Since you’re on a Mac, I can definitely recommend checking out Rogue Amoeba’s Soundsource:

https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/

For full transparency, I haven’t felt the need to use any EQ lately, so have not touched it for a long while, however, when I was trying to replicate the sound performance differences between my Macs and Windows machines, Soundsource ended up being the easiest path forward - even though it does cost money. With that said, I purchased my license in summer of 2020, and am still getting regular updates today, which is nothing to sneeze at in this day and age. They also do offer a free trial period, so no better way then to try for yourself, especially if you’re running into similar hurdles as I did.

Let’s see if it is worth it in the end, can’t imagine every headphone enthusiast goes through this to achieve a good sound…

Lol, yeah it is a pain in the ass to set up at first, but once it’s done, you should be able to essentially set it and forget it. However, to that point, audiophiles are known to endure endless suffering to eek out subjectively meager gains… :)

I used to have a 2016 pair of HE400i’s, and in hindsight, it’s probably one of the most atypical pair of planar headphones that I have listened to - and the 2020 revision didn’t do much to remedy this. They have a noticeable drop off in the mid to sub bass region with the stock pads, which give them a noticeably “thin” sound signature, and if you’re used to sound that is not this anemic, then this may explain why you’re left wanting more.

With that said, a more powerful amp could offer the headroom to apply some EQ to add back some bass. Assuming your audio interface has some power left over, you can try this now for free, which you can start with this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/faq

You can then find your headphones from the listing here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets

In my opinion, the problem with a lot of these comparisons for diminishing returns is there is no set value that correlates to the sound quality you are getting. Meaning:

• Not all $10 headphones are the same as each other
• Not all $100 headphones are the same as each other
• Not all $1000 headphones are the same as each other
• Etc. etc. etc.

So whenever people say “I bought $xxx price-tier of headphones”, it is literally meaningless, unless they also state exactly which headphones they have in hand.

Until there is some sort of objective grading system to correlate quality with pricing (i.e. A-tier is $1000+, B-tier is $500+, C=tier is $250+, etc.), the concept of value for dollar is always going to be highly subjective and arbitrary. Not to mention, with inflation, the scale would also need to be readjusted on a yearly basis - much like tax brackets.

I get what you’re saying. It’s just that some are not as confident in their preferences and decisions as you are, that’s all, so they’re seeking some sort of encouragement. The older we get, the less we succumb to outside influence of our opinions, and I imagine the OP is much younger than you and I.

Yeah, I used to have a pair of TH-X00 Mahogany’s, and they were fine for the time I owned them. I sold them years ago though, so I often wonder if the current owner is still enjoying them till this day, or not.

With that said, my biggest issue with the TH-X00 at the time may have been due to the loose clamp. At least, in retrospect, this is what I suspect may have been the reason why I never got “dat bass” despite pad rolling and using attenuation rings.

I’m still mulling over it, but the novelty and appeal are not as strong for me like it was back when they first released. :/

I used to have a marble version, but sold it years ago, because I also had (and still have) a 6XX, and wouldn’t justify keeping both around since they really sound more similar than different.

I can’t tell you exactly why this was the case, but over the years, I found myself missing the 600, for whatever odd reason, and ended up buying the newer version last year. From memory, I don’t notice any significant sound differences, other than of course these coming with newer pads straight out of the box. With that said, they sound every bit as good and enamoring as I remembered them, so no regrets.

Plus, aesthetically, I much prefer the newer design, so it’s the cherry on top for me.

I’ve been eyeing these for a long time, but I’m still weary for when that mounting screw will break (which is inherent for all of the Fostex/Denon headphones that use the same headband/swivel ear cup design):

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/bye1e3/anyone_know_how_to_fix_this_pin_thing_in_fostex/

No worries. :)

Yeah, I generally don’t comment much on the stock tuning because of the earpads that I have installed on them, which are not representative of what you will get out of the box, and not everyone is willing to put up with the itchy fabric material of the Velpads to obtain the same sound either. If I ever find the stock earpads, I can give them a try again, but if memory serves, they’re pretty much the equivalent Sundara pads, which were notably brighter/sharper sounding, to me, and that’s what sparked my pad rolling interest, early on.

I’m sure what I am about to say is not a revelation for some, but through my own experiences, what I have learned a few times over is that the terms resolution, detail, separation, layering, etc. all relate back some how, some way to frequency response (aka. the aforementioned “tuning”). So long as the driver is capable, it becomes a matter of balancing the right blend of FR characteristics that allows “new details” to become revealed or “un-buried” from the mix. So with that said, the HE6se v2 is definitely very capable of resolving small details, without being overly distracting, unlike say, the Focal Utopia - where that headphone commands you to pay attention to the small details so much that it sometimes can ruin songs - at least, for me.

I still like them very much. They don’t get as much listening time as they used to, but whenever I put them on, I tend to keep them on for long bouts of time. It’s probably one of the few modern Hifiman headphones that actually has punch/slam that comes close to that of Focal headphones, making them quite engaging and enjoyable. For me, no EQ tweaks are needed, as they sound great they way they are - but more on this later.

As you’re probably aware, they are quite hard to drive, but given how cheap and plentiful headphone amp power has gotten, it’s not as out of reach as things used to be. If it makes any difference, I was able to pick up a bunch of Cavalli amps last year that were being liquidated between eBay and Monoprice sales, and regularly swap between the Massdrop x Carbon X, Monolith Liquid Platinum, or sometimes Monolith Liquid Gold. Even with the Susvara, I’m not wanting for more in terms of source gear, with either of these headphones.

I should note that mine are outfitted with a leftover HE560 v3 headband from Adorama (back when they were still available), which made a huge difference for comfort, and also have the HE400s Velpads that I tend to use for most of the circular Hifiman headphones. The stock headband was horrendous for my head shape, as it gave me aching pains at the very tippy top of my skull, right where the foam padding rested. The Velpads also generally tend to give a little more warmth and bloom to the sound, that I enjoy so much. So take what I say with as much salt as needed. :)

YMMV, but for what it’s worth, I’ve purchased Dekoni pads a few times from this eBay seller:

https://www.ebay.com/str/digitaldjgear

The past two times, I’ve made an offer and generally got at least $5 off the MSRP. It’s not much, but to your point, I’ve never seen Dekoni’s ever go on sale - at least not to my knowledge.

I had shared something similar in the past, so here is an updated list:

• HE400 - Bought used in 2018, gifted to a friend in 2019 and still working today
• HE400i - Bought used in 2016, sold in 2017 (unsure of current status)
• HE400se - Bought new in 2021, gifted to a friend in 2022 and still working today
• HE500 - Oldest pair I own. Bought used in 2018 (original owner bought new in 2012), still working today
• HE6se v2 - Bought new in 2021, still working today
• Sundara - Bought new in 2020, still working today
• Sundara Closed Back - Bought two weeks ago, and no issues at all
• Ananda (non-Stealth) - Bought open box in 2020, traded in to Hifiman in August 2022 for HE1000 v2
• Arya v3 - Bought open box January 2022, still working today, but will likely trade in for something else
• HE1000 v2 (non-Stealh) - Received brand new from Ananda trade-in, in August 2022, still working today
• Susvara - Bought used February 2022 (original owner bought in 2021), still working today

Who knows? Maybe I am the luckiest person alive to have no major problems to speak of, when it comes to Hifiman headphones - and doubly so with the “French Hifiman” brand, aka. Focal. ;)

On a serious note, and to be crystal clear, I’m not saying they don’t have QC issues (because they certainly do), I’m just saying that the likelihood of running into them is not as likely as the Internet makes it out to be. However, this is why it is always best to purchase from retailers that offer an easy return process, in genreal - no matter what brand you are buying.

FYI, they’re the same price on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-Over-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B08J9MVB6W

No worries.

Not sure if this may be your first time looking/trying any planars (and particularly Hifiman headphones), but if you’re open to the idea, I would suggest to go with the cheapest possible entry first before going higher into the lineup. From my experiences, the $109 HE400se is a great entry point to give you a taste of the “Hifiman house sound”, before sinking more money, which again you can leverage Amazon’s return period window to your advantage for evaluating. While there are appreciable differences the higher up you go, the more you listen to their headphones, the more you tend to find a lot of tuning similarities across their product line.

Just my $.02. :) Good luck with the hunt!

Yeah, I suspect that those opinions are the reason why there has not been any major traction with the Sundara CB’s, so you’ll likely not see much with community created EQ’s and pad rolling experiences until more people get their hands on them. Hopefully, with the sale price that’s going on now, that should become more realistic.

For me, they sound good without any tweaks, which is always a welcome experience. It’s got what I would consider a more “average consumer friendly” sound to them, so I’m surprised there is as much negative impressions as there are - but how many people have actually listened to them, is the main question. Not sure if there may have been a silent revision or not, but I don’t find them to sound as bad as the measurements suggest.

If you can try them out and just listen to them as-is, that would be the way to go, especially if you can buy from Amazon and have the return window available until the end of January. I generally don’t go into any headphone purchase with the mindset that I have to have some kind of modding ready at the helm, but again, that’s just me.

In my opinion, it’s got a lot going against it, so it isn’t too surprising.

• Stock pad tuning has a really wonky sound, which can be remedied with pad swaps and/or EQ.
• Some expect a similar “Focal house sound” coming from the Elear/Elex/Clear, except in closed back form, and found it to deviate too far from that standard for comfort.
• Even if you happened to like the stock tuning, Focal doesn’t sell replacement pads, so inevitably you would have to succumb to the pad rolling game at some point in the future anyway.
• The Elegia was also notorious for snapping headbands as well, more so than another other model.

Honestly, at the tail end of 2023, if you have to have an affordable closed back set, my vote would go to the (currently) $149 Hifiman Sundara closed back. Again, the same caveat applies to the Sundara CB - if you’re expecting the exact same sound as the Sundara open back, it’s not going to match up to that standard - but it’s also nowhere near as bad as the Internet makes them out to sound.

Almost made it the entire year without buying a single audio product, but recently caved and picked up the Sundara Closed Back, and they’re pretty great.

Yeah, bigger number is not always better. Especially in the audiophile world.

At the end of the day, each headphone is really a package of compromises, and no one set will be able to do it all. If you are able to keep both, and appreciate them for their respective strengths, then that might be best.

I think I might have had too big expectations for the sound stage where it would have felt more “speakerlike”.

Yep exactly. The claims of being “speaker like” are quite exaggerated - they can sound “wide” to some, but they are still very much headphones.