[YtseJamer]

  Thanks pfillion, take your time, I´m looking forward. Heard a lot of good words about Grados for rock, so I am intrigued 

 

 
No problem, the Grados are really special with rock and metal music.

 

[Ekul61]

Going back and forth myself, the difference is huge to me. So much so that I feel like the HE-400 is unlistenable now.

nice I hope I agree soon.. as I dont want to return them. Im sure I just need some listening time.

 

[Billheiser]

No problem, the Grados are really special with rock and metal music.

I won't disagree with the general statement, but based on my recent one week trial with the Grado Rs1e, that model was poor with rock and metal and other genres too. I much preferred competing models from Senn and HiFiMan and NAD. Ymmv.

 

[YtseJamer]

I won't disagree with the general statement, but based on my recent one week trial with the Grado Rs1e, that model was poor with rock and metal and other genres too. I much preferred competing models from Senn and HiFiMan and NAD. Ymmv.

 
I'm not a big fan of the Sennheiser headphones with metal music but I can tell you that the 400i's have the potential to dethrone my Grado 225e.

 

[Steve_72]

Just received my open box pair from RazorDog. Initial impressions are extremely, extremely positive ...soon as I pick my jaw up off the floor, I'll report with more 

. So far, these have far exceeded my expectations of them. Amazing job Hifiman!  I've never had this sense of awe from any  headphone I've owned before - including HD800/LCD2/JH13pro and HE560 (don't own but have auditioned for several extended occasions). Very pleased!

 

[swspiers]

  Just received my open box pair from RazorDog. Initial impressions are extremely, extremely positive ...soon as I pick my jaw up off the floor, I'll report with more 

. So far, these have far exceeded my expectations of them. Amazing job Hifiman!

Even with all the 'hype' from myself and others, you're suprised...?
 
Great feeling, isn't it?

 

[llcook51]

  Just received my open box pair from RazorDog. Initial impressions are extremely, extremely positive ...soon as I pick my jaw up off the floor, I'll report with more 

. So far, these have far exceeded my expectations of them. Amazing job Hifiman!  I've never had this sense of awe from any  headphone I've owned before - including HD800/LCD2/JH13pro and HE560 (don't own but have auditioned for several extended occasions). Very pleased!

Steve...glad you like the 400i. I have had mine for about 3 weeks now. They started off really good and with 100+ hours of burn in they got very, very good. Oh, my.
Noticed that we have similar audio set ups. I have the Lyr 1; HD 600; O2 +ODAC; and Mad Dog Pro. Life is good.

 

[mandrake50]

I got the 400s about 8 months ago. I was impressed, I like them, but they somehow left me wanting. There is is that low (not SUB..to me) bass and tingly highs... still left me wanting. I messed with EQ and other cables. Probably, EQ made the most difference. Still, something missing! I got a pair of the Jergpads from Mudulor. I did the grill mod with the open hex grills. That cleaned up all of my urgent issues with the 400. I like them even more now! They still do not sound "real". Nice, impressive on some tracks, but not making me think that I am there.
 
I got a set of the Demo HD 400i. As soon as I put them on, I realized that they did far more for my taste than I could ever get the 400s to do. I went ahead and purchased them. Not in the budget, but I really like them!
 
After the  ( I don't get it) 150 hours of burn in, they still make me feel in the same way. They do not make me immediately think that I need to do something to make them sound better. Music, the stuff I listen to, sounds like something that is getting much closer to "being there". I don't miss anything in the lows or highs. I sure appreciate the natural sound of strings (especially the string double bass, but synch and electric bass too)  and voices, especially female voices. Something I never could coax out of the 400s. BTW, to me, this is genre independent. Everything I have thrown at them (in my repertoire) gives me the same results. The 400i makes me feel better about the music !
 
It is about balance. For me the 400i has it, the 400 does not.  I did not sell my 400s. I think I will use them from time to time as a changeup. As of now, the 400i is my most pleasing to listen to "music" (not technically analyzing them), headphones to date.

 

[Ekul61]

3 hrs of listening.. with x5 and muses 01 opamp in a fiioe12diy.. GOOOD STUFF.. starting to think hifiman might be on to something.

 

[YtseJamer]

  Could you please compare Grado 225e and HE 400i (overall and also which one handles electric guitar better in your opinion) in few words ?

 
Ok I have compared the 400i's with the 225e's this evening and the Grados are still the king to reproduce the electric guitar sound.
 
Technically the 400i's are better than the 225e's but the guitars sounds slightly more real, lively and crunchy on the 225e's.
 
Both headphones are amazing!

 

[Billheiser]

My review of the HE-400i —
Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600.  (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)(Edit, later: the HE-300's are getting better, I no longer dismiss them)
 
Comfort - Nice.  The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned.  400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly. 
 
The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations.  The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals.  Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference.  On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident.  On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound.  Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch.  On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.
 
Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s.  The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.  
 
Piano was a little more forward on the 400i.  When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i.  Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.
 
The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth.  I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here.  It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.
 
The bass.  I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper.  But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it.  Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp.  I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i.  Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom.  But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.
 
The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters.  They each had slam and tone and depth.  Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins.  The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.
 
I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do -  I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i.  (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process  and results here if you like.)
 
The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations.   I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600.  How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.
 
In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600.  It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider.  After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!

 

[reddog]

My review of the HE-400i —



Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600.  (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)



 


Comfort - Nice.  The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned.  400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly. 



 


The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations.  The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals.  Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference.  On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident.  On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound.  Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch.  On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.



 


Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s.  The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.  



 


Piano was a little more forward on the 400i.  When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i.  Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.



 


The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth.  I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here.  It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.



 


The bass.  I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper.  But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it.  Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp.  I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i.  Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom.  But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.



 


The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters.  They each had slam and tone and depth.  Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins.  The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.



 


I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do -  I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i.  (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process  and results here if you like.)



 


The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations.   I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600.  How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.



 


In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600.  It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider.  After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!

A great review sir. I really liked your keen comparison between HE-400I and the HD 600. I really enjoyed the demo 400i's and now I need to hear the Sennheiser 6xxx sound signature, so I can better place the HE-400i.

 

[394216]

  My review of the HE-400i —
Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600.  (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)
 
Comfort - Nice.  The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned.  400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly. 
 
The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations.  The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals.  Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference.  On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident.  On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound.  Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch.  On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.
 
Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s.  The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.  
 
Piano was a little more forward on the 400i.  When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i.  Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.
 
The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth.  I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here.  It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.
 
The bass.  I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper.  But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it.  Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp.  I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i.  Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom.  But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.
 
The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters.  They each had slam and tone and depth.  Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins.  The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.
 
I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do -  I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i.  (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process  and results here if you like.)
 
The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations.   I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600.  How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.
 
In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600.  It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider.  After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!

nice review! I can get a used HD600 for about half the price of a new HE-400i so this is a good read for me.
 
But I already have a K701 so which would be a good upgrade or even a complement? 

 

[vertical]

Yes, thx for taking the time to write up the review & comparison billheiser.

Well done! Much appreciated!

 

[marhol]

   
Ok I have compared the 400i's with the 225e's this evening and the Grados are still the king to reproduce the electric guitar sound.
 
Technically the 400i's are better than the 225e's but the guitars sounds slightly more real, lively and crunchy on the 225e's.
 
Both headphones are amazing!

 

  My review of the HE-400i —
Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600.  (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)
 
Comfort - Nice.  The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned.  400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly. 
 
The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations.  The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals.  Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference.  On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident.  On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound.  Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch.  On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.
 
Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s.  The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.  
 
Piano was a little more forward on the 400i.  When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i.  Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.
 
The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth.  I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here.  It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.
 
The bass.  I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper.  But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it.  Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp.  I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i.  Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom.  But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.
 
The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters.  They each had slam and tone and depth.  Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins.  The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.
 
I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do -  I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i.  (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process  and results here if you like.)
 
The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations.   I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600.  How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.
 
In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600.  It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider.  After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!

Thank you guys for your impressions ! Regarding Valhalla 2, its indeed probably much better choice for driving HD 600 than HE 400i, as according to  http://www.audiobot9000.com/match/hifiman/he-400i/with/schiit/valhalla-2  this amp is certainly not the best partner to drive HE-400i. Did you try HE-400i also with other amps Billheiser ?