[Mr Rick]

  no body seems to answer newbies on their own threads here anymore. its really sad and annoying that such a big community cant even reply to a single question. 
 
i have Fiio E18 AMP/DAC which used to power DT 990 PROs which gave up on me before even a year. now i placed order for these HE 400i. hope to get the same or even better sound stage of 990s, any ways my question is will Fiio E18 be able to power these properly and let me get the most out of these HE 400i?
pls some one reply me. thanks

 
Your E18 is rated at >330mW into 32 ohms and the 400i is 35 ohms.  330mw will drive the 400i to roughly 118 db.  More then enough.

 

[swspiers]

  no body seems to answer newbies on their own threads here anymore. its really sad and annoying that such a big community cant even reply to a single question. 
 
i have Fiio E18 AMP/DAC which used to power DT 990 PROs which gave up on me before even a year. now i placed order for these HE 400i. hope to get the same or even better sound stage of 990s, any ways my question is will Fiio E18 be able to power these properly and let me get the most out of these HE 400i?
pls some one reply me. thanks

I would love to address every issue and question, but the truth is I have no experience with the equipment you have.  Please be patient with Head-fi, and if you don't get a response in this thread, you can always post the question in the general forum.
 
I can say in general, I don't know many, if any, who have bought the 400i's for the generous soundstage.  It's an up-front presentation with most material, which happens to be my preference.
 
Welcome to Head-fi!

 

[bavinck]

Dt990 is known for having a good sized soundstage. To my ears it did have a large soundstage, but I found the treble really unbalanced and the bass almost anaemic, especially subbass. This is to my ears, your experience might be different.

400i has what I would call a small soundstage for an open can, but this is normal for that planar sound. It is pretty neutral right across the spectrum with good to great extension on the top and bottom, no fatigue and good subbass when called upon. It is also fairly detailed, but I am finding it really needs a decent desktop amp to shine. Using it with a portable setup will be fine and allow you to scale up with better gear.

 

[aami2techie]

Hey, buddy. I've not heard both, but dynamic driver headphones (essentially anything that's not a planar dynamic) are known to, almost always, have a bigger soundstage.

While most would say the 400i is technically better, the Beyerdynamic is a very different headphone, more v-shaped and less neutral.

Your Fiio E18 should power these just fine.

 
 

   
 
New connector. They sound close to your head, not a very wide sound stage. Positioning is hard to say. They're very detailed though, with some songs even more so then the HD 600s which I always thought were detailed. Never tried the fiio e18 so it's hard to say but I think you'll be fine with that.

thanks for replies guys. 990s were really really wide. like too much stereo wide. not much depth though. like eg, while playing games, foot steps would sound like real life. quite detailed but they were too shimmery. too bright. but then i got used to them. i have always been sennheiser guy, with liking for warm darker sound. in beginning i even thought 990s are broken or something for their treble was too high. but then i got used to them after burn in they settled very very well i would say. 
the only thing i hate about them is they broke. it was today last year 28 nov i got them and they broke on their own on 22nov 2015. its a shame. i never ever dropped them, never took them outdoors. hell i always kept them in custom made plush cloth bag. really disappointed in beyerdynamics. 
 
thats why im so worried about these HiFimans. i have never used Planar. i have never heard or read even here about hifiman. its this sale that has restarted this thread as well.
anyhoo, fingers crossed. hope i dont get ****ty stuff or else i might have to leave this high end audio hobby.

 

[shuto77]

thanks for replies guys. 990s were really really wide. like too much stereo wide. not much depth though. like eg, while playing games, foot steps would sound like real life. quite detailed but they were too shimmery. too bright. but then i got used to them. i have always been sennheiser guy, with liking for warm darker sound. in beginning i even thought 990s are broken or something for their treble was too high. but then i got used to them after burn in they settled very very well i would say. 
the only thing i hate about them is they broke. it was today last year 28 nov i got them and they broke on their own on 22nov 2015. its a shame. i never ever dropped them, never took them outdoors. hell i always kept them in custom made plush cloth bag. really disappointed in beyerdynamics. 

thats why im so worried about these HiFimans. i have never used Planar. i have never heard or read even here about hifiman. its this sale that has restarted this thread as well.
anyhoo, fingers crossed. hope i dont get ****ty stuff or else i might have to leave this high end audio hobby.

It sounds like you should do a little more research before buying a $300 pair of headphones.

Why not look at the Philips Fidelio X2? I love it for gaming. It has a warm sound signature and good positional cues.

Good luck!

 

[aami2techie]

It sounds like you should do a little more research before buying a $300 pair of headphones.

Why not look at the Philips Fidelio X2? I love it for gaming. It has a warm sound signature and good positional cues.

Good luck!

haha u would not believe how much i read on this topic! 
i always try to get brand new stuff. used HD 650 or even 700s can be available in/around that budget. but i like new stuff. 
i dont use these just for gaming. i listen to every genre of music also movie watching. also gaming. 
i had it in my mind to sell my 990s to get some cash back after a year use. u would not believe i even gave a local ad for its sale. and next day i literally just put them on my table, like very carefull like always, and after 2 min min i put them back on and boom, left side dead for no freaking reason. 
 
thats why its said, Do as the romans do
 
getting philips would be ok for me, but not so much for resale. as no one here knows about them. for 300 bucks i think its a very good deal for these 400i.
 
do u think HD 700 or other headphones might get an even more better discount for holiday season sales? 

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
 
 
thats why im so worried about these HiFimans. i have never used Planar. i have never heard or read even here about hifiman. its this sale that has restarted this thread as well.
anyhoo, fingers crossed. hope i dont get ****ty stuff or else i might have to leave this high end audio hobby.

This thread was started long before the sale and had modest activity all along and of course it was very active at first. I have read about the 400i in many threads here, and certainly that is why I got curious about them. The 400i is a very good sounding headphone, very good indeed. Nobody can guarantee you will like it, but frankly this price point isn't high-end audio so in terms of cost of entry it is pretty darn reasonable and the sale price was an incredible value.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  haha u would not believe how much i read on this topic! 
i always try to get brand new stuff. used HD 650 or even 700s can be available in/around that budget. but i like new stuff. 
i dont use these just for gaming. i listen to every genre of music also movie watching. also gaming. 
i had it in my mind to sell my 990s to get some cash back after a year use. u would not believe i even gave a local ad for its sale. and next day i literally just put them on my table, like very carefull like always, and after 2 min min i put them back on and boom, left side dead for no freaking reason. 
 
thats why its said, Do as the romans do
 
getting philips would be ok for me, but not so much for resale. as no one here knows about them. for 300 bucks i think its a very good deal for these 400i.
 
do u think HD 700 or other headphones might get an even more better discount for holiday season sales? 

They may go on sale, but you will never see the same proportionate discount as with the 400i (or at least very unlikely). ​

 

[bavinck]

It sounds like you should do a little more research before buying a $300 pair of headphones.

Why not look at the Philips Fidelio X2? I love it for gaming. It has a warm sound signature and good positional cues.

Good luck!

Imo the 400i is in a different level than the x2. X2 is indeed a great headphone and works as a nice entry point for people into good headphones. However, the 400i is really a reference grade sound and not the same as x2 in anyway to my ears. The x2 is grainy up top and I think lacks the extension of the 400i. I also feel the x2 is boomy at times and lacks the wonderful subbass extension the 400i can deliver. Both great headphones. I would grab x2 for gaming and movies any day, the 400i would not be my choice there. But for sitting back and enjoying music how it was intended the 400i is an absolutely joy.

 

[aami2techie]

  They may go on sale, but you will never see the same proportionate discount as with the 400i (or at least very unlikely). ​

yea i saw 700s go as low as $425, i just wish they go down to like $350 or something below 400 and i will get them right away. 
and yea i know its not high end, 400i and E18, but for a student with intern****, it is high end though
 
my dream is to get HD 800S with DVD800 both with custom paint jobs, and throw HD 800S on ground, jump on top of it and then get Stax SR-009 and Abyss AB-1266
 
EDIT:
 
j/k about HD800S though i love them!

 

[fjrabon]

thanks for replies guys. 990s were really really wide. like too much stereo wide. not much depth though. like eg, while playing games, foot steps would sound like real life. quite detailed but they were too shimmery. too bright. but then i got used to them. i have always been sennheiser guy, with liking for warm darker sound. in beginning i even thought 990s are broken or something for their treble was too high. but then i got used to them after burn in they settled very very well i would say. 
the only thing i hate about them is they broke. it was today last year 28 nov i got them and they broke on their own on 22nov 2015. its a shame. i never ever dropped them, never took them outdoors. hell i always kept them in custom made plush cloth bag. really disappointed in beyerdynamics. 

thats why im so worried about these HiFimans. i have never used Planar. i have never heard or read even here about hifiman. its this sale that has restarted this thread as well.
anyhoo, fingers crossed. hope i dont get ****ty stuff or else i might have to leave this high end audio hobby.

The DT990 was the only "good" headphone I've ever owned that I actually hated, like couldn't find a single thing I liked about its sound.

 

[bavinck]

Yes, I also really did not like the dt990. I had the dt880 which I really like, except for the lack of bass impact. Got the dt990 to cure that and really disliked it's sound signature.

Really enjoying the he400i. I do think I prefer the r70x though, for about the same price. This is surprising to me! I expected the 400i to be a r70x killer for me.

 

[ZooGambler]

Hey guys, I've been lurking around the forums for awhile but this is my first time actually posting. 
 
I'm currently in the air about whether to go on the hunt for HD650's or the HE400i's to replace my HD598's and I'm looking for some recommendations. These will be my first high-tier headphones and probably my end game for awhile, as I don't have the funds to keep upgrading, being a college student and high end audio just don't go together haha. Currently have HD598's, DT 770 Pro 80 ohms, Shure SE215's.
 
My set up will be Magni Modi 2 Uber Stack paired with one of the two headphones above. It will be used primarily for music and competitive gaming (CS:GO) probably distributed 55music/45gaming.
 
My primary source of music will be Spotify with some CD rips. And my music preferences are Hip-hop (Logic, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper), indie, some pop, and just random songs that sound good here and there. But majority of my music is Hip Hop. 
 
Regarding sound preferences, I'm probably considered a bass head but a light bass head, I'm looking for impact more than anything. Male vocals are important as well since majority of what I'm listening to will be male artists. Since I'm fairly new to the audio scene, I don't have my own opinion on whether I prefer warm or bright headphones. I just want something very clear with an accurate sound stage (idk if bigger constitutes accuracy) for gaming purposes. I've heard that the HD650 is "dark" and "sleepy" but I can't visualize what that means exactly. 
 
Regarding comfort, I like the 770's comfort over the 598's, the clamp feels too lose on my head with the 598's. Comfort is huge to me, as I'll likely be wearing these hours on end just about every day.
 
Here's a link to Logic's - "Stainless" for a sense of what I listen to. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTkC2r4YOXM 
 
What do you think would be better for me? If you have another recommendation, I'd be interested as well! 

 

[marhol]

   
 
thanks for replies guys. 990s were really really wide. like too much stereo wide. not much depth though. like eg, while playing games, foot steps would sound like real life. quite detailed but they were too shimmery. too bright. but then i got used to them. i have always been sennheiser guy, with liking for warm darker sound. in beginning i even thought 990s are broken or something for their treble was too high. but then i got used to them after burn in they settled very very well i would say. 
the only thing i hate about them is they broke. it was today last year 28 nov i got them and they broke on their own on 22nov 2015. its a shame. i never ever dropped them, never took them outdoors. hell i always kept them in custom made plush cloth bag. really disappointed in beyerdynamics. 
 
thats why im so worried about these HiFimans. i have never used Planar. i have never heard or read even here about hifiman. its this sale that has restarted this thread as well.
anyhoo, fingers crossed. hope i dont get ****ty stuff or else i might have to leave this high end audio hobby.

Hi, I had DT 990. DT 990 has good soundstage size (especially width) but I would say Hifiman 400i has bigger soundstage size. In my opinion both are comparable in width (or maybe DT 990 is very slightly better ) but HE-400i has better height and better depth and thus sounds more 3-D in comparison to DT 990.  As far as tonality goes HE-400i  sounds much more balanced and natural. DT 990 has too much elevated treble, it sounds bright and can get fatiguing on longer listening. On the other hand HE-400i is slightly warm/neutral and as such is a lot more suitable for longer listening. DT 990 has nice mid bass, but HE-400i has better bass extension, bass texture and impact. HE-400i sounds richer and more present in midrange. Vocals and instruments have more body and natural timbre. Treble is more present and a bit airier on DT 990 but on HE-400i higher frequencies sound smoother, less tizzy and no less detailed. Instrument/vocal separation and imaging is also superior on HE-400i. 
I think HE-400i is a very good upgrade from DT 990 and for 300$ it´s literally a steal. It very well might be the best headphone ever (being sold new) for less than 300$ ...

 

[Modular]

Yes, I also really did not like the dt990. I had the dt880 which I really like, except for the lack of bass impact. Got the dt990 to cure that and really disliked it's sound signature.

Really enjoying the he400i. I do think I prefer the r70x though, for about the same price. This is surprising to me! I expected the 400i to be a r70x killer for me.

Can you share more about your opinion regarding the difference between the dt880's and the he400i's please?

I have the 880's and bought the old he400's for something with more bass impact, but even with jergpads I simply can't get over the strange mids on the he400's.

Im hoping to find something with that amazing dt880 clarity and detail that i keep coming back to, but better (fuller) bass and impact at times. Is the he400i likely to get me there in your opinion?