[Mad Lust Envy]

[VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1wjL4BqXlI[/VIDEO]

This song REALLY highlights just how powerful the HE-400's bass can be. I'm here A/B-ing the HE-400 with the DT990, and the bass is neck to neck with this track. It's very surprising to hear.

 

[torana355]

Quote:

This song REALLY highlights just how powerful the HE-400's bass can be. I'm here A/B-ing the HE-400 with the DT990, and the bass is neck to neck with this track. It's very surprising to hear.

I don't think the bass is that strong but the mids and treble at 2:50 is amazing!

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

Hey guys now that ive got my first decent cans (the HE-400's) i really want to get a decent desktop amp and DAC. I don't have the cash for an Asgard/Bifrost combo so I'm after some a bit cheaper, any suggestions on an amp that has good synergy with the HE's? I already have the E17 so i don't need portability. Is the Matrix M-stage any good?

 
There are lot's of good amps choices for the he400, as it's just not as picky as some. Honestly, I think that it's driven pretty well from the e17. You could pick up the companion to the e17 which is the fiio e09k. This will allow you to drive the hp's more fully. It integrates nicely and you don't loose the hardware eq. 
 
If you looking for more of a full size solution, you could get the audio gd nfb12. It will drive anything has sounds good with the he400. Also you could buy a used Asgard from forum and use the e17 as a dac.
 
gL!!

 

[neddamttocs]

Quote:

 
There are lot's of good amps choices for the he400, as it's just not as picky as some. Honestly, I think that it's driven pretty well from the e17. You could pick up the companion to the e17 which is the fiio e09k. This will allow you to drive the hp's more fully. It integrates nicely and you don't loose the hardware eq. 
 
If you looking for more of a full size solution, you could get the audio gd nfb12. It will drive anything has sounds good with the he400. Also you could buy a used Asgard from forum and use the e17 as a dac.
 
gL!!

I can say the AudioGD NFB12 can drive the HE400 quite nicely! I also have a Norse Audio Norn cable coming for mine!

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

I don't think the bass is that strong but the mids and treble at 2:50 is amazing!

 
Yeah, it's a 'basshead EQ' candidate for me.

 

[Hedonism]

Hey neddamttocs, how do you feel about the HE400 in comparison to the RS2i for classic rock?

 

[GardenVariety]

Quote:

 
Thank you for your review. Though you say you are not a wordsmith, the way you described everything was perfect - it was very clear to me exactly what you meant!  I really like how you gave such good examples.  I keep telling myself not to get new headphones because I don't listen that often but reviews like yours make it very difficult to resist!

I appreciate it very much. I am also glad that I went ahead and gave the 500's a try. If nothing else, they have a 30 day return period so if you don't think they're worth it you can simply return them.
Quote:

Thanks for the amazing impressions. Looks like that's where I'm headed once I decide to move up the ladder. Maybe something like Schiit Gungnir -> Mjolnir -> HE500. For now though, I am extremely happy with my HE400s. Perfectly content.

Yeah, the 400's are great cans. Sounds like you are looking towards an amazing setup down the road.

 

[droido256]

I use a fiio e11 tho the iPhone4s actually does a fair job of making these boom. I can't imagine what these sound like from a better amp. I have them at work with me and we decided to push the iPhone+the e11 maxed high gain high power and full bass boost, they turned into speakers lololol not one sign of distortion or driver strain. I honestly lol couldn't believe it. But then again the only other planar I have is the t50rp. Which brings me to a question, the Fostex t50rp has a 3watt power handling capability, what is the he400's? Could a iphone4+a fiio e11 damage the drivers? I had these guys pounding pretty damn hard and loud, where they could out do the speakers built into our work laptop, how much is really pushing these too far? I have zero experience or knowledge of planars in all reality.

 

[GardenVariety]

Quote:

I use a fiio e11 tho the iPhone4s actually does a fair job of making these boom. I can't imagine what these sound like from a better amp. I have them at work with me and we decided to push the iPhone+the e11 maxed high gain high power and full bass boost, they turned into speakers lololol not one sign of distortion or driver strain. I honestly lol couldn't believe it. But then again the only other planar I have is the t50rp. Which brings me to a question, the Fostex t50rp has a 3watt power handling capability, what is the he400's? Could a iphone4+a fiio e11 damage the drivers? I had these guys pounding pretty damn hard and loud, where they could out do the speakers built into our work laptop, how much is really pushing these too far? I have zero experience or knowledge of planars in all reality.

Either way you are testing fate. When you challenge a lower end amplifier with Bass Boost AND Max Volume you are essentially daring it to damage something. What you end up doing is sending distortion into your drivers. I'll have to look up if Ortho's respond in a similar way to Dynamics when presented with too much distortion, but I wouldn't want to test fate. It's never a good idea to crank an amp to it's limit. If an amp is not loud enough for you at between 30-60% of it's max, chances are it's either underpowered or you have hearing loss

 

[droido256]

Yeah trust me they were not on my head when doing this, they didn't sound distorted. However yeah I'm not risking it again but I do have to say this, man the drivers in these are just unreal, well at least compared to what I have right now.

 

[hawk1410]

I am gonna get these headphones and was thinking about what DAC+Amp to get. I see that the asgard is quite a common recommendation on here. What about a DAC? I will be using these only with my PC and was wondering if a DAC is needed since I already have a Asus Xonar D1 soundcard?

 

[neddamttocs]

Quote:

Hey neddamttocs, how do you feel about the HE400 in comparison to the RS2i for classic rock?

 
Personally I think the they are both quite good for classic rock. Since i have got the HE400s though the RS2i's have got less and less head time though.

 

[jerg]

Just got back from the Montreal head-fi meet. It was basically perfect, we had all the big headphone players there (HE500, HE6, two HD800s, LCD2r1, LCD2r2, LCD3) and two summit-fi setups to audition them and other headphones from.
 
So here's my unadulterated impressions and comparison to my HE400s.
 
 
The ONLY headphone that was a straight upgrade from HE400s in every respect, was LCD3. Better timbre, better details, similar imaging, similar soundstage, amazing bass, and most important of all just a perfect treble in every respect.
 
LCD2r1 was pretty muffled, had a "cupped" sound. LCD2r2 is much more forward and aggressive than HE400s, but because of that has some bright treble sibilance and is in the end a bit less natural in timbre.
 
HE500s are more natural-sounding than HE400s, with a more rounded treble, but are a bit too bloomy in the mids, and the bass is not as satisfying as HE400 or LCD2/3s. This might be a full upgrade for some, but in terms of voicing I found it a tad boring.
 
HE6 is the ultimate "air" and "timbre" monster at the meet, basically a near-perfect compromise between HD800's detail/imaging level, and LCD3's timbre level. However it is still too bright, and I can't imagine listening to it for more than 2 hours. In comparison LCD3s have lesser air / imaging capabilities, but just sound smooth and easygoing whilst retaining all that great bass energy.
 
HD800s I hated...it lacked the bottom-end presence - the bass IS there, just not enough there for the whole sound to tie together and get grounded. There is a very interesting 3D holographic effect going on with sound physically coming from different directions almost, which was cool. The problematic treble even further reinforced the bass absence and with such a lack of balance I could not bring myself to listen to them for more than a minute. It might have had super details but the faults it has just overwhelmed them.
 
We had a HE6/LCD3/HD800 showdown near the end of the meet and the general consensus with myself and a few others is that HD800s have their ultimate strengths but are flawed in many sonic ways, meanwhile HE6 and LCD3 are both natural and near-perfect sounding, but have tradeoffs (brightness vs lack of air/imaging).
 
 
So in the end for my taste, unless I happen to pick up $4000 (LCD3 + good amp) on the road, I don't see an utter upgrade coming from my current setup except better upstream amp/DACs - HE400s scaled fantastically with better setups.
 
 
I auditioned lots of other headphones (LFF Paradox, AKG Q701, AudioTechnica AD900, HD800s, Denon D5000+full lawton mod) and compared them to the HE400s, if anyone wants my opinions on those I'd be glad to share it while my memory is still fresh.

 

[MattTCG]

I'd like to hear about the LFF Paradox...quick before you forget!!

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I'd like to hear about the LFF Paradox...quick before you forget!!

 
It was dead neutral, I even did sinewave sweeps and it was just flat all the way to about 15khz then a fairly quick rolloff (much quicker than HE400s).
 
The amazing thing with it that wowed everyone who listened to it was that even though it was extremely isolating, it had such an "open" sound that you'd be hardpressed to believe that it is closed. Some damping voodoo magic that LFF did in there man.
 
In terms of actual music, I found that it lacked the resolution that HE400s have, and also it did not seem to render vocals as realistically as the HE400s did (especially male vocals). It however is more accurate, but the tradeoff is that it is significantly less musical. It may very well be one of the best if not the best 100% closed isolating headphones.
 
 
edit the previous post: forgot I also auditioned the denon D5000 with full lawton mods.
 
 
Edit 2: also interesting is that my modded ksc75s are a surprise favorite at the meet! Everyone was impressed by it haha.