[mark2410]

HiFiMAN HE-350 Headphone Review by mark2410

 

Thanks to Massdrop for the loaner.

 

TLDR? Try herehttp://www.head-fi.org/t/816751/hifiman-he-350-headphone-review-by-mark2410#post_12778810

 

 

 

First Impressions:  Sooooo this is a sort of first for Massdrop as I understand it.  You see this, it is a Massdrop exclusive, they made it in collaboration with HiFiMAN.  As to what level that was collaborative and more an asking HiFiMAN if they could make something with xzy attributes and whatever.  I have zero idea.  Anyway, the point of Massdrop it to get stuff that bit cheaper than you can usually get it for.  HiFiMAN is well known in the headphone / earphone world for making stuff that is amazeballs but for cheaper than anyone else can manage.  They aim their stuff at audiophiles and each and every head / earphone of theirs I’ve heard has been simply amazing.  Yeah even the uber weird RE-252 was, well I never really think I found the words to quite grasp what it was.  Then there was the RE-0 that on launch was a bit of a wow thing but it one day got a price cut to just US$100 and at that price, there was no question it was, by far, the best audio quality US$100 could get you.  The HE-350, it also comes in at that magical, psychological US$100 price tag.  Today that’s £76 (stupid crappy exchange rate.)  Still, there is a lot of expectation that this will be something special. 

 

 

 

When mine came, it came in an absolutely massive cardboard box, that weighed almost nothing.  And on opening I found just the headphones.  No fancy box, hell no box at all.  I wonder if that’s because it’s a review unit or if it’s a razor thin margins cost saving?  At least that means “reviewers” can’t video their opening a box and calling a YouTube review. 

 

 

 

So rather excitedly on they went and I am not sure what I make of it.  Hmm, lordy it’s a got a brightness to it hasn’t it.  Oh wow these maybe need to get a warm source going, god maybe bass boost too.  I can’t help but think Ety’s, then I remember that the venerable RE-0 was essentially a dynamic ER4.  Have they gone for the exact same sound signature?  While it’s maybe technically perfect it wasn’t always what one might call a crowd pleaser.  Indeed I recall when the RE-0 went to US$100 and Head-Fi went ape poop over it.  So many, many noobs bought one and then immediately protested that they had no bass whatsoever.  That was years back and on an enthusiast website, before the days of Beats, that headphones are cool now trend where normals have been taught that stupendous amounts of bass equals better.  These are the antithesis of that.  At least I think they are, I mean there are clearly Ety esq bass light but that treble, hmm.  This may take much playing about with things.

 

 

 

Source: FiiO E7/E9 combo, Hisoundaudio Studio V 3^rd Anv., HiFiMAN HM-650, 1G Ipod Shuffle, Nexus 5 and Graham Slee Solo Ultra Linear.  Plus a variety of things and in various combinations.

 

 

 

Lows:  They are beautifully sculpted, they really are, without question, beautifully sculpted.  Their quality is not just exemplary, it is the standard by which all headphones at this price should be measured.  However no one’s going to do that.  Why you might wonder, well this is an audiophiles dream bass, it’s just so astoundingly good.  People may quibble about it may not be just quite as fast as they want or maybe a punchy, or as deep, or whatever attribute they particularly prize.  However these are as close to perfect as anything near this price is possibly ever going to get.  I’m quite confident in saying that too.  You see I doubt these are going to be replicated anytime soon.  Why?  Quantity.

 

The quantity of the bass is an issue, it’s not it’s so tiny per say because it is very Ety like perfectly balanced but…..human perceptions essentially need a bump because you aren’t feeling it, literally.  If all you listen to is symphonic / acoustic / classical where not an electronically generated note can be found then, wow, they are stunning.  Throw in every gushing phrase you can think of, it is wonderful…… but……. please sir, can I have some more?  The bass for its quite incredible talent is just so controlled, so perfect, it is hopelessly left behind.  It just will not rise up and thunder the way modern music generally wants and expects.  It’s so polite it’s like the perfect gentleman holding the door open, in London as half of London pours through, doesn’t take the door, doesn’t say thank you, doesn’t even look up to acknowledge him.

 

Now if you are sticking to classical masterpieces, beautifully recorded, sans loudness wars, these can me be absolutely magnificent, seriously a wonder for their price tag.  However I can’t help but feeling they a little bit of a one trick pony.

 

 

 

Mids:  They are, for this price, breath-taking.  They are as pure a mountain stream, Julie Andrews twirling in the background with Barbara asking where the clowns are and Jacqueline playing a little Elgar something in E minor.  So, yeah they are great, glorious etc etc inserts lots of purple prose.  I do not believe anyone who ever hears these will not be deeply and profoundly impressed with them for their price.  They are really, really good, you can dress it up in more fancy terminology but they are really, really good. 

 

What is not so good is with their super neutral like balance there is a proclivity to the upper mid ranges and into the treble ranges.  Now focusing on the mid aspect of that these can be, erm, shall we say temperamental.  Like all the greatest diva’s, with great talent comes great, errr, temperamentalness.  Never would they burst into full on sibilance, but, good lord they could put a lot of energy into the cutting inflection of and S or a T.  Like a lightning fast swipe form the most exquisite of Samurai swords wielded by a master.  The cut so fast, so viciously sharp it has been and gone before you have barely registered anything.  What remains is the damage which in this case was to my ears.  A vast array of music, from a wide range of sources would slash at my ears.  Even things that you wouldn’t think of, even from the warmed E7/E9.  Actually it was worse out of the E7/E9 than from the more neutral Solo Ultra which I did not at all expect.  Other sources were equally unpredictable as to the effect and a very general rule for me, the cheaper it was the more cutting a combo it could be.

 

If all you listen to is the softest of Jazz, fabulously well recorded, classical equally well recorded, the most mellow pop music all from before the loudness wars.  Then maybe you’ll have no issues.  For me I found a lots of things I was track skipping the instant it started because I couldn’t face my ears finding out how cutting it might be.

 

 

 

Higs:  For the price tag, off the charts great.  So long as you throw power at them and aren’t allergic to their quantity. And you’re willing to play with parings, add some impedance.  Or of course you could skip all that and just be old with diminished upper end hearing.  The quality is stupid good, I cannot fault it but the quantity when it just hits that stabby stabby note….stabby stabby.  They feel like they are tuned as if they were the HE-1000 and one of the very best headphones on the planet.  The 350 is doing its absolute damnedest to match it and it just can’t.  Don’t get me wrong, for the price of 1 HE-1000 you could buy 30 of these.  It’s like the younger sibling trying to imitate the practised choreography on an older sibling.  The will is there but it just can’t quite match it and as good a performance as it gives, standing side by side it falters.

 

Okay, back to those praise again shall we?  You stick to acoustic, really well recorded stuff made for crazy audiophiles that turn up their nose at Red Book and want, at least 192K 24bit.  That sort of stuff, which has been perfectly recorded and then masterfully mastered.  You stick to that and these shine, oh my good god they can shine.  Shine a light on so much detail for the price, though it might shine a little too much on the hiss if the recording contains it. 

 

 

 

Soundstage:  Super-duper grand.  They are so open they are basically speakers kinda near the sides of your face.  Super open cans such as these, unsurprisingly also sound very open and spacious.  Instrument placement is alright, as is instrument separation, both quite good but nothing particularly special.

 

 

 

Fit:  On head they went and it was done.

 

 

 

Comfort:  Hmm, maybe I have sticky out ears?  These while the pods are big and full surrounded my ear, they were not quit deep enough.  Thus my ears where pressing ever so slightly onto the central space, pad thingy bit.  They’ve bene on my ears for three hours now and it is beginning to bother me.  So not killer but you know, if I were to use these all day every day I’d need deeper pads.  Which you can get btw, it seems the Brainwavz “Angled” ones fit and work great.  However I note that they cost between US$27 and US$45 for the sheepskin leather ones.  That’s 27 to 45% of the HE-350’s price right there.

 

 

 

Cable:  It really very nice.  It’s nice and easily user replaceable, it attaches at both sides (which I very much prefer.) and it is of course user replaceable.  It’s nicely flexible and it feels very sturdy. You really would never guess that this comes off a headphone as cheap as it is.

 

 

 

Isolation:  Lol, yeah there is none.  Use these near co-workers or in a library at the very sizable risk you will be getting a beating from every one near you.

 

 

 

Build Quality:  Wow, while in the past, HiFiMAN haven’t really always been noted for having the world best build quality.  No one really minds because they sound so good for the price but here, aside from the head strap resty bit that touches your head, I can’t see anywhere they have scrimped.  Maybe that metal of the headband isn’t super fancy but seriously, these are really good.  They are very light, which to some means “feels plasticky” well duh, of course they are plastic, what isn’t?  However to the touch and the eye, I really cannot find much to pick fault with.  For the money, they are fab.

 

 

 

Aesthetics:  Hmm, they are headphone nerd cool looking.  Not sure they would appeal to a Beats crowd but then they are so open you can’t use them in public and not to mention their lack of “thumping bass.”  I like the look of them, they look serious and grown up.  Like “My First” audiophiles headphone.

 

 

 

Amped/Unamped:  Oh, yeah so you may or may not want to amp these.  With the right amp and with the right every bit of the chain you can get some stonking audio out of them.  Soooo I’m going to say tentatively that you will want to amp them.  If not at first but eventually.  Plus the sound signature of them means if you buy these your next purchase audio wise was probably going to be an amp anyway.  However they are very sensitive.  You can without trouble plug them into your crappy sounding phone and they will play happily.  Not to their best but they will be able to go deafening loud out of anything.  They will also be pretty stellar out of your crappy phone too.  So you don’t “need” to amp them but in the same way some products I’d expect never to meet an amp in their lives, this is something I’d expect every pair sold will be paired to a separate amp at some point or another.

 

 

 

As to which amp, well that is a more complicated question.  My long standing, and well liked E7/E9 combo, it’s a hearty little set up, good power and a nicely smooth flavour.  Did these love it then, you would think yes but they didn’t.  They actually pair rather better with the Solo Ultra being fed by the Oppo something.  The thing is, the power supply I have for it cost more than the 350, erm I can’t recall the exact amount but I have £170 in my head for some reason.  Whatever it was, it’s really silly to think that a US$100 headphone is going to meet such an amp.  The only thing I’d really note is that I liked them more with additional impedance as it took the edge off a bit.  That is the only consistency I noted.  That said, if I was you I wouldn’t be looking to cold, hard or brittle amps.

 

 

Value:  You mean you haven’t ordered a pair already?  If you are reading this, it is probable that you have more than a passing interest in audio, headphones and most importantly audio quality.  Like the RE-0 before them, everyone should hear a pair of these at some point in their lives and probably sooner rather than later. 

 

 

 

Conclusion:  These, wow, just wow, in so many ways, so many aspects, just wow.  Do you think I’ll be using these once I’m done reviewing them?  No.  I know that these are paragons and that they are pretty much perfect but……….. I have little sensitive ears and good lord, the same reason I don’t, (and others) don’t only use the RE-0 or ER4.  They may be technically, on paper just about perfect in their balance but for my ears it is too much treble.   It’s that simple, that upper mid and into the treble range blade that it has is exhausting.  What’s more, after a good A/B’ing session the 350 has a very more considerable upper end peak.  I can only think these must be more like the ER4-B.

 

 

 

So we have a product that is on many fronts, quite incredible, for its price, wow, its crazy good, it really is.  This is the sort of headphone that everyone on Head-Fi ought to own at one point or another.  It isn’t however one that everyone will choose to keep.  It’s got a balance that while incredible at perfect recordings at much of the music we actually listen to, they are, shall we say less suited.  For classical, acoustic, Linn Records type stuff its awesome, it really is. 

 

 

 

So would I / should you buy one.  Would I, hmm probably, should you, yes.  You may not end up loving it but Head-Fi peeps all need to hear one.  It is that simple.  The thing is, I suspect that the people who want this sort of balance and want to pair it with what it needs to be paired, its price tag is silly.  I think that those who are after this sort of sound and ability are likely to be able and willing to throw down rather more money to do so.  That could be its biggest problem.  It’s acoustically aimed at a user base that is willing to pay more and thus the 350 may end up overlooked.  That would be a shame however as it means people won’t discover just how good a job HiFiMAN have done with the 350.  For despite it’s not being for all men nor for all music it is a wonder and deserves to be heard by every budding or potential audiophile out there.

 

 

[mark2410]

HiFiMAN HE-350 Headphone Quick Review by mark2410

 

Thanks to Massdrop for the loaner.

 

Brief:  HiFiMAN and Massdrop make uber cheap audiophile headphone.

 

Price:  US$100 or about £76

 

Specification:  Driver: 50 mm dynamic, Impedance: 50 ohm, Sensitivity: 93 dB at 1 mW, Frequency response: 15 Hz – 22 kHz, Velour ear pads, Detachable cable, Cable length: 53 in (135 cm), Cup connectors: 0.1 in (2.5 mm), Plug: ⅛ in (3.5 mm), Weight, with cable: 12.1 oz (343 g), Weight, without cable: 10.6 oz (301 g)

 

Accessories:  Errr, a cardboard box for the kids/pets to play with?

 

Build Quality:  Very nice.  Despite its dirt cheap prices its nicely made, looks good and feels good.

 

Isolation:  None.

 

Comfort/Fit:  On and seated instantly, comfort, mostly pretty great.  That upper acoustic spike though did get tiring.  They also just made contact with my ear so after a few hours got wearing.

 

Aesthetics:  Actually, you know they look really good.  You’d never guess their price form their looks.  Not that any one will ever see them as they are indoor only cans but, hey, you’ll look at them.

 

Sound:  Great.  Well mostly great, I mean these are audiophile tuned.  There is bass there but it is of a wonderfully high quality at the expense of its quantity.  That means there isn’t much of it.  It is tuned for acoustically perfect classical works.  There it shines, it does some glorious double bass bass, not Miss Minaj when she pulls up her Jag and goes “Dun-d-d-dun-dun-d-d-dun-dun” no sir, these won’t be having any of that.  Of course you can play chavy pop but you probably won’t.  The mids, almost as great as the bass but this time we’ve got a better quantity.  Once more it’s perfect for strings and naturally produced sounds.  Vocals can be a tiny bit dried but for all intents, these are tuned to be acoustically perfect.  Until you reach the upper vocal ranges, into the treble.  There is a great old spike and these have the most laser like focused like sibilant point.  It’s so fine, so lethally razor sharp its more like that of the world’s finest samurai sword.  So polite, so refined, then with you barely noticing the blade is unsheathed and cleft you in two.  Once more if you stick to acoustic, no artificial sounds and its superb.  For classical it is staggeringly good and it is something every potential audiophile ought to hear if not possess.  However be aware that its upper end while perhaps it’s Ety ER4-B like technically perfect, its ear ravaging.  You play loudness war produced stuff, cheap pop, hard abrasive stuff and it can be exhausting.  The HE-350 while a true marvel is not a can for all seasons nor all styles.  Yes it’s utterly magnificent but proceed with caution.

 

Value:  Just buy one.  Tbh I expect these will go second hand for more than their new price due to lack of availability.

 

Pro’s:  Acoustically near perfection.  Disturbingly cheap.

 

Con’s:  Too much upper end energy.  Can be fussy with its musical pairings.

 

[biggbenn74]

Thank you for the review! I'm currently awaiting these, and having quite a few good headphones at this point, makes me feel good I'm adding this one to the collection. From your review, I feel like my FiiO E7 should fix the no bass if it really doesn't exist, and I'll definitely be looking at the angled HM5 pads as well.
 
Thanks again!

 

[mark2410]

  Thank you for the review! I'm currently awaiting these, and having quite a few good headphones at this point, makes me feel good I'm adding this one to the collection. From your review, I feel like my FiiO E7 should fix the no bass if it really doesn't exist, and I'll definitely be looking at the angled HM5 pads as well.
 
Thanks again!

yeah if you got an amp with a bass boost, id be willing to bet youll be using it ith them.  though id be intersted in you coming back here and posting how yuo get on with them.  being treble sensitive i wonder how much f their upper end enthusiasim is just my ears.  plus its just such an intersting product.

 

[mrjimmybob]

Thanks. A very nice review by mark2410, with lots of good photos.
 
I have just received my pair of HiFiMAN HE-350 from Massdrop yesterday, so I have not had much burn in time with them. I was listening to them for quite a few hours after they arrived and I must say I was rather disappointed with them.
 
I find them very bright, not only that but sissing*, silbant* and tiresome to listen to. They are also lacking bass. After a while my ears hurt due to the excess of treble, and I normally like a slight V shaped equaliser.
(* I do not even know if those are real words but I think they get the point through.)
 
I think mark2410 make a fine description on the details.
 
Are they detailed? Yes. Are they comfortable? Yes, very. Are they well made? Yes. Do they look good? Yes.
 
But at the end of the day, none of that really matters if the sound is not good or they are not a joy to listen too.
 
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 595 ($150), Sennheiser HD215 ($80), Denon AHD510 ($90), Sennheiser Momentums over ears (150$), and I cannot see these replacing any of them (prices are aproximate).
 
I probably will give them another chance and try a side to side comparison with the other headphones I have, when I do I will re-comment, but if nothing changes they will be up on ebay in no time. And HiFiMAN will be forever crossed of my list of future purchases. Such a shame, because I was really looking forward to these.
 
I know people are saying they are dirt cheap, but for $100 I would at least expect them to sound better than other models I have that were cheaper (like the Denon AHD510 or the Sennheiser HD-215). You could argue "they are better", but if they hurt my ears or bother me, they fail to get the job done.
 
Sory for the rant, but I think my expectations were a bit too high.
 
My source is a Little Dot I+ headphone amp with a MuseS02 op-amp and some EF95 6HM5 tubes and a SMSL Sanskrit 6TH DAC.
 
I have been listening to Tosca, Porcupine Tree, Marillion and King Crimson.
 

*Update 07/nov/2016:
I have had some more time to spend with my HiFiMan HE-350 and even got them together with my Senheisser HD-595 to make a head to head comparison.
I am by no means an audiophile, I only know if I enjoy or not the music, it is true that I am always striving to get a better sound, but I guess it is human nature to always want more, and more, and more.
 
Back to the sound.
Bass:
I was initially disappointed by the bass on the HE-350s, it seemed not very present. But after comparing it to the HD-595 I really can't see much difference. Purists or audiophiles (what’s the difference?) may stay saying one has more sub-bass, or so and so. I can't describe that. They seem very similar to me in this aspect.
Treble:
But there is a big difference in the highs. The HE-350 are brighter, more silbant, but they also seem a bit more fun to listen to. Although, for extended listening they can a bit more tiresome.
Mids:
My limited hearing cannot discern between them in this aspect. They seem very similar to me.
Comfort:
I think the Senheissers are a bit more comfortable, not to say the HiFiMans are uncomfortable. I could easily listen to both all day, comfort wise. They are both great.
 
After listening to both for some time, I have to ask myself: 'Was it worth spending $100 on the HE-350 when I already had the HD-595?'. Not in my opinion. If I didn't have the HD-595, they would be a good buy.
Have I learnt my lesson?, obviously not. I will try and get my hands on the upcoming HD-6XX. And back to the beginning again!.
 
Sorry for the little audiophile rigour of this update.
* End of update.
 
I have seen comments on the box or presentation. even though it is not that important, I did not find the presentation too shaby, here are some photos of the box:
 

 

 

 
As you can see, it is nothing too classy but it is nice and gets the job done. Photos of the cans thems self have been already uploaded and much better than I could of done.
 
Have fun.

 

[mark2410]

 
Thanks. A very nice review by mark2410, with lots of good photos.
 
I have just received my pair of HiFiMAN HE-350 from Massdrop yesterday, so I have not had much burn in time with them. I was listening to them for quite a few hours after they arrived and I must say I was rather disappointed with them.
 
I find them very bright, not only that but sissing*, silbant* and tiresome to listen to. They are also lacking bass. After a while my ears hurt due to the excess of treble, and I normally like a slight V shaped equaliser.
(* I do not even know if those are real words but I think they get the point through.)
 
I think mark2410 make a fine description on the details.
 
Are they detailed? Yes. Are they comfortable? Yes, very. Are they well made? Yes. Do they look good? Yes.
 
But at the end of the day, none of that really matters if the sound is not good or they are not a joy to listen too.
 
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 595 ($150), Sennheiser HD215 ($80), Denon AHD510 ($90), Sennheiser Momentums over ears (150$), and I cannot see these replacing any of them (prices are aproximate).
 
I probably will give them another chance and try a side to side comparison with the other headphones I have, when I do I will re-comment, but if nothing changes they will be up on ebay in no time. And HiFiMAN will be forever crossed of my list of future purchases. Such a shame, because I was really looking forward to these.
 
I know people are saying they are dirt cheap, but for $100 I would at least expect them to sound better than other models I have that were cheaper (like the Denon AHD510 or the Sennheiser HD-215). You could argue "they are better", but if they hurt my ears or bother me, they fail to get the job done.
 
Sory for the rant, but I think my expectations were a bit too high.
 
 

hey, well I wouldn't say writing off hifiman as a brand is a good idea as they make the most excellent sounding stuff for the money.  however like when the venerable RE-0 dropped to US$100 it made it far and away the best sounding IEM for that price, easily.  however many people that jumped on it were used to a vastly more bassy sound and thus found they did not at all like the bass response on the RE-0.  the 350 is sumular in its sound signature, it doesn't have greatly elevated bass.  so I would say try giving them a little bass boost, maybe from a  little bass boost buton possessing amp and then try spending more time with them to let your ears and brain adjust.  youll find they will have detail levels you proboly never realised existed in your favourite songs, seriously give them some time to grow on you.

 

[jeffc67]

I received mine yesterday and have spent most of the time between now and then listening to them. I found the stock pads awful and swapped them for Brainwavz velours which on my skull feel much better. They're pretty comfy.
 
Being a bit of a noob, I've learned more about my own preferences through this process. Apparently, I really LIKE bright headphones. l wouldn't have guessed that, because my 48 year old, heavily abused hearing balks at hissy sibilance. I think what I prefer is a bright can with the very high end eq'd off as I still like the crispness, snap and punch in the treble. (My others are Beyer DT-990 600 ohm, DT-150 250 ohm and Grado SR-80e with walnut cups. So y'all might say - "duh, this guy LOVES bright cans!") 
 
Anyway, this headphone shines for me in reggae and hip-hop. Rock, acoustic, piano not so much, but jazz seems pretty good too. Where my Grado just excels at guitars, the HE-350 (to my ears) doesn't have the same magic. But I find that it's got solid and well resolved bass with a nice, clear and still juicy mid/top end laid over it. All that said, you'll notice that my other cans aren't bass heavy, so I may not be an expert on bass. As long as the music is not too guitar heavy, I find I really like the HE-350 sound and it will have a long term place in my little headphone collection, because I do like my reggae.
 
I am also finding that after a few hours my ears are starting to appreciate the things these headphones do well, so it's probably worth listening a bit. When I first put them on, they didn't really create any "wow" moments for me.
 
So far, I've used them with:
 
PC > Dragonfly v1.2 > HE-350,
Blackberry Passport > aptx bluetooth > Peachtree BT-1 receiver > Little Dot MkIII > HE-350
Hippo Mu > Fiio E6 > HE-350 (I find that the amp does fill in the sound a wee bit with the Jaben/Hippo Xduoo X2 clone, but not much. The HE-350 doesn't need the amp for power. It's a great little rig for the Grados or the DT-150s and dirt cheap.)
 
Source was either mp3s at 320kbps or Spotify streaming at 320k.
 
Happy listening, all!
 
 
Jeff C

 

[Binsterrrrr]

Hello there thank you for the review mark2410. I am considering my first pair of headphones now that I have been playing with iems for sometime but I am not sure where to start for headphones and I am looking to get a pair of these. I was just wondering does amping improve the sound quality of these cans significantly? Or are there only slight improvements. Thanks alot!

 

[mark2410]

  Hello there thank you for the review mark2410. I am considering my first pair of headphones now that I have been playing with iems for sometime but I am not sure where to start for headphones and I am looking to get a pair of these. I was just wondering does amping improve the sound quality of these cans significantly? Or are there only slight improvements. Thanks alot!

hi, welcome and sorry about your wallet.
 
so amping, it depends on the headphone but as a rule, yes it improves things.  however if your asking should i split my budget what is the best headphone to amp ratio then the answer is, put all of your budget inte the headphone.  an extra 50 or a 100 currency units will see a much better audio return if going into buying a better headphone than buying a headphone and an amp for it.  amps make relativly small adjustments and improvements in comparison to the headphone being used.  think of the headphone as the rough control and an amp as fine tuning.
 
so if your buying these, get them, play with them.  discover what you like, how different things sound then decide if you want to throgh money to get something different, like diff headphone or if you want to fine balance the HE-350 with an amp. 
 
however...... if you grab a pair you may want to grab a little baby amp somuthing like a FiiO E6.  not so much for the extra power though itll certainly improve on a phone, but for the bass boost button.  a hardware bass boost is a vastly better idea than a software EQ.  also the little E6 is super cheap.

 

[Saoshyant]

Just in case anyone is tempted, Massdrop has pushed forward their ship date to the 28th, so it will be sent out quite soon after the current HE350 drop ends. I'm still unsure myself.

 

[Binsterrrrr]

Thank you so much! I actually just got my pair just now. Have not gotten the chance to listen to it yet. I will plug it into my Fiio E11k and see how it turns out

 

[mark2410]

 
Thank you so much! I actually just got my pair just now. Have not gotten the chance to listen to it yet. I will plug it into my Fiio E11k and see how it turns out

cool, let us know how you find them and you may want to play with the bass boost button, it can be fun.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

  Hello there thank you for the review mark2410. I am considering my first pair of headphones now that I have been playing with iems for sometime but I am not sure where to start for headphones and I am looking to get a pair of these. I was just wondering does amping improve the sound quality of these cans significantly? Or are there only slight improvements. Thanks alot!

yes it does improves but finding the correct amo is really important because I've tried it with bifrost+valhalla2 but I am not a fan of the sound it produces. however, it sounds pretty awesome with mojo. the clarity and soundstage are cleaner but the highs is getting harsher. I change the stock pad with Brainwavs angled pad and it improves a lot as it sounds smoother and the bass increase a little bit.  

 

[jlanik4]

Been breaking these in over the course of the past week. Heard that removing the sticker on the driver opens up the lows considerably and I can attest to this. However since modding it almost seems like the right driver slightly overpowers the left driver. I'm not sure if its just a placebo effect and my hearing isn't perfectly symmetrical, or its a driver issue, but I didn't seem to notice this before removing the sticker.

 

[audiorapture]

Great review Mark.  I just got a pair of these from a member who said that there had maybe 90 hours on them and I burned about another 30 more.  I use pink noise at a moderate to loud level.  The highs are bright, (which is good for me), and the quality bass is lacking, but I do like the mids very much.  I put them through an equalizer after some more time to see if there were significant changes, (there were  - as some areas seemed to smooth out),  then added bass in the 20 and 30 and 60 freqs and modified the 250 to 1000 range to my liking.  I decreased the 3000 a touch and the 4000 just a bit.  I did drop the 16000 and above to a flat "O" as I don't hear much above 15000 anyway.  The result was very good.  Naturally with these adjustments for the sound it's more customized for only me, but that was what I was after.  I listened to my usual: U2, Pink Floyd, Krall, Beth Hart, Arkenstone, Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Van Morrison, and Stones.  I added Jee Bonamassa and Joe Satriani  and Santana.  I can say in my opinion - the guitars did not disappoint.  They were open, fast, and clear.  Krall's "Best" was really delightful, it sounded full and rich.  And, any Morrison really gets me to appreciate his talent.  Finally I went to The Allman Bros "Filmore East".  Wish I saw it live... RIP ButchTrucks ---   The soundstage is also good; it is wide and good forward to back representation.  Again, the mids are the highlight, very good body and in most cases accurate and distinct.
If you can manipulate the response to fit your style of music, (these were worth the price for me),  these can be fun and enjoyable.  Although I can't hear like I use to, (been to over 300 live concerts and worked at JFK), and knowing these phones and their limitations before hand,  you might just be surprised --- after all, they are not the 560's - or that price...