**Hifiman HE-400 Impressions and Discussion Thread** - Page 12

(P.S. sory again for the typos in this thread.  This computer really hates me!  I ended up typing most of this entirely off screen!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

Yes, but you're still talking about two planars made by the same company using the exact same design. When I look at something to complement another headphone I'm looking for something that provides a very different experience. Is there measurable differences between the 400 and 500? Of course. But I like to own two headphones that give me both sides of the spectrum. The 400 and 500 are not "different" enough for me to call them complementary.

I definitely see what yo mean and I agree about different experiences.  I'm surrprised to hear you ay that 400 and 500 are not different enough when the 50 is heralded as the offspring of HD650 with the laid back mids sound.  HE400 is sort of the "anti-650" in everything but its dark signature and notable bass presence.  You've tried both, I haven't, so I have to go on your descriptions.  But from all other descriptions I'e heard, they didn't sound all that similar to me.  The simple fact that they're brighter changes the equation a lot.

Keep in mind I also have K702 which is a rradically different presenttation and one I like a lot...yet iI find I'm using them less and less since I got40.   Though d2x....you must be a bass head! :) 

I'd considered d5x, but I don't know about closed back cans.  The only reason I would have an interest in closed backs would be for isolation if noise is preventing me from listening properly to opens.  And if isolation is an issue I do already have very nice Sure SE535 IEMs.  And Triple Fis.  Not quite the same presentation as nice closed backs.  But with two nice IEMs and a set of noise cancelling, I have a hard time pulling the triger on any closed back can purely for isolation.  Though I'd have an easier time with it were it to suddenly be a noisy day!

That leaves the only other cans I have an interest in as LCD2 (too similar to 400 with the dark signature), T1 (too pricy), and HD800 (way too pricy).  And HE6, but that's the same argument as HE500.I

'm 

also 

very sensitive to treble and very fatigue prone.   My fear with T1, and evn HE6 is that fatigue.  IMO, HE-500 would still be fatigue free, give me the natural sound with a slight fun twist I like about HE-400 with a different presentation (laid back.)  But from what you say, it's not really that different a presentation?

oooh great review man.

how does the dt 990s bass compare to these?

i know the d2000 has alot more bass but the dt 990 is punchy and has more bass than most other mid-fi headphones. i ended up selling the dt 990 though because the T1 is like 10x better but slightly less bass.

HE-400 hits 40hz very strong while DT990 does not.  It makes HE-400's bass so deep sounding and strong in comparison.  Planar Magnetics have god bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMRaven 

HE-400 hits 40hz very strong while DT990 does not.  It makes HE-400's bass so deep sounding and strong in comparison.  Planar Magnetics have god bass.

Very true, it's an instrinsic property for well-designed planar mags to have ruler flat FR going from 50~500 Hz at the very least, if not wider.

If only someone other than Audeze could make cans affordable like HE400 but with flat FR going all the way down to 10 Hz, that'd be wicked. It's the main reason why LCD2/3 bass is like no other headphone.

i've wondered how the HE-400/500 compare with the LCD-2r2 subbass, the sub-bass is there, but its always in the background and doesn't always come out. especially in that 40-70 hz range.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dubstep Girl 

i've wondered how the HE-400/500 compare with the LCD-2r2 subbass, the sub-bass is there, but its always in the background and doesn't always come out. especially in that 40-70 hz range.

IMO sub-bass is <40 Hz. 40~70 Hz would be low bass.

In terms of low bass (the freqs you described), they'd be quite similar and linear, LCD2's might have slightly better/flatter resp but not by much.

The difference is below 40 Hz. Almost all headphones closed/open dynamic/planar/stats have a dramatic rolloff around that ballpark, including the HE400/500's (~20 dB rolloff from 40 down to 20 Hz at least, if not more, which is better than a lot of headphones but still very noticeable. LCD's, on the other hand, ruler-flat,all the way down to 10 Hz and possibly lower. I'm quite interested as to how they designed to drivers to achieve that.

I'm actually looking to pull the trigger on buying the HE-400. Are there any comments/additional info to sway me one way or the other? I listen to Jazz/classical/rock. Are there any comparable headphones to these?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mcberto 

I'm actually looking to pull the trigger on buying the HE-400. Are there any comments/additional info to sway me one way or the other? I listen to Jazz/classical/rock. Are there any comparable headphones to these?

Personally I love the HE-400 for jazz & classical.  I don't listen to too much rock overall, so I can't comment.  Much of it (at least of what I have around) is poorly recorded/mastered and sounds like garbage on pretty much anything to my ears.  Dave Matthews Live at Folsom Field is spectacular though.  I think these do very well for most sorts of live recording.  Overproduced music, to me, actually sounds better on cheap garbage equipment since that's what it's really produced for.

I expected they'd be a good headphone for electronic type music and the like but I find they're excellent for jazz & classical!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mcberto 

I'm actually looking to pull the trigger on buying the HE-400. Are there any comments/additional info to sway me one way or the other? I listen to Jazz/classical/rock. Are there any comparable headphones to these?

I think it depends on the type of rock that you listen to.  I've found that with some rock passages, I would get frustrated.  However, when listening to those same passages on another pair of speakers or headphones, the bad sound was also displayed.  I then felt better about the job my HifiMAN's were doing.  If you listen to a lot of rock with scratchy guitar riffs, then there will be a lot of times when the music will come across as distorted.  There is really no headphone nor speaker system that will get rid of that distorted sound if that's the way it appears on the recording.  Personally, I think if some of the artists just cut back on their drug use, we might get some better sounding music that would appeal to more types of headphones. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

If you really want to hear an educated opinion on the 500's you need to talk to MalVeau. The 500's seem to be his everyday go to can which he pairs with the LYR and loves. Mal promised a nice review of the whole HFM series, 300/400/500 but I'm still waiting. Did I miss it? 

There's a Denon 2000 vs. HifiMAN HE-300 thread where MalVeaux has provided his comments in regarding the Denon 2000s, the HE-300s and the HE-400s in.  No mention of the HE-500s, though.  His comments are quite recent, though - within the past 24 hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IEMCrazy 

 

 

Personally I love the HE-400 for jazz & classical.  I don't listen to too much rock overall, so I can't comment.  Much of it (at least of what I have around) is poorly recorded/mastered and sounds like garbage on pretty much anything to my ears.  Dave Matthews Live at Folsom Field is spectacular though.  I think these do very well for most sorts of live recording.  Overproduced music, to me, actually sounds better on cheap garbage equipment since that's what it's really produced for.

 

I expected they'd be a good headphone for electronic type music and the like but I find they're excellent for jazz & classical!

I agree with your impressions word for word.

Pretty much every genre of music I've listened to on the HE-400s has been brilliant, except for rock which seems to be hit & miss depending on the recording.

My top 3 genres for the HE-400s are:

1. Goa Trance - Deep basslines, atmospheric synths, psychedelic vocals and catchy melodies all meld together so beautifully that I'm often closing my eyes and drifting off into another realm.

2. Jazz/Accoustic with vocals - I'm not the biggest fan of this genre as none of my previous setups have quite done it much justice. All I can say is nothing I've heard does vocals (especially female vocals) as well as the HiFiMAN planar series. Anything from Norah Jones' heartwarming, angelic voice to Paco de Lucias lightning quick flamenco guitar is simply breathtaking.

3. Tech House/Minimal - Nothing brings out the clean, fast bass like a bit of minimal or tech-house. It's not just the bass line that's in focus here though - vocals and ambients are really transparent and present without any separation issues with the deep, thumping bass-lines.