[jerg]

Quote:

I always thought of instrument separation as the simple ability to follow a specific instrument throughout a complex passage of a recording.  Moreso an element of driver speed to me.
 
I wish I still had my astro mixamp on me, I'd love to give HE-400 a test run vs AD700 for FPS games.

It is, that's why I think it's analogous to the ability to pick up and follow single audio cues in FPS gaming, when there are lots of players and sound effects occurring simultaneously.

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

Wow I amazed at how low these cans go without dropping off in the 10-20 Hz range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xozMkGpiPrM&feature=player_embedded#!
With my old headphones no matter how loud you go I would never hear the low end of this song and I could only ever get my desktop speakers and amp to produce the low end.
HE-400 accepted the challenge and came through with flying colors.
The longer I keep these the more I know they will never be returned.
So glad I spent the money now and hopefully they will serve me for years to come.
 

 
HE-400s hit that 40hz tone so well.  Not many other open cans outside of planars can do it.

 

[ZMZB]

Hey guys, so I pulled the trigger on some new HE-400s and just received them 3 days ago and been listening to them since then, and I'm very satisfied with them so far, except for one thing: Comfort.
They get very uncomfortable past the 30-45 minutes mark. It feels like they clamp much more than stock HD650s (added weight probably doesn't help either).
Which brings me to my questions: To those who've been experiencing a similar problem, does it get better over time? Have you done anything special to relieve pressure from the headband?

 

[TMRaven]

Have you tried stretching the headband?

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Hey guys, so I pulled the trigger on some new HE-400s and just received them 3 days ago and been listening to them since then, and I'm very satisfied with them so far, except for one thing: Comfort.
They get very uncomfortable past the 30-45 minutes mark. It feels like they clamp much more than stock HD650s (added weight probably doesn't help either).
Which brings me to my questions: To those who've been experiencing a similar problem, does it get better over time? Have you done anything special to relieve pressure from the headband?

Just stretch it with your hands - gentle but firm, until the clamp gets to the desired level. That's the whole point of spring steel bands, is that they are (somewhat reversibly) adjustable.

 

[designbykai]

Quote:

 
Sound positioning in FPS is really darn good with these, I play my fair share (Crysis 1/2, BF2:BC, TF2, CS:S, Killing Floor, RO2:S). The excellent imaging / instrument separation works wonders in positioning in gaming since the two are analogous.
 
Never bothered with Dolby5.1, it messes up the audio quality too much for me to bother using it.

Good to know I don't really use Dolby Headphone, just been reading good things about it and thought it'd be interesting to try. I think headphones with good imaging are better than most fake 5.1 stuff but then I've seen/heard examples of Dolby improving positioning for FPS. But then again the main one I play is BF3 which has bad in-game directional audio. Nice explosions and sound design but bad competitive audio! You can NEVER seem to hear what's behind you even with great headphones, everything just sounds left or right... but I probably need to try different in-game settings too..
 
I might buy a cheap Asus Xonar DG ($40) card just as a 2nd input into my Matrix to try it out.
 
Anyway, yeah, it sounds like these are my perfect headphone.... Bass response, detail and more sound on par or better than DT990's but without the harsh fatiguing highs everyone talks about with those. I was so close to buying a pair of Premium 600ohm dt990s on Amazon yesterday 'caus they're down to just $260 atm, but I'm going to hold out for the Hifimans

 

[Black Sun]

Hi,

I want to get a new pair of headphones and after reading tons of words I've come to Sennheiser HD 600 & Hifiman HE-400, but before buying I've got some questions that it would be great if you make me help to find the answers.

1. When reading reviews and words about HD 600 & HE-400, Many people call HE-400 as fun-sounding and HD 600 as accurate. But, as I know HE-400 emphasizes bass and treble sounds and has recessed mids, while HD 600 emphasizes mids. So both of them aren't really flat. Now why HD600 is more accurate than HE-400?

2.HD 600 bass quality and extension isn't as good as HE-400. and also it has a slight rolled-off treble. In this case, hearing of details in those areas in HE-400 is easier than HD 600. Now why HD 600 is better for critical listening, when someone wants to hear every detail of music?

3. Many people say HE-400 has a slight coloration and HD 600's sound is not colored. But as I now HD 600 is warm. Warmness doesn't consider a kind of coloration?


Thanks in advanced

 

[TMRaven]

People have their different priorities in neutrality.  For what it's worth, the HE-400 is remotely u-shaped.  Although its mids come through in full force, the upper midrange and lower treble is recessed (but still highly detailed) compared to most.  Its treble spike is rather large, but it's not too troublesome.  I actually think it's a good design decision on Hifiman's part to give some leading attack and 'air' on the HE-400's sound, otherwise it would be unlistenable IMO.  

 

[jfindon]

If I increase my budget to $400 for a DAC and amp does that open anything else up?  Is it possible to get a decent amp for $200 and a decent DAC for $200 (or around that)?

 

[wje]

Quote:

If I increase my budget to $400 for a DAC and amp does that open anything else up?  Is it possible to get a decent amp for $200 and a decent DAC for $200 (or around that)?

 
Spend $120 and pick up a Little Dot I+ hybrid amp (used).  Really good detail with the stock tubes and op-amp, then you have $280 to get the DAC of your choice.  The LD I+ will drive the HE-400s pretty comfortably in the 10 - 11 o'clock range on the dial.  Then again, it depends on how loud you like your music.  Also, start reading the output specs on amps that you're considering.  Look at the output power.  It should be in mW (milli-watt) numbers or even watts for some of the better amps (Schiit, etc.).  Also, the FiiO E17 can be had for under $150.  An excellent Wolfson DAC and over a watt of output power along with bass and treble controls.

 

[jfindon]

Quote:

 
Spend $120 and pick up a Little Dot I+ hybrid amp (used).  Really good detail with the stock tubes and op-amp, then you have $280 to get the DAC of your choice.  The LD I+ will drive the HE-400s pretty comfortably in the 10 - 11 o'clock range on the dial.  Then again, it depends on how loud you like your music.  Also, start reading the output specs on amps that you're considering.  Look at the output power.  It should be in mW (milli-watt) numbers or even watts for some of the better amps (Schiit, etc.).  Also, the FiiO E17 can be had for under $150.  An excellent Wolfson DAC and over a watt of output power along with bass and treble controls.

 
Where do you see over a watt of power for the E17?  I'm seeing "[size=8pt]>250mW (16Ω Loaded ); [/size]
[size=8pt]   >30mW (300Ω Loaded)" unless it's because I don't understand how ohms affects that.[/size]
 
[size=8pt]I thought I should be putting more money into the amp rather than the DAC...[/size]

 

[goropeza]

I saw somebody say on another thread that the HE-400 was like somewhat of an upgrade over the HD598's. I love those cans, but if the 400's can exceed the sound stage and mids of the 598's it might be worth owning. So any thoughts on that? Does the HE-400 share somewhat of the same signature and would most of you consider it a good upgrade?
 

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
Where do you see over a watt of power for the E17?  I'm seeing "[size=8pt]>250mW (16Ω Loaded ); [/size]
[size=8pt]   >30mW (300Ω Loaded)" unless it's because I don't understand how ohms affects that.[/size]
 
[size=8pt]I thought I should be putting more money into the amp rather than the DAC...[/size]

 
OK, thanks for the correction.  I misstated what I indicated earlier.  I had the E9 + E17, and its level of power for the E9 was what gave it the juice.  However, I now see that they have an E09K - which is a new dock, designed for the E17 amplifier to control the power for both devices.
 
The specs are as follows:
 
 
[size=8pt][size=small]> Output power:[/size][/size]
[size=8pt][size=small]   ≥900mW (32Ω Loaded),[/size][/size]
[size=8pt][size=small]   ≥150mW（300Ω Loaded）[/size][/size]
 
[size=8pt][size=small]I still think these are a little light compared to the original E9, though.   Ahh ... just checked.  The E9 puts out 1 watt @ 16 Ohms (loaded).[/size][/size]
 
[size=8pt][size=small]Still, if one could combine the E17 + E09K, I'm assuming the price would be under $250.  Still an excellent bargain.[/size][/size]
 

  Not to sway off-topic too far, but my Little Dot I+ was providing excellent sound for my HE-400s, but seemed to need a bit more EQ for the modified Fostex headphones.  I just found a Plug-in for the Squeezebox that allows you to add as many bands of an EQ as you'd like (probably up to 32) and relay these settings through your music.  Schweet !!!!  I was looking into all sort of work arounds so I could use the Fostex with the Little Dot.  The upper frequencies were presented well, as were the mids.  The lower ones needed some bumping, though.  

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

 
OK, thanks for the correction.  I misstated what I indicated earlier.  I had the E9 + E17, and its level of power for the E9 was what gave it the juice.  However, I now see that they have an E09K - which is a new dock, designed for the E17 amplifier to control the power for both devices.
 
The specs are as follows:
 
 
[size=8pt][size=small]> Output power:[/size][/size]
[size=8pt][size=small]   ≥900mW (32Ω Loaded),[/size][/size]
[size=8pt][size=small]   ≥150mW（300Ω Loaded）[/size][/size]
 
[size=8pt][size=small]I still think these are a little light compared to the original E9, though.   Ahh ... just checked.  The E9 puts out 1 watt @ 16 Ohms (loaded).[/size][/size]
 
[size=8pt][size=small]Still, if one could combine the E17 + E09K, I'm assuming the price would be under $250.  Still an excellent bargain.[/size][/size]
 

  Not to sway off-topic too far, but my Little Dot I+ was providing excellent sound for my HE-400s, but seemed to need a bit more EQ for the modified Fostex headphones.  I just found a Plug-in for the Squeezebox that allows you to add as many bands of an EQ as you'd like (probably up to 32) and relay these settings through your music.  Schweet !!!!  I was looking into all sort of work arounds so I could use the Fostex with the Little Dot.  The upper frequencies were presented well, as were the mids.  The lower ones needed some bumping, though.  

 
Funny you should mention the way that the modded Fostex responded to eq...especially on the lower end. I just read the same thing in another thread. Going to give it a try now. 

 

[Black Sun]

Quote:

People have their different priorities in neutrality.  For what it's worth, the HE-400 is remotely u-shaped.  Although its mids come through in full force, the upper midrange and lower treble is recessed (but still highly detailed) compared to most.  Its treble spike is rather large, but it's not too troublesome.  I actually think it's a good design decision on Hifiman's part to give some leading attack and 'air' on the HE-400's sound, otherwise it would be unlistenable IMO.

Thanks TMRaven.
 
 
Quote:

Read up on purrin's assessment of the HE-400s, based on his subjective listening (which mirror my own) and objective measurements, and a lot of your answers will be answered

Thanks jerg. I've read that nice assessment, but It was only about HE-400. I didn't get my answers about HD 600.