HiFiMAN HE400i Over Ear Full-Size Plannar Magnetic Headphone

Product Information

Nevertheless I have heard some of the better headphones on a decent rig and thus will try to compare HE-400i with other cans as that might be helpful to give you a better perspective of what HE-400i may offer. Making custom cables for the 400S is a whole lot easier than trying to mess with the adapters like I have made. Just like the sub bass, the mid bass is placed linearly to slightly forward (maybe due to my warm source and op-amp that I equipped with my amplifier), the quantity might not be enough for bass-heads but the quality is definitely top notch. The HE-400 was known for its bigger bass and the 400i also has great punchy bass with good body but it doesn’t have the body of the old HE-400.

HiFiMAN HE-400i - Reviews - Head-Fi.org HiFiMAN HE-400i - Reviews - Head-Fi.org

I decided to give a certain score to various aspects of HE-400i, 10 of these aspects refer to the sound, while few others refer to the non-sound related qualities like appearence, comfort, efficiency, value etc. I also like to have all different types of high quality toys instead of only one of the best of something. There is a slight dip in the upper midrange /lower treble (around 1 to 3 kHz) and then a slight dip between 4-5 kHz , but this is OK for me and might be even beneficial because it helps to avoid unpleasent shrillness, wonkiness or sibilance (especially in less than stellar recordings). Your comparison and contrast with other gear gives your readers who have some of this gear a really good idea of how the 400i sounds. HiFiMAN aims at delivering a comfortable headphone with tight bass while still keeping the planar sound signature.per channel is recommended by many here, but That is too forward sounding for me, so the better the chips and capacitors in the amp, the better sound you will get. The first thing I noticed with these from the HE-400 is how much less slam and impact they have but with enough time I realized that it's actually a good thing. For instance, even if we talk about jazz or latino songs, the instruments or the voice needs to be in front. Highly compressed nowadays albums with a dynamic range under 7 - in a direct comparison with older recordings - usually sound flatter,which negatively affects subtle nuances left in music.

HIFIMAN HE400se Review - Headfonia Reviews HIFIMAN HE400se Review - Headfonia Reviews

It has just enough crispness/edge to sound lifelike and just enough smoothness to sound ear-friendly. The HE-400 was more raw sounding and the mids in the old version were even more forward sounding then they are now. The cable itself is also well made with a braided exterior and decent thickness and pliability at the same time They are a much welcomed upgrade from the thin silver HE500 cables. If you've always wanted to own a pair of high-end "audiophile" headphones but can't quite justify dropping a grand on a pair, the superb sounding HiFiMan HE-400i is a good compromise. I never really loved the old HE-400 as much as I loved the HE-500 and on both of the old units, the comfort is only so so.kHz peak as others have not really picked up on this issue, but to me it is important to mention that the pads can be moved. When I listen to my Kenny G album or acoustic/classical music, certain instruments just find a way to pierce my soul and heart. The sound signatures of the SUNDARA and HE-400i are nearly identical except that the treble of SUNDARA is more relaxed.

HiFiMAN HE400i 2020 Edition Review | TechPowerUp

Listening to new POP songs like "Want to Want Me" by Jason Derulo and "I really like you" by Carly Rae Jepsen really shows how the mids on these headphones are spectacular. Another minor change that perhaps many DIYers will enjoy is the fact that the 2020 Edition features mini-jack ear cup plugs instead of 2. The chrome cups give for a very classy and sophisticated look IMO which helps it segregate itself as a higher class of headphones. and M-100 (which are my main portable, exactly for that type of music), just want something as a sidegrade or upgrade to HD600. The treble is not so rolled off to the point of being colored or greatly attenuated, just rolled off into good balance.

Despite the known lush sound of planars, the bass of the 400i is rendered in detailed manner, every bass notes are greatly textured and accurate. To me this was an absolute must because the default angle for the pads made listening too fatiguing because the angle was too direct for my ears. The first one is just for the sound alone and the second one is my overall score (it includes both sound related and non sound related aspects) of the product. Guess I can go with amping if this is something semi-portable, such as O2/ODAC, but from what I heard it is not a good fit for planars. It will ruin the experience with the smaller brothers and cousins 🙂 Also, yesterday was my first experience with something better than HD 598.

HIFIMAN HE400i Over Ear Full-Size Plannar Magnetic Headphone HIFIMAN HE400i Over Ear Full-Size Plannar Magnetic Headphone

Amping: This needs and I mean NEEDS a warm sounding amp to sound like what people praise these so much for! On songs by Lindsey Stirling (Transcendence or Electric Daisy) the bass creates such a pleasant sound I start to question reality. With Steve Guttenberg's volume maxed out on his iPod Classic, the HE-400i was also barely loud enough. It sounds 3D-ish too when properly driven but still not as wide as D1770 pro maybe because the midrange of 400i is slightly forward and the treble lacks air too (Planars, duuuh).Imaging: very accurate for a sub 500-dollar headphone, I would say it competes with the HD600/650s if not just a tad bit better. With enough experimenting, I found that this can be fixed through adequate amping and cabling also helps. However, you can´t blame the headphone for not making compressed 320 kpbs mp3´s sound like SACD files with a dynamic range of 12 or higher. My set up is Mid 2012 MacBook PRO with retina display>schiit vali>cable pro freedom upgrade cable> he-400i.