[brooklyn]

Hi Everyone… The Headphone Mania Circle has been kind of quiet for a while so here goes.

I have about three hundred dollars burning a big hole in my pocket and would love to get a pair of
planer type headphones like the HiFiMan HE-400s to add to my current arsenal..

The headphone rig I have now is a Graham Slee Solo headphone amp, AKG Q701 and the Grado 325i..
I listen mostly to iTunes from a Mac Mini and vinyl through the headphone amp, No Dac.. I did use a
Musical Fidelity V90-Dac for a short time but was unimpressed with the sound I was getting.  I do like
the sound I’m getting from either of my headphone’s but would like to try a Planer type.

I tend to like detail with smooth extended high’s and tight bass, like the sound I’m getting from my
Maggie's. Would I benefit from spending more money on higher end planers or is the $300.00 price range
good enough? I’m a bang for the buck type of guy but I’m thinking of spending more if need be. 

I do love opinions so if you got one, pile in..

[mcgsxr]

I have never owned a set of those 400's, but I did listen to a set when I picked up a small NAD integrated 2 years ago.

As a current Maggie owner, I would say there is a relationship between the presentation of the 2, though as always with a speakers vs headphones discussion there are major differences.

My own headphone experiences are limited to a bunch of Grado's (stock and modded), a few Beyer's, and my current Senn Momentums.

Not sure your budget can take you any further than the 400's - reading Head-fi indicates good synergy between the Hifiman and Slee combo.

[milford3]

Brooklyn,  do yourself a favor and up your budget and look at the Audeze lineup.  I own the LCD2's and will not part with them for all the tea in China.  I have heard the HE 400's and they are a bargain for a planar headphone.  Let us know what you decide on. 

[FullRangeMan]

If you will order a 400 make sure order it with a nice cable.
Stock Canare cable are robust but no great in 3D space.

[milford3]

Moon Audio has the HE 400's with the option of cable choices.

http://www.moon-audio.com/hifiman-he400s-headphones.html

[FullRangeMan]

At a significant extra charge.
I guess the stock cable dont will came together also.
I bough a 1.5M silver cable at HeadDirect(factory site) by just $65 w/ship.

[brooklyn]

Thank you all for the quick replies..

Mcgsxr,

I appreciate the Maggie/Headphone comparison, that’s encouraging.

The only Grado’s that I’ve ever listened to are the ones I now own. While I do like the sound,
I’m not totally in love with them. I think it’s the look and feel of them or maybe it’s just me..

The Graham Slee is an awesome little headphone amp, I’ve been very happy with it so far. It’s
also has two inputs which I need. The Slee, HiFiMan combo might be the ticket..

Milford3,

I’m actually very tempted and have considered the Audeze LCD2’s if I decide to up the price..
I haven’t listened to my audio system for about a year now and thought maybe I should get
something that would be comparable in a headphone..
Thanks for the link.


Fullrangeman, thanks for the info.

[SteveFord]

See if you can't luck into a pair of the old Stax Sigmas.
They're fugly as can be but they sound really nice.

[FireGuy]

Hi Everyone… The Headphone Mania Circle has been kind of quiet for a while so here goes.

I have about three hundred dollars burning a big hole in my pocket and would love to get a pair of
planer type headphones like the HiFiMan HE-400s to add to my current arsenal..

The headphone rig I have now is a Graham Slee Solo headphone amp, AKG Q701 and the Grado 325i..
I listen mostly to iTunes from a Mac Mini and vinyl through the headphone amp, No Dac.. I did use a
Musical Fidelity V90-Dac for a short time but was unimpressed with the sound I was getting.  I do like
the sound I’m getting from either of my headphone’s but would like to try a Planer type.

I tend to like detail with smooth extended high’s and tight bass, like the sound I’m getting from my
Maggie's. Would I benefit from spending more money on higher end planers or is the $300.00 price range
good enough? I’m a bang for the buck type of guy but I’m thinking of spending more if need be. 

I do love opinions so if you got one, pile in..

I'll endorse what Milford3 has posted here.  The LCD2's are amazing from fit to finish to sonic delivery.  However they are three times your budget.  I do have the HE400's and lb for lb I think the best bargain in headphones period.  I don't have other similarly priced orthodynamic phones to compare to but I will say they compete very well with the Beyer T1.  Their presentation is that good.

[Letitroll98]

Haven't heard them yet, but the new Hifiman HE-400s is suppose to be an improved 400 for the same price, worth a listen if you have a dealer reasonably close.  I own the 400i and couldn't recommend them more highly.  Unless you're talking about the HE-560 which is a 400i on steroids.  But then we're moving up in price quite a bit as in the LCD2 recommendation.  So sticking with your budget, I believe Hifiman is the only game in town, it's just what flavor do you want.

On another note, referencing your question about the planar sound in general, a much sweeter and rounded presentation than dynamic phones of the same quality.  Not a loss of dynamics or detail, just a different flavor of sound.  Another analogy would be the difference between a solid state amp vs a tube amp.  Both can be great, but the context is changed.  I recommend owning both dynamic and planer phones, for different moods and different music.

[brooklyn]

Steve, I looked at those Stax Sigmas on the internet, I don’t think I can choke down
the look of those cans. LOL.. I always try have an eye towards esthetics to a degree..

Another ringing endorsement from the FireGuy for the LCD2’s. They look like the headphone
to beat at the 1K price range but $600 more clams? I’m thinking hard on this one. 

Letitroll98, I’m also looking at the HE-400i’s as a viable option at the midway price
point. Unfortunately, there are no Hi-End stores near me, only Best Buy.. Thankfully,
there are online sellers with great return policies. I will have to weigh my options then
decide how much I want to spend..

I do appreciate the help from everybody..

[FullRangeMan]

The David Mahler headphones test are very positive about the HE400 old model:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared

[R_burke]

The only Grado’s that I’ve ever listened to are the ones I now own. While I do like the sound,
I’m not totally in love with them. I think it’s the look and feel of them or maybe it’s just me..

If you like the Grado sound you may not like a lot Planar phones, many of them are much darker than sounding than Grado.  There are mods for Grados that make them much more comfortable as well as help the sound.  You could do some research on http://www.head-fi.org/ for the various mods.  I have a pair of RS-2s and I modded them with Beyerdynamic pads to make them more comfortable. 

I also have a pair of planar phones (Thunderpants TP-1s) - I like them both but recognize that they sound very different and which I listen to is a combination of what music and what my mood is

[FullRangeMan]

I think the HE400 is not dark sound.
I cant inform about other planars
since I just have listen this model.

[steve in jersey]

The David Mahler headphones test are very positive about the HE400 old model:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared

Take what David had to say,with a "grain of salt".

You're probably pretty safe to accept what he has to say,if you listen to musical genres that are primarily Non-Acoustically based . A lot of the weaknesses (& some strengths) that he assigns to headphones have more to
do with his not really having a low enough "noisefloor" to actually hear what was going on in the recordings.

I've had or have several of the "cans" David compared. I was pretty shocked to discover that with all the Reference quality equipment he used in the course of his testing , basically no consideration was given to what kind of "line conditioning" was being used. It did however explain why I was hearing things differently.Using the best equipment doesn't ensure you that you have the best results if it can't reach the cleanest form of the musical signal. Most headphones are only as good (or bad) as the integrity of musical signal they're presented with.

I normally get a pretty good chuckle whenever someone brings up this thread. It's really a testimonial to how you can get bogged down with way too many incorrect concerns if you base your findings on assumptive thinking from the start. (All headphones sound a bit better with some amplification,but more than likely you may not need as powerful an amp as people insist you do for some headphones. Its usually something else creating a "power bottleneck" in the playback chain)

[SteveFord]

Yeah, those Sigmas are ugly as can be but they're what I use as a benchmark against the actual stereo systems.
How can I get it to sound as good as those old Sigmas do? 

[Tubo]

I’m a bang for the buck type of guy...

The king of bang-for-the-buck planar headphones has to be the modded Fostex T50RP, about $120 (stock) on Amazon. You can do the mods yourself, plenty of instructions at headfi. The mods involve mainly applying Blutack (or similar) and felt inside the cups.

If you prefer to not to hassle with mods, Mr Speakers is still selling Mad Dogs (modded T50RP's) for about $270 including very comfortable lambskin Alpha Pads (among the best headphone earpads). If you go up their line to Mad Dog Pro, Alpha Dog, and Alpha Prime, the mods get better and better, and the price higher and higher.

Mr Speakers is discontinuing modded T50RP's because they introduced their own planar headphone, the Ether (starting at $1500).

I modded my own T50RP's and bought Mr Speakers' Alpha Pads and suspension leather headband. I picked them up in Mr Speakers factory in San Diego and saw their 3D printers churning out Alpha headphone cups. Very ingenious! Other than that I am not affiliated with Mr. Speakers.

[brooklyn]

I do take reviews with a grain of salt but you have to start somewhere. I prefer
what the audio circle members have to say, they haven’t steered me wrong yet..

As far as modding headphone or anything else for that matter. My view has always
been, if I purchase sometime and have to mod it, I probably bought the wrong item.
It’s a piss poor attitude but that's the way I feel about it. LOL

[steve in jersey]

I do take reviews with a grain of salt but you have to start somewhere. I prefer
what the audio circle members have to say, they haven’t steered me wrong yet..

As far as modding headphone or anything else for that matter. My view has always
been, if I purchase sometime and have to mod it, I probably bought the wrong item.
It’s a piss poor attitude but that the way I feel about it. LOL

You might be better off mentioning the things you would like the headphones to do, & then ask if the Hifiman's
are able to satisfy what you're looking for ?

I have the HE-6s (4X the cost & modded to suit my preferences) & think they're (now) great ! . If you ask more specific questions it may be easier for someone to jump in with a yay or a nay !

[FullRangeMan]

There is no much to ask for at $299 consider the HE400S have now 98dB sensitivity, hard to beat it.