[snellemin]

I actually listen to the same. I own the x2, but they say its similar to 400s. I do want a can which has better subass performance and less mid bass hump which x2 have to compensate rolloff. Do the 400s perform better on the subass or sould i go for 400i which
looks like to have better subass.
Btw i never listened to planars... :/

I have the 400i and I can tell you that the subbass goes deep with proper power applied.  I even use sound processors to get the most subbass out of EDM mp3's and such.

 

[Music Path]

I have the 400i and I can tell you that the subbass goes deep with proper power applied.  I even use sound processors to get the most subbass out of EDM mp3's and such.

Do they scale well? What sound processors do you mean?
Thanks for the reply

 

[snellemin]

Do they scale well? What sound processors do you mean?
Thanks for the reply

Well it's a planar headphone and not so efficient. I use pro-audio equipment to get the best out of those planars.  Also it's not something I walk around with, due it being open back.  So I use a home amplifier and connect directly to the speaker outputs to the headphones.  They scale up pretty good after that and sound like my home stereo setup.  Difference is that I don't piss off the neighbors at nite with booming bass.
Don't get me wrong though.  The Hifiman does play nice with something less powerful.  I've used it with a Fiio E12A and I liked the sound.  I even used it with a FIIO E9, which is about 1W and sound good too.  But for that crazy undistorted deep bass you will need something with more authority.
 
Behringer makes mediocre stuff and decent stuff and a cheap price.  One of those decent products are the Behringer virtualizer pro and older Ultramizer.  Those two processors go into a Rane EQ and than to an old NAD2140 amplifier.  The EQ is basically there to tune the headphone to match my speaker setup in the living room. EDM sounds really good with the "enhancement" default setting that is in the Virtualizer.  
 
I also have a small BBE processor that is connected to the FIIO E9 amp.  They work really well together and bring back life out of MP3's and you can really tell the difference with the planar. 
 
My setup is definitely not portable as you can tell and I'm not anal about getting the purist of sound that was recorded in a studio, concert or wherever.  Cause honestly, I only listen to new music in it's purist form for maybe 2 times.  After that I tune it to my liking.  And with my 40 year old ears, I'm already having hearing loss above 16-18khz.

 

[Music Path]

  Well it's a planar headphone and not so efficient. I use pro-audio equipment to get the best out of those planars.  Also it's not something I walk around with, due it being open back.  So I use a home amplifier and connect directly to the speaker outputs to the headphones.  They scale up pretty good after that and sound like my home stereo setup.  Difference is that I don't piss off the neighbors at nite with booming bass.
Don't get me wrong though.  The Hifiman does play nice with something less powerful.  I've used it with a Fiio E12A and I liked the sound.  I even used it with a FIIO E9, which is about 1W and sound good too.  But for that crazy undistorted deep bass you will need something with more authority.
 
Behringer makes mediocre stuff and decent stuff and a cheap price.  One of those decent products are the Behringer virtualizer pro and older Ultramizer.  Those two processors go into a Rane EQ and than to an old NAD2140 amplifier.  The EQ is basically there to tune the headphone to match my speaker setup in the living room. EDM sounds really good with the "enhancement" default setting that is in the Virtualizer.  
 
I also have a small BBE processor that is connected to the FIIO E9 amp.  They work really well together and bring back life out of MP3's and you can really tell the difference with the planar. 
 
My setup is definitely not portable as you can tell and I'm not anal about getting the purist of sound that was recorded in a studio, concert or wherever.  Cause honestly, I only listen to new music in it's purist form for maybe 2 times.  After that I tune it to my liking.  And with my 40 year old ears, I'm already having hearing loss above 16-18khz.

Nice gear you have Now thats some serious bass. Btw what would be better for plannars ? SS or Tubes? I never heard somebody pairing 
tubes with plannars, i´m curious because i will have both options to pair with. 

 

[snellemin]

  Nice gear you have Now thats some serious bass. Btw what would be better for plannars ? SS or Tubes? I never heard somebody pairing 
tubes with plannars, i´m curious because i will have both options to pair with. 

I was never really a fan of tubes.  Tubes are something my grandparents used.  But in general the benefit of tubes is a smoother roll off at the top when driven hard.  Different tube sets changes the character of the sound, just like how fets and opamps changes the character of the sound in SS amps.  If I want tube-ish sound, I can just set the Virtualizer in "Tube" mode and tweak away.  There you have it.  Tube sound with a Solid State amp  and without spending a dime on tube rolling.

 

[heliosphann]

Hmmmm...
 
Tempted to get one of these even though I'm reducing my headphone inventory, not building it!!! 

 
Enjoy my HE400's and I like planar's in general. Maybe I'll do a 400 vs 400s winner takes all.

 

[obsidyen]

I actually listen to the same. I own the x2, but they say its similar to 400s. I do want a can which has better subass performance and less mid bass hump which x2 have to compensate rolloff. Do the 400s perform better on the subass or sould i go for 400i which
looks like to have better subass.
Btw i never listened to planars... :/

 
I had a chance to listen HE400i only briefly at a meet so cannot comment on it really. From memory though, HE400S' sound signature suits my tastes better. HE400S has less mid-bass than X2 but more sub-bass extension. They're both on the warm side of neutral but HE400S sounds more balanced in my opinion because it doesn't have X2's mid-bass bump. X2 soundstage is wider, but HE400S has a more realistic soundstage with better imaging. Both are good headphones, but I prefer HE400S for music. X2 is better for games and movies, but only slightly, so I sold them. HE400S is my main headphones now, I might buy a higher end headphone in the future though. I wish HifiMan released a HE560 with a touch warmer sound and smooth treble of HE400S. That would be a perfect high-end headphone for me. Please don't say HE1000 is that headphone as it's too expensive for me.

 

 

[obsidyen]

Would a magni 2 uber synergize well with the HE 400S?

 
Not sure mate, never heard a Magni 2.

 

[Tamirci]

I used to have a stack of Modi 2 uber and Magni 2 and pairing was almost perfect for X2 or Senn. Hd650.
 
But I can't say the same for 400s as these are planar magnetic hps and they want MUCH more than Magni 2 can give.

 

[Vartan]

EFFICIENCY: 93dB/mW
IMPEDANCE: 22+-2 ohms
SENSITIVITY: 98dB/V
 
I can't understand why 93db/mW?
 
Efficiency = db SPL/V - 30 + 10 * log(headphone impedance)
 
If formula is right then you will get Efficiency = 81.42423dB/mW not 93db/mW
 
Please can someone explain me?

 

[Alamei]

  I used to have a stack of Modi 2 uber and Magni 2 and pairing was almost perfect for X2 or Senn. Hd650.
 
But I can't say the same for 400s as these are planar magnetic hps and they want MUCH more than Magni 2 can give.

Out of curiosity, in what way do the 400S need "more than a Magni 2 can give"? I don't own that particular amplifier, but just looking at the specs, it has more than enough power to blow out your ear drums on the HE-400S.

 

[mejoshua]

I just tried the 400S out of a magni 2 today. at 12 o'clock (which is about half the volume) there is def more than enough juice unless you want to destroy your ears.
 
As for the synergy personally I find that there is too much energy up top. The treble is bordering on slightly harsh for me so I would only recommend it for treble heads. Very extended but the presentation is too energetic for me. 

 

[Tamirci]

I am telling this because 400s has a power input of 4W*. Being a planar magnet one could see it coming
Magni 2 is powerful yeah. But not something to feed 400s fully. It can only supply about 1/3 of the power 400s can handle.
* I asked HIHIman directly and this was their answer.

 

[Tamirci]

  I just tried the 400S out of a magni 2 today. at 12 o'clock (which is about half the volume) there is def more than enough juice unless you want to destroy your ears.
 
As for the synergy personally I find that there is too much energy up top. The treble is bordering on slightly harsh for me so I would only recommend it for treble heads. Very extended but the presentation is too energetic for me. 

 
Please don't confuse loudness with "driving". First is what you have experienced but the latter does mean to fully hear the headphones capability. While I was using Magni 2 and Sennheiser hd650 11 o'clock was my last safe point too But you had to hear it after connecting to a powerful amp that could give out many W's at 300 ohm level

 

[mejoshua]

You are right. Sorry if I did not make it clear in my previous post. Although I must say that what it means to fully "drive" the headphones may still ultimately be subjective. More power in watts does not necessarily equate to better sound either.