The Hifiman Driver Noise?

Hey Guys,

I really have no clue where to post this as its not advice, more just curiosity. If this is in the wrong section, mods please just move it.

I have now heard this noise on three pairs of HE1000's, and one pair of HE560. I have only ever heard it on Hifiman headphones. No other planar headphone I have heard has exhibited this phenomenon.

The best way I can describe the noise is after say ten or fifteen minutes of listening, you stop the music, and the driver is making noise. Its VERY quiet, but it is there. I'm not imagining it. I gave the headphones to someone else and they could hear it as well. The headphones at this point are completely unplugged, so its not the cable or source. Its like the driver is settling in or something? Tiny crinkle noises, but loud enough it can be heard over very quiet passages of music if you start listening again. It almost sounds like very quiet water in a gentle stream in a creek or something. Its really hard to describe.

Is it the magnets warming up and adding tension to the diaphragm? If you stop listening and keep the headphones on your head, it goes away after maybe 15 minutes? I really have no clue what is going here.

Has anyone else experienced this noise?

 

Hmm, well I own and have used the HE-500's and HEX V2s for multiple hundreds of hours (or thousands), and have not heard this.

What is your AMP? If it's a tube amp, what tubes are you using? What DAC you using?

p.s. Cables really are the last place to look for an issue like this. The elements really do not realign themselves because some electrons are passing through.

 

Its not the amp or DAC, it continues to happen when the amp is off, DAC is off, cable is unplugged at the headphones end. Its the driver doing....something.....

I didn't say it had anything to do with cables.

 

Static electricity - pretty simple. When I ran my HE-560 without the mesh (Jerg Pads) it was common.

 

I wondered if it was static electricity. Do you know why it happens only with Hifiman headphones? Something to do with the technology used? Thickness of the diaphragm? I have no clue.

 

Just curious, are your floors carpet?

 

Some of them are, mostly wood though

 

Okay. If you mostly wore socks and had carpet in your listening room it would be very easy to have static present. Still, some people are more conductive, or attractive, than others.

 

Ever been struck by lightning? I hear sometimes weird interferences occur with those individuals.

But in all seriousness, maybe it has something to do with headband clamping force or the seal of the pads? Could make the diaphragm crinkle a bit. Can you hear the sound if you hold the phones close to your ears without a perfect seal?

I suppose there could also be static in the air due to a humidity and/or pressure differential, but I cant imagine it being enough to cause audible interference.

 

Yeah I can. I can also hear the sound if I put the headphone grill up against my ear. Really weird.

 

Got ya, my bad.

Yea, that is strange. I guess static electricity then too, but it's hard to fathom such a level of static that it would affect unplugged headphones.