Intro

I bought these headphones as my first purchase of planar magnetics, so for anyone also venturing into this domain, this review could be helpful to determine if you want to dive into this corner of the headphone world. I use an OLYMPUS FiiO 2 (yes, it’s cheap, but it works!) through my MacBook, and use Spotify Premium for most of my listening. On the FiiO I have the high gain on and the bass booster.

Packaging

The headphones come in a fairly standard box: pull off the top and you’ll find the headphones resting in a cloth lined bed with the cable and the 3.5 mm adapter in the middle. The minimal contents are pretty standard for higher end cans, which is another indicator that these headphones punch well above their weight class. If you like having a case for your headphones, you’ll have to look elsewhere, though because these are open-back this isn’t such a big deal since all listening will be done at home. I tend to just return them to the box when I’m done listening, and it works well enough. I don’t have a headphone stand but I imagine it would make the experience even easier. Personally, I enjoy the pre-listening ritual of taking out headphones and hooking them up to my amp and computer.

Fit

These headphones are incredibly comfortable. The ear pads are nice enough, and the slanted fit work well in making your ears feel like they’re in their own space. They do a nice job of channeling the sound, and from what I can tell the only leakage is through the backs, which is the whole point, so no complaints at all about the ear pad material. They certainly aren’t the most expensive material on the market, but others say that swapping the ear pads on these work great. The only thing I can think of is if you like your ear pads to dampen some higher end noise, but with EQ that nuance can be solved easily.
The headband for me was a little hard, but I really am not the one to make a comment on that -- by nature of my head all headbands hurt, so I can’t claim to have an objective view of this feature. But compared to other headphones I’ve tried, like the V-Moda M100s, this headband is very comfortable.
One would expect with the size and type of drivers in these cans that they would be heavy, or at least pretty solid. For me they were surprisingly light and I found no fatigue in my neck, even after several hours of continuous listening. I have scoliosis and some shoulder problems, so this is a huge plus for me, and any others put off by the weight of planar magnetics.

Sound

I like to listen to my headphones before and after (obviously) the burn-in period. It goes without saying on a site like this, but give these cans the proper time to loosen up. Especially if you’re looking for bass response and clarity, they need several hours to finally come into their own. But enough about what they sound like when they’re being held back: how do they play when they’ve gotten their due time?
The short answer is these headphones blew me away, and blow me away every time I put them on. The bass and the mids sound crystal clear on these, given the price point. The bass is- to use the industry term- FAT. Especially with non-synth bass, the 400i 2020s cover every frequency in the bass you need. On albums like D’Angelo’s Voodoo you get incredible sub and great response all the way up to the harmonics when Pino’s playing way up the neck. The result is a full sound. You never feel like you’re being cheated out of any of the response by the hardware, which happens a lot at the sub $500 price point. The one place where the bass falls short is in its ability to punch hard in modern rap music. Artists like Travis Scott or the like tend to feel like they’re losing energy on these headphones. I compared it to my pair of M100s and they did a better job of delivering the punch that genre needs, though they are famous for their big bass and aren’t much of a fair comparison. The vibe of these headphones is very relaxed, so less bass isn’t necessarily a losing feature. I love listening to soul, jazz and alternative genres on these, then switching to either my M100s or my Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds for more intense-genre listening sessions.
The mids and the highs are where these headphones really shine. Some have said the highs are a little harsh and forward on these, and I think I would agree with them. There are definitely times when I’ve felt they could be a little more subdued, but this problem is hardly noticeable when stacked up against the pros of these headphones. Even if they are a bit forward at times, what that also brings with it is clarity. And what a clear sound it is! Electric guitars, hi hats, synth leads and vocals sound absolutely sublime on these. Add to that the fairly wide soundstage and it really does feel at times you’re listening to speakers in the room. If you like soul, jazz, classic rock, or any of the “vinyl” genres you’ll love these. They react beautifully across genres, and more than once I’ve sat with these headphones getting goosebumps for minutes at a time. This of course is helped by the open-back design which lets the highs run unimpeded (or more free than usual) by bass reflections.
I was considering early on when I had these to buy a tube amp to possibly warm up the sound a little bit, but I decided against it. If the highs are a little too much on the ears but clear, I’ll take that clarity in trade for a little fatigue. And there are plenty of tricks to balance out that sound if you don’t want to buy a whole new amp (I’ll leave explaining those tricks to someone in the comments).
Clarity of instruments is also something these headphones do great. The sound hardly ever gets muddy, and even with pretty complex arrangements, you’ll almost always be able to hear every piece of the band. The wider soundstage again helps with this, since mixes appear much more pronounced, which I love. Even with a “wall” of sound coming from these drivers it sounds unbelievably nuanced and balanced. My one wish would be for even a little more clarity in this area, but for how much these cost you’re already getting an incredible bargain.
Overall, the sound of these cans is unbeatable for this price. Add to that you’re getting an open-back and planar driver- $170 is absolutely bananas! Much applause to HiFiman for opening up this design for us less financially-blessed listeners. Are these the greatest headphones to ever walk the Earth? No. But for how much they cost the value is fantastic. You get a versatile, responsive and clear sound across almost every genre. They sound relaxed and mellow, with crisper notes on the top, which help bring a bit more energy into the mix.
These headphones are a bargain to say the least, and won’t leave you disappointed or underwhelmed with just about any song you can throw at them.


Conclusion

These cans are probably the best headphones you can get in this price range, hands down. For at home listening, they give a great relaxed and defined sound to almost every genre. The pronounced high end can be annoying at times, but is easy enough to remedy. I would recommend these to anyone looking to get into higher end headphones, or for more experienced listeners to have a little fun with some well made and relatively cheap cans. Happy listening everyone.


Recommended Albums on these Headphones: Voodoo by D'Angelo, Blame Game by Beach Bunny, Aja by Steely Dan

P.S. this is my first review on Head-Fi!