New Hifiman Headphone HE-400 is out

jerg said:

Here's a review of HE-400 (compared to HE-500 and 300) on a Chinese audiophile forum:
 
http://erji.net/read.php?tid=1167095&page=1&fpage=1
 
The gist seems to be that:
 
HE-400 has fairly open mids, but they lack a little warmness.
treble is a little sparkly, good for energetic music like rock, but those who like very flat treble probably won't like it.
Dynamics are a little less than the HE-300.
Bass is nice and strong, however lacks a little tightness and impact (compared to HE-6 fully amped).
 
HE-500, in comparison, has perfect mids.
Both treble and bass are very "polite" and tame in comparison to HE-400, which could be a pro or a con.
 
His conclusion is that going from HE-300 to HE-400 is a complete shift in sound, while going from HE-400 to HE-500 is a maturation of sound; and that HE-400's sound signature is more aimed towards Western (our) audiophile tastes.
 
EDIT: wait that's written by OP in this thread haha (just noticed).

Click to expand...

phos said:

I'm curious about the logistics of getting custom pads made for this, would I need to cannibalize another set of ear pads or can the plastic rings with the clips be nondestructively removed from the pads?  
 
I've also heard of other manufacturer's ear pads fitting these, is this the case?

Click to expand...

vonx said:

Please Please Please do a comparison of the HE-400 with the T50rp if you get a chance, and should one be lended
 
 

Click to expand...

nepenthe said:

Well, the killer app for HiFiMAN, from my perspective, will be their first foray into closed cans. Well, I can dream anyway...

Click to expand...

jerg said:

Does anyone know when the Headfonia impression will be out?

Click to expand...

blankdisc said:

I don't think that anyone here ordered a HE-400 just simply because i said it is good. If you are, CANCEL your order now. ^_^
 


 

Click to expand...

nc8000 said:

The mounting rings from the new HiFiMan pads can be nondestructively removed and can be used with the pads from DT770 and the like and probably any other pad of that design

Click to expand...

1. I only had a very brief time to spent with these new headphones, shared with two other individuals comparing impressions and observations
2. The unit has been equipped with the Whiplash Reference TWag cable (balanced XLR4 termination) instead of its stock cable to be properly comparable to my HE-500R hardwired model featuring the same cable
3. The Zodiac Gold+Voltikus DAC was also nearly new, less than 200 hours of break-in was performed.  It was connected to the MBP via direct USB connection using a Locus Design Cynosure USB cable running various high-res material up to 24/192 presented by Amarra 2.3
4. The Zodiac was connected to an RSA Dark Star amp using Frost Audio BlackFrost balanced XLR ICs

warp08 said:

This means primarily to deemphasize the mid-forward sound signature of the HE-500s and clear up the lower treble and tighten up the bass octaves. Indeed the new drivers may appeal to a much wider audience because of this, even fans of the HE-500s In my limited comparison listening, the HE-400s were complimentary to the creaminess of the HE-500 and instead delivered a much more neutral sound signature, but with a twist towards just enough emphasis towards "natural" sound signature that will give fans of jazz, rock, r&b and, yes, even vocal or new age performances goosebumps. The HE-400s do not have the level of treble extensions and transparency of the HE-6, however, they will satisfy most listeners just fine.

Click to expand...

warp08 said:

 
 
By sheer coincidence and happenstance, I had a brief amount of time to spend with a near-production level prototype of the HE-400s, courtesy of Fang.  Actually, not just the HE-400 but the new EF6 amplifier, which was a unit approved for production.
 
Let me emphasize a few things:
 

1. I only had a very brief time to spent with these new headphones, shared with two other individuals comparing impressions and observations
2. The unit has been equipped with the Whiplash Reference TWag cable (balanced XLR4 termination) instead of its stock cable to be properly comparable to my HE-500R hardwired model featuring the same cable
3. The Zodiac Gold+Voltikus DAC was also nearly new, less than 200 hours of break-in was performed.  It was connected to the MBP via direct USB connection using a Locus Design Cynosure USB cable running various high-res material up to 24/192 presented by Amarra 2.3
4. The Zodiac was connected to an RSA Dark Star amp using Frost Audio BlackFrost balanced XLR ICs

 
Preliminary impressions:
 
With all these caveats, there have been more than a few "Wow" moments primarily due to the price factor of the HE-400s (especially the $349 limited time pre-order pricing recently announced).  Even if we discard the cable upgrades and just focus on the similarities and differences between the higher priced HE-500s, these attributes make a strong case for most headfiers, including yours truly to consider this new addition to your arsenal.  Why?
 
According to Fang, the HE-400s were tuned primarily for North American tastes in music preference.  This means primarily to deemphasize the mid-forward sound signature of the HE-500s and clear up the lower treble and tighten up the bass octaves.  Indeed the new drivers may appeal to a much wider audience because of this, even fans of the HE-500s.  In my limited comparison listening, the HE-400s were complimentary to the creaminess of the HE-500 and instead delivered a much more neutral sound signature, but with a twist towards just enough emphasis towards "natural" sound signature that will give fans of jazz, rock, r&b and, yes, even vocal or new age performances goosebumps.  The HE-400s do not have the level of treble extensions and transparency of the HE-6, however, they will satisfy most listeners just fine.  They also do not require HE-6 level amplification or scale up to that extent when they are driven to the extent the Dark Star is capable of driving these types of headphones.  So, I would expect them to do just fine with most headphone amplifiers on the market.  I have not done testing with any direct DAP-driven configurations, but given the nature of orthodynamic drivers, offhand I would not recommend it.
 
Speaking of the drivers--mass-manufactured for the first time as opposed to hand-made--, as you can see on the "naked" photo, they are of decent size, but somewhat smaller in diameter than the HE-500 or HE-6 brethren's.  Not much, but a bit smaller and neatly enclosed in a dampening crossbeam structure fastened to the outer housing, which is identical to the current lineup of the HE-xxx cans, with the exception of the color.  A color, that I've actually found very pleasant in person.  These pictures were taken with a Nikon D300S and external flash and are pretty close in color temperature to the real thing.  The HE-400s are reasonably light--always a good thing--although not as light as the HE-300 dynamics, the sound quality overall is in a different league of those headphones, at least to my ears and preferences.
 
I could write much more about the experience, but I would prefer doing so at a later date.  At $399 I can't imagine doing any better than the HE-400s assuming the production version will be at least as good as this.  For $349 it's a steal.  I predict a very favorable reception at CES--which is where this particular demo unit was headed--and a following critical and commercial success.  At near commodity-level pricing these are simply a must buy, even for owners of existing HE models.  The HE-400 fills in a gap very nicely, not just in the model lineup and price range, but as a genuine alternative to much higher priced headphones in general.

Click to expand...

warp08 said:

 
 
By sheer coincidence and happenstance, I had a brief amount of time to spend with a near-production level prototype of the HE-400s, courtesy of Fang.  Actually, not just the HE-400 but the new EF6 amplifier, which was a unit approved for production.
 
Let me emphasize a few things:
 

1. I only had a very brief time to spent with these new headphones, shared with two other individuals comparing impressions and observations
2. The unit has been equipped with the Whiplash Reference TWag cable (balanced XLR4 termination) instead of its stock cable to be properly comparable to my HE-500R hardwired model featuring the same cable
3. The Zodiac Gold+Voltikus DAC was also nearly new, less than 200 hours of break-in was performed.  It was connected to the MBP via direct USB connection using a Locus Design Cynosure USB cable running various high-res material up to 24/192 presented by Amarra 2.3
4. The Zodiac was connected to an RSA Dark Star amp using Frost Audio BlackFrost balanced XLR ICs

 
Preliminary impressions:
 
With all these caveats, there have been more than a few "Wow" moments primarily due to the price factor of the HE-400s (especially the $349 limited time pre-order pricing recently announced).  Even if we discard the cable upgrades and just focus on the similarities and differences between the higher priced HE-500s, these attributes make a strong case for most headfiers, including yours truly to consider this new addition to your arsenal.  Why?
 
According to Fang, the HE-400s were tuned primarily for North American tastes in music preference.  This means primarily to deemphasize the mid-forward sound signature of the HE-500s and clear up the lower treble and tighten up the bass octaves.  Indeed the new drivers may appeal to a much wider audience because of this, even fans of the HE-500s.  In my limited comparison listening, the HE-400s were complimentary to the creaminess of the HE-500 and instead delivered a much more neutral sound signature, but with a twist towards just enough emphasis towards "natural" sound signature that will give fans of jazz, rock, r&b and, yes, even vocal or new age performances goosebumps.  The HE-400s do not have the level of treble extensions and transparency of the HE-6, however, they will satisfy most listeners just fine.  They also do not require HE-6 level amplification or scale up to that extent when they are driven to the extent the Dark Star is capable of driving these types of headphones.  So, I would expect them to do just fine with most headphone amplifiers on the market.  I have not done testing with any direct DAP-driven configurations, but given the nature of orthodynamic drivers, offhand I would not recommend it.
 
Speaking of the drivers--mass-manufactured for the first time as opposed to hand-made--, as you can see on the "naked" photo, they are of decent size, but somewhat smaller in diameter than the HE-500 or HE-6 brethren's.  Not much, but a bit smaller and neatly enclosed in a dampening crossbeam structure fastened to the outer housing, which is identical to the current lineup of the HE-xxx cans, with the exception of the color.  A color, that I've actually found very pleasant in person.  These pictures were taken with a Nikon D300S and external flash and are pretty close in color temperature to the real thing.  The HE-400s are reasonably light--always a good thing--although not as light as the HE-300 dynamics, the sound quality overall is in a different league of those headphones, at least to my ears and preferences.
 
I could write much more about the experience, but I would prefer doing so at a later date.  At $399 I can't imagine doing any better than the HE-400s assuming the production version will be at least as good as this.  For $349 it's a steal.  I predict a very favorable reception at CES--which is where this particular demo unit was headed--and a following critical and commercial success.  At near commodity-level pricing these are simply a must buy, even for owners of existing HE models.  The HE-400 fills in a gap very nicely, not just in the model lineup and price range, but as a genuine alternative to much higher priced headphones in general.

Click to expand...