[tehsprayer]

Budget - $400 USD
 
Source - O2 Amp/Schiit Modi
 
Requirements for Isolation - open headphones are fine, 
 
Preferred Type of Headphone - full-sized
 
Preferred tonal balance - unsure
 
Past headphones - DT 990, Alpha Dogs, I do enjoy both but decided to sell because I wanted more from the 990s and feel like a change from t50rp drivers in the Alpha Dogs. 
 
Preferred Music - EDM, Female Vocal, most top released songs..
 
Location - Canada, would prefer to buy from Canada but often it is better to buy from USA and pay the duties. 
 
Other - I was looking at the HD 650 from BuySonic but their deal just expired, that got me thinking about the HE-400i (sold for $395 at RazorDogAudio, open box). Although I assume the HE-400is will leak more than the 650s as theyre planar magnetic drivers. Could use your help. I want to buy NEW or open box from a reputable dealer is fine.

 

[Makiah S]

  Budget - $400 USD
 
Source - O2 Amp/Schiit Modi
 
Requirements for Isolation - open headphones are fine, 
 
Preferred Type of Headphone - full-sized
 
Preferred tonal balance - unsure
 
Past headphones - DT 990, Alpha Dogs, I do enjoy both but decided to sell because I wanted more from the 990s and feel like a change from t50rp drivers in the Alpha Dogs. 
 
Preferred Music - EDM, Female Vocal, most top released songs..
 
Location - Canada, would prefer to buy from Canada but often it is better to buy from USA and pay the duties. 
 
Other - I was looking at the HD 650 from BuySonic but their deal just expired, that got me thinking about the HE-400i (sold for $395 at RazorDogAudio, open box). Although I assume the HE-400is will leak more than the 650s as theyre planar magnetic drivers. Could use your help. I want to buy NEW or open box from a reputable dealer is fine.

Disregard the leaking any open headphone will leak espically at higher volumes  
 
I felt that the HE 400, was a direct Upgrade to the DT 990, so maybe try it as it's a little cheaper. The HE 400i is going to be darker than the DT 990 and HE 400, though you might be able to find a used HE 500 for around $400 

 

[tehsprayer]

I'm leaning towards the HD650 for some reason. Love their design and the company has been around for a very long time. Would I be stupid to wait for the 650s to go on sale rather than buying the HE-400s? I don't want anything too heavy, something that will disappear once on my head.

 

[linglingjr]

Something that will disappear one your head is totally the Hd650/600, They're super comfortable. Do you want lots of bass? If not, I'd go for hd600s as they're more detailed, more neutral and do mids/female vocals amazingly well. They still make almost all genres sound great and do an awesome job at masking badly mastered music. They're also a bit cheaper than 650s.

 

[Makiah S]

  I'm leaning towards the HD650 for some reason. Love their design and the company has been around for a very long time. Would I be stupid to wait for the 650s to go on sale rather than buying the HE-400s? I don't want anything too heavy, something that will disappear once on my head.

Yea the HE 400 is a little heavy, 
 
I have the HD 600 with me, like as of this moment, and it's not bad 
 
Hmmmm you might be able to try the HE 4, the Magni runs about 1w Per Channel into  50 ohms and the HE 4 is like 32, I think the HE 4 would be driven well by the Magni
 
Now in terms of sound quality, I like my HE 4. It's well it's great
 
Linear bass, and wonderful mids and a nice touch of brightness. It does a lot of things right. An best of all it's light weight! Lighter than both of the new Hifimans even! 
 
But in terms of sound... they are very even sounding I think. They are a tad aggressive but can also be intimate... just really good headphones
 
they are $450 new though But I like the HE 4 more than my old DT 990/880 and current HD 600 

 

[tehsprayer]

Something that will disappear one your head is totally the Hd650/600, They're super comfortable. Do you want lots of bass? If not, I'd go for hd600s as they're more detailed, more neutral and do mids/female vocals amazingly well. They still make almost all genres sound great and do an awesome job at masking badly mastered music. They're also a bit cheaper than 650s.

Thanks for the suggestion! If I were to find either on sale that would be awesome. I've heard the hd600 cable is not very great and the HD650 is. If I were to get the HD600s I would also have to pay extra for the cable, probably still making out to be a little cheaper than the HD 650s. I'm really not sure about my preferences. I would assume that I like nice mids and more bass with treble laid back a little but instead of being too bright like the 650s, although I also like the idea of neutral headphones where the audio isn't coloured and is presented like the artist intended it to be heard.

 

[Makiah S]

  Thanks for the suggestion! If I were to find either on sale that would be awesome. I've heard the hd600 cable is not very great and the HD650 is. If I were to get the HD600s I would also have to pay extra for the cable, probably still making out to be a little cheaper than the HD 650s. I'm really not sure about my preferences. I would assume that I like nice mids and more bass with treble laid back a little but instead of being too bright like the 650s, although I also like the idea of neutral headphones where the audio isn't coloured and is presented like the artist intended it to be heard.

ignore issues about cables it's speculation, all cables run the risk of well being ruined. Plenty of people like to spread "fear" about things they "hear" about
 
I would get the HD 600, and if and when the cable dies, could b a month could be 3 years, when it goes then get another as it's only a cable 

 

[tehsprayer]

Hey guys, if you were to choose between the HE-400i or the HD650 (without considering price) what would you choose? 
 
This will be paired with the O2/Modi

 

[Makiah S]

  Hey guys, if you were to choose between the HE-400i or the HD650 (without considering price) what would you choose? 
 
This will be paired with the O2/Modi

I'd go HE 400i, but I like Hifiman :/ 

 

[tehsprayer]

bump

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

Hey guys, if you were to choose between the HE-400i or the HD650 (without considering price) what would you choose? 

This will be paired with the O2/Modi

I had the 650 and he-400(not the i) and returned the he-400, but I like darker headphones, he-400 were a little glary up there and weird mids. I like strong bass, warm mids and recessed high tho so preferences play a huge role, 650 were more comfortable too.

As an aside I really like the Fidelio X1 an the X2 just came out I think and Tyll thinks it's even better

 

[tehsprayer]

I had the 650 and he-400(not the i) and returned the he-400, but I like darker headphones, he-400 were a little glary up there and weird mids. I like strong bass, warm mids and recessed high tho so preferences play a huge role, 650 were more comfortable too.

As an aside I really like the Fidelio X1 an the X2 just came out I think and Tyll thinks it's even better

For some reason, i'm not into the Philips headphones. I've heard the HE-400i improves a lot over the HE-400's faults, but the HD650 is still very good. I can get the HE-400i for $395, or I could wait for the HD650 to drop on sale

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

For some reason, i'm not into the Philips headphones. I've heard the HE-400i improves a lot over the HE-400's faults, but the HD650 is still very good. I can get the HE-400i for $395, or I could wait for the HD650 to drop on sale

If the 400i fixes the issues of the 400 then at $395 I would snatch that in a hurry, as even with it's faults I still thought the HE-400 competed very close to 650 and only chose the latter mostly due to comfort

 

[rfan8312]

Have you considered the PSB-M4U2? I just got them after weeks of researching and they sound fantastic. They are very comfortable but have a slightly greater clamping force than I was hoping for, but either I'm getting used to it or they are loosening a bit. Now, I couldn't be happier with them.

They also have a built in amp that you can switch to anytime with the click of a slide button that is located on the right - side headphone.

They also have a detachable cable that comes with them equipped with a mute button on the chord.

Also you can plug another set of headphones into either port that you aren't using so anyone sitting next to you can plug into your head phones and they can hear the same thing you are hearing.

Bottom - line about these headphones is the sound is amazing.

They cost 399$ but you can get the M4u1 model for 299$ which comes with no amp mode.

They sound Truely wonderful in passive mode anyway, but the amp makes a big difference too when you need it.