[tomatoshoe]

Quote:

I edited my last post.
I can make it look exactly like his.
He needs to hold his cups and ROTATE the cups to opposite directions (like screwing off two light bulbs). His left cup needs to screw up, and the right one, down. It's not rocket science. He just has to maneuver them, then push the cups together...
and moving the headband around... sigh...

Well just woke up. Stayed up all night till after I received my HE-400 and wow I really am a dumbass. You guys were right. I probably should have just slept before they arrived. For some reason I really thought the metal pieces are not symmetrical.
 
Sorry to anyone that I had caused bad impressions of the HiFiMAN, because really they are amazing cans. What I thought was a defect really wasn't and was really my only concern. Now to sit back and listen to these babies.
 
Please accept this picture as an apology:

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Well just woke up. Stayed up all night till after I received my HE-400 and wow I really am a dumbass. You guys were right. I probably should have just slept before they arrived. For some reason I really thought the metal pieces are not symmetrical.
 
Sorry to anyone that I had caused bad impressions of the HiFiMAN, because really they are amazing cans. What I thought was a defect really wasn't and was really my only concern. Now to sit back and listen to these babies.
 
Please accept this picture as an apology:

No problem man, the design with these headphones can confuse people sometimes, e.g. the earpad installation fiasco a couple of weeks ago.
 
You might wanna edit the previous posts to make sure that new readers won't be confused with your experiences though.

 

[tomatoshoe]

Quote:

No problem man, the design with these headphones can confuse people sometimes, e.g. the earpad installation fiasco a couple of weeks ago.
 
You might wanna edit the previous posts to make sure that new readers won't be confused with your experiences though.

Yep doing that right now!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yay.

Now time to enjoy those babies!

Sucks you didn't get the velours though. Fix that ASAP!

 

[tomatoshoe]

Quote:

Yay.

Now time to enjoy those babies!

Sucks you didn't get the velours though. Fix that ASAP!

Yep, they responded back about the velours. Told me they shipped it and I should be getting it tomorrow. Yay!
 
 
 
 
 
I'm not sure why a lot of people complain about the weight. It's not too heavy and it's very comfortable even with the pleather pads. I used to hate pleather pads so much since they would make me sweat, but these are just very comfortable.

 

[stevenlongs]

Quote:

Yep, they responded back about the velours. Told me they shipped it and I should be getting it tomorrow. Yay!
 
 
 
 
 
I'm not sure why a lot of people complain about the weight. It's not too heavy and it's very comfortable even with the pleather pads. I used to hate pleather pads so much since they would make me sweat, but these are just very comfortable.

 
Maybe it's the way they rest on the head...i don't know.  The SRH-840 are 318 grams and even at that weight people complain. The HE-400 sits at 440g while the He-500 are 500g.. Guess it depends on what you are used to. Can't be worse than putting on a helmet lol.
 
The only way I see it being a problem is if you are bending your head foward..example reading a book. Then you are supporting all the weight with your neck muscles..

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

For me anything over 300g is rather heavy for a headphone, ~280g or lighter is usually what I strive for, after having felt what a sub 200g feels like on the head (which isn't felt at all) it's hard to accept 300g+ headphones. And for me the music is often also so engaging to listen to with my setup M-Audio Q40 + digiZoid ZO2.1 + my foobar2000 dolby headphone "forward" config which makes it more engaging to listen to I can't help but starting to nod my head a little to the rythm haha (if the headphone doesn't give me this feeling it's not engaging enough for me and it gets sold). Doesn't either help that I listen to some of the most engaging (feeling the need of dancing) electronic music for those who enjoy it => hardstyle. So yea weight is definitely a factor that matters for me, I wouldn't want to get neck issues just cuz using too heavy headphones.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I can wear the HE400 all day without issues. The design of the headband evenly distributes all that weight, unless you wear it wrong. Surely not like the headband is digging onto the top of your skull.

 

[designbykai]

Thought I'd just post an update on my thoughts on these after a couple of days
 
I tried them briefly straight out of the Audioengine D1 and it sounded pretty good. Prefer out of the D1->Mstage but can't pinpoint why, just a bit better separation/bass response I think. The D1 drive them plenty loud though.
I've gone up to 10gain instead of 0 out of the Mstage, found I needed to to achieve same volumes (at around 11-12 o'clock) as I could with Pro900s for some reason...
Seemed to add a bit of liveliness too
 
 
Rock/indie I've listened to so far such as Bon Iver, Freelance Whales, Miike Snow Django Django & The Strokes sounds easily as good if not better than what I remember with T70s
Just WITH bass  And I haven't even listened to any of that stuff with the velour pads yet. 
Just put them on and electronica definitely sounds better; more separation and clearer bass but still a liquid non-fatiguing feel to them
 
Velour pads I found SUPER easy to put on btw, not sure what all that fuss/issues with them was a few pages ago, I remember someone had some damaged/defective ones so I guess that's why.
 
 
Listening to London Elektricity now in foobar, have EQ'd all frequencies down 2 notches except 55hz (on 0) and 77hz (on -1). 
They don't need this EQ but it just adds a tad more bass emphasis. I absolutely love the sound signature and comfort of these though, and I think I've found THE pair of headphones for me, at least for the next couple of years hopefully!

 

[tomatoshoe]

Quote:

Thought I'd just post an update on my thoughts on these after a couple of days
 
I tried them briefly straight out of the Audioengine D1 and it sounded pretty good. Prefer out of the D1->Mstage but can't pinpoint why, just a bit better separation/bass response I think. The D1 drive them plenty loud though.
I've gone up to 10gain instead of 0 out of the Mstage, found I needed to to achieve same volumes (at around 11-12 o'clock) as I could with Pro900s for some reason...
Seemed to add a bit of liveliness too
 
 
Rock/indie I've listened to so far such as Bon Iver, Freelance Whales, Miike Snow Django Django & The Strokes sounds easily as good if not better than what I remember with T70s
Just WITH bass  And I haven't even listened to any of that stuff with the velour pads yet. 
Just put them on and electronica definitely sounds better; more separation and clearer bass but still a liquid non-fatiguing feel to them
 
Velour pads I found SUPER easy to put on btw, not sure what all that fuss/issues with them was a few pages ago, I remember someone had some damaged/defective ones so I guess that's why.
 
 
Listening to London Elektricity now in foobar, have EQ'd all frequencies down 2 notches except 55hz (on 0) and 77hz (on -1). 
They don't need this EQ but it just adds a tad more bass emphasis. I absolutely love the sound signature and comfort of these though, and I think I've found THE pair of headphones for me, at least for the next couple of years hopefully!

That's very nice to hear about the Audioengine D1. I will be receiving mine tomorrow, can't wait.
 
I think most people complained about the earlier pads on the revision 1. Apparently the plastic tabs were very easy to break. I believe the attachment design was changed for revision 2.

 

[designbykai]

Yeah, I'm really impressved by D1 and glad I didn't spend more. Diminishing returns.
 
Holy crap this song sounds amazing on HE-400
 

 
Gives it a great stereo/soundstage work out (great width and panning of certain instruments, vocals), and a great mix of timbres with the electronica/syth plus the vocals and regular instruments
 
Moar cowbell

 

[Hakone]

After a day of listening through the DAC1 I am relieved to say that even the DAC1 does not make the HE400 treble uncomfortable. This is pretty great considering the K701s, DT770s and Denon Dx000 models all get rather piercing treble and tends to get really fatiguing after a couple of hours.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

No problem man, the design with these headphones can confuse people sometimes, e.g. the earpad installation fiasco a couple of weeks ago.
 
You might wanna edit the previous posts to make sure that new readers won't be confused with your experiences though.

 
I'm not sure how the design of HFM headphones confuses people.  There's a headband, two cups with cables on the bottom and a 2-way pivoting gimble like every other headphone

  I mean, come on, it's not like they're Grados....those are confusing...

 
Seriously though I think where people get confused is there's no defined front & back, that's visible by headband position without looking at the L/R markers, the lateral axis of rotation allows much more rotation than most cans (many of which have no lateral rotation available), and the fact that where most headphones have a free floating vertical rotation access that just sets itself on your head, these you need to put into position when it's not on your head. That's the one part that takes getting used to. No other headphone has a firm adjustment for the vertical rotation.
 
Still, the pads need to be thicker still...there's too little depth for the ear lobe before you start hitting the grille.  Not a problem in cool weather, but in warm weather the foam pads get softer and the ear condesnes to the grille faster.
 
Quote:

 
Maybe it's the way they rest on the head...i don't know.  The SRH-840 are 318 grams and even at that weight people complain. The HE-400 sits at 440g while the He-500 are 500g.. Guess it depends on what you are used to. Can't be worse than putting on a helmet lol.
 
The only way I see it being a problem is if you are bending your head foward..example reading a book. Then you are supporting all the weight with your neck muscles..

 
+1
 
Quote:

For me anything over 300g is rather heavy for a headphone, ~280g or lighter is usually what I strive for, after having felt what a sub 200g feels like on the head (which isn't felt at all) it's hard to accept 300g+ headphones. And for me the music is often also so engaging to listen to with my setup M-Audio Q40 + digiZoid ZO2.1 + my foobar2000 dolby headphone "forward" config which makes it more engaging to listen to I can't help but starting to nod my head a little to the rythm haha (if the headphone doesn't give me this feeling it's not engaging enough for me and it gets sold). Doesn't either help that I listen to some of the most engaging (feeling the need of dancing) electronic music for those who enjoy it => hardstyle. So yea weight is definitely a factor that matters for me, I wouldn't want to get neck issues just cuz using too heavy headphones.

 
I can't see any heavy headphone causing neck issues.  People wear helmets for more hours of the day that weigh a lot more than HE-400.  And they wear those all day, every day for safety.  Same with ear protection equipment, military gear, mining helmets, you name it, a lot of occupations have people wearing a lot heavier things on their head for a lot more percentage of their lives.  That gear my not be comfortable, but it shouldn't cause injury. It may not always be comfortable.  For pure comfort I'd want a lighter can if I were wearing it for 5 hours a day.  But for a CD or two day, I don't think HiFiMan is being secretly funded by the Chiropractor's Association

 
I wouldn't want to be bopping around with them, though, either.
 
Quote:

After a day of listening through the DAC1 I am relieved to say that even the DAC1 does not make the HE400 treble uncomfortable. This is pretty great considering the K701s, DT770s and Denon Dx000 models all get rather piercing treble and tends to get really fatiguing after a couple of hours.

Dx000 can be fatiguing on any amp after enough time.  I've tried D5k and HE-400 on my O2 (similar measurements on the amp to DAC1), and I actually like D5k on it, but it can get fatiguing.  But D5k is a bright-bright headphone despite the low bass extension, IMO.  HE-400 definitely sounds clean on it.  Too analytical, I prefer it on my Lyr, but as a technical performer, it's probably better on O2 and DAC1.  More emotional on Lyr.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

 
 
And for the kids at home, the HE-400 does not look nearly as blue in person as MLE's pictures make them look.  Maybe in full sunlight they would, but indoors they look like a deep cobalt black-blue.  MLE's pictures make them look like Papa Smurf's headphones 

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

 
 
Dx000 can be fatiguing on any amp after enough time.  I've tried D5k and HE-400 on my O2 (similar measurements on the amp to DAC1), and I actually like D5k on it, but it can get fatiguing.  But D5k is a bright-bright headphone despite the low bass extension, IMO.  HE-400 definitely sounds clean on it.  Too analytical, I prefer it on my Lyr, but as a technical performer, it's probably better on O2 and DAC1.  More emotional on Lyr.

 Agreed. The Lyr/HE-400 combo is just so plush sounding. I jump from the Lyr to the M-stage, Burson or O2 and they sound fine, but nothing can touch the energy they have out of the Lyr. I just rolled in some Miniwatt 6B7Zs and the synergy those tubes have with the HE-400/500 is incredible.