HE-400i

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Gravity, Nov 20, 2015.

  1. friedrice83

    friedrice83 Facebook Friend

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    Has anybody had any experience putting the FocusPad A onto the 400i? I'm curious because my FocusPads are breaking, and I'm thinking about changing it up a bit for replacement pads. I've done the grill mod on mine if that makes any difference.
     
  2. slowsound

    slowsound Acquaintance

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    Note I've only tested with the 2.5mm version: It dials down the first treble peak, but won't help with the second one.

    Here's a measurement or two:

    [​IMG]

    Green is HD650.
    Teal is stock HE400i 2.5 mm no magnet backing plate.
    Purple is HE400i with focus A pads.
    Blue is HE400i with focus A pads and a couple pieces of toilet paper between the pad and driver.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2016
  3. Vanheim

    Vanheim Acquaintance

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    I'm visiting the US soon so I might just be able to sell them for a good price. Yes, I am still listening to them through Objective2 ~>laptop/smartphone. They sound fine with the smartphone's dolby atmos eq on less bright tracks and shine on everything with laptop's peace gui for APO equalizer.
    I can't seriously imagine how much better they would improve with a good dac/amp. Maybe I just wasn't just with them.
    However, now that I know that I like a warmer/lusher sound signature I'll probably get a hd650 on a moderately good rig that is said to pair well with it.

    Thanks for all the help guys! I really do appreciate it!
     
  4. Sharkhunter

    Sharkhunter Always on the hunt.

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    I started with he400i and sold them when LCD-2s were on sale. The hunt for better never stops. In the end i placed an order for HD800S to check out how well they are different than the planars. Hope you find something when you are here in USA.
     
  5. friedrice83

    friedrice83 Facebook Friend

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    Thanks for that, it really helps! Subjectively, what would you say the differences were between the different configurations you had in your chart?
     
  6. slowsound

    slowsound Acquaintance

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    I sold these a while ago, so my impressions are a little more hazy. However, long story short, it dials down some of the sibilance, but not as much as I would have liked. Makes sense given it didn't touch the ~7-9 kHz peak at all.
     
  7. friedrice83

    friedrice83 Facebook Friend

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    Yeah, it seems like that would be the case. Thanks again for your impressions!
     
  8. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    HE-400i @ $250 for the Black Friday.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2016
  9. Vanheim

    Vanheim Acquaintance

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    whelp, I really miss my pair. Rocking ZMF Omni's now and they have a massive soundstage compared to the he-400i, much better layering and instrument timbre but still, there was something super seductive and engaging about the he-400i's mids. It had that energy in the guitar riffs that even the Omni struggles to provide. If only I could un-fuckify those party pooper peaks without making the treble too veiled and dark... I contemplate everyday on going back to these. But hifiman's customer service, the fucked up peaks and the okay-ish mediocre build of the hifimans keep pushing me away.
     
  10. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    They have their faults, but at $250, I'd consider it a steal.
     
  11. Steakface

    Steakface Acquaintance

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    I'm really enjoying my HE400i with the Vali 2. It dials down the treble a bit without making them sound veiled and adds more mid-range smoothness, but I feel the bass isn't as deep as with my old Asgard 2. I'm hoping I'll find a tube that can help out the bass.
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2016
  12. jj7642

    jj7642 New

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    Throw on HM5 angled pleather pads, tones down treble and boosts subbass dramatically. Ill post some measurements later.
     
  13. Steakface

    Steakface Acquaintance

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    I've been reading this a lot lately on different forums and I'm curious to try it out, but I may need to wait until after the holidays as I've bought WAY too much headphone stuff lately. My current pads are still good so I'll need to pick up some cheap sacrificial pads for the rings, as well as the HM5 pads.
     
  14. jj7642

    jj7642 New

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    Well here are the measurements I promised. As you can see; a dramatic improvement in sub-bass, and smoothing of the treble. Unfortunately I can't seem to find a way to deal with the 6khz dip and distortion peak without completely muting the treble. The pads also improve the sound stage and imaging significantly, and are now my favorite gaming cans.

    I've A/Bed these with the ZMF Omni, Audeze LCD2.2F, Hifiman HE560, Mr Speakers Alpha Prime, and Sennheiser HD800 (anax mod), and the modded HE400i can surpass/compete with any of them. If anyone would like a breakdown of the modded HE400i compared to any particular pair of cans I mentioned, let me know.


    HE400i Stock (New version with 2.5 mm connectors and removed backplate)
    [​IMG]
    HE400i w/ HM5 Pads
    [​IMG]
    HE400I with HM5 pads and cotton in front of driver[​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2016
  15. friedrice83

    friedrice83 Facebook Friend

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    Uhh, is it just me, or what happened to the images?
     
  16. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    It is not just you @friedrice83 I can't see the images either.
     
  17. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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  18. jj7642

    jj7642 New

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    This any better? 1st is stock, second w/ pads, 3rd with cotton mod
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  19. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    I can see those. Thanks.
     
  20. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    @jj7642 Do you happen to have any CSDs or Waterfalls for those graphs?
     

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