Thank you much, as always! I have one other question. In previous correspondence, I believe you said something about the Atom and IEMagni amps having a different sound signature. In my experience, the Atom sounded radically bassy, and the IEMagni sounded similar to a computer headphone jack, which is low, boring bass.
A top reviewer in a different forum told me that these two amps should sound exactly the same (transparent) and not have sound signatures. So I am met with two knowledgeable folks giving me opposing answers. Any thoughts there?
If I'm right and that's what they should sound like and not broken then unsurprisingly it gets praise from people that just want the response to go all the way down to 20hz without any boosts while the weak midrange is less of a problem because
1. Most human ears are more attuned to hearing midrange, kind of like how a dog hears a dog whistle that humans can't as well as hear an earthquake before you feel the earth move (unless you have seismic detection equipment, in which case you might be able to beat the dog)
2. Due to being the best examples of #1, People praising them likely feel that ChiFi Harman Curve tuning is kind of like getting a drill pulsating in their ears
Thank you much, as always! I have one other question. In previous correspondence, I believe you said something about the Atom and IEMagni amps having a different sound signature. In my experience, the Atom sounded radically bassy, and the IEMagni sounded similar to a computer headphone jack, which is low, boring bass.
A top reviewer in a different forum told me that these two amps should sound exactly the same (transparent) and not have sound signatures. So I am met with two knowledgeable folks giving me opposing answers. Any thoughts there?
What I said there was that many of Schiit's products generally has a leaner sound, like when comparing the Valhalla to other OTL amps like the Darkvoice DV336se or Little Dot Mk2, but I couldn't be certain how much leaner vs the Atom if at all. If the Atom sounds like the O2 but just has more power, then it probably would not be easily distinguishable in a blind test with the volume level precisely matched.
That said...that's in terms of response at a point where you're not cranking them up. Some amps get radically warmer sound when cranked up, well beyond "louder is better" psychological angle or even just the physics behind that which is "yeah now I can hear the low frequencies," which is likely distortion. Other amps tend to get leaner, which can also be distortion (could be more noise as well). Other amps tend to not sound radically different as you crank them up, or at least not clearly beyond the psychological angle from being able to hear more of the bass more clearly, which means low distortion.
If they're radically different then it could be a number of things.
1. Whoever says with certainty that they shouldn't have any difference in sound may not have tried the same headphone that might make one of them react differently to that load and he's only looking at the stated specs (you should only rely on this to figure out if an amp may have issues the manufacturer can't even hide or basically to check which amp is less likely to have difficulties on whatever load you want to put on them, but it's always recommended you first do a blind test).
2. There's something wrong with one amp.
3. What you might think is level matched is actually not and one amp is playing louder but without raising the noise level, so you perceive that to be bassier...
4. ...or "radically bassy" can just be a very quiet amp while the other amp being a desktop unit but has gain for IEMs may struggle with a headphone even if the output stage is the same (more likely if you were using the low gain on an amp like that).
Is it legal for Hifiman to refuse their one year warranty? I bought HE400i (2016) from the Hifiman online store a few months ago, and I feel the sound is definitely defective. As stated on their website, a one year warranty is included with this purchase, and they will repair or replace your headphones.
My communication has so far been limited to email, but essentially they're saying I will not get a replacement unless I upgrade to a significantly more expensive model than I purchased. First they told me that no model in the price range vicinity of HE400i was in stock (although they're all still available for purchase in the store), then they told me they couldn't replace with any model similar in price, then they told me that they could replace with a HE400i if I pay $115. Story changing much? LOL
At this point it sounds like I am dealing with scammers. Normal customer service for Hifiman?
In this whole exchange you don’t mention whether they sounded fine when you originally received them and now after a few months the sound has changed indicating a potential driver problem. If they sounded bad from the start why wait months to address it when you could have just returned them within the 30 day window?
Is it legal for Hifiman to refuse their one year warranty? I bought HE400i (2016) from the Hifiman online store a few months ago, and I feel the sound is definitely defective. As stated on their website, a one year warranty is included with this purchase, and they will repair or replace your headphones.
My communication has so far been limited to email, but essentially they're saying I will not get a replacement unless I upgrade to a significantly more expensive model than I purchased. First they told me that no model in the price range vicinity of HE400i was in stock (although they're all still available for purchase in the store), then they told me they couldn't replace with any model similar in price, then they told me that they could replace with a HE400i if I pay $115. Story changing much? LOL
At this point it sounds like I am dealing with scammers. Normal customer service for Hifiman?
Hi there, we are sorry for the unpleasant experience, I have confirmed with our CS team and found it was a mistake that she didn't realize that your headphone was still in warranty. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please kindly check the latest email we sent you and feel free to contact us via email, we will try our best to solve the problem for you.
Hi there, we are sorry for the unpleasant experience, I have confirmed with our CS team and found it was a mistake that she didn't realize that your headphone was still in warranty. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please kindly check the latest email we sent you and feel free to contact us via email, we will try our best to solve the problem for you.
Nobody sniffed the sort of stink I raised about Westone, so they never even got back to me on info as to who the hell the distributor in my area was at the time I bought the broken IEMs so I can verify with SEC here if the company just changed their name or the corporate name is what shows up in the receipt that doesn't match whoever the current one is as Westone claims the receipt I sent them doesn't match their record for who the current list of dealers is (well duh I bought it two years ago and they were getting rid of all stock, which I bet is because they did not renew their contract to be the distributor; I have otherwise not seen any other store carry Westone here, and their receipt never actually showed the name of the store, only the parent corp name).
I can only attest to my experience with hifiman CS but I had to RMA my headphones two times and both times were great and responsive. Glad the OP is getting the situation figured out at least.
If I'm right and that's what they should sound like and not broken then unsurprisingly it gets praise from people that just want the response to go all the way down to 20hz without any boosts while the weak midrange is less of a problem because
1. Most human ears are more attuned to hearing midrange, kind of like how a dog hears a dog whistle that humans can't as well as hear an earthquake before you feel the earth move (unless you have seismic detection equipment, in which case you might be able to beat the dog)
2. Due to being the best examples of #1, People praising them likely feel that ChiFi Harman Curve tuning is kind of like getting a drill pulsating in their ears
What I said there was that many of Schiit's products generally has a leaner sound, like when comparing the Valhalla to other OTL amps like the Darkvoice DV336se or Little Dot Mk2, but I couldn't be certain how much leaner vs the Atom if at all. If the Atom sounds like the O2 but just has more power, then it probably would not be easily distinguishable in a blind test with the volume level precisely matched.
That said...that's in terms of response at a point where you're not cranking them up. Some amps get radically warmer sound when cranked up, well beyond "louder is better" psychological angle or even just the physics behind that which is "yeah now I can hear the low frequencies," which is likely distortion. Other amps tend to get leaner, which can also be distortion (could be more noise as well). Other amps tend to not sound radically different as you crank them up, or at least not clearly beyond the psychological angle from being able to hear more of the bass more clearly, which means low distortion.
If they're radically different then it could be a number of things.
1. Whoever says with certainty that they shouldn't have any difference in sound may not have tried the same headphone that might make one of them react differently to that load and he's only looking at the stated specs (you should only rely on this to figure out if an amp may have issues the manufacturer can't even hide or basically to check which amp is less likely to have difficulties on whatever load you want to put on them, but it's always recommended you first do a blind test).
2. There's something wrong with one amp.
3. What you might think is level matched is actually not and one amp is playing louder but without raising the noise level, so you perceive that to be bassier...
4. ...or "radically bassy" can just be a very quiet amp while the other amp being a desktop unit but has gain for IEMs may struggle with a headphone even if the output stage is the same (more likely if you were using the low gain on an amp like that).
Hi there, we are sorry for the unpleasant experience, I have confirmed with our CS team and found it was a mistake that she didn't realize that your headphone was still in warranty. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please kindly check the latest email we sent you and feel free to contact us via email, we will try our best to solve the problem for you.
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