New Hifiman Headphone HE-400 is out - Page 352

Think of planar magnetics as regular speakers.  They emit sound out equally in both directions.  And yes they're the only headphones I've heard in which you can actually hear and sorta feel the bass when they're in front of you and not on your head, that's just how much air they move.  I assume other planar magnetics and electrostats do the same thing.

 

Well, yes they re flat by their nature.... Im sure some may find them "boring" compared to the "fun" cans such as the Ultrasones, Grados, etc.

 

I believe that the whole Hifiman lineup is about the integrity of all the instruments, sounding natual and realistic so even though they have nice tight bass (some prefer to call it the "audiophile bass"), if you are looking for boomy bass , you have to look elsewhere I believe.

 

I have no real experience with HIFImans but based on what I ve read, they are natural, flat, live-like, smooth and laid-back...

 

I own the pro 900 only for now, but Im planning to upgrade to the HE-500s soon, so it might be quite a shock for me coming off these "fun" headphones, but I hope I will adjust quicky :)

 

And yep I wouldnt take them outside... It is bassicaly like having double-sided speakers... it does not islate at all and cab ne very intrusive for others, not talking about the huge cups (Im sure it looks very ridiculously, even more than my Pros)

 

Anyways, lesson learnt... Next time pay attention to the wise guys, they are very helpful.

 

Cheers, Luke 

 

EDIT: Well, Raven beat me to it :)

Edited by conquerator2 - 11/3/12 at 5:07pm

If you are looking for a boomy or overpowering type bass, the HE-400 can do that.  You just need a really powerful amp for the additional headroom to EQ their bass up.  Given enough EQ, the HE-400's bass rivals the power of D2000 and more.  If the HE-400s had a more flimsy frame, I'm sure they'd start ratting on your head.

 

Im sure you are right, I meant on default.

 

Of course you can EQ anything if you d like.

 

I know my Pros are ratling if I boost the bass. It satisfying for a whil, but then the bass becomes tooowerpowering and you EQ it back down.

 

Of course I recommend the HIFIman over the Pros... I actuall regret getting them instea of the HE-400 a little :)

You don't have to EQ the Pro900s much, they already come with a built-in 20db EQ to the bass.  

 

Well said. It's a strange experience the first time you take them off your head at loud volumes, or even lift them off your ears slightly. It's that completely even distribution of sound that makes them so pleasing to listen to.

 

I'm shocked I don't see these kinds of posts more, it's completely true. The 400 is the most capable and EQ-friendly set i've ever used. I've gotten the bass to amazingly powerful levels and the 400 still unbelieveably does it effortlessly and with great power. One of the main selling points for me on these was how damn well and balanced they did the low end, while not choking anything else out. 

 

Also of note is the sub bass they produce is actually more gradifying than the Denon's. It's very comparible to a sub woofer in that it moves air instead of vibrating and the clear sound. I rave about this so much because I'm still shocked that I was able to choose these over my D5000's (which I REALLY love, especially for the bass response) Because there is so much overhead on the 400's for low-end.

Guide to fun with HE400s:

 

Turn Bass EQ to +8 on the FiiO E17

Play something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr-1Sxa9RTU on 720P

Receive free ear massage

Check out the song on my sig. I bet DAT BASS would make the HE400 sound like car subs.

did it. And WOW. Nice. 

 

I almost gave up on the whole bassyness of these headphones thinking my HD 25's have more punch but then this song came up on my play list and I was surprised. I did try to turn up the bass earlier but it sounded really distorted and ugly. One thing the HD 650 never did was sound distorted even when I blast them with a bass of 10 on the e17. HD 650 were lighter and more comfortable also. And they don't lack in the bass department. I briefly owned a pair of Dennon AH d-600. That thing was bassy. I would have kept those if the head band wasn't so loose on my head. I'd look down and I'd feel like the headphones were going to fall off.

 

If I could get a full refund on the he-400 I'd return them because they are just not what I need right now. But if I have to suffer a loss of over 40 dollars in order to return them I'd probably keep them because I can build a system around them and enjoy them for a while and sell them off for probably the same amount I'd get from amazon when the time came.  

Maybe not with that amp, but i've gotten them to clip from 40hz and lower songs at louder volumes, crazy.

lol

 

I got billed my shipping cost instead of refunded :( 

 

They haven't send me my HE-400s FANG yet

Pls dismiss this question as i got my hands on a he500 / modded darkvoice 337 combo...
My god..this is heaven..and thinkin i visited that guy to only buy his almost new lyr..instead..i by accident listened to this combo..while the lyr was heatin up..and i never turned back..made a good deal and got home with them

Okay, I got my hands on a NAD 3020e. It sounds pretty nice on my AD700s, but I'm concerned about the range of the volume pot that I can use. With the AD700s it's only safe to turn it up by about 10 percent from minimum before I fear for my ears. Will the HE-400s fare better in this regard? I know the AD700s are pretty easy to drive to loud volumes. Channel balance issues typically occur most at lower volumes on amps I believe so I would really prefer if I could use the HE-400s in the 20+ percent region without turning my brain to mush

The HE-400s should arrive tomorrow some time, FedEx notwithstanding, but it can't hurt to ask beforehand!
Edited by bcpk - 11/4/12 at 11:09am

You can apply a subtractive EQ to both balance the sound of your AD700s out and use more of the amp's volume pot at the same time.

 

HE-400s are considerably harder to drive than AD700s.