[costas23]

thought about the 400i too, but there are no reviews yet and I guess the used HE500-prices will come down eventually when the new models are on sale

 

[beaver316]

  Actually the he400i that is due out in a month so might be the better upgrade. Lighter, more comfortable design and a signature turned like the he500...or so they say. 

 
Actually the HE-400i is due out in 2 or 3 months.. it's only the HE-560 which is due next month.

 

[Saoshyant]

Finally getting a chance to really sit down with my he-400 with the new cable.  I know the likelihood of this actually being the case is very little, but I swear these sound better than with the stock 1/4 mile cord.  It could be the albums I'm listening to are particularly well presented by this headphone, or it could be my mind is trying to justify spending $84 for a cable (yes I know there are cables that cost more than the headphone itself), but either way I am loving this headphone.  I'm not even using good amplification or anything, just my ultra-portable setup rockbox sansa + e6.  Now I just have to convince myself to actually buy a decent amp/dac setup to really bring this headphone to its fullest.

 

[BaTou069]

  Finally getting a chance to really sit down with my he-400 with the new cable.  I know the likelihood of this actually being the case is very little, but I swear these sound better than with the stock 1/4 mile cord.  It could be the albums I'm listening to are particularly well presented by this headphone, or it could be my mind is trying to justify spending $84 for a cable (yes I know there are cables that cost more than the headphone itself), but either way I am loving this headphone.  I'm not even using good amplification or anything, just my ultra-portable setup rockbox sansa + e6.  Now I just have to convince myself to actually buy a decent amp/dac setup to really bring this headphone to its fullest.

 
What cable did you buy? Have a link?
Thx

 

[jschlarb]

There are a lot of recommendations for the PA2V2. I'll let you know how it sounds with the HE-400 when mine arrives. 
 
http://www.electric-avenues.com/audio8.html
 
Quote:

  Finally getting a chance to really sit down with my he-400 with the new cable.  I know the likelihood of this actually being the case is very little, but I swear these sound better than with the stock 1/4 mile cord.  It could be the albums I'm listening to are particularly well presented by this headphone, or it could be my mind is trying to justify spending $84 for a cable (yes I know there are cables that cost more than the headphone itself), but either way I am loving this headphone.  I'm not even using good amplification or anything, just my ultra-portable setup rockbox sansa + e6.  Now I just have to convince myself to actually buy a decent amp/dac setup to really bring this headphone to its fullest.

 

[jschlarb]

 
It could be the albums I'm listening to are particularly well presented by this headphone

 
Do tell!

 

[Saoshyant]

   
What cable did you buy? Have a link?
Thx

 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FI5V7RC/
 
It ships from China, so mine took roughly 3.5 weeks to arrive, which was around a week before the scheduled delivery window, which itself was around 3.5 weeks too.
 
There is a cable that ships from New Jersey that's also an option if you're looking for a short cable.  Delivery time looks to be around a week, and its a couple bucks cheaper than the route I went.

 

[Saoshyant]

   
Do tell!

 
I decided to give the Avicii album a try, which isn't normally my taste, but it sounded amazing with this headphone.  I also listened to IAMX's Volatile Times, which if you don't know the artist, is from Sneaker Pimps if that helps anyone.  Now I think I'll try some industrial and move onto Stabbing Westward's Darkest Days

 

[musikaladin]

... here a short write-up about my very positive experience with angled ear-pads for the HE-400...

 

[JR2014]

First post!
 
OK, the Hifiman HE-400s have been on my radar for a long time.  And I'm finally ready to place an order.  But now I'm hearing that there is a new / revised / updated HE-400i due out soon?
 
So now I'm kind of stuck on what to do.  I guess since all the reviews I've read were on the original HE-400s, I should probably just stick to them.
 
Are there any details on the new "i" model?
 
Thanks.

 

[TMRaven]

Only that the HE-400 will be discontinued after this final product batch, and the upcoming 400i will have a "sound quality" more akin to the HE-500-- hell if anyone knows what that means.  The 400i will be a single-sided planar magnetic with suspension strap style headband so should be more comfortable-- should be.

 

[JR2014]

Order placed.  Went with the original HE-400.  I can't wait to hear these.

 

[Bogatyr]

Hey guys I have a question and would like to hear your opinion on something.
 
Last year (mid March of 2013) I've purchased a pair of HE-400s. At the time of my purchase the Head-Direct website advertised a 3 year warranty on HE-400 model but couple of months ago I've noticed that the same website now offers only a 1 year warranty. I've emailed customerservice@head-direct.com with my inquiry and this is the response I've gotten.
 

Customer Service customerservice@head-direct.com
 
Hi,
We provide one year warranty for all HE-400s.

 
Which leaves me wondering - what the ****?
Normally I wouldn't worry about these things as I possess basic soldering skills but from my understanding this soon-to-be discontinued model will be quite difficult if not impossible to fix at home if a driver goes dead.
 
Don't get me wrong, Hifiman have been a pleasure to deal with after my cable went dead and one of the pleather earpads fell apart. They offered me replacements free of cost but have they just pulled a bait-and-switch on us?
 
I enjoy listening to HE-400s but it seems like Hifiman do not stand by their product with confidence. I can't help but feel that I should have probably went with something from Sennheiser instead, at least they offers better warranty, their model lifespan is longer, and the products seem to last decades with replacement parts easily available.

 

[jgwak2]

Nice write-up. Could you tell me if they bleed a lot?  I.e. how loud is it in comparison?

 

[Citizen13469]

So far I've listened to Gary Burton, Ralph Towner, Hubert Laws, Gayngs, The Police and Paul Simon. They all sound great, but Rock seems to bring out the best in the HE-400s. I'm currently on a jazz kick, so I do wonder how the Sennheiser HD650's would compare to these. But I just couldn't pass these up for $300. I know my son will really enjoy his Dubstep and Nordic Metal with these if they end up trickling down to him.   
Very comfortable, and I'm having feelings of nostalgia because I remember my dad coming home from work wearing ridiculously huge headphones. Yes, he drove with them. I love my dad.

 
Hi, I got my HE-400's a couple of weeks ago and also bought an Asgard 2 amp and then a week ago the HD650's. I find the 650's allow me to hear a lot more details in the music. They also have depth to the 'stage' and a wider stage. They are also more exciting than the HE-400's in general. I'm amazed at how the HE-400's have such little depth to the stage.
 
Having said that, every once in a while the HE-400's astound with getting timbre on an instrument or even a vocal really correct. What is correct? Well, it's a bit esoteric but you know it when it happens. I was a drummer most of my life and every once in awhile the HE-400 will get the tone of a particular cymbal so very correct! Also, oddly enough the first time I noticed how it can be pretty amazing on vocals was on two old Rod Stewart songs (Maggie May and Stay with Me). I'm not really a fan of his and was just going thru my FLAC collection and on a whim put these on and was very impressed. I wanted to see how they would handle recordings that were done when the technology was a lot less than what we have available now.
 
With other genres, EDM, Jazz, Classical I find the HE-400's hit or miss. On some EDM they are very engaging and then on some tracks where I expect them to shine they are just dull. I spent days playign with eq settings to get the midrange corrected on the HE-400 and it's just a lot of hassle. I found that I'd be making small changes all the time for different recordings.
 
When the HD650's arrived I was at first underwhelmed. I set them to burn in for about 24 hours over a couple of days and they have opened up a lot and have pulled away from the HE-400's as all rounders by quite a bit. No fussing with eq, I put them on put some music on and am very happy.
 
So, I really didn't intend to get two more pairs of headphones and was going to send one of them back to amazon, but while the 650 is the clear winner for me, at the price that the HE-400 is right now, I may just keep them as well. However with the old desert island question in this case it would be a very easy and quick decision, I'd take the HD650's.
 
Anyway, if you can, listen to the 650's. The two headphones sound very different. Midrange detail on the 650 is astounding.
 
Oh, and the 650 is a bit more comfortable even though the 400 really isn't that bad. And, of course the disclaimer, we all hear differently etc. so the only way to REALLY know for yourself is to have both side by side for a few days.