[Eric_C]

Quote:

A darker headphone would be a nice mix to my collection as none of the headphones I own you can consider that.

 
Darker than...your 4 ear/headphones?

 

[rawrster]

Well I'm mostly referring to the HD800 and AD2k but I really only use the HD800 but yes darker than those two.

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

 
Darker than...your 4 ear/headphones?

 
 
HD650 aren't all that dark.  I'd say they're warm.  They're definitely not lacking mids and highs, and their bass isn't exaggerated enough.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I'm tempted to try these. Usually I would try to borrow but no one I know who lives near me has them or at least anyone who would let me borrow them.
 
I do have a few questions. What kind of bass quantity do these have? Are we talking HE-300 type bass, something like the HD650 or say the HE-500 in terms of quantity at least. I'm not expecting HD800 quality bass but quantity I'm assuming somewhere between the 650 and HE300 based on what I've read but I could be wrong. Has anyone tried these balanced vs SE and does it benefit from it or is SE good enough. 
 
So far from the descriptions it is what I wanted the HE-300 and HD650 to sound like but not quite there. A darker headphone would be a nice mix to my collection as none of the headphones I own you can consider that.

 
HE300 bass (along with mids and treble) sounds pretty bad in quality compared to HE400s. I A/B'd them when I had both on my hands at one point.

 

[Eric_C]

TMRaven: Think you quoted me by mistake, man. I didn't say anything about the HD 650.
 
rawrster: Even as faulty as audio memory is, I think the HE-400 is definitely darker than the HD 800. But that's only because the 800 sounded bright to my ears (caveat: at the time I demo'd them, I was using IE8 on the go, but DT 880 at home).
Compared to headphones in general though, I wouldn't consider the HE-400 dark. Have you tried Ultrasone HFI-580? In many ways the 400 reminds me of that sound signature, only many many times better. The 580 gets recommended for the fact that its bass hits hard and clean, but the mids and highs don't suffer for it--the HE-400 is similar. However, the 580 has recessed mids and very nearly harsh highs, both of which are faults that the 400 avoid completely.

 

[Skp44]

How does it fit on? Do you need to remove the old one?

No, the 600 pads are on a flexible plastic strip with the pads and material on one side. They have plastic tabs at the end. I lined them up and cut two slits in the stock headband, then I just used contact cement to adhere the tabs in the slits and just glued the 600 pads to the stock headband. Contact cement is flexible and adheres to leather or pleather as well as plastics. It looks good, it's hard to tell they did not come with the pads.

 

[MickeyVee]

Based on my experience, HE400 is darker than the HD650 which is much, much darker than the HD800. I haven't heard the HD800 through a top notch system but did hear them through my BiFrost/Lyr and they're not for me.  Way too bright. I ended up selling my HD650 in favour of the HE400.

 

[wje]

Quote:

HE300 bass (along with mids and treble) sounds pretty bad in quality compared to HE400s. I A/B'd them when I had both on my hands at one point.

 
Yes.  So true.  Well it might be easy for one to conclude that the HE-300 is seated properly in the HifiMAN based on it consisting of the same head band, ear pads and similar cups, that is essentially where the "likes" between it and the HE-400 end.  The HE-400 is truly a headphone that is more easily appreciated and probably returned by very few people, based on the comments that have been made.  Sure, there are quite possibly silent members who do more observing that posting about their experiences.  However, the $150 price difference between the two models is really small change when one considers that performance and sound gain when one steps up to the HE-400 model.  The HE-400 is potentially a headphone that is priced in the tier where it is placed in order to compete with other similar priced headphones, but the HifiMAN can potentially surpass many headphones in the price league that it falls into.
 
Now, I do realize that a large portion of fan boy has been represented in the above paragraph.  However, I do think where many people have been stuck on upgrade paths that a lot of times end up being a lot of parallel side-step moves, are amazed once they procure the HE-400s and realize what they really get for the money.  While I'm sure the HE-400s keep some members from performing or going through an upgrade due to being content with the sound, I'm also realistic in my views.  The HifiMAN is a product that is produced and assembled in China.  It is not 100% perfect, and does exhibit a few small flaws that can be spotted here and there.  But, for the most part, is a well-performing piece for an excellent price, which may allow most people to look beyond the few issues that could be present or not on a pair of these headphones.
 
Enjoy !!

 

[satanigatan]

Have to say, after having a week with these HE-400, they have really come into their own. I was A/Bing them with my HD-650's, and it was clear to me (of course my opinion) that the HE-400 had a much fuller and desirable sound. The bass has more presence/weight, and the music is also clear and separated. Again, just my opinion. But I really have come to love the HE-400's sound.
 
I also have to say, it took some time adjusting the headband just right, before finally finding the sweet spot. Now I have my headphones exactly how I want them (with the velours) and everything is fantastic. I also ended up keeping my Fiio E17, and have been using that with my macbook pro. No complaints whatsoever, really happy with the set up. I'll eventually look into upgrading to a more powerful dac/amp the Shiit line seems to pair well with orthodynamic headphones. 
 
But for now, more than happy. 

 

[palmfish]

I just got home from a meet where I finally had a chance to revisit the HE-400. Call me impressed! Tight, deep, controlled bass that I find better than the LCD-2 and HE-500. Sparkly non-fatiguing treble like I've never heard from a planar before, and flat mids that aren't too warm like the HE-500 and LCD-2. These aren't as refined as the LCD-3, but I think the FR might be more to my liking - a little more fun sounding.
 
I was in the first group who pre-ordered it last spring for $349 and was so disappointed in the sound when I got it. I kept them for a couple weeks hoping they (or I) might settle in a bit, but it didn't happen. During this time, reports of failing drivers started coming in and that was the nail in the coffin for me. I decided to return them for a refund.
 
Now I'm feeling a little conflicted. I really like the HE-400 - a lot! But can I live with being "penalized" $50 for re-buying a headphone that now sounds like it should have from the beginning?

 

[TwinQY]

Quote:

I just got home from a meet where I finally had a chance to revisit the HE-400. Call me impressed! Tight, deep, controlled bass that I find better than the LCD-2 and HE-500. Sparkly non-fatiguing treble like I've never heard from a planar before, and flat mids that aren't too warm like the HE-500 and LCD-2. These aren't as refined as the LCD-3, but I think the FR might be more to my liking - a little more fun sounding.
 
I was in the first group who pre-ordered it last spring for $349 and was so disappointed in the sound when I got it. I kept them for a couple weeks hoping they (or I) might settle in a bit, but it didn't happen. During this time, reports of failing drivers started coming in and that was the nail in the coffin for me. I decided to return them for a refund.
 
Now I'm feeling a little conflicted. I really like the HE-400 - a lot! But can I live with being "penalized" $50 for re-buying a headphone that now sounds like it should have from the beginning?

Hey there, great that you like them! Makes me glad that I brought them after all. Sorry for forgetting, but did you try my pair with the velours, or planx's pair with the pleather pads?

 

[palmfish]

Yes, thanks again for bringing them. And I'm especially glad that yours had velour pads - I was actually worried that they wouldn't.
 
I tried them both. Multiple times! The velours are definitely more comfortable and I think I detected slightly better sound with them too. I didn't A/B them so I can't say for sure though.
 
The velours definitely made a difference with the HE-500's, so I was expecting the difference to be more obvious.
 
If I do decide to buy a pair, I will definitely get velour pads - I think they are pretty much mandatory.

 

[Eric_C]

If you were part of the original pre-order, doesn't that mean your first pair was tuned darker?

 

[AdamFrandsen]

How well does the Dragonfly work with the he-400's?

 

[olegausany]

@palmfish you are not penalized if you happy with the fixed headphones
@rawster after you hear HE-400 bass for few minutes I doubt you will be able to go back to HD650

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