Stronk
Graduate
Small update on the HE400i: I did not believe in the concept of "burn-in" but I can say with confidence that these have quantifiably "opened up" and widened even more over the course of using them for the last 2 days. Eq'd them using Oratory1990's preset via Peace through Equalizer APO, sounds absolutely heavenly now through the Apple usb c to 3.5 dongle. The only problem is that after applying eq and pre-amp of -11.5, there is not enough power through the tiny apple dongle to satisfy me. So looks like I will have to buy an an amp soon. I guess this is where the money pit starts... god save my wallet XDShipped in less than 48 hrs. Delivered a few hours ago. Simply amazed with my first set of planar open back. Compared to my triple driver Signature Acoustic Raven which cost me about 3k last year, these aren't 4x the improvement (based on cost wise comparison at 3k and 12k). I'd say around 2-2.5x at best in terms of clarity, but it's so very worth it thanks to the soundstage and instrument separation. Never heard anything so "open" and wide before. I'm simply amazed. Plus using these with my Vivo V15 Pro on local flac and 320kbps mp3 files, using Wavelet for eq, these sound just perfect. For now at least, until I bleed more money into these. Have to keep volume at 80%+ on phone and laptop (via Apple dongle), but that's no issue. At 100% it's loud enough for me. Also using Equalizer apo with Harman sound profile. Just fantastic, and worth the 10.8k.
Also big thanks to @red dragon for making me confident about this purchase. Gonna blame you for all the money I spend on audiophile stuff from now on XD