[slex]

I read few posts, regarding comparision of HE400S & HD650. All in favor of HE400S although i have not own the HD650.

The HE400S has with me almost a year. Was thinking of upgrading to Elear as it is compared to as supercharged HD650. Since HE400S is as good or even better then HD650. I gotto get an audition first after it reaches my shore.

The only problem with HE400S is the plastic ring holding the grill. Sometimes it is loose and may have affect the SQ. I tape up tightly with 3M tape. Its ugly but get the job done.

 

[Sajakhaki]

Get the Senn HD 700.  Seriously.  It's the best of both worlds.  Has the treble / bass of the 400S, but better in just about every way.  Has a fuller sound to it than the 400S ( like the 650), which sounds thin /tinny in comparison.  And they can be had for about the same price as the HD 650.  It's like an upgraded 400S for under $400.  

 

[slex]

Get the Senn HD 700.  Seriously.  It's the best of both worlds.  Has the treble / bass of the 400S, but better in just about every way.  Has a fuller sound to it than the 400S ( like the 650), which sounds thin /tinny in comparison.  And they can be had for about the same price as the HD 650.  It's like an upgraded 400S for under $400.  

Great suggestion. Thanks

 

[Nachash]

  IMO it is good, better than the Sennheiser HD650 (I have it here) but nowhere near as good as the Sennheiser HD800, but looking at the price difference that is unsurprising.  Bottom line is they are excellent value but in the middle of the field of what is possible for headphone transducers.

Thanks, Can you (or anyone else) compare them to the Beyer T90 and the Sennh HD700?

 

[Change is Good]

Anyone looking for an adapter to use the boompro mic with their 400S? I am selling mine that I bought from PETEREK a little while back.
 

 
It also works with more traditional single ended 3.5mm cables. Thought I'd let fellow Hifiman owners in here know since the cable section in the classifieds often gets overlooked. PM me if interested.

 

[BrettMatthews]

I read few posts, regarding comparision of HE400S & HD650. All in favor of HE400S although i have not own the HD650.

The HE400S has with me almost a year. Was thinking of upgrading to Elear as it is compared to as supercharged HD650. Since HE400S is as good or even better then HD650. I gotto get an audition first after it reaches my shore.

The only problem with HE400S is the plastic ring holding the grill. Sometimes it is loose and may have affect the SQ. I tape up tightly with 3M tape. Its ugly but get the job done.

The HD650 will be a big upgrade IF you have the gear to support them. The HD6X0's scale incredibly with good gear, but on crappy gear they wont sound any better and may sound worse than the HE400S's as they HE400S is easier to drive.
 
I would grab a HD650 if you are going to have the gear to support it. If not I'd just keep the HE400S if you are happy with them and their sound and maybe start working on upgrading the rest of your chain to get reading for a HD6X0. Oh and I would not touch a HD700 with a 10 foot pole, they are truly terrible.

 

[Fearless1]

The HD650 will be a big upgrade IF you have the gear to support them. The HD6X0's scale incredibly with good gear, but on crappy gear they wont sound any better and may sound worse than the HE400S's as they HE400S is easier to drive.

I would grab a HD650 if you are going to have the gear to support it. If not I'd just keep the HE400S if you are happy with them and their sound and maybe start working on upgrading the rest of your chain to get reading for a HD6X0. Oh and I would not touch a HD700 with a 10 foot pole, they are truly terrible.

I agree with this 100%. The 400i/400s can't compete with a properly driven 650, the 500 is definitely on the same level/upgrade, but is gear dependent as well. The transformation of the 650 from just driving it to finding synergetic equipment to compliment it is really eye(ear) opening.

 

[TheEldestBoy]

 
The HD650 will be a big upgrade IF you have the gear to support them. The HD6X0's scale incredibly with good gear, but on crappy gear they wont sound any better and may sound worse than the HE400S's as they HE400S is easier to drive.
 
I would grab a HD650 if you are going to have the gear to support it. If not I'd just keep the HE400S if you are happy with them and their sound and maybe start working on upgrading the rest of your chain to get reading for a HD6X0. Oh and I would not touch a HD700 with a 10 foot pole, they are truly terrible.

 
I'm starting to think that this is the best option for me too (purchase the HE400S for now, work on upgrading the rest of my chain, and then get the HD6X0 when I'm ready to properly drive them).  Otherwise, I might suffer through a year or more with having to drive the HD6X0 with nothing more than my iPhone 6S & my Peachtree Musicbox.  The iPhone 6S & the Peachtree Musicbox should be more than enough for the HE400S.

 

[Tassie Devil]

   
I'm starting to think that this is the best option for me too (purchase the HE400S for now, work on upgrading the rest of my chain, and then get the HD6X0 when I'm ready to properly drive them).  Otherwise, I might suffer through a year or more with having to drive the HD6X0 with nothing more than my iPhone 6S & my Peachtree Musicbox.  The iPhone 6S & the Peachtree Musicbox should be more than enough for the HE400S.

I have both an HD650 and an HJD545 modded with 650 inserts  but prefer the HiFiMan 400S myself.  But we are all different with different brains and attached ears so it is a personal and subjective opinion.  The sound is different, to me a tad smoother from the HiFiMan 400S but is nowhere near as good as from the Sennheisewr HD800 - I modded an aftermarket cable and silver soldered in a 3.5mm Sennheiser plug.
 
And yes, input quality is important but is as good as it gets here and that shines through cleanly with all the above headphones.
 
So I advise caution.  Yes the headphones discussed here do sound different, but with a lot of hi-fi, "different" does not necessarily mean "better" and could mean spending quite a bit of money for what is essentially a sideways rather than a forward move.  Been there done that a lot in the last 70 years.

 
But certainly try out the HD650s, you might prefer them.  However be cautious and critical and don't let our opinions here either way generate a placebo affect.

 

[KepinCemit]

After several months using the HE400s with brainwavz angled pad, i tried switching back to focus pads A for a couple of days
 
 
For my personal taste, I prefer brainwavz angled.
Sound wise, bass sounded better to me, if nothing else. There's just more of it (and dare I say better ?)  in a good way
 
Maybe it's the distance of my ears to the drivers when using braiwavz angled pads (vs focus pads A), soundstage etc sounded just right, not too "in your face / inside your head" kinda way when using focus pads A.
 
Also dislike my ears touching the inner cover of the driver when using focus pads A, lol. Focus pads A are just too shallow in depth, foam not thick enough for me.
 
 
Not saying focus pads A are bad for HE400s, but personally I prefer brainwavz angled pads.

 

[zeissiez]

I agree about staying away from HD700. There are lots of other cans which sound better at this price.

 

[DavidA]

@slex, if the plastice ring does not hold the grills down tightly, use some children's clay or rubber eraser along the rim of the cup where the grill sits to make the fit tighter.
 
While I haven't heard the Elear yet a friend who has heard them said I would not like them since they don't have the sparkle in the highs that I like and he didn't think they were better than the HD-650 either.  He said doing the mods to the HD-650 can make them a lot better but as the other posters have noted you will need a good amp to drive them.  I've heard the HD-650 on a Liquid Glass and EC Balancing Act, with those amps the HD-650 sounds better than a HD-800/S to me for most genres of music except for classical and well mastered/recorded jazz/blues.
 
I saw that one person suggested the HD-700 and I suggest you try it, if the highs don't bother you then they are a real bargain, not as amp picky as the HD-800/S but still require a decent tube amp to sound its best.  I had the HE-400S for a few weeks and returned them since they were not different enough sound signature over the HE-400i and didn't do anything better than the HE-400i, also, they are no match for the HD-650/700 from my BH Crack.
 
FWIW, between my GF and I we have 2 HD-700's, 2 HD-650's and 2 K7XX's plus a few more that are listed in my profile.

 

[Vigrith]

  While I haven't heard the Elear yet a friend who has heard them said I would not like them since they don't have the sparkle in the highs that I like and he didn't think they were better than the HD-650 either.  He said doing the mods to the HD-650 can make them a lot better but as the other posters have noted you will need a good amp to drive them.  I've heard the HD-650 on a Liquid Glass and EC Balancing Act, with those amps the HD-650 sounds better than a HD-800/S to me for most genres of music except for classical and well mastered/recorded jazz/blues.

 
The HD650 scaling is definitely crazy, a friend of mine who attended Canjam London last week and who's had and loved the 650s for a good number of years tried them on the Tungsten prototype (can't remember which source it was connected to) - he also tried the Elear however and said he had to concede the fact he liked it noticeably better, his pair isn't modded though far as I'm aware.
 
Whether or not it's worth $700~ more is subjective though I suppose. Personally if I had the money to buy either of them I'd rather invest in the Elear for build quality, aesthetics and newer technology. Not saying newer is necessarily better of course though.

 

[slex]

@slex
, if the plastice ring does not hold the grills down tightly, use some children's clay or rubber eraser along the rim of the cup where the grill sits to make the fit tighter.

While I haven't heard the Elear yet a friend who has heard them said I would not like them since they don't have the sparkle in the highs that I like and he didn't think they were better than the HD-650 either.  He said doing the mods to the HD-650 can make them a lot better but as the other posters have noted you will need a good amp to drive them.  I've heard the HD-650 on a Liquid Glass and EC Balancing Act, with those amps the HD-650 sounds better than a HD-800/S to me for most genres of music except for classical and well mastered/recorded jazz/blues.

I saw that one person suggested the HD-700 and I suggest you try it, if the highs don't bother you then they are a real bargain, not as amp picky as the HD-800/S but still require a decent tube amp to sound its best.  I had the HE-400S for a few weeks and returned them since they were not different enough sound signature over the HE-400i and didn't do anything better than the HE-400i, also, they are no match for the HD-650/700 from my BH Crack.

FWIW, between my GF and I we have 2 HD-700's, 2 HD-650's and 2 K7XX's plus a few more that are listed in my profile.

Yes, i have thought of pudding up with clay or blutack too but it will leave an oily residue eventualy and dun like the smell of it while im listening.

Yes, i have sway away from elear. I dun need extra bass and WEIGHT.Who need it when you have a TH-00X.

HE400S has served me well, recently just hop into NOS dac bangwagon. Looking for a well balanced and higher defintion HP to match it.

HD700 or even HD800 comes to mind. Right now, looking into the new Bayerdynamic DT1990, all are open cans which is my preference for bigger soundstage.

 

[DavidA]

Yes, i have thought of pudding up with clay or blutack too but it will leave an oily residue eventualy and dun like the smell of it while im listening.

Yes, i have sway away from elear. I dun need extra bass. Who need it when you have a TH-00X.

HE400S has served me well, recently just hop into NOS dac bangwagon. Looking for a well balanced and higher defintion HP to match it.

HD700 or even HD800 comes to mind. Right now, looking into the new Bayerdynamic DT1990, all are open cans which is my preference for bigger soundstage.

do you have access to a hot glue gun?  you can put a small dab on the edges of the grill, it doesn't smell and can be removed later if you need to.