Recent comments in /f/headphones

flyedchicken t1_j9pcu4q wrote

Hifimans are known for a bit of suck-out in the mids, at least most of them except maybe Sundara. 'Warmth' tends to not be a characteristic of their headphones I have noticed.

They do impact, details, and staging pretty well first and foremost, with slightly elevated mid-bass and treble as an afterthought. I can see how you may be underwhelmed especially if you've been demoing them with classical. Gotta say I really doubt more power is going to help here.

You may just not like the tuning.

If you like a lot of rock and classical, one of the many Sennheisers or maybe Sundara would be more your cup of tea I think. But they all cost significantly more than the 400se :/

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maXXXjacker t1_j9pbu5n wrote

What you are describing sounds like you are running the headphone off a lackluster dac/amp. I do not have a K3 to comment but I think I know what you are talking about.

I plugged my 400se into my PC and my EPOS GSX300 and achieved similar results. Volume for days but it just sounds like a shit headphone and there isn't a thing you can do to make it sound better. The headphone sounds congested, the bass is one note and everything else fairly mediocre. I would say that this is not a great headphone and I would have returned it for something else post haste.

Plug it into something a bit more robust. Bass becomes better textured, excellent control and extension but the punch/slam remains about the same strength which is on the gentler side as far as planars go. Bass excitement was never a quality of this headphone, so coming from gaming headphones this would be a let down and don't expect throwing more power at the headphone to help, it's just enough to keep the headphone from being lean and boring, I would say it is a lively sound. Mids become uncongested, voices sound organic with decent timbre, decent spacing and imaging. The soundstage seems fine, it's not a big improvement but I feel everything is where it is supposed to be. Excellent clarity in the mid to uppermid region, no notable issues here but seems about right for the 400 series.

I feel like there is a point where you can hit rock bottom with this headphone, however if after a week of listening it doesn't grow on you, most definitely return it for something else as there shouldn't be any reason for you to upgrade your gear around the 400se, just get a better headphone instead.

I feel like the 400se is a great starting point to get an idea of what the hifiman sound signature is all about but this headphone does need a little bit of finesse to have it all come together and I feel like sometimes I can get it all together on less but some of the biggest complaints I've seen is about the HP needing power (not for volume) but to bring out the best performance out of this headphone and this isn't coming from people who are inexperienced with headphones but from reviewers themselves. I would agree but I've had fairly mediocre dac/amp combos deliver the goods but if what you are saying is true, it sounds like the K3 might be the problem. Just my 2 cents.

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vavent_ OP t1_j9pbncm wrote

I have entered this hobby, after started listening to female kpop groups and wanted to get better listening experience and now I'm here

On Black Friday sell they can be found for 440$ new, also on used market you can find one for around 370-400$, but not cheaper, they really hold their value great, because the sound is awesome dethrones many kilobuck options, while cost only half of their price

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widowhanzo t1_j9pb6lh wrote

I have tried these ones, immediately liked them, and I have wanted them ever since. I listen pretty much only to kpop girl groups, and these sounded amazing for the few minutes I was testing them. I still can't justify the price though but maybe I'll get them on sale one day...

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ExiledSanity t1_j9paazg wrote

The underwater feeling is somewhat variable. There are completely sealed IEMs that do this, and there are vented IEMs and semi open IEMs that are not nearly as bad.

There are some fully open IEMs as well, but they are definitely less common. Audeze's IEMs would qualify.

Cable microphonic are helped a lot by things like running the wires over your ears and shirt clips. Basically things to absorb the vibration before it gets to the actual ear piece.

Probably not much help with chewing or breathing, but still less noticable with vent d or semi open IEMs.

I use IEMs somewhat regularly and am generally amazed at the sound they can produce. But also don't really enjoy shoving things in my ears, but sometimes it's worth it for portability and/or isolation.

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VisceralVoyage420 t1_j9p6xdm wrote

SubPac S2 can do bass better than any subwoofer. You'll feel every low note in your body and it's seamless with the headphones. I'll take the S2 bass over a subwoofer any day. No bass traps required and you can have a full body experience even at night without bothering anyone. And best of all, no hearing damage.

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