[Dazedy]

Quote:

I use the headband foam from a HD650 -snip-

Did you just glue it on or something?

 

[LarsHP]

Did you just glue it on or something?

It was NC8000 I was referring to earlier, and he says at the "Danish head-fi" site that he used double sided tape.

 

[Hakone]

So, what amps do people have experience with using with this pair?
 
I am thinking with this pair I might finally go for an amp with my Benchmark DAC1. Maybe tubes? I sure know I wanna try some with my K701s 

 

[amcananey]

I've had pretty good results with both my Burson HA-160D and my Woo Audio WA6. But don't expect enormous differences in sound. I find a slight increase in soundstage using those amps compared to others, but it isn't night and day. I don't get the feeling the HE-400s are terribly picky about amps, provided they have enough power.

 

[wje]

Quote:

So, what amps do people have experience with using with this pair?

 
I guess I don't think much of the HE-400 with my EF-2A HifiMAN hybrid amp.
 
I haven't spent a lot of time on them with my Objective2 amp.
 
However, I do like using a vintage receiver to drive them.  Fun, fun, fun.

 

[nc8000]

Quote:

I use the headband foam from a HD650 -snip-

Did you just glue it on or something?

Double sided mounting tape as Lars mentioned. Not as neat looking as I would like but very comfortable. The earpads are the leather ones from FA-003

 

[jerg]

Anyone else with batch 2 cans wanna comment on the HE400's mids after ~week or more of ownership / burn-in so far? I like how it's been smoothing out a bit, not nearly as drastic as how the treble changed though, and has left much to be desired in terms of flatness still.

 

[Hakone]

 
 
Quote:

I've had pretty good results with both my Burson HA-160D and my Woo Audio WA6. But don't expect enormous differences in sound. I find a slight increase in soundstage using those amps compared to others, but it isn't night and day. I don't get the feeling the HE-400s are terribly picky about amps, provided they have enough power.

 
Quote:

 
I guess I don't think much of the HE-400 with my EF-2A HifiMAN hybrid amp.
 
I haven't spent a lot of time on them with my Objective2 amp.
 
However, I do like using a vintage receiver to drive them.  Fun, fun, fun.

 
That is good to know, seems I wont be needing a new amp in a while after all.
My only concern is that the DAC1 amp might make the highs a bit too present, or harsh maybe. 
 
This pair is turning out way cheaper than expected.
Kind of a first in this hobby for me 

 

[Dazedy]

Quote:

 
 
 

 
That is good to know, seems I wont be needing a new amp in a while after all.
My only concern is that the DAC1 amp might make the highs a bit too present, or harsh maybe. 
 
This pair is turning out way cheaper than expected.
Kind of a first in this hobby for me 

 
Both jerg and I experienced this harshness as it was burning in, and one thing I noticed was that the sound tended to be harsher when I didn't have my amp set to a high enough gain.  I noticed it starting to go away around the 7th hour of listening.
How many hours do you have on it?

 

[Hakone]

I am still waiting on my pair... I have decided to get my model from a Norwegian retailer as the price is about the same as importing it myself and warranty policies in this country beats that of importing.
The problem is that the European Hifiman agent waited until second batch to bring them in, so still a few weeks off. So far i should be able to get it right after Easter.
 
So I am just very excited and weighing my alternatives as far as amps go.
On another note, isn't it so that they burn in the second batch about 200 hours to ensure the drivers wont fail? Will the burn in change much after buying them then?

 

[Dazedy]

Quote:

I am still waiting on my pair... I have decided to get my model from a Norwegian retailer as the price is about the same as importing it myself and warranty policies in this country beats that of importing.
The problem is that the European Hifiman agent waited until second batch to bring them in, so still a few weeks off. So far i should be able to get it right after Easter.
 
So I am just very excited and weighing my alternatives as far as amps go.
On another note, isn't it so that they burn in the second batch about 200 hours to ensure the drivers wont fail? Will the burn in change much after buying them then?

Incorrect - they only burn in the headphones that they fix from the first back.  All drivers in the second batch are brand new and thus require burning in.
 
As far as amps go, all I can say is the amp in my Fiio e-10 runs these beautifully.  

 

[Hakone]

I guess I will just have to see then.
The DAC1 amp is kind of hit or miss with a lot of phones in my experience. For example I absolutely hated every Denon with it due to the treble becoming ultra harsh to an unlistenable level, yet I really quite enjoy the K701s from it. 

 
I am hoping the HE-400s take after the K701s in this regard, worst case is the Denon harshness 

For now I will simply dream of a hybrid headphone of K701 highs and more present bass..
 
Thank you very much for clearing up the burn-in confusion Dazedy! I am a believer of psychological acclimatization in any case, so I will have to get used to them over time.
For now I will just have to wait and keep my cool.. 

 

[Dazedy]

Quote:

I guess I will just have to see then.
The DAC1 amp is kind of hit or miss with a lot of phones in my experience. For example I absolutely hated every Denon with it due to the treble becoming ultra harsh to an unlistenable level, yet I really quite enjoy the K701s from it. 

 
I am hoping the HE-400s take after the K701s in this regard, worst case is the Denon harshness 

For now I will simply dream of a hybrid headphone of K701 highs and more present bass..
 
Thank you very much for clearing up the burn-in confusion Dazedy! I am a believer of psychological acclimatization in any case, so I will have to get used to them over time.
For now I will just have to wait and keep my cool.. 

I don't think that the "burn in" is a case of psychological acclimatization, as the headphones were actually painfully harsh in some parts of the upper mids to begin with. Hard to get acclimatized between two listens with 7 hours of burn in between them.  Generally, if a headphone is painful to listen to at first, it won't get less painful over the course of 7 hours of listening, especially if you're constantly switching between two headphones.  
 

 

[ProjectDenz]

Quote:

I don't think that the "burn in" is a case of psychological acclimatization, as the headphones were actually painfully harsh in some parts of the upper mids to begin with. Hard to get acclimatized between two listens with 7 hours of burn in between them.  Generally, if a headphone is painful to listen to at first, it won't get less painful over the course of 7 hours of listening, especially if you're constantly switching between two headphones.  
 

I beg to differ. My TF10's treble sounds harsh as hell and hurts my ears if I am occupied with another headphone for a few days. But it only takes about 30 minutes for my brain to adjust to it and it starts sounding nice and pleasant sparkly like.

 

[Dazedy]

Quote:

I beg to differ. My TF10's treble sounds harsh as hell and hurts my ears if I am occupied with another headphone for a few days. But it only takes about 30 minutes for my brain to adjust to it.

I listened to them for about an hour when I got them and they seemed harsh the entire time, and then played the same song about every hour or so into the burn-in. While this was happening, I was listening to music on my old headphones.  Around hour 7 I noticed that it wasn't as harsh, and started to use them normally.  I don't know if one song every hour would be enough for my ears to get used to it. 
 
Then again, it could have just been my amplifier the whole time... When i switched gains a fair amount of harshness went away immediately.