[fiascogarcia]

  You guys are awful...

 
Here's to a great release right out of the gate. 
 

 
Just like the 901! 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

What's a BHC?

Quick question. Given that the goal with the efficiency of the 400i is for impressive sound right out of an ipod or phone, would it be reasonable to assume that they would sound good from a BHC? I know that this is usually a bad match but I thought given the new efficiency of the 400i that it might be possible. 

 

[zxc]

What's a BHC?

Some sort of hormone that makes cows produce more milk?

 

[MattTCG]

What's a BHC?

Bottlehead Crack

 

[Loquah]

  Bottlehead Crack

 
Matt, I believe the issue with the BHC is not the power demand of the headphone, but the low impedance leading to sloppy sound. There has been a lot of debate about whether this should be an issue or not (scientifically speaking), but in my experiences it's a poor combination that won't be fixed with higher sensitivity.

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Thank you sir. I figured as much. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Serious question (not being a SAss) but don't Planar Magnetics not follow the impedance rule like dynamics?

Matt, I believe the issue with the BHC is not the power demand of the headphone, but the low impedance leading to sloppy sound. There has been a lot of debate about whether this should be an issue or not (scientifically speaking), but in my experiences it's a poor combination that won't be fixed with higher sensitivity.

 

[Loquah]

Serious question (not being a SAss) but don't Planar Magnetics not follow the impedance rule like dynamics?

 
Yes, that seems to be the debate. In terms of their impedance response over the frequency range, the planars are all dead flat so no issue with fluctuations in power delivery, but as I understand it (and from what I've heard when listening to the combo), something to do with the Crack's OTL design means that it doesn't have sufficient damping for the planars.
 
Interestingly, when I run the HE-500s on the Mainline set to high output impedance, they sound identical to the sound on low output impedance, but the Mainline uses output transformers which may interface differently with the drivers compared to the 6080 tube used in the Crack.

 

[davidsh]

I can't see how damping could be a problem with a planar.

 

[Anda]

OTL amplifiers generally "prefer" high impedance headphones, so they can run out of power with hard to drive low impedance headphones. I've heard a WA2 clip with a HE-500 because of the mismatch.

 

[K.T.]

Well, I hope the new phones are as good or better than the now older HE-400 and HE-500. BUT, I hope they are different.
 
Different enough so that those of us who own either the 400 or 500 don't feel like we now have an obsolete set of cans. It's great when everyone wins!

 

[Binge]

Was hoping for some dates by now.  Personally going with a different solution.
 
Hope release goes well for these headphones as they will still be on the radar for the coming months.

 

[hifiman-us]

HiFiMAN is still expecting to have HE-560 available in late March and HE-400i in mood to late April. We believe you will find them worth the wait. 
 
Peter

 

[talmlikeabalm]

I'm looking forward to it!

 

[MattTCG]

  HiFiMAN is still expecting to have HE-560 available in late March and HE-400i in mood to late April. We believe you will find them worth the wait. 
 
Peter

 
Thanks for the update Peter. I think that you mentioned the 560 will have a reworked cable. Does that go for the 400i as well?
 
thanks...