Exactly why Iām getting one LOL. Ever since Iāve got a bunch of IEMs to swap around, I feel like I havenāt loved my HE400se enough, although I really enjoy how it sounds. Itās the bass thatās holding me off; if source could save the power requirement and the bass on the HE400se then itās literally a lifesaver for this baby.
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The funny part is that extra pad mod has totally brought me around around on the HE400se. I still donāt wear them for massively long sessions, but now I am not trying to figure how to survive for an album side. IEMs do spoil us on comfort.
I think having a few IEMs is what got me to viewing each set as a tool for a job. You always have to pick the right one. Saturday I was listening to live Eric Clapton on a pair of KPH30i and totally enjoying the sound. It was the perfect pairing, and it sounded wrong on the planar. That got me down the rabbit hole of looking into software DSP Tube Amps for APO yesterday, and Voxengo Tube Amp is amazing.
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If the 400se react anything like my 560se than a pad swap with perforated leather pads will get you so much better base response 
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I tried it with the cheap AliExpress ones but brainwaiz should also work
Can see if I still have some perforated ones an compare them if you like
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Actually it would be nice if someone can pad roll and compare how the sound signature changes from pad to pad on the HE400se or any HE400 series HP 
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So i had a chance to sit down and test it out, and as expected itās great.
I used the IFI stack (Dac + Can) at the 3rd (out of 4) gain state at 10ish a clock give or take, using a balanced cable
The X-bass adds a bit more āoomphā that gives it more impact and a liveliness, i personally really enjoy it. Of course not all music is the same so some stuff benefits way more, if you are listening to a lot of music where the bass is fairly subdued it will benefit but the impact will be less so, but overall it was either an improvement or i didnāt mind it.
As far as pad swamping i personally havenāt seen any real reason to start swaping but i might wrong and you can get even more out of the 400SE which is already pretty dang awesome
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Thanks so much for the info, thisāll definitely help me evaluate my purchases. Iāll stick to investing in the dac/Amp sector for now; pads are not a priority as the HE400 series has that plastic mounting ring to be dealt with and I donāt see any problems with the stock pads so far.
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Anyone have comparisons between this and dt880/250? I was thinking about getting replacement and I like the dt880 sound signature.
never tried the 880 250 ohm myself but I doubt it holds up compared to the 400SE
even if someone tried it would be a big problem, one is DT880 is dynamic driver while the 400SE is a planar driver they normally have a fairly different sonic signature, so I doubt someone did a head-to-head since they arenāt the same category. Also, the 880 250 ohm is a fairly old set, and old does not equal bad in any way in 10 years there have been a lot of improvements
hereās a good look at the even without being compared to the 400SE
What do you want to listen to on them, what else do you currently use?
I listen to pretty much anything I guess but mostly songs that put focus on instruments rather than vocals. I have mh752, blon bl03, and dt880 thatās been dying. Not too fond of bassy cans/iems but thatās probably because Iāve never heard a good bass.
What do you run them off of?
just Topping NX4
then i wouldnāt go for a 400SE, its is a bit too power-hungry for a portable device - you probably could reach acceptable volume lvls but it most likely wonāt get 100% of the 400SE abilities.
Whatās the budget you are looking to spend?
Around $200-250, Iāve looked at HD560s but thatās not available here. Iām afraid that anything below my current dt880 would be a downgrade. I mean I could go for another dt880 but I kinda want to try something else thatās why I have my eyes on these lol.
You might want to consider a HD 6XX its right up your price range, havenāt tried myself but what you are describing sounds like it
Noted on that, I might as well try buying the HE400s and see if I can power it, if not then I can return it haha.
you said about 560s not the 600, kinda of a different beast but you can also look into Grado SR125
I spent some time today with HE-X4 (sonically about same as 400se) and the DT880-600.
It is very difficult for me to choose a āwinnerā as an all-arounder here.
Spatially, the DT880 is a wider space with better imaging ā but the Hifiman offers much better instrument separation when passages get very busy - MUCH in some cases. The timbre of a lot of those instruments sounds better, more natural on DT880. Hifiman is swifter, more black background to things. When things are less busy, the strong center-image of DT880 and better vocal timbre (more ā3Dā) is a plus. I think EQ does much more to fix the peaks of DT880 than it stands to benefit the Hifiman which is pretty well tuned overall. One thing that my ears differentiate with the squiggly lines on is the bass extension of the two, where the Hifiman simply seems to dig deeper. The warmth of tuning on the DT880 is felt more in string pulls and the such, deep bass just isnāt nearly as there to me. If I were to guess one was rolled off more, it would be the Beyers. Experiences tells me to expect more ability to tweak more bass shelf, if desired, into the Hifiman than the Beyers. I donāt consider myself to be a basshead - but the Beyer actually lacked in one song with a heavy organic bassline, that surprised me.
Clear strengths and weaknesses, and preferences regarding individual tracks. But I struggle to make a clear rec in this case as far as an āall-arounderā goes. The Hifiman probably creates more āwowā moments and is more evenly tuned. The space/imaging and timbre advantages of the Beyer are probably more nuanced notices. But the fact that they ārockedā better was of some surprise to me today. Guitar is one instrument that just sounds absolutely great to me on the affordable Hifiman models, and thereās great synergy with a lot of tube hybrids.
I have to imagine that 400se would benefit from a bit more power/headroom than an NX4, but I would probably also think that about DT880-250. Really interested how this turns out for you. Enough useless words from me.