[JoeDoe]

If they're are any 400i or 560 owners subscribed here that are looking to sell or trade, shoot me a pm!

 

[Doneko]

  I thought the HD700 is a really bad headphone for the price.  but i still see a lot of ppl buy them and discuss on the forums.

In 2013 the HD-700 cost $1000, in 2014 it cost $700, now it's just under $500. [price history]
I'm taking price into consideration. If you got a HE-400i for $300 on BF (or $270 with the Discover cashback), never look back, you and I got a smoking deal! If you are about to spend $500, you might want to audition the HD-700 too.

 

[nokialover]

I think of it like the DT990 hits you with a hammer, really hard, in one spot. The HE400i clobbers you with a snow shovel that somehow moves at lightning speed. 

I have a pair of DT-990's and am really planning to get a pair of Hifiman he-400i's.  This sounds really enticing, and alongside that I will get the schiit stack v2 uber.  Gonna be good times ahead!

 

[aami2techie]

  Agreed with you. HD700 was a little bright plus i can hear some treble spike so in the end i decided not to buy it. If you can't hear any treble spike and feel it's not too bright then overall i think the HD700 is a better headphone, sucked me in from the first listening.

 
 

  http://www.headfonia.com/a-guide-to-headphones/
Rule 1 and 2
 
Yes HD700 may be a bad headphone for the price, but we weren't discussing about prices.

so now that black friday is over, and i dont think holiday sale would see any 400i get as low as $300, and stupid person, like myself, who missed black friday deal, for them, now HD 700 and 400i  both are about $500.
 
how do u compare these now? and may be also add 400S cause i have never head anything bad, in comparison to their price, at least until now!
im a potential buyer, i have to get either of these 3, im really inclined towards 400i though, but my childhood dream is to get HD 700, i have never owned planars and i have heard only good about their bass. so now im really confused. 
 
BIG EDIT: IF ANYONE FINDS 400i ON SALE, OR LESS THAN $500 PLS PLS PLS SEND ME A LINK, OR PM ME I WOULD BE GRATEFUL TO YOU!

 

[Thazzz]

How do you see the Bowers & Wilkins P7 vs 400i?

 

[fjrabon]

How do you see the Bowers & Wilkins P7 vs 400i?

This isn't even close. I like the P7, it's a good, fun, straight out of the iPhone portable headphone. And it's good looking, but it makes a LOT of compromises compared to the 400i. The P7 is more portable. The HE400i is massively better in every other regard. The difference between the HE400i and the P7 is roughly the same as the difference between apple earbuds and P7s.

 

[Thazzz]

This isn't even close. I like the P7, it's a good, fun, straight out of the iPhone portable headphone. And it's good looking, but it makes a LOT of compromises compared to the 400i. The P7 is more portable. The HE400i is massively better in every other regard. The difference between the HE400i and the P7 is roughly the same as the difference between apple earbuds and P7s.

Oh, okey! 

 
Many thanks!

 

[marhol]

I went and listened to the DT990 for second with some edm tracks with good bass and they do have some slam to them but the 400i is just so much cleaner and detailed in the bass. The 990's sub-bass has more of a rumble compared to the 400i but again they just sound so much cleaner. I flipped on the bass boost from my amp and the 400i was hitting as hard as the 990 and it sounds good but for me it takes a little away from the mids and high. It doesn't change them in anyway its just a sound signature I can do without, I have my Sony Z7 when I need my bass fix.

 
 

  Also how is the 400i bass compare to DT990 in terms of bass? I thought the DT990 has more bass ?

I would say DT 990 has more mid bass, but HE-400i has more sub bass. I hear and feel more bass presence with HE-400i. It is more visceral, deeper and more detailed bass. DT990 has nice mid bass impact and slam but to me HE-400i slams just as hard and in some songs even harder with more heft and power. Drum beats and bass guitar simply sound more real to me on HE-400i.  

 

[Sonic Defender]

Mad Dog Pro, Alpha Dog, ZMF VibroX MkII, and ZMF Blackwoods all have bass tuning port if you want a good amount of cranial thump.

The Vibro is a wonderful sounding headphone, and the owner of ZMF is truly a great guy, but the Vibro does not compare to the 400i in bass at all. I'm not sure if it is perhaps even cleaner as it is very polite bass, but in terms of quantity and impact the 400i is the clear winner on those measures. I owned a Vibro for about 2 or three months. Really enjoyed a great deal about it, but I did move it as I needed more and impactful bass.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I was going to get an HD 700 at one time, but it was widely panned here and elsewhere as a very odd sound signature with at times brash highs and very odd midrange characteristics so given the price I passed. I haven't heard a set myself, but given the price has dropped that much that is a strong indication of a sound signature that has not caught on at all. Sennheiser headphones that are successful seem to hold their value much better than that.

 

[ezekiel77]

HD700 is superbly polarizing. You either love or hate it with a passion. I passed on buying them used, based on the feedback I read (unholy union between HD600 tonality and 800 soundstage).

 

[fjrabon]

  I was going to get an HD 700 at one time, but it was widely panned here and elsewhere as a very odd sound signature with at times brash highs and very odd midrange characteristics so given the price I passed. I haven't heard a set myself, but given the price has dropped that much that is a strong indication of a sound signature that has not caught on at all. Sennheiser headphones that are successful seem to hold their value much better than that.

yeah, agree 100%.  When the HD700 first came out I was intrigued.  When they dropped to $500 I bought a pair on Amazon.  I shipped them back a week later.  They certainly have some very strong strengths, I didn't hate them, but they weren't a headphone I could make a go-to listener, and I refuse at this point to pay $500 for a headphone that's just a "flavor".  And, I actually preferred the trusty old Audio Technica AD700 to them.  It sounded so much like a severely compromised HD800.  

 

[mysticstryk]

Got the new cable from razordog and it works perfectly!
 
Been listening for the past few hours.  A lot more comfortable than my hd650, though I'm having difficulty deciding which headphone I prefer.  Similar sound signatures for sure, with the 650 a little more open and the 400i a bit more layered.  The 400i is certainly revealing poor recordings a little more than my 650 does.

 

[fjrabon]

  Got the new cable from razordog and it works perfectly!
 
Been listening for the past few hours.  A lot more comfortable than my hd650, though I'm having difficulty deciding which headphone I prefer.  Similar sound signatures for sure, with the 650 a little more open and the 400i a bit more layered.  The 400i is certainly revealing poor recordings a little more than my 650 does.

The thing that sealed the deal for me between these two was when my brain finally adjusted to the different experience of planar bass, the bass just envelops you and gets you really grooving into a great song.  That, and the fact that I can plug the HE400i straight into my iPhone and it sounds awesome, instead of needing a Lyr to make the HD650 sing.

 

[mysticstryk]

 
The thing that sealed the deal for me between these two was when my brain finally adjusted to the different experience of planar bass, the bass just envelops you and gets you really grooving into a great song.  That, and the fact that I can plug the HE400i straight into my iPhone and it sounds awesome, instead of needing a Lyr to make the HD650 sing.

 
I do really like the bass of the 400i.  That was immediately apparent when I plugged them in and starting playing some metal.  Portability is a non-factor for me personally, so I really need to just decide which sound sig I prefer.  I'm thinking that I'll sell whichever one I like least to fund another purchase.