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Hifiman HE-4 Impressions Thread
Jan 3, 2011 at 6:35 PM Post #138 of 4,142


Quote:
hngls said:
first impressions, anyone...
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I posted my fist impressions on page 7
 
 
 
And i changed the title from "Hifiman HE-4 are now available" to "Hifiman HE-4 Impressions Thread"
I will also update the first post with links to the reviews and impressions.
 
Jan 3, 2011 at 7:02 PM Post #140 of 4,142
The mids have changed a bit (or I'm getting used to them). They appear less recessed but still a little more recessed than i would like.
But as i said, i think this is a result of my amp. Hopefully others can comment on what they hear and how they perceive the mids to clear this situation up.
 
Jan 3, 2011 at 7:05 PM Post #141 of 4,142


Quote:
maverickronin said:
We're probably going to have to hope Headroom picks them up.  I think its likely they will since they already sell the HE-5/HE-5LE anyway.
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Yea, i'd love to see a graph of this and see how these compare to its siblings.
And the guys at headroom do a fantastic job at this.
 
Jan 4, 2011 at 9:44 AM Post #143 of 4,142
[size=x-small]From the Headroom graph of the HE5LE it seems the frequency response is fairly balanced with a slightly attenuated treble (that's from memory I haven't looked at it in a while and am at work now) so it seems the HE4 is quite different to its big brother. [/size]
 
[size=x-small]So you'd call this a V shaped response; a "fun" sounding phone?[/size]

 
Quote:
farnsworth said:
The mids have changed a bit (or I'm getting used to them). They appear less recessed but still a little more recessed than i would like.
But as i said, i think this is a result of my amp. Hopefully others can comment on what they hear and how they perceive the mids to clear this situation up.
Click to expand...



 
Jan 4, 2011 at 12:37 PM Post #144 of 4,142
OK. . so I've had about a week to really listen to them and I really like them a lot.  I don't have much to compare them to other than an old pair of Sony V600's and a pair of Senn HD580's as I mentioned earlier.  I'll try to do a mini review, but it's my first review so be gentle. 
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Packaging
 
I received the HE-4 and EF-5 combo in 2 boxes that were bundled together with a rice bag(at least that's what I call them as that's what rice from Asian food markets is usually contained in) and taped together solidly.  There was no damage to the boxes and it took about 5 days to get to me from SE China.  Not bad considering it shipped right before Christmas.  The EF-5 was well packaged in thick foam with nothing moving around.  The HE-4's come in a nice presentation box with all the cables wrapped in thin foam. 
 
Build Quality
 
The EF-5 is solidly built and the only thing I could find wrong was that the plastic piece around the tube was a little wobbly.  After 5 minutes with an Allen key and a few twists, it was all fixed.  The HE-4's are very well built.  You can tell immediately that they are hand crafted by looking at the stitching on the headband.  Aside from that, there were no scratches or nicks anywhere.  They feel solid in your hands and very high quality. 
 
Setup
 
I have listened to the HE-4's in 2 different setups.  The first setup is from my PC to FiiO E7/E9 via USB connection and the second setup is via my PC via Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty line out to the HiFiMan EF-5.
 
Listening Impressions
 
With the FiiO setup, I had to put it on high gain and to me the HE-4's didn't really sound any different than the 580's besides requiring the higher gain setting.  If anything, the sound was a bit muffled.  I don't experience this with the 580's so I was a little disappointed at first. 
 
I then switched over to the EF-5 setup.  Wow!!  What a difference.  The sound was crystal clear and I could hear details in the music that I couldn't hear before.  The bass hits low and the highs are not ear piercing.  I was actually quite surprised that the HE-4's were that much better than my 580's.  The sound stage is broader as well and I just feel more enveloped in the music. 
 
Conclusion
 
I am very pleased with the HE-4 and EF-5 combo and it has replaced my FiiO and 580 setup as my primary listening configuration.  I have an Audio GD NFB-11 on order so hopefully it will improve things even more.  For anyone looking for a "step up" from a 580/600 type headphone, I would highly recommend the HE-4's.  To me, they offer a good "bang for the buck" as compared to the HE-5LE and HE-6 headphones out there.  I would have loved to get the HE-6's, but just couldn't justify $1k for headphones.
 
 
Follow Up
 
I decided to take the E7 out of the picture to make it more of a apples to apples comparison.  Here's what I found after listening to a variety of songs back to back.  The E9 can drive the HE-4's just fine, but there is a small difference with the EF-5.  The EF-5 brings out just a little bit more detail and sounds a tiny bit fuller.  So it appears that the muddiness I was hearing was due to the E7 DAC.  If I didn't have both to compare back to back, I would say that I would be happy with the E9.
 
Jan 4, 2011 at 2:28 PM Post #145 of 4,142
Very interesting. I did wonder how the E9 would handle orthos, considering how much power it puts out. Someone said that it worked well with the K-1000, but apparently not these.
 
The HE-4: "Too manly for FiiO."
 
Jan 4, 2011 at 3:15 PM Post #146 of 4,142
It's not that they won't drive them, but I don't think they really allow them to shine the way the EF-5 does.  I listened to a couple songs back to back flipping between the 2 and I could hear a distinct difference.  I may play around with it some more tonight and take the E7 out of the picture to see if that makes a difference with just using the E9 as an amp.  That would probably be more of a 1-to-1 comparison.
 
Jan 4, 2011 at 3:28 PM Post #147 of 4,142
Quote:
cnk15 said:
 I may play around with it some more tonight and take the E7 out of the picture to see if that makes a difference with just using the E9 as an amp.  That would probably be more of a 1-to-1 comparison.
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That's the first thing I thought when I read your first post, glad you made the point yourself.
 
Ideally you want to see the E9 with the Xfi and the E7 with the EF-5 to see what is changing what.
 
Of course you'd fully expect a hifiman amp to be synergistic with hifiman headphones, but would be interesting to know what part if any the DACs involved were playing.
 
Jan 4, 2011 at 4:23 PM Post #148 of 4,142
OK. . did some more listening comparisons without the E7 in the mix.  The E9 can drive the HE-4's just fine, but there is a small difference with the EF-5.  The EF-5 brings out just a little bit more detail and sounds a tiny bit fuller.  If I didn't have both to compare back to back, I would say that I would be happy with the E9. 
 
Added a follow up section to my mini-review.
 
Jan 4, 2011 at 5:24 PM Post #149 of 4,142
I did suspect the DAC might be playing a role in the differences.
 
The E7 is great value considering it costs £60 (or even less packaged with the E9) but you can't expect it to better a proper sound card. 
 
Your impressions have been quite useful me as I have been considering a DAC upgrade and now think I really should do it sooner rather than later. 
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Jan 5, 2011 at 11:23 AM Post #150 of 4,142
Same for me. There's also the ESP 950 in the same price range.
 
Actually, the main advantage I can see for the HE-4 is that you can avoid another black box on your desk...
 
But is it at the same level than the electrostats, that's the question...
 
Quote:
tdogzthmn said:
I am torn between the HE-4 and the new STAX SR-207, both are tempting goodies.
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