (just like PM-3 does, tested it) because some of the bass goes away due to environment noise.

PM3 is anything but bright. In fact, that's the reason why I dislike the PM3....the high frequencies are recessed and the sound is too veiled for me.

 

[mrmoto050]

Never said PM3 was a bright headphone. I was responding to @monkey4054 in another post. There is also another poster here that compares the sound signature of the 400s to PM2.

 

[monkey4054]

I'd love to have the PM2s but they are also too expensive for me. Right now I'm still tossing up between the 400S, the X2 and I'm also looking into Beyer DT XX0 too, as I've heard they can do well with the genres I listen to as well. 

 

[manywelps]

 

Don't say PM-3 because its bass is nowhere near as present and hard hitting as HE400S' and you need bass outside otherwise it's going to sound too bright (just like PM-3 does, tested it) because some of the bass goes away due to environment noise.

PM3 is anything but bright. In fact, that's the reason why I dislike the PM3....the high frequencies are recessed and the sound is too veiled for me.

The PM3 reminded me of an M50, yeah.

 

[obsidyen]

  PM3 is anything but bright. In fact, that's the reason why I dislike the PM3....the high frequencies are recessed and the sound is too veiled for me.

I mean while using in noisy places, the already weak bass becomes nonexistent... which is contradictory to the whole point of being a portable headphone. All portable headphones must have extra bass in order to compensate for outside noise because lows are the first to get affected by noise (except maybe ANC headphones but I don't like ANC).

 

[mattris]

I've recently listened to the Philips X2 and AKG K7XX... and just bought the HE-400S. I can also confirm that all three have a mid-/low-bass boost. My comparison/observations:
 
X2: powerful, engaging, full sound (Strength: build quality; overall versatility with movies/all genres of music)
 
K7XX: airy, clean, lean, detailed sound; but I think the boost around 2-3 kHz is a bit too much (Strength: gaming; large ear-cups; they feel light on your head, with minimal clamp)
 
HE-400S: the most-realistic sound-stage of the three (especially with orchestral music); superior center image: spacious, with excellent instrument placement/distinction (strength: the best of these three headphones for music enjoyment... although it does have a darker sound than I'm used to. Perhaps further use/burn-in will improve the treble response.)

Also, the sound-stages of X2's and K7XX's were too wide for me, without a proper center image. This is especially noticeable with orchestral music. I'm glad that I discovered the HE-400S... my first HIFIMAN headphone!

 

[marts30]

  I've recently listened to the Philips X2 and AKG K7XX... and just bought the HE-400S. I can also confirm that all three have a mid-/low-bass boost. My comparison/observations:
 
X2: powerful, engaging, full sound (strength: build quality, overall versatility with movies/all genres of music)
 
K7XX: airy, clean, lean, detailed sound; but I think the boost around 2-3 kHz is a bit too much (strength: gaming, large ear-cups, feel light on the head)
 
HE-400S: most-realistic sound-stage of the three (especially with orchestral music): superior center image, spacious, with superior instrument placement/distinction (strength: the best of the three for music enjoyment - although it does have a darker sound than I'm used to)

Also, I noticed that the X2 and K7XX sound-stages were too wide for me (extreme L-R), without a proper center image - especially noticeable with orchestral music. I'm glad that I discovered the HE-400S... my first HIFIMAN headphone!

 
I found the k7xx a lot more left right than the X2, kept the X2 as I preferred it all around really.

 

[mrmoto050]

  I'd love to have the PM2s but they are also too expensive for me. Right now I'm still tossing up between the 400S, the X2 and I'm also looking into Beyer DT XX0 too, as I've heard they can do well with the genres I listen to as well. 

@monkey4054 In case you are interested. Here is the price of the PM2 refurbished with standard 3 year warranty.
https://www.oppodigital.com/proddetail.asp?prod=ZPM2

 

[Siegfried262]

  Guys remember the time when I said these headphones are not ideal for EDM and that X2 has better bass... I'm taking all of these back! I don't know if it's due to the Focus pads or burn-in but bass has become amazing. EDM now sounds stunning! X2 still has more mid-bass but sub-bass on the HE400S is definitely better and it's not mid-bass shy either. Dr. Fang tuned these headphones for the masses, these are audiophile headphones that anyone can enjoy.
 
I just wish they also made a more portable, closed back version of these. I'd buy for it for portable use outside. These are marketed for portable device use but I'm afraid people would be really annoyed if I used them on the metro because these leak a lot of sound.  Don't say PM-3 because its bass is nowhere near as present and hard hitting as HE400S' and you need bass outside otherwise it's going to sound too bright (just like PM-3 does, tested it) because some of the bass goes away due to environment noise.

I'm looking on Hifiman's store; are the pads you used the Focuspads or Focuspads-A? Thanks

 

[obsidyen]

  I'm looking on Hifiman's store; are the pads you used the Focuspads or Focuspads-A? Thanks

Just Focus pads.

 

[Siegfried262]

 
Just Focus pads.

Thanks for clarifying; the HE-400s' are looking really interesting to me and might be my next headphone. Is there a big difference between the two Focuspads material-wise?