Hifiman question

[smogsy]

Been looking for a different headphones to add to my collection and saw the hifiman 400i at £180

How do these compare to my current headphones? Just looking for general thoughts do people prefer these over hd650 or Hd700s or do you find them similar in quality?

Current have hd650 hd700s

 

[rids57]

Hard to describe really: The HD650 has more mid bass but falls off quite quickly whereas the HE 400i doesn't sound as boomy as the HD650 and it's bass goes deeper into the sub-bass region and the bass frequencies play much, much faster, so the HE400i has more impactful bass (slam). The HD650 rules the world when it comes to mids but the HE400i is no slouch either and vocals come across very well indeed. At the high end of the frequency curve, the HD650 does roll off a fair bit and the HE400i certainly has considerably more sparkle. This makes them sound more detailed and lively than the HD650 and also makes a big difference when it comes to imaging. The HD650 tends to fall into the three blob category of imaging, left, right and middle, while the HE400i lets you pinpoint each instrument in the sound stage with ease.

I can't compare to the HD700 as I've never heard it but it is probably closer to the HE400i than the HD650.
Ryan provides a nice review of the HE400i at the top of the page in his sticky thread.

In my case, my HD650 rarely get a look in since I got my HE400i about 4 months ago, I absolutely love the things.

 

[smogsy]

thanks.

i was really tempted but, not sure about the comfort & the annoying cable ends :/

 

[Amidar]

thanks.

i was really tempted but, not sure about the comfort & the annoying cable ends :/

They are comfortable, I have both the HD650 & HE400i and I find the HE400i more comfortable with a lot less clamp than the HD650.

Annoying cable ends? (the cable that go's into the headphones?) they are just 2.5mm jack plugs on the current HE400i they used be the old style coax connector.

 

[Minstadave]

How amp dependent are the HEs?

 

[rids57]

They are not, they sound great from my phone or my Schiit Magni 3.
Their big brother, the HE560 is picky about amps but the HE400i is not.

 

[rids57]

thanks.

i was really tempted but, not sure about the comfort & the annoying cable ends :/

The original HE400i had the annoying screw on cables but those are long gone and they use standard 2.5mm phono plugs now.

They are extremely comfortable with roomy ear cups that have velour on the surfaces that touch your skin and minimal clamping pressure, so as Amidar says, they are more comfortable than the HD650

 

[ToTheMax]

If you are considering these checkout the HE400S

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThkPNbqpiG0&t=623s

A little more expensive and according to this better balanced sound wise

https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx366MYUIR8ZEAX/ref=ask_dp_dpmw_al_hza

Seriously tempted, been doing a lot of research last couple of days

 

[smogsy]

^ ive read the oppsite

 

[rids57]

The HE400S actually comes in below the HE400i in the HiFiMan chain. It's closer to the HD650 than anything and has neither the extended bass or the sparkling treble of the 400i and focuses squarely on the mids.

 

[smogsy]

bought a DT1990

i was going to get a HE400i but the various qaulity control issues swayed me away for it for now...

 

[rids57]

Not noticed any QC issues myself, they seem to be built well with no real weaknesses. The old connector type could prove annoying as they used to unscrew and come away from the body but with the now standard 2.5mm jacks the problem went away completely. I would imagine that most other issues can be covered by poor handling by the end user because Planar drivers are intrinsically more fragile than dynamics due to the very small tolerances involved over a relatively large area.