My Hifiman HE-400 arrived over the weekend and I finally got to test them out last night. The first thing that amazed me right out of the box was how great they sounded on my brother's Android. It gave a really clean detailed sound with treble that was just right and enough bass to keep the sound balanced but not at skull destroying bass lover's level.
Once I got home I hooked them up to my Onkyo TX-8555 stereo reciever and got a very warm sound with plenty of bass compared to the treble presence on the Android. The funny thing is i was still getting plenty of detail in the treble without the sparkle. I could hear musical notes fading out to the very last tone something that is usually only noticeable for me with my treble strong Audio Technica ATH AD700 and Ultrasone HFI-780. Listening to Mentallo And The Fixer's LIGHT YEAR there was plenty of thumping bass while bringing out detailed vocals with a warm signature. The Hifiman HE-400 sound spectacular with electronic and 1990s industrial music such as Meat Beat Manifesto, Cobalt 60, Front 242, Individual Totem, Nine Inch Nails etc. They also were great listening to Barenaked Ladies singing ALCOHOL.
Switching to the Realtek on board sound of my pc motherboard the bass was non-existent but the treble was very detailed and bright yet comfortable at least for a treble head for me. Its interesting how different the Hifiman HE-400 sounds depending on the source. On the Android and Realtek motherboard there was no need to turn up the volume. With the Onkyo turning up the volume definitely brought out all the audio meat flushing it into my ears with bass and detailed warmness. This might just be a matter of burn in since its still under twenty four hours of use out of the recommended 150 hours
These are the first headphones I have seen that leak so much sound. When my brother was giving them a listen I could clearly hear everything being played. I was like wow those leak big time. Thank goodness am using these in a private setting with no roommates.
Comfort is excellent and am able to immerse myself completely into what am listening to while relaxing on the pc. Build quality is top notch and blue being my favorite color just makes things even more cool as I remind myself how fortunate I am to have on my head the Hifiman HE-400 and to have gotten them at a discount during the Amazon holiday sale. Definitely stirs up a sense of appreciation and to keep the volume down when am using my speakers
Delivery time was great arriving under a week.
Have yet to try them out with any games which along with music and movies will be my main use. Will be interesting to see what FALLOUT 3 and SKYRIM are like with them. I did play briefly the early access version of GRIM DAWN and there was plenty of detail in the environment with a warm sound. Also vocals were more noticeable which were not on my other headphones. This was before learning that turning up the volume on my Onkyo will give me an even fuller sound.
Thanks to all at Head-Fi.org for which I would have never heard of the Hifiman HE-400 or had any idea of what they were like. And of course thanks to my brother who ordered them for me through Amazon
Happy holidays everybody!