[ben_r_]

   
I wonder what he meant by saying the headband wasn't staying. It looks like a major contributor to making these new versions ones that you want to actually keep on your head.

No idea. He did take the time to explain to me that in their country they are thought of as a great sounding headphone but very ugly and they were trying to change that stigma. Guess they are trying to "get it right" this time but they wanted to show these off at CES so they had to release the pictures with SOMETHING on there for headbands.

 

[MrMateoHead]

 
Yea I wouldnt expect too much from those, I spent a good half hour with them at CES a few days ago and while I loved how much more comfortable they were (even though the creator who was there told me that headband wasnt staying as these were still protoypes, but he said the weight would stay the same) they certainly didnt sound worth more money to upgrade from the HE-400 or HE-500 that I have right now.

De-Hyping. Lol.
 
I can just BARELY read what was on those white sheets. Do you have a pic that reveals what they said? I saw some efficiency values. Looked like the 560 is rated at about 90 dB. If the 400i has gone up much more, I would say it would be much closer to not needing a beefy amp.
 
What, if any differences in sound were there? I expect both phones to hopefully show some refinement. I guess you always hope for big changes, but that is not always a good thing.

 

[manbear]

The all-metal headband on the Jade 2 prototype looks damn sexy. Hopefully they are replacing that black plastic with metal. Honestly, the plastic itself ruins the new headband design for me. The shape is fine, but it just looks cheap. 
 

 

[ben_r_]

  De-Hyping. Lol.
 
I can just BARELY read what was on those white sheets. Do you have a pic that reveals what they said? I saw some efficiency values. Looked like the 560 is rated at about 90 dB. If the 400i has gone up much more, I would say it would be much closer to not needing a beefy amp.
 
What, if any differences in sound were there? I expect both phones to hopefully show some refinement. I guess you always hope for big changes, but that is not always a good thing.

No, there is no sense in hyping or de-hyping any new products a company comes out with as there is zero way to truly KNOW if something is better without going out and hearing it for yourself. Just because something is newer doesnt mean its better. I can try zooming in and cropping, but the glare is bad on the 560's:
 

 
 

 
Not going to go into trying to write out and describe what I heard from these cans as hearing is so subjective, I dont believe 99% of what I hear around here, I have disprooven A LOT of it by buying a ton of gear at once to compare it all, and do not wish to add to the mess of reviews that all say the same thing about what product they are reviewing. Not to mention I spent the following two days drinking and partying and in loud clubs in Vegas so Im not 100% sure I could actually remember exactly what I heard anyway. All I can speak to is what I remember and to me the there was not a significant improvement enough to warrant an upgrade from the HE-400 and HE-500's that were sitting right behind these for me to compare with. Or maybe it was their amp, Ive never heard it before. Or maybe their source, never heard that either. Or their files, or the cable, or the venue, or my ears are junk and I have no sense of sound. You name it itll get thrown out there around here as there is no shortage of excuses and possibilities with this stuff. Im just happy I wasnt overly impressed so I dont have to fork over more money for little gain that's probably just in my head anyway! Now, all that being said they did say they specifically focused these newer versions to deal with the fatiguing nature that many of their customers complained about. Since I didnt have them on my head for 2 hours I couldnt test that. Again something only owning them can answer, but Im just saying dont get too excited. The HE-400 and HE-500's are already SO HIGHLY regarded that would mean the HE-400i and HE-560 would be crazy good to have to beat them.

 

[MrMateoHead]

 
No, there is no sense in hyping or de-hyping any new products a company comes out with as there is zero way to truly if something is better without going out and hearing it for yourself. Just because something is newer doesnt mean its better. I can try zooming in and cropping, but the glare is bad on the 560's:
 
Not going to go into trying to write out and describe what I heard from these cans as hearing is so subjective and I dont believe 99% of what I hear around here, have disprooven A LOT of it by buying a ton of gear at once to compare and do not wish to add to it. Not to mention I spent the following two days drinking and partying and in loud clubs in Vegas so Im not 100% sure I could actually remember exactly what I heard anyway. All I can speak to is what I remember and to me the there was not a significant improvement enough to warrant an upgrade from the HE-400 and HE-500's that were sitting right behind these for me to compare with. Or maybe it was their amp, Ive never heard it before. Or maybe their source, never heard that either. Or their files, or the cable, or the venue, or my ears are junk and I have no sense of sound. You name it itll get thrown out there around here as there is no shortage of excuses and possibilities with this stuff. Im just happy I wasnt overly impressed so I dont have to fork over more money! Now, all that being said they did say they specifically focused these newer versions to deal with the fatiguing nature that many of their customers complained about. Since I didnt have them on my head for 2 hours I couldnt test that. Again something on owning them can answer, but Im just saying dont get too excited. The HE-400 and HE-500's are already SO HIGHLY regarded that would mean the HE-400i and HE-560 would be crazy good to have to beat them.

Thanks for the photos. I don't mind your refusal to try to convey a sense of the SQ and I agree personal auditions are best, whenever possible. I won't get to audition these and I want to avoid shipping / returning to China so to some extent I will be relying on the worst source of information available - the ears and judgements of others.
 
Anyway, seeing the description is interesting. Obviously, they are promoting the efficiency of the 560s but not the 400is, so I will freely speculate that efficiency gains may not be in the cards for the 400i (93dB - ish). They are both nearly the same weight, and have the same impedance rating (35 Ohm, which I believe was actually more like 50 Ohm depending on your source). Other than that, all we get is an assumed broader frequency response from the 560s. I like the look of the earpads on both phones - seemless and with a bit more depth.

 

[autoexec]

 
Yea I wouldnt expect too much from those, I spent a good half hour with them at CES a few days ago and while I loved how much more comfortable they were (even though the creator who was there told me that headband wasnt staying as these were still protoypes, but he said the weight would stay the same) they certainly didnt sound worth more money to upgrade from the HE-400 or HE-500 that I have right now.

 
Knowing that the new models are completely redesigned (from dual-sided magnet to 'advanced' single-sided), I find it hard to believe that there was no significant change in sound. Either bad or good there should be a noticeable change in SQ from the previous models instead of just staying almost the same. Oh well, this is pure speculation only but I just find it odd for the sound to almost not change at all when there is a complete redesign done.
 

 

[Nimzerz]

No, there is no sense in hyping or de-hyping any new products a company comes out with as there is zero way to truly if something is better without going out and hearing it for yourself. Just because something is newer doesnt mean its better. I can try zooming in and cropping, but the glare is bad on the 560's:








Not going to go into trying to write out and describe what I heard from these cans as hearing is so subjective and I dont believe 99% of what I hear around here, have disprooven A LOT of it by buying a ton of gear at once to compare and do not wish to add to it. Not to mention I spent the following two days drinking and partying and in loud clubs in Vegas so Im not 100% sure I could actually remember exactly what I heard anyway. All I can speak to is what I remember and to me the there was not a significant improvement enough to warrant an upgrade from the HE-400 and HE-500's that were sitting right behind these for me to compare with. Or maybe it was their amp, Ive never heard it before. Or maybe their source, never heard that either. Or their files, or the cable, or the venue, or my ears are junk and I have no sense of sound. You name it itll get thrown out there around here as there is no shortage of excuses and possibilities with this stuff. Im just happy I wasnt overly impressed so I dont have to fork over more money! Now, all that being said they did say they specifically focused these newer versions to deal with the fatiguing nature that many of their customers complained about. Since I didnt have them on my head for 2 hours I couldnt test that. Again something on owning them can answer, but Im just saying dont get too excited. The HE-400 and HE-500's are already SO HIGHLY regarded that would mean the HE-400i and HE-560 would be crazy good to have to beat them.

I like this guy.

 

[Kursah]

I almost wonder if it's a compliment. I know the HE-4 was a single-sided unit too that many preferred. But these new ones with their dual-sided magnet bretheren with half the magnet and reduced weight is actually pretty impressive imo. Does that mean they're worth more money? Not necessarily, but maybe their price will drop or there's more yet to be heard when these finally hit the market. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the whole thing, but I feel with half the magnet and all the sound, maybe with an improvement is a pretty positive thing..I just don't agree with the pricing imo...at least at this point. Again it could be a different story at release. We shall see.

 

[Zuckfun]

That's an interesting review, perhaps the most revealing part is the new headphones are designed to address the fatigue people reported. Is this the fatigue from wearing them (weight) or the fatigue from the frequency response- the treble spike of the HE400? If the 400i are designed specifically to address the treble fatigue, it seems like there would be a very noticeable change in sound quality.

 

[ben_r_]

That's an interesting review, perhaps the most revealing part is the new headphones are designed to address the fatigue people reported. Is this the fatigue from wearing them (weight) or the fatigue from the frequency response- the treble spike of the HE400? If the 400i are designed specifically to address the treble fatigue, it seems like there would be a very noticeable change in sound quality.

Review?! NO NO NO there was no review there! That was one of my POINTS! I wasnt going to try and "review" the headphones in anyway, just tell you guys what I saw, what the HiFiMan people told me and what I thought about the whole thing. I really didnt say anything about the sound or much that should be taken as reviewing anything. I specifically did NOT want to do that.

 

[ZacRobbo]

Well I just ordered a Schiit M&M stack. Can't wait to pair it with my he 400s.

I would have liked to get a more extravagant amp/dac combo but the budget just wouldn't stretch. From what I've read, they will pair qute well with the he 400s. And that's good enough for me, nothing an eq can't fix eh.

 

[money4me247]

 

That's an interesting review, perhaps the most revealing part is the new headphones are designed to address the fatigue people reported. Is this the fatigue from wearing them (weight) or the fatigue from the frequency response- the treble spike of the HE400? If the 400i are designed specifically to address the treble fatigue, it seems like there would be a very noticeable change in sound quality.

 

Review?! NO NO NO there was no review there! That was one of my POINTS! I wasnt going to try and "review" the headphones in anyway, just tell you guys what I saw, what the HiFiMan people told me and what I thought about the whole thing. I really didnt say anything about the sound or much that should be taken as reviewing anything. I specifically did NOT want to do that.

 
hahaah!!!! rotfl. heh

 

[hema]

switching from my momentum on ear to he400 gives me more space, more separation, more depth... lifelike sound... very much satisfied

 

[Drsparis]

Thanks jshaffe and jerg  for the dimensions of the grill. Bought myself a little mesh box and cut out the circles. Glued on some nylon for hair/air crap lol. I think it looks fantastic apart from the fact that I just noticed it is not sitting at the right angle. haha, my OCD will have to fix that! 
 
I think it's a success though  
 

 

[jshaffe]

  Thanks jshaffe and jerg  for the dimensions of the grill. Bought myself a little mesh box and cut out the circles. Glued on some nylon for hair/air crap lol. I think it looks fantastic apart from the fact that I just noticed it is not sitting at the right angle. haha, my OCD will have to fix that! 
 
I think it's a success though  
 

 
Those look sweet. Other than the SQ improvement, my favorite thing about the grill mod is being able to see the magnets an drivers because they're so unique looking.