Hifiman HE-4 Impressions Thread

[Katun]

Quote:

Dude, I read your HE-500/HE-4 comparison...I think about the HE-500 all the time and I have you to blame for!
 
About the bass of the HE-4...it is very, hmm, "good." (<-- I'm so descriptive and accurate aren't I?)
It extends very low, is of ample quantity, and got some punch to it. I like punchiness.
I wouldn't mind having more, but that's because my previous cans were Ultrasones.  
Then again, if the given the option I don't think I would actually want more bass. The amount it has right now is probably what makes them sound so good with all genres. 
I guess I would call this the "ideal" bass. I had the K702s for a short while before the HE-4s. They are no longer with me.  

I'll agree with you about the extension. It's bass extension is literally the reason I got rid of my HD598. It was not a fair fight at all...

HE-500 will give you that little bit "more". It's got a better texture and richness to it as well. Possibly the best I've heard in a headphone.

And I'll agree again about the "ideal" bass. Less is definitely more. But the HE-500 is definitely not too much by any standards. It's perfection.

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Yes I now that.  I have the he-300.  But no he-4 to compare.  Thats why I asked him to compare them.  I know ones a dynamic and the other is an ortho.  

 
Quote:

The HE-300 isn't an ortho.  It's a dynamic.
 

 

 

[Voohoo]

Quote:

I miss my HE4...had to let them go since not having the Lyr anymore... the E9 could only do so much... the HE4 deserves more.

I remember reading some of your impressions of the HE-4 with the E9 and Lyr. 
 
It made me cry a little bit.
Me: 'What? My E9 isn't enough?! BAAGHGUGH!"
 
Seriously, I got the E9, which are overkill for my Ultrasones and now I have the HE-4s, which ask for a little more than the E9 can give. So it feels like my E9 never got properly used. But it's sufficient for now, and much better than not having anything to drive the HE-4s at all.

 

[TexasBuck]

Quote:

Yes I now that.  I have the he-300.  But no he-4 to compare.  Thats why I asked him to compare them.  I know ones a dynamic and the other is an ortho.  

 


 

I would love to hear this too.  To summarize what I've read here and on the HE 300 threads:  The HE-4's have minorly recessed mids and the HE-300's have a mid range spike that creates a "nasal-ness" in the vocals.  Otherwise both are outstanding for the price.  Bass and treble are fantastic on both.  I think I'm going to go with the 300's, but an ortho can intrigues me....  I listen to 100% rock and guessing the slightly recessed mids would be a bigger deal for me than the "nasal-ness".
 

 

[Hifianddrumming]

Kind of off topic, but how do you think these would appeal to a Grado lover? Now I'm not a Grado fanatic, I don't listen to only Grados, but what's the sound signature like, overall and compared with the Grado house sound. I have to say I do miss me some sound stage   sometimes...
 

 

[Voohoo]

Back again to post some more impressions/comparisons after I have had some more time with the HE-4s...
 
Before I start I just want to let you guys know that my prev cans were Ultrasone Pro 2500 and that I'm using the E7+E9 combo. (Also I've never really posted impressions before, hehe)
 
I mentioned "realness" in one of my previous posts and I would just like to put more emphasis on this. Everything sounds like it comes from a real tangible object! Vocals are especially realistic. But the vocals may only be wowing me this much because they're not exactly the strong suit of my Pro 2500.
 
Piggybacking off the realism aspect is "size," as in size of the sound. The HE-4s have life-sized sound. It's kind of hard to word this but this is what I'm experiencing:
I'm listening to "N****s in Paris" from the Jay-Z & Kanye collab album "Watch the Throne." On my Pro 2500 Jay-Z sounds like a leprechaun-sized man crammed inside the headphones. On the HE-4 Jay-Z's voice actually sounds like it's coming from a full-sized Jay-Z! Very realistic presentation. This effect is not only noticeable with vocals but with everything! Especially great when listening to instrumental music or even rock.
 
Speaking of instrumentals, the instrument separation is incredible! It's like everything is it's own entity with air and space to breathe. However, YMMV depending on genre and how well the album is produced of course. I can see this characteristic of the HE-4 being even better when driven by an amp like the EF5. I am so wanting an EF5 right now.
 
I think the last thing I will talk about is the soundstage. I always find soundstage hard to explain since it entails many aspects. But I'll try my best. Soundstage is just great. Very natural in comparison to Pro 2500. Ultrasones have the S-Logic 3D-like effect, which is immersive, but I believe it also causes some aspects of the music to be lost or less noticeable. In other words it's more fun and less serious. With the HE-4 it feels like everything is being delivered to my ears in a proper manner w/o anything being lost. Now, how big is the soundstage of the HE-4? I'm actually not sure (due to my limited headphone experience), but I know that it's not small and that it does not need to be any bigger than it is. Like I said before, natural presentation. I read the term "semi-circled soundstage" today on Head-Fi and I would have to say that this could describe the soundstage shape. The left to right breadth is quite nice along with noticeable depth with instruments/vocals to the front; perceived layering. Everything I have mentioned so far about soundstage lends to create excellent imaging -- clean, coherent, pleasing, immersive, solid from the left to center to right.
 
Really, I love everything about the HE-4. It's only considered a "mid-fi" can?? It would suffice to say that it is an upgrade in every regard to my Pro 2500; even the bass? haha. Not so sure about that. If there was anything to complain about, it would be the earpads; I find them a bit stiff. However, this should no longer be an issue once my new earpads come in! Yep, already ordered them. I'll probably post some more impressions after I get 'em.
 
New earpads: http://www.head-fi.org/t/570510/leather-earpads-purchase-link#post_7734697
 

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Im glad I pulled the trigger on these.  I'll be running them with the NFB-5 and I don't know if this can be considered "mid-fi"  It's an ortho and I think from the description it can be considered a "high-fi"  gear.  I honestly don't think price should be the label of this matter.  But thats just my opinion.  Im really excited for mine to come in now.  
 
Quote:

 
Really, I love everything about the HE-4. It's only considered a "mid-fi" can?? 
 

 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I thought the HE4 was nearly as good as my D7000, so I consider them pretty high end.

 

[dyl1dyl]

IMO, the he-4 is definietly a high-fi can. It posesses extremely close if not as much detail as my LCD 2 rev2s and has a very solid overall sound presentation, rendering it to be high-fi to me.

 

[ZarakiSan]

So what does this thing need to power it? Do you need to get the 100-dollar-converter-box and use a hifi-amp, or does a loud, powerful headphone output get (head-fi)-acceptable results, or do you need their amp to get anything good out of it?
 
Edit: Or I could, oh I don't know, read the thread. Seems a decent headphone amp is enough for these. Cool... I might get a brother to my HE-300 and make them fight to the death- you get the picture.

 

[koolkat]

Couldn't you get a stereo receiver to power high end cans? You can get a fairly good, used one for much less than what a high end DAC costs.
Of course there is the Objective2...  
 
 

 

[Philimon]

Definitely. Vintage (70s or earlier) receivers usually have relatively powerful headphone outs so yes there are lots of very cheap, but beautiful looking and sounding receivers to properly power most headphones. Of course it comes down to whether or not the sound characteristics of the amp compliments the headphone. For example my warm sounding Marantz pairs better with HE-4 than my relatively neutral Luxman which kind of makes the headphone sound dull in comparison. Also - major power requirements like the HE-6 has doesn't seem to be the same for the HE-4 as I and atleast one other has tried the HE-4 on a powerful speaker out and could not tell a difference between that and the amp's headphone out component.
 
If the HE-500 can be considered HIFI then I would put the HE-4 in the same category too. The HE-4 does not sound HIFI or as good as the HE-500, but during my time with both side by side I learned to set the balance controls on my receiver in such a way so as to make the HE-4 closer to the HE-500 frequency wise. Even with the equalizer to compensate, the vocals are still not as good but I would not call the HE-500 another league (in terms of impact, energy*, detail). Though I would say the same about my modded T50RP... 
 
*Double meaning I guess: When I say energy I mean like "speed", and this would also describe a not boring slow sound like Grado RS1.

 

[Voohoo]

I see. I thought the HE-4 was mid-fi because of this: http://www.headphiles.org/index.php?topic=1501.0
But "mid-fi" was just in the headline before the headphones even came out. I guess it's mid-fi-priced if anything.
 
Speaking of price, the HE-4s must seriously be good bang for the buck. If they're comparable to the likes of the D7000 and HE-500 then I'm feeling really good about my purchase. Even though I'm still really curious about these <-- two, my headphone upgraditis has subsided. It always peaks in the summertime, hence my recent purchase of the HE-4.     However, now my amp upgraditis has kicked in. -____-  And here I was thinking that my E7+E9 was "future proof." I just HAD to buy an ortho can..
 
Ohh, btw. If I did my research right, the Lyr outputs quite a bit more power than the EF5? For some reason I was under the impression that the EF5 was the more powerful amp.
Supposedly...
 
EF5 - 15 volts per channel @ 32ohm OR 2 watts per channel @ 32hohm
 
Lyr - 40 volts per channel @ 32ohm OR 6 watts per channel @ 32ohm
 
E9 - 1 watt per channel @ 16ohm
 
Lyr outputs ~3 times the voltage/wattage of the EF5?! Well Schiit, I want a Lyr!! (I'm very, very sorry for the pun 

)
The E9 is peanuts compared to these guys. I think orthos definitely deserve AT LEAST the 2 watt power an EF5 can produce...but why get an EF5 when you can get a Lyr.
Now I realize that the E9 can't be doing the HE-4 justice...and my wallet is most definitely screw*d.
 

 

[blankdisc]

Lyr is definitely more powerful than EF5. It's more obvious when driving HE-6. That's the reason why Hifiman developed EF6 which will be released before the end of this year 

 

[Voohoo]

Lyr is also cheaper. Makes me wonder why one would choose the EF5 over it if not only for the good looks. 
 
Hey, blankdisk, since you have the Lyr and EF5, could you give me a quick comparison between the two amps when paired with your HE-500?
Obviously the HE-6 will favor the Lyr, but I'm curious to know if there are significant advantages of using either amp with the more efficient HE-500.
 
There is a high probability that I will have a Lyr this Christmas. And, heck, why not a Bifrost as well while I'm at it?