[MattTCG]

Wow...looks like a lot has happened since I left this thread last. 

 

[obsidyen]

...

 

[Netforce]

Playing around with some alpha pads I got today. Used the rings from my velour he-500 pads and just had to align up the pads and got them on.
 
Comfort wise there is a tad bit of clamp with them but I am getting used to it. The stock velour pads were rather shallow and foams was so soft it was causing my ears to get a tad sore.
 
Sound impressions to follow later...

 

[tinyman392]

 

Playing around with some alpha pads I got today. Used the rings from my velour he-500 pads and just had to align up the pads and got them on.
 
Comfort wise there is a tad bit of clamp with them but I am getting used to it. The stock velour pads were rather shallow and foams was so soft it was causing my ears to get a tad sore.
 
Sound impressions to follow later...

 
Those are huge pads  Yeah, the HiFiMan pads are all much thinner in thickness  

 

[JPlaquia]

 

Playing around with some alpha pads I got today. Used the rings from my velour he-500 pads and just had to align up the pads and got them on.
 
Comfort wise there is a tad bit of clamp with them but I am getting used to it. The stock velour pads were rather shallow and foams was so soft it was causing my ears to get a tad sore.
 
Sound impressions to follow later...

 
At first look, I thought it was a Stax SR-009 Haha. But that was just me.
 
Anyway, looking forward to your impressions.

 

[acap13]

 

Playing around with some alpha pads I got today. Used the rings from my velour he-500 pads and just had to align up the pads and got them on.
 
Comfort wise there is a tad bit of clamp with them but I am getting used to it. The stock velour pads were rather shallow and foams was so soft it was causing my ears to get a tad sore.
 
Sound impressions to follow later...

damn,,this is really nice..after seeing the leather pads(alpha pads) on,it very punches above its price point in terms of look department..
now,lets see how the sound judgement soon...subbed..

 

[Netforce]

So some impressions on the alpha pads right before I head to bed.
 
Comfort is pretty good because of the he-400s clamp is already pretty strong and the pads are very soft. The leather is absolutely lovely and very breathable. Metal band above the comfort strap for me bends inward when I lift the he-400s apart to put them on/off and makes a little noise.
 
Definitely isolation has increased to a point where I was having difficulty hearing people calling for me in the other room. Headphones still open so everything in my room I can hear rather fine.
 
Soundstage I did notice some change in comparison to stock velour. The he-400s sounded quite a bit less airy and soundstage had rather narrowed. Tad of a contrast to my he-500 where soundstage opened up. Perhaps this change maybe be related to clamp or the change in headband between the two.
 
Bass is more forward now than with the stock velours to the point where I would call the 400s+alpha pads a dark sound signature. Bass extends deeper compared to stock velours and bass quantity has increased. Didn't do much comparison to my original he-400 but mostly going by sound memory I would still say the original he-400 has more and deeper bass. Mids are still very much in tact. Though the bass did increase I wasn't really hearing any of the bass creeping into the mids which is a definite plus. Treble also for the most part remains the same but truth be told I forgot to take some notes abut the treble when I was swapping back and forth between pads.
 
Hope that helps and my impressions weren't that messy. I can probably add some more tomorrow when I get off work and get some more listening done.

 

[JPlaquia]

Nice impressions. Good read. Now I am really eager to buy this one .
 
Just a few questions though.
 
1) What are you referring to with the "original he-400'? the Blue (or Dark Blue) one? or the he-400S with the stock pads on it?.
2) You mentioned that the soundstage had narrowed, how narrow it became on the Alpha Pads? is it very noticable? and in terms of sound stage what would you prefer the Stock Pads or the Alpha Pads?. Sorry if I asked so many about the soundstage, I really like my music to have a wide soundstage as much as possible.
 
Thanks.

 

[sarathnjan007]

  Nice impressions. Good read. Now I am really eager to buy this one .
 
Just a few questions though.
 
1) What are you referring to with the "original he-400'? the Blue (or Dark Blue) one? or the he-400S with the stock pads on it?.
2) You mentioned that the soundstage had narrowed, how narrow it became on the Alpha Pads? is it very noticable? and in terms of sound stage what would you prefer the Stock Pads or the Alpha Pads?. Sorry if I asked so many about the soundstage, I really like my music to have a wide soundstage as much as possible.
 
Thanks.

same question here. Especially when compared to the fidelio x2 which has a wide sound stage. 

 

[conquerator2]

A suspicious box has landed at my door. I shall commence into my quarters to start listening immediately 

 

[conquerator2]

Ok, Initial PRELIMINARY impressions.
Build quality and everything else related to it goes toe to toe with the 560. No question about that. This is an incredible accomplishment for Hifiman IMO, considering they were able to bring the price this down and still keep the standards in check.
The switch to jack entry into the phone is a significant step up. I have an excellent cable for my HE560 but the SMC still gives me pause sometimes. A huge plus.
Packaging is alright, decent. On par with 560 except the wooden box. But a nice evolution for HFM again, leveling things steadily up. 
I have no quibbles here, nothing yet at least. So far so good.
 
My setup is PC - JRiver 20 -> Gustard U12 -> Theta R2R DAC - > Audio-gd SA31SE. Overkill? Quite possibly but it works good.
The following modifications [fully reversible] have been done to improve the 400S sonically and make it equal mod-wise to the 560
1] Focus pads on [The Velpads are still very good, but I prefer the Focuses, so I recommend people to give them a shot. They alter the sound a bit too]
2] Cut the dust filter of the Focus/Vel pads [optional, did not do that with the Vel pads. My other set of Focuses had this done so, I used those for comparisons. I think it gives the 400S a bit more energy overall]
3] Grill mod [there's more information in the grill mod thread but essentially the stock outer grilles are replaced with a more open mesh, from a trash bin, to anything with a good openness ratio. The mod takes an hour or so, so not terribly bad. It improves the treble markedly IMO, so I recommend making a pair to anyone who wants to improve the openness and extension. ]
 
All those mods are fully reversible and as such they don't void the warranty in any way. Of course, do be careful when swapping anything, but as long as you're not hasty or careless, it is easy to do.
 
With that outta the way, let's get to the meaty part.
 
These are initial impressions and more listening will have to be done and will be done. But so far, in my short impressions, I concluded that:
 
The 400S is not a technically better headphone than the 560. That's a given. No surprise there.
 
The 400S is smooth. Really smooth and generally sounds very even across the spectrum, similar to the 560, with a bit more midrange, a bit less bass extension [sub-bass] and a bit less treble. [EDIT - True! Real smooth.]
To me, the 400S sounds just right. Smooth, unoffensive, fatigue-free and by memory, a lot more to my liking than the 400i. I certainly see why Tyll would like this.
That said, it doesn't quite have the finesse, nuance and precision of the 560, so it is not quite up to par when you compare directly in this aspect.
But it gets dangerously close in many things, to me. Plus, the midrange is excellent and the transition to the treble and bass is super smooth, eclipsing the slightly edgier and punchier [comparatively, of course] HE-560.
The soundstage is very close. the imaging is very close as well. The detail retrieval is perceivingly better on 560 but I think it has to do with the 560's slightly elevated lower treble, which draws more attention to itself. [EDIT: Nah, the 560 is more detailed in the treble for sure. More real. But slightly less smooth :}]
 
For now, I will say that I am quite intrigued by the 400S and I find it quite a special little big headphone
It is not quite as capable but I WILL give it a LONG look as a possible replacement for the 560 [!], at least until my next purchase [which nobody knows when will be though ]. [EDIT: Yep, still more comparisons to be done]
I will do lots of comparisons to make sure this is right. Both headphones have their stronger and weaker but I am surprised by how close they seem to me in the aspects that I find very important, such as frequency response, transients, treble extension, smoothness, enjoyment, tonality and soudnstage/imaging/separation,...
 
[EDIT: The 400S sounds excellent with instrumental and vocals! The 560 has a bit more clarity throughout, a bit more delicacy and less thickness, but good body in the bass!]
 
So there it is. Do keep in mind my setup [the R2R DAC more specifically] as well as the reversible mods [which I recommend and whose price is easily under a 100$].
 
I'll be comparing these two a lot more than I initially thought necessary, it seems This will certainly be interesting and while I thought the 400S could be something pretty special, I wasn't expecting it to perform this good, for so much less.
 
I'll try to answer any questions you send me way, of course.
 
I am saving pics for my review and there's quite a bit of them around here, so I am not posting any for now.
Cheers 

 
 
EDIT 1 - 
Expanding on the thoughts above, it's becoming a bit clearer.
The 400S has a thicker sound overall, except for the sub-bass [where the 560 adds a bit of thickness]. The 560, is thinner, more 'realistic' and accurate, the 400S is thicker, more euphonic and 'colored'. The 560 is breathier, more airy, the 400S is smoother. There's a tiny section in the treble where the 400S might have a slight peak, the 560 has a more forward treble overall so the peaks in the lower treble are a bit less perceivable. The bass is a bit punchier on the 400S, except for said sub-bass.
Midrange is a notch more forward on the 400S, lower treble and lowest bass a notch less, but I wouldn't say recessed.
Still a very interesting headphone! I'll have to cover lots of ground to make a definitive picture.
I'd say they share the common house sound for sure, but there're differences for sure. [EDIT: Biggest difference remains in treble extension and sub-bass. Overall, the 560 has the edge, but the 400S is close behind with a thicker, more euphonic and generally slightly colored sound. But I like it! ]
More will come as I listen 

 
 
EDIT 2: Added edits Read them :}

 

[conquerator2]

I'll keep it in one post. It will get an edit when things are added :}

 

[Netforce]

  Nice impressions. Good read. Now I am really eager to buy this one .
 
Just a few questions though.
 
1) What are you referring to with the "original he-400'? the Blue (or Dark Blue) one? or the he-400S with the stock pads on it?.
2) You mentioned that the soundstage had narrowed, how narrow it became on the Alpha Pads? is it very noticable? and in terms of sound stage what would you prefer the Stock Pads or the Alpha Pads?. Sorry if I asked so many about the soundstage, I really like my music to have a wide soundstage as much as possible.
 
Thanks.

Heya thanks for reading. In regards to your questions:
 
1) Yeah when I referred to the original he-400 I mean't the old blue model.
2) I would say the soundstage change is noticeable but for me I have tad of an issue discerning between soundstage width or depth. Personally I still don't have a major preference between the two. Both pads are good at what they do. The stock makes the sound super natural and airy while the alpha pads give the sound a darker and leaner bassier sound. So my cop out answer would be alpha pads with nice and bassy music and stock pads for most other genres.

 

[lofthanza]

Which ones bring more details in the sound, these or the X2s?

 

[Gino]

conquerator, are those impressions for the modded HE 400S? How did you mount the Alpha Pads?