[retskrad]

Hi, I can get these headphones for under $200 for analytical listening, but I'm not sure which one to buy. I have heard the he-400 has better bass, but hows the mid range and treble between these two? Which one has more extended treble? 
 
I'm listening to female vocals most of the time, which one does it better in your opinion?

 

[KG Jag]

The weakness of both are the mids.
 
The 990 has a "V" shaped sound signature.
 
Neither is a can I would select to listen to vocals.  That said the HE 400 is better.

 

[retskrad]

Thanks for your reply. Okay, vocals aren't a priority for me because I listen to commercial pop songs. So all around the he-400 is a better choice? The difference in treble too?

 

[Za Warudo]

Vocals sound kind of distant and off on the HE400, for that budget I would rather get the Q701.  If you can stretch your budget you should try to find a mint condition HD600 on the classifieds for around $230-$250.

 

[retskrad]

Well, I tried the HD650/HD600's and I found them too polite and the bass want enough for me so it came down to either the te-400 or the dt990. I'm listening to mainstream pop, hiphop and EDM so the need for forward vocals isn't there . Thanks for your input. 
 
 
Quote:

  Vocals sound kind of distant and off on the HE400, for that budget I would rather get the Q701.  If you can stretch your budget you should try to find a mint condition HD600 on the classifieds for around $230-$250.

 

[KG Jag]

 
Thanks for your reply. Okay, vocals aren't a priority for me because I listen to commercial pop songs. So all around the he-400 is a better choice? The difference in treble too?

Sorry--your comments about vocals in this and are opening response are contradictory.
 
The more HE 400 is a better all around choice.  See:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared-update-audeze-lcd-2-revision-2-6-4-13#user_HE400
 
I will add that I find the mids to be more problematic than does the reviewer.  The HE 500 gets the mids right.  In fact few cans at any price do it better than the HE 500.

 

[Jwood013]

Do you really need open back headphones? The genres you listen to sound best with some fun and punchy bass with a good attack overall. I recommend the DT770 Pro 80 to you, as long as you're willing to amp them which can be done very well for <$50

 

[KG Jag]

  Do you really need open back headphones? The genres you listen to sound best with some fun and punchy bass with a good attack overall. I recommend the DT770 Pro 80 to you, as long as you're willing to amp them which can be done very well for <$50

The 770 is in the same ball park as the 990 with regard to its "V" shaped sound signature.  The mids are very recessed.  The 80 Ohm version is also a step down in general sound quality from the 250 Ohm versions.

 

[Jwood013]

 
The 770 is in the same ball park as the 990 with regard to its "V" shaped sound signature.  The mids are very recessed.  The 80 Ohm version is also a step down in general sound quality from the 250 Ohm versions.

I recommended the 80 ohm version because that's what I own and I think it does just fine. I recommended the 770 because it's closed back and won't leak a lot of sound, and generally closed back headphones have a lot more bass than open back headphones.

 

[cel4145]

The HE-400 is a great headphone if you can get it for $200. Nice bass output, but not super heavy bass.

 

[Me x3]

  Hi, I can get these headphones for under $200 for analytical listening, but I'm not sure which one to buy. I have heard the he-400 has better bass, but hows the mid range and treble between these two? Which one has more extended treble? 
 
I'm listening to female vocals most of the time, which one does it better in your opinion?

You should consider Fidelio X1/2
 
Best Luck!

 

[retskrad]

In case you guys are interested, I weent to a store today, and brought my friends he-400 to compare with the dt990 in the store. All this talk that planar headphones are way better than dynamic. 

Well, the only thing the he-400 did better was bass, but the rest was wacky as hell. Vocals had a whole lot of sibilance and sounded weird.

I found the dt990 didn't fool anyone, it goes full v-shaped without apologising and it wad way superior soundstage and treble. Vocals were more recessed but sounded a lot more natural. 

The he-400 tries to please too many people and is good at none. It's treble hit your ears like an ambush surprising you.

In other words, the I found the dt990 to be more refined for their respective goals.

 

[cel4145]

In case you guys are interested, I weent to a store today, and brought my friends he-400 to compare with the dt990 in the store. All this talk that planar headphones are way better than dynamic.
Well, the only thing the he-400 did better was bass, but the rest was wacky as hell. Vocals had a whole lot of sibilance and sounded weird.
I found the dt990 didn't fool anyone, it goes full v-shaped without apologising and it wad way superior soundstage and treble. Vocals were more recessed but sounded a lot more natural.
The he-400 tries to please too many people and is good at none. It's treble hit your ears like an ambush surprising you.
In other words, the I found the dt990 to be more refined for their respective goals.

Others who have compared the DT990 and HE-400 find the treble on the DT990 to be more harsh:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/623580/dt990-600-ohm-vs-he-400

 

[Roy Munson]

  In case you guys are interested, I weent to a store today, and brought my friends he-400 to compare with the dt990 in the store. All this talk that planar headphones are way better than dynamic. 

Well, the only thing the he-400 did better was bass, but the rest was wacky as hell. Vocals had a whole lot of sibilance and sounded weird.

I found the dt990 didn't fool anyone, it goes full v-shaped without apologising and it wad way superior soundstage and treble. Vocals were more recessed but sounded a lot more natural. 

The he-400 tries to please too many people and is good at none. It's treble hit your ears like an ambush surprising you.

In other words, the I found the dt990 to be more refined for their respective goals.

The HE400 is an interesting beast. It took me a bit to wrap my head around its sound signature. I agree the treble can have an rough peak but it smooths out over time and can be significantly tamed using certain tubes or EQ. Better source and higher quality files that are recorded well tend to not show as aggressive of a treble spike. People say the HE400 is easy to drive - and it is - but I find feeding and planar gobs of power increases the performance of the headphone. I completely disagree that the HE400 is not good at anything. When it comes strictly to the sound on the same gear - I would never pick a DT990 over the HE400. Obviously YMMV. 

 

[cel4145]

People say the HE400 is easy to drive - and it is - but I find feeding and planar gobs of power increases the performance of the headphone.

I think when people describe it as easy to drive, they are speaking of the impedance and/or they don't own the HE-400.

The HE-400s sensitivity is a bit low, lower than most headphones. IMO, at higher volumes, the amp in a phone or an iPod doesn't have the headroom to support the dynamics. So definitely in that class of headphone that really needs some kind of amplification to bring out the best in them.