[MickeyVee]

Nice choice MLE! (love finding/listening to new music) Listened to it 4 times switching between my HE400 and HD700 (using the Audioquest DragonFly).  Although it sounds great on the HE400, the vocals are a little further back.  The vocals HD700 is more upfront and airy and the bass is more solid. 2.5x better, probably not.
If you want to blow your mind, check out some Dead Can Dance on YouTube. Might not be your type of music but it sure brings out the magic and shows how stunning the HE400 can be.
Quote:

Mad Lust Envy

The vocals on this... AMAZINGLY intimate with the HE400. The thump is like hauntingly realistic.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I've seen a lot of hate for the HD700 recently. You think it's justified?


But yeah, I don't think the HE400 is a very mid rich headphone. More like slightly mid forward, but more realistic than others (Q701, ESW9 come to mind as far as mid forward headphones). I believe the quantity of mids is what I consider natural.

The DCD vids on youtube are all low quality, lol. But I can tell it'd be stellar on the HE400.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Nice choice MLE! (love finding/listening to new music) Listened to it 4 times switching between my HE400 and HD700 (using the Audioquest DragonFly).  Although it sounds great on the HE400, the vocals are a little further back.  The vocals HD700 is more upfront and airy and the bass is more solid. 2.5x better, probably not.
If you want to blow your mind, check out some Dead Can Dance on YouTube. Might not be your type of music but it sure brings out the magic and shows how stunning the HE400 can be.

 
One thing I found curious is that even though the HD700s have a fairly significant bass rolloff starting at 50 Hz (typical of dynamic ring-coil drivers), as well as progressively flaring total harmonic distortion starting 100 Hz (again, typical for the driver type), your impressions have always been that it's plain better than your planars which have no measurable rolloff until 25 Hz or so, and extremely low THD down to subbass.
 
 
Maybe you just favour the traditional ring-coil type bass?
 
The 300 Hz square waves do look quite clean with the HD700s though, with the HE400s there is some obvious ringing. HE400s have trouble with lower mids at least on pleather pads. Maybe that's why.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Oasis - Wonderwall. I find the vocals in the perfect spot. I have never heard them be so lifelike.

Cinephile - Better Said (trip hop). Love how the omnipresent background bass is constant, yet never covers up her voice. Her voice isn't forward in this song to begin with.

[VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOICHvj7VQ4[/VIDEO]

 

[TMRaven]

I really don't know if I can trust my ears anymore.  Now that I got a completely flat amp, I still notice a rolloff of the HE-400's bass starting at 40hz, gradually to 30hz.  Below 30hz its bass is very quiet, nearing silent.  I think maybe the larger planers like the HE-500 or LCD-2 probably have a better extension.  Regardless of what the graphs say, the larger drivers have to move more air by nature.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I really don't know if I can trust my ears anymore.  Now that I got a completely flat amp, I still notice a rolloff of the HE-400's bass starting at 40hz, gradually to 30hz.  Below 30hz its bass is very quiet, nearing silent.  I think maybe the larger planers like the HE-500 or LCD-2 probably have a better extension.  Regardless of what the graphs say, the larger drivers have to move more air by nature.

 
My guess is the compensation algorithms for FR curves don't match perceived volume (doesn't it try to represent sonic "energy" rather than perceived frequency volume at any point in the FR?). Also know that intrinsically our hearing rolls off below 50 Hz and above 15kHz just due to the functional anatomy of the hair cells in our cochlea. Combining the two, ears nor measurements can be 100% trusted.
 
Also, there could be pair-to-pair driver variations.
 
Anyway, with my HE400s, driven at the moment out of the crappy FiiO E7 without any bass boost, there's maybe a gradual 3~4 dB slight downtilt from 50Hz down to about 27Hz, not nearly a rolloff. Then from 27Hz on there's a significant rolloff, although even at 20Hz there is still a fair bit of air being moved. This perceived pattern seems to match purrin's measurement ok. Tyll's are way off though.

 

[TMRaven]

Yes, bass energy is what I was getting at.  I know that by 20hz all you should be getting a sense of is mainly the movement of air.  Gradual tilt from 50 to 30 sounds about right in my book too, as well as the massive drop below the area around 30hz.  What boggles my mind is how some owners of say-- HD650 and 600 (both of which I've listened to a good bit) say they have an easy time with the lowest notes represented by pipe organs.  It makes me wonder what kind of magical pixie dust they're using.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Yes, bass energy is what I was getting at.  I know that by 20hz all you should be getting a sense of is mainly the movement of air.  Gradual tilt from 50 to 30 sounds about right in my book too, as well as the massive drop below the area around 30hz.  What boggles my mind is how some owners of say-- HD650 and 600 (both of which I've listened to a good bit) say they have an easy time with the lowest notes represented by pipe organs.  It makes me wonder what kind of magical pixie dust they're using.

 
This hobby is full of potential for hogwash and denial. People hear what they think they could hear if they really believe in it.

 

[kiwikid]

Quote:

I once had the lcd2 r2 as my end game hp. I gave up on that dream before I ever owned it. Too many people that I trust told me that the bass is not as good as people make it out to be. It is certainly beyond what I would call reasonably comfortable based on the specs. 
 
Ultimately I think that the he400 goes toe to toe with the lcd2 for a lot less money. 

i have both, and they have similar sound sig, but lcd2 is better in everyway but for the air of the he 400, the lcd2 is worth the extra dollars for sure, both are great!!!

 

[jerg]

Oh no doubt about that. LCD2s objectively measure leagues better than HE400s in every respect. No mids hump, even less bass rolloff (LCD2s are one of a handful that have flat response down to 10 Hz), etc. However at the same time they are voiced very differently.
 
LCD2 rev. 1 seem to be voiced similar to HE400,but with less mid/upper-treble boost, hence the air difference, they should definitely sound darker too.
 
LCD2 rev. 2s are completely differently voiced, it has a more prominent upper midrange, even MORE withdrawn mid/upper-treble, it's dark as night but at the same time forward and more aggressive.
 
Bass and mids-wise, no debate, they will be more refined and more natural than HE400s, but anything from upper midrange and up is debatable. Also debatable is imaging/instrument separation, LCD2s are notorious for being more "central" "intimate" "cohesive", a.k.a. having a smaller soundstage with less clear instrument sep.

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

i have both, and they have similar sound sig, but lcd2 is better in everyway but for the air of the he 400, the lcd2 is worth the extra dollars for sure, both are great!!!

 
Are you sure about that? The he400 is $399 and often on sale at $359. The lcd2 is $995. That's a lot of extra dollars to justify. The truth is you may be right, but I haven't heard them. But at the he400 pricepoint, many headfiers can afford to own them, but at a grand many of us will not own the lcd2. 

 

[Pulse14]

Done with a 40hr burn in. I can't get any work done.
 
I've never been so captivated by headphones.
 
No response back from Hifiman yet concerning the cables, any US customer service feedback?

 

[Bop]

Has anyone tried to pair these cans win the Audinst HUD-MX1 Dac/Amp?  I'm pretty curious as how it would fare 

 

[MickeyVee]

Not sure about the specs but the bass seems a little better (more realistic, solid, great impact).  Don't get me wrong, I love the HE400 bass but the HD700 seems a little more natural.
My end game is the LCD2. I knew that ever since I first heard them at a meet last year.  The HE400 and HD700 are nice sidesteps on the journey.
Quote:

 
One thing I found curious is that even though the HD700s have a fairly significant bass rolloff starting at 50 Hz (typical of dynamic ring-coil drivers), as well as progressively flaring total harmonic distortion starting 100 Hz (again, typical for the driver type), your impressions have always been that it's plain better than your planars which have no measurable rolloff until 25 Hz or so, and extremely low THD down to subbass.
 
 
Maybe you just favour the traditional ring-coil type bass?
 
 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Done with a 40hr burn in. I can't get any work done.
 
I've never been so captivated by headphones.
 
No response back from Hifiman yet concerning the cables, any US customer service feedback?

customerservice@head-direct.com? When I had to replace my pair a couple months back they were very responsive.