[nicholars]

Honestly your best bet is to just buy them and listen, then return the ones you do not like. You can spend hours on head-fi researching it and then get them and hate the sound... I speak from experience

 

[MrMateoHead]

Seriously . . . lots of dead horses at this point.
 
The HE-400 are (in no particular order):
 
a) heavier than most phones you are probably used to
*you can loosen the headband, and should twist the cups to fit your dome
 
b) Sound better with Velour pads than Pleather pads (worth the $10 bucks just to have backups anyway)
*Might sound better with "modded" pads, for which a guide is provided on this forum
 
c) Do not require, but definitely scale with, quality dedicated amplification (a point of controversy depending on the amp, of course, however great low cost options exist)
 
d) Do not require, but definitely improve with, Equalizing treble downward (Cut 8 khz and maybe 11 khz by about 3 dB - users preference)
*Also respond extremely well to bass boosting - (maybe 3-6 dB @ 50 hz with a wide "Q" factor, my preference)
 
e) Have a tendency to "underwhelm" at first listen (subjective comments to follow). After a few days and many hours listening, you are probably either hooked or sending them back. The "sound signature" is described by some as "dark upper mids". But I think that is wrong. would call them brighter and more aggressive than other phones I've heard. The entrepreneur behind them calls them the "JBL or American Sound". That is not a far off comparison because they crank, have a great airy and effortless midrange at times, and stay on the bright side. But the bass puts anything I've heard from JBL to shame, in texture, impact, and extension.
 
f) Still probably the best headphones money can buy at $400 dollars - and definitely some of the cheapest magnetic planars you'll find!
 
I love them, recommend them, and use them almost every day. I would buy them again, no question. I personally got really interested because I really wanted to experience a driver technology that I hadn't before. Not sure I can go back from planars - they seem to have some properties that really make the listening experience special.

 

[Claritas]

  f) Still probably the best headphones money can buy at $400 dollars - and definitely some of the cheapest magnetic planars you'll find!
 
I love them, recommend them, and use them almost every day. I would buy them again, no question. I personally got really interested because I really wanted to experience a driver technology that I hadn't before. Not sure I can go back from planars - they seem to have some properties that really make the listening experience special.

 
Very good run down.
 
Whether they're the best at that price depends on the genre you listen to. They're so good for jazz, but for classical I prefer AKG and Sennheiser.
 
I like to think of the difference between dynamic and planar magnetic using sight as an analogy. Planars sound as if you're seeing something that's in a specific place. Dynamics sound as if you're seeing an object as it's flying towards you. What do you think?

 

[Thujone]

The HE-400 sounds nothing like any other planar I've heard (HE-4, HE-500, T50RP). I used to think the HE-400 had the "ortho sound" but they just have their own unique sound.

 

[YYZ88]

I just bought this headphones and I am using them with my Fiio E10. So far so good, they are a huge step up from my ATH-M50 and I had never heard a pair of headphones with this amount of detail and speed before.

 

[Mdraluck23]

Some more information for you guys now that I have more time:
 
I have a Yulong U100 amp/DAC as my source, and currently use the DT990. 
 
My musical preferences are very random and prone to change rapidly. From RATM to Debussy to the Gorillaz. I know there's no such thing as a jack of all trades and I can appreciate whatever I end up with. I do tend to like a more neutral-ish sound... the DT990's only major fault is that it is very harsh sometimes, almost too sparkly and fatiguing. I love the Beyers because I wear them for hours on end and they are very comfortable. HD600's clamped a lot but I could deal with it. I wear my cans for movies and gaming too but it's mostly just League of Legends so I listen to music anyways.
 
The HD600 piqued my interest again recently now that I have better-ish amp than my iBasso D6 I used to use. I started researching and stumbled across the HE-400 and I love HifiMan products and the ones I have heard such as the HE-6 and HE-5. I owned three pairs of RE0's and RE-Zero's over the years and loved their signature for what it was. I'll likely end up with a $300 HE-400 from Black Friday, I was just looking to bounce some opinions around.

 

[MrMateoHead]

   
Very good run down.
 
Whether they're the best at that price depends on the genre you listen to. They're so good for jazz, but for classical I prefer AKG and Sennheiser.
 
I like to think of the difference between dynamic and planar magnetic using sight as an analogy. Planars sound as if you're seeing something that's in a specific place. Dynamics sound as if you're seeing an object as it's flying towards you. What do you think?

I listen to a very wide variety of music, and think the HE-400 are really an awesome all-rounder, and I like all-rounders. I don't like the idea of switching headphones for every genre, even if some are 'tuned' to work better with some genres than others (I guess). None of my speakers are really perfect, but then again, I am the type to criticize recordings also, since they are so often poorly optimized to my personal preferences!
 
I don't get your methaphor at all. Unless, I guess, it has something to do with "speed and focus". I did get a chilling sense that I was "in the crowd" when demoing some Bill Bruford with the HE-400s. Couldn't get that from my Sennheisers - because they just didn't render the crowd noise with the same clarity. I could actually hear what people were saying between sets - very cool.

 

[MrMateoHead]

  I just bought this headphones and I am using them with my Fiio E10. So far so good, they are a huge step up from my ATH-M50 and I had never heard a pair of headphones with this amount of detail and speed before.

 
Awesome.

 

[MrMateoHead]

  Some more information for you guys now that I have more time:
 
I have a Yulong U100 amp/DAC as my source, and currently use the DT990. 
 
My musical preferences are very random and prone to change rapidly. From RATM to Debussy to the Gorillaz. I know there's no such thing as a jack of all trades and I can appreciate whatever I end up with. I do tend to like a more neutral-ish sound... the DT990's only major fault is that it is very harsh sometimes, almost too sparkly and fatiguing. I love the Beyers because I wear them for hours on end and they are very comfortable. HD600's clamped a lot but I could deal with it. I wear my cans for movies and gaming too but it's mostly just League of Legends so I listen to music anyways.
 
The HD600 piqued my interest again recently now that I have better-ish amp than my iBasso D6 I used to use. I started researching and stumbled across the HE-400 and I love HifiMan products and the ones I have heard such as the HE-6 and HE-5. I owned three pairs of RE0's and RE-Zero's over the years and loved their signature for what it was. I'll likely end up with a $300 HE-400 from Black Friday, I was just looking to bounce some opinions around.

$300 bucks for these is a STEAL if you ask me. I would totally do it before an HD-600, although I am a Sennheiser lover for the most part (comfort, good sound, quality). DON'T do it if you really want something more nuetral / warm. These err on nuetral - "bright" to my ears. A user that used to come here a lot ended up going with AKG 702 Anniversaries as an alternative also. Those would definitely be in the running for me as they spec out well. But at $400 the HE-400s are already a very good value.

 

[manbear]

  Some more information for you guys now that I have more time:
 
I have a Yulong U100 amp/DAC as my source, and currently use the DT990. 
 
My musical preferences are very random and prone to change rapidly. From RATM to Debussy to the Gorillaz. I know there's no such thing as a jack of all trades and I can appreciate whatever I end up with. I do tend to like a more neutral-ish sound... the DT990's only major fault is that it is very harsh sometimes, almost too sparkly and fatiguing. I love the Beyers because I wear them for hours on end and they are very comfortable. HD600's clamped a lot but I could deal with it. I wear my cans for movies and gaming too but it's mostly just League of Legends so I listen to music anyways.
 
The HD600 piqued my interest again recently now that I have better-ish amp than my iBasso D6 I used to use. I started researching and stumbled across the HE-400 and I love HifiMan products and the ones I have heard such as the HE-6 and HE-5. I owned three pairs of RE0's and RE-Zero's over the years and loved their signature for what it was. I'll likely end up with a $300 HE-400 from Black Friday, I was just looking to bounce some opinions around.

I had the DT-990 Pro at one point, and IMO the HE-400 has a similar "flavor" of sound, but it's just better all around. Deeper, tighter, more impactful bass, more detail, more speed, better imaging, you get the idea. Maybe they are tied in soundstage, but I can't really think of anything I preferred with the DT-990. The HE-400 does have fatiguing highs, but this can easily be corrected with EQ. Probably a little bit more fatiguing than the DT-990 without EQ on either one. With EQ though, I don't find it fatiguing in the least. There are lots of good EQs posted in this thread that you could try, but the key is to focus on the treble peaks. 

I think the HE-400 is a decent can for most genres, though it doesn't quite have the soundstage to make classical really soar. 

 

[Firminator]

Just got the Alpha pads, firstly comfort-wise they are perfect. Soooo much better than everything else in that respect however compared to Jergpads it loses some of the HE-400's signature bass and instead vocals is improved. So sonically i think the Alpha pads are inferior to Jergs. 

 

[richard51]

hello to all, I have purchased some months ago the hifiman he-400... in the beginning i have purchased the aune t1  amp/tube dac, which is  an excellent combo with my ath m50 and the marvellous Fostex th-7b... But I was not satisfied with the t1 for driving the he-400... The he 400 was lacking some sounding body and the space of the sound was not ideal... I decided to purchase a cheap tube amp : the Bravo ocean, and a cheap dac : the hifimediy dac for 45 dollars... The difference with the aune was stunning... More body with this amp, more space, and the dac erase the "tizz" in the higher frequencies and with plenty of details .... After 5 months i finally enjoy my He 400....I was highly satisfied with the dac synchronus usb hifimedyi and i decided to order the asynchronus version (60 dollars) ... If anyone is interested i will communicate my listeming with this new version.......The synchronus version is better than the dac Aune for me with the He400....Thanks for your help and comments....

 

[manbear]

  hello to all, I have purchased some months ago the hifiman he-400... in the beginning i have purchased the aune t1  amp/tube dac, which is  an excellent combo with my ath m50 and the marvellous Fostex th-7b... But I was not satisfied with the t1 for driving the he-400... The he 400 was lacking some sounding body and the space of the sound was not ideal... I decided to purchase a cheap tube amp : the Bravo ocean, and a cheap dac : the hifimediy dac for 45 dollars... The difference with the aune was stunning... More body with this amp, more space, and the dac erase the "tizz" in the higher frequencies and with plenty of details .... After 5 months i finally enjoy my He 400....I was highly satisfied with the dac synchronus usb hifimedyi and i decided to order the asynchronus version (60 dollars) ... If anyone is interested i will communicate my listeming with this new version.......The synchronus version is better than the dac Aune for me with the He400....Thanks for your help and comments....

Congrats on getting better sound for close to the same price. 

 

[richard51]

thanks manbear.... and a very better sound , no comparison.... and tomorrow i am curious to listen with the asynchronus hifimedyi....... probably some better differences.....

 

[nicholars]

  Seriously . . . lots of dead horses at this point.
 
The HE-400 are (in no particular order):
 
a) heavier than most phones you are probably used to
*you can loosen the headband, and should twist the cups to fit your dome
 
b) Sound better with Velour pads than Pleather pads (worth the $10 bucks just to have backups anyway)
*Might sound better with "modded" pads, for which a guide is provided on this forum
 
c) Do not require, but definitely scale with, quality dedicated amplification (a point of controversy depending on the amp, of course, however great low cost options exist)
 
d) Do not require, but definitely improve with, Equalizing treble downward (Cut 8 khz and maybe 11 khz by about 3 dB - users preference)
*Also respond extremely well to bass boosting - (maybe 3-6 dB @ 50 hz with a wide "Q" factor, my preference)
 
e) Have a tendency to "underwhelm" at first listen (subjective comments to follow). After a few days and many hours listening, you are probably either hooked or sending them back. The "sound signature" is described by some as "dark upper mids". But I think that is wrong. would call them brighter and more aggressive than other phones I've heard. The entrepreneur behind them calls them the "JBL or American Sound". That is not a far off comparison because they crank, have a great airy and effortless midrange at times, and stay on the bright side. But the bass puts anything I've heard from JBL to shame, in texture, impact, and extension.
 
f) Still probably the best headphones money can buy at $400 dollars - and definitely some of the cheapest magnetic planars you'll find!
 
I love them, recommend them, and use them almost every day. I would buy them again, no question. I personally got really interested because I really wanted to experience a driver technology that I hadn't before. Not sure I can go back from planars - they seem to have some properties that really make the listening experience special.

 
Agree with most of what you say, except the stock velours sound worse to me, none of the stock pads sound great compared to modded pleathers tbh. If I had to choose one stock pad I would have the pleathers though because the velours make the treble sound even harsher than normal and the bass is not as good imo of course.