Yes, that's like the E9 vs Lyr. I always found the E9 to have more mids, despite the thinner sound. Fullness can spread sounds a bit, making them less audible. Thinness may make sounds more audible and easier to locate.
I can see how bass being thinner would make it have more bite. It's thinness makes it more focused, though less cohesive.
I tried the 6N1P which was supposedly neutral-ish, and they were still mid recessed. Sounds like some mid rich tubes would make it 'neutral', but I wasn't impressed, and I don't have the patience for tube rolling, nor the money to keep replacing them. Outside of the HE-4, I preferred the E9 for all the other headphones I tried. I guess I'm just an SS kind of guy.
I tried the 6N1P which was supposedly neutral-ish, and they were still mid recessed. Sounds like some mid rich tubes would make it 'neutral', but I wasn't impressed, and I don't have the patience for tube rolling, nor the money to keep replacing them. Outside of the HE-4, I preferred the E9 for all the other headphones I tried. I guess I'm just an SS kind of guy.
Yeah, i can't argue with you there. I am not a fan of the way the 6N1P sounds with it either, and to get it to sound where I like it cost me way too much. I like to switch back and forth with tube and SS . I am thinking about the HPA V200 down the road, but I want to keep the wife for now so I will wait a bit.
Haven't been using the HE400 lately due to trying to adjust to the Monster Turbine.
Damn, do I friggin' hate IEM comfort. It's worse than pleather. Spent $11 on Sony Hybrid tips for comfort, and they are still terrible for that. So I just spent another $15 for 3 pair of Comply tips. They should be a LOT more comfortable if they're anything like the JVC marshmallow tips, but they lose SQ. Oh well, the Turbines are for work use only, and I EQ with my Sansa Fuze for more mids and treble anyways (they sound very veiled off the Fuze for some reason). So far, I like the Turbines when using my NFB5 (it actually sounds damn good of it), but they sound terrible out of my Fuze unless I EQ. After EQ, they sound much better. I just don't understand how they could sound so much better off the NFB5, being an IEM and all. The Fuze must have a terrible on board DAC.
So I put my HE400 back on just this hour... and dear god... I miss their near perfection. XD
I am a fanboy. Make no mistake.
I have never been so in love with a headphone's sound the way I am with the HE400. They're special. No mistake about it. I dunno how a headphone got everything so right.
Give me a higher end can that sounds exactly like the HE400 with more refinement, and I might actually go for them.
I feel no need to "upgrade" my he400's. I've already owned the he500 and know what that sound signature is all about. I liked the he500 for certain material, but the he400 works for about anything. Plus the he500 was a little too heavy for me. So for me...for now...I'm done with my open planar can. Game over.
With regard to closed can, I've got some real love for the d5k. Even though there are good initial impressions of the new denon line coming out now. Much better than people "speculated." But prices are too high and I need to wait for the dust to settle.
So for now, I'm VERY comfortable with my two pair of hp's.
So my HE-400s arrived in the mail today way ahead of schedule. I wasn't expecting them for at least another week or two, so I'm totally unprepared in terms of getting an amp/DAC or the velour pads. But I feel like writing out my first thoughts because I know as time goes on, my ears are going to adjust to sounds more and I want the "review" to be as unbiased as possible. I'd also like to know if other HE-400 owners hear the same things with whatever configurations they're using.
Take this all with a grain of salt. I'm not an audio person. It's purely subjective. I listen to a lot of music, but who doesn't? By most standards, my musical tastes are pretty awful Anyway, onto the headphones.
In terms of volume, the headphones were fine when plugged straight into my desktop. However, it should be noted that I've got a full sized gaming computer with plenty of nice stuff, so this definitely doesn't mean it'll be the same for a laptop user or a "regular" desktop unless you went out of your way to get better sound equipment for them or something.
I was going through testing out some songs and immediately found how powerful the bass and instrumental parts in general were. So powerful, in fact, that they would occasionally drown out the male vocals a bit. Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park is a pretty good example of this, I think. I don't normally listen to Linkin Park, but when testing as much music as I could, it stood out to me.
Memories con- -Thump thump- Like opening the- -Thump thump-
Not all music would do this. Keep in mind, I'm coming from Sennheiser HD555s, so I'm used to a much different kind of sound. This doesn't even happen to all of the same music within the same genre, or with the same general sound, so it seems to change a lot based on the recording itself. I will say that it made some rock/metal recordings sound mediocre and others sound great.
Electronic music was absolutely outstanding on every occasion. The first time I listened to Bass Cannon with these I knew it was going to be excellent, and it managed to exceed my expectations to do what I thought wasn't even possible. My only complaint is that when there's a lot of consistent bass playing like that, it can get a weird "humming/buzzing" sound in the distance. It's faint, and not something people who are used to listening to it will probably hear so much anymore. It also sounds like something that could be fixed with proper equipment. Really is a minor issue, it's still going to put a huge smile on your face. A $400 smile? In my opinion, very much so, yes.
This song posted by Mad Lust Envy does, indeed, sound as good as he described. It's almost somewhat scary.
Lower quality recordings, whether it's the file or the studio recording itself, don't hold up so well. This was to be expected, but it came about differently than I assumed it would. Higher quality recordings sound very full and lush, but I expected lower quality recordings to sound choppy, harsh, and difficult to listen to. Instead, they actually seem quite dull and boring. It can turn exciting music into what is bordering on elevator music, and this is not a volume thing. No matter how much you turn it up, even to the point where it could cause hearing loss, it never "pops" in the way a higher quality recording would. That is to say, from the lower quality music I tested, none of it sounded bad with the HE-400, it just sounded relatively uninteresting.
There's some sort of electrical heat thing going on with the headphones that becomes more noticeable after having them on for a couple hours. I'm not technically inclined with electronics when it comes to the physical aspects of them and what goes on, so I'm not sure what it is or how to describe it. You know those old CRT monitors you used to have until the early to mid 2000s that gave off this weird, static-y feeling? My headphones are kind of somewhat doing this, but not as much as the monitors would. This could just be because of how the drivers function. I'm not sure if it's healthy <.<
The headband is surprisingly well padded for how slim and flimsy it looks, and actually feels quite comfortable on my head! The weight issue is also vastly overstated and I quite enjoy the weight. It's not uncomfortable in the slightest and instead makes the product feel solid and dependable, which I love. When you hold it in your hands, you feel like you have something really nice, which is often not the case for headphones. Many of them are built of cheap plastic crap, even past the $200 mark. The "adjustment" things that attach the cups to the headband also feel surprisingly solid even though they don't look like it. I somehow prefer the feel of this to the "traditional" way of doing it. Clamping is sufficient and doesn't crush your head or feel loose. I wouldn't recommend headbanging with these on, though. The amount of weight being thrown around might cause them to fly off, and I'm not prepared to find out if this is the case! Cable's excellent. Long, unobtrusive, sturdy, detachable (easily replaceable), etc. Some parts of the headphone are a little cheesy looking
This is a very open headphone. Like, people weren't joking when they said that as much sound goes out the other end as it does the ends you're listening to. They might as well be speakers. If you're in a room with a closed door, expect to be safe, but if you've got someone trying to sleep in the same room as you or you're sitting in a waiting room next to an old lady, you'd better hope they enjoy Bass Cannon as much as you do.
That's about all I have to say, for now! Perhaps I should go out and get an amp/DAC to sort some things out and I'll most definitely be getting the velour pads. For now, I'd like to hear what other owners have to say in response.
To be quite honest, the more I'm listening to these, the more I'm really beginning to love them. People always told me, "you're going to keep upgrading forever, it's a trick, stop at $200 because you'll never reach that point where you're fully satisfied." They were wrong. Right now, these headphones make me want to lean back, close my eyes, and just take in all the wonderful sounds I've been looking for for so long. In an effort to at least not to be totally subjective and fanboyish, I admit that yes, they have faults. However, there's a place I've always wanted to be in audio and these take me to that place. I wish everyone could listen to these so, even if they don't like them, they could at least have the experience, because I think everyone should at one point.
So I just spent another $15 for 3 pair of Comply tips. They should be a LOT more comfortable if they're anything like the JVC marshmallow tips,but they lose SQ.
[size=medium]Then try AB them with HD-598….I have 598, D2K and HE-400. Always prefer He-400 over D2K…but when it comes to vocals (especially female) 598 stands out…with its smooth presentation and speaker like sound…is way too much for HE-400 to claim back the headspace…did AB them quite a few times…every time I found HE-400 cannot reproduce speaker like sound that 598 does…for music that demands [/size][size=10pt]large expansive soundstages… especially the live recordings like these….I feel there's nothing else out there that sounds like the HD-598...may be LCD2...I need to try them again and AB with 598[/size]
Sadly, I noticed today that my velours for the he400 have a small split in the seam and are starting to come apart.
I think that may have had them only for about four months. I'm thinking it's just a defect. I guess it's time to order that backup pair that I've been thinking about. Might as well order two and save on the shipping.
Yep, just like mine that either were that way out of the box or from me trying to jam them on the headphone. My replacement is going to be here on Saturday and I'll finally be able to see what the big deal is with these pads.
I'm about to the pull the trigger on one of these HE-400's. Just curious but how do you take off the earpads? I read that they were a total pain in the butt to take off and re-apply. Many accounts of breaking them. Any links or videos would be appreciated.
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