not like the grados at all. much smoother presentation. not treble-focused either. has a bit of that planar bass quality, though actually a bit dynamic ish with a more midbass focused bass region
I bought both Focuspad and Focuspad-A. It's Focuspad-A for me. Wow is all I can say. Deeper bass while keeping the mid and top end bite.
Focuspad killed the mid and top end bite. I couldn't hear the drum kit attacks. I like them to assault my ears like in a live gig.
Both pads definitely deepened the bass. It is noticeable. So no doubt you'll get more bass for either.
They differ in how they treat the mid and top end bite.
These are initial impressions. I am still excited so of course everything sounds great to me now. I'll let this boil over and listen when I am no longer excited.
Then I can evaluate what the pads really do everywhere else.
I bought both Focuspad and Focuspad-A. It's Focuspad-A for me. Wow is all I can say. Deeper bass while keeping the mid and top end bite.
Focuspad killed the mid and top end bite. I couldn't hear the drum kit attacks. I like them to assault my ears like in a live gig.
Both pads definitely deepened the bass. It is noticeable. So no doubt you'll get more bass for either.
They differ in how they treat the mid and top end bite.
These are initial impressions. I am still excited so of course everything sounds great to me now. I'll let this boil over and listen when I am no longer excited.
Then I can evaluate what the pads really do everywhere else.
Did you change only the pads? The recommendation I read was the change the pads and grills. The pads deepen the bass, but then the grills open the soundstage and highs.
OK, I caved in. I removed the grills. It was easy using mobile phone plastic pry tool. The rings were plastic so my fear of scratching metal was unfounded. Thanks
to the grill mod guide telling me where the ring tabs were certainly made the removal safe.
The sound...oh the sound. Everything opened up. Top to bottom. More details. More accurate definition. Bass is now more defined much more complete.
I should really keep this open. But I still want to find an acoustically transparent grill. I feel insecure without one.
Grill mod plus Focuspad-A for me. Those who have the HE-400S, don't be stubborn like me. Do the two mods from day one.
OK, I caved in. I removed the grills. It was easy using mobile phone plastic pry tool. The rings were plastic so my fear of scratching metal was unfounded. Thanks
to the grill mod guide telling me where the ring tabs were certainly made the removal safe.
The sound...oh the sound. Everything opened up. Top to bottom. More details. More accurate definition. Bass is now more defined much more complete.
I should really keep this open. But I still want to find an acoustically transparent grill. I feel insecure without one.
Grill mod plus Focuspad-A for me. Those who have the HE-400S, don't be stubborn like me. Do the two mods from day one.
I also have been experimenting back and forth between the Focuspad and the stock pads for a few months - and wholeheartedly agree with you that the Focuspad just kills the midrange. I found the sound to be thin, and a real step back in what i think is one of the best aspects of the HE-400S: the great presence and detail on vocals, guitar, piano (the Focuspad even seemed to decrease the "flow" of the music to me). For my taste, defiantly not worth whatever extra low end HZs may be extracted with Focuspad. That's unfortunate because the Focuspad is slightly more comfortable on my head and does look nicer (less of a lint trap). I thought i had my rig all settled (with some great Surfcables running balanced to Ponoplayer) - but now you've got me wondering about the Focuspad-A and potential grill mod!
Don't wonder. I am sure about the Focuspad-A's ability to push the mid/ upper treble attack/snap/bite that the stock pads lack. There is also no doubt that removing the grill improves detail from top to bottom. I'd keep these cans open without anything but i do not trust my movements. I might poke those delicate cables. So I've decided to add a grill mod.
Today I have been using the HE-400s through my Yggdrasil/ MJ2 ( Telefunken TK's) and the result is sublime. I have been jamming out to Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus , wow these guys sound bloody great. These cans offer a lot of value for the money. These cans are definitely more natural sounding than the HE-400i. Furthermore the HE-400s tad more comfortable and the pads breathe more, so I can listen longer with out my ears getting hot. I hope everyone has good time jamming out.
That is fantastic. Your experience certainly convinces me about the differences in sound preference. I also intend to use mine on tube gear. I have an APPJ hybrid speaker amp and a Sun Audio 2a3 clone speaker amp. APPJ sells a headphone adapter for the APPJ tube amp. On paper it says it can work on 2a3 set amps.
As for jamming, well I am up at this hour when i am supposed to be asleep LOL. Keep us posted with your HE-400S adventures.
Here are reference pics.The black ring is plastic. It has 4 tabs. This is our main concern when removing the ring. I used a plastic mobile phone removal tool. They are found everywhere on Ebay or perhaps in your locality. Just insert the tool under the ring and pry off carefully. I actually used two of these tools. One pries from the inside, a second one pries from the outside so as not to break the ring tabs. This is overkill but I hate breaking things. So pry on inside, when you get a gap on the outside, pry ring away from the silver housing near the tab location. this way you move them away from the silver slots.
P.S. my fingers in the photos don't look like my actual fingers. Thank you camera lens distortion. I can assure you they are magnificent LOL.
Removal is easy, and the retainer ring us t too brittle. It's not that easy to break, IMHO. I'd leave mine off of my HE400 but am also afraid of something bad happening to the drivers.
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