[maxnik]

  Yes, they were fine to deal with.
 
kev

 
got mine too! $235 is a great deal!

 

[taetertot]

Samtech Audio has HE 400i for $229 shipped. http://samtechonline.com/hiheheopbox.html. I got mine from Samtech. It says "demo model," that just means these are HE 400i's that were upgraded to 2.5mm connectors; they are not used in any way, they ship sealed and double boxed from Hifiman. Mike is a great guy to deal with; I ordered a HM DAP from him right after I got the cans, might get a DAC from him soon. Basically if Mike carries it I'll order it from him, not only for the peace of mind of dealing with a trustworthy guy, but he also gives you very competitive prices.

 

[DavidA]

 
yeah, to me they're very much on the same level.  Though I will say that the THX00 pulls off the harder feat, having that level of quality in a closed can is much harder.  Having recently heard a few other HE400i's though, I do worry about their consistency.  The recent posts here seem to mirror that.  These cans seem like they're a bit of a lottery and it really depends on the luck of the draw as to whether or not you get a "golden pair."
 
But man, if you get a good pair, the imaging accuracy, resolution, speed and balance are hard to beat at this price level.

You might be on to something here, I've heard 4 different ones, 3 with the older SMC and 1 with the new 2.5mm, the 3 with the SMC all sounded the same to their owners and me while the one with the 2.5mm was a little different, better sound stage but also a bit thin sounding.

 

[CoFire]

The newer ones have the backplate removed from behind the driver (not initially disclosed by Hifiman). Check to see it behind the grill. Should be apparent and has been covered quite a bit in this thread. I think that would account for your observations.

 

[DavidA]

The newer ones have the backplate removed from behind the driver (not initially disclosed by Hifiman). Check to see it behind the grill. Should be apparent and has been covered quite a bit in this thread. I think that would account for your observations.

I already know about the back plate, I think it might have been between @fjrabon and myself that started to notice the missing back plate when the HE-400S came out.  My reference was to the QC issue that fjrabon was talking about, it seems like the QC on the new 2.5mm the QC is not as good as the older SMC version.  I've since heard a new 2.5mm connector HE-400i and it was a touch better than my old SMC version, the bass had a bit more impact and the sound stage was like my grill modded HE-400i.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

  No bass extension at all

 

 

[JustJoseph]

Taobao prices are way cheaper than razerdog audio. Razer sells open box for 230, taobao sells brand new in box for 180 USD from the official store itself. With some ezbuy shipping discounts, I can get mine shipped for 230 SGD which is an absolute steal imo. Beats the black Friday sale by tonnes

 

[Voxata]

I checked their English site and it wasn't anywhere near 180

 

[CoFire]

I already know about the back plate, I think it might have been between @fjrabon
 and myself that started to notice the missing back plate when the HE-400S came out.  My reference was to the QC issue that fjrabon was talking about, it seems like the QC on the new 2.5mm the QC is not as good as the older SMC version.  I've since heard a new 2.5mm connector HE-400i and it was a touch better than my old SMC version, the bass had a bit more impact and the sound stage was like my grill modded HE-400i.

Apologies, I do recall you two were leading the discussion.

 

[fjrabon]

  I already know about the back plate, I think it might have been between @fjrabon and myself that started to notice the missing back plate when the HE-400S came out.  My reference was to the QC issue that fjrabon was talking about, it seems like the QC on the new 2.5mm the QC is not as good as the older SMC version.  I've since heard a new 2.5mm connector HE-400i and it was a touch better than my old SMC version, the bass had a bit more impact and the sound stage was like my grill modded HE-400i.

yeah, maybe it's bias, but I've heard about 6 or 7 HE400i, and I thought the imaging on mine was much better than any of them, and the tonal balance was as good or better than the others.  I've messed around with the idea of having them sent of to be measured a few times.  But I think I'll be selling them to a friend in the next few weeks, as they just don't get any head time at this point.  I really hesitate to do it, because I do think they're an amazing set of headphones and I think I probably got a golden pair, but I also just don't really ever listen to them.  Whenever I have an opportunity for real sit down listening with an open pair of cans, it's always the HD800 I want to turn to.

 

[HungryPanda]

I cannot believe this headphone is being bashed so much it is amazing. Horses for courses I suppose, but anyone who dumps them will never have that that wonderful bliss that I get when I use them

 

[Spork67]

It's not a bad headphone, just not a great one.

 

[HungryPanda]

so many are not

 

[fjrabon]

  It's not a bad headphone, just not a great one.

it's got some great strengths.  Just about anything can get it sounding great amp wise. very detailed bass that handles EQ well.  Extremely comfortable (assuming you properly stretch the spring metal band). blinding fast.  I think those times when it hits $250, it is probably part of the system I would say gets you to truly great sound as cheap as possible: HE400i ($250), MimBy ($250), Vali2 ($170), Gold Lion replacement tube ($50), high quality EQ program ($100, depends on your OS), Crossfeed program ($100 depends on your OS).
 
Under a grand and you will be *really* close to TOTL sound.
 
Plus it has the benefit of also sounding pretty darn great straight out of your phone for easy mobile use.

 

[DavidA]

  I cannot believe this headphone is being bashed so much it is amazing. Horses for courses I suppose, but anyone who dumps them will never have that that wonderful bliss that I get when I use them

It seems that the QC is what is being bashed, some like @fjrabon and my self seem to have gotten good examples while the few that have gotten some newer ones have noticed that they don't seem to perform as what has been described by others.