[ext23]

with a little EQ tweaking and some more power they are pretty fantastic without destroying the bank. 

 
I also just got my HE-400i delivered yesterday!
 
I plugged them into my X3ii in DAC mode docked into a Fiio K5 amp and...even on high gain at 2 o'clock, they still felt underpowered. Loud, yes, but underpowered, like the amp wasn't quite keeping up. I'm not sure what to make of this. I had Spotify cranked, Windows volume cranked, the X3ii volume cranked and on high gain, and still something was missing.
 
For comparison's sake, the K5 is specced at 1.5W @ 32 ohms, the Magni 2 is 1.5/1.2W @ 32 ohms, and the O2 is 600mW @ 32 ohms.
 
What is going on? 

 

[Luda]

Get this, it allows you to charge and use the lighting out of your iPhone simultaneously. : Lightning To Usb Camera Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F7KJDIM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VaVByb28ZS1KM

I have no idea how i missed the fact that that has a lightning in. Welp that solves that. 

 

[Shahram]

   
I also just got my HE-400i delivered yesterday!
 
I plugged them into my X3ii in DAC mode docked into a Fiio K5 amp and...even on high gain at 2 o'clock, they still felt underpowered. Loud, yes, but underpowered, like the amp wasn't quite keeping up. I'm not sure what to make of this. I had Spotify cranked, Windows volume cranked, the X3ii volume cranked and on high gain, and still something was missing.
 
For comparison's sake, the K5 is specced at 1.5W @ 32 ohms, the Magni 2 is 1.5/12W @ 32 ohms, and the O2 is 600mW @ 32 ohms.
 
What is going on? 

What do you mean by underpowered? I'm using weaker amps than you (Ibasso dx90, Audient ID14) and am not getting that sense.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

I'm really shocked that people think the clamp on the HE400i is as strong as the HD650. HD650 has been my most used headphone by far over the last two years, and I find the HD650 clamp to be much stronger then HE400i out of the box. There are many, many people who find that the HD650 has a very strong clamping force, it's a well noted fact over in the HD650 thread. I have the HE400i on all night tonight and unequivocally the clamp is much looser for me then the 650's. Even after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours with the 650's I still feel the clamp is relatively tight. My head is on the larger size and I just don't find the HE400i comes anywhere close, it actually feels somewhat loose to me, like just barely enough clamp that it doesn't slide down.

 

[ext23]

  What do you mean by underpowered? I'm using weaker amps than you (Ibasso dx90, Audient ID14) and am not getting that sense.

 
Well for a start, given the amp's specs, I shouldn't need to have it at high gain and 2 o'clock to get the headphones loud enough. And I feel like it's just a hair away from clipping with the gain set that high. So I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong somewhere, although I have all my components in the chain maxed out.

 

[Shahram]

  I'm really shocked that people think the clamp on the HE400i is as strong as the HD650. HD650 has been my most used headphone by far over the last two years, and I find the HD650 clamp to be much stronger then HE400i out of the box. There are many, many people who find that the HD650 has a very strong clamping force, it's a well noted fact over in the HD650 thread. I have the HE400i on all night tonight and unequivocally the clamp is much looser for me then the 650's. Even after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours with the 650's I still feel the clamp is relatively tight. My head is on the larger size and I just don't find the HE400i comes anywhere close, it actually feels somewhat loose to me, like just barely enough clamp that it doesn't slide down.

Feel the same way about the 400i. The clamping is rather light, making it very comfortable.

 

[DavidA]

  I'm really shocked that people think the clamp on the HE400i is as strong as the HD650. HD650 has been my most used headphone by far over the last two years, and I find the HD650 clamp to be much stronger then HE400i out of the box. There are many, many people who find that the HD650 has a very strong clamping force, it's a well noted fact over in the HD650 thread. I have the HE400i on all night tonight and unequivocally the clamp is much looser for me then the 650's. Even after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours with the 650's I still feel the clamp is relatively tight. My head is on the larger size and I just don't find the HE400i comes anywhere close, it actually feels somewhat loose to me, like just barely enough clamp that it doesn't slide down.

For me both had excessive clamping force, had to bend both headbands.  HD-650/600 were worse since they both gave me a headache after an hour while the HE-400i/560 took about 2 hours to get to that point.  Both my He-400i/560 had the ear pads compressed against each other when they were new to give you the starting point.

 

[Shahram]

  For me both had excessive clamping force, had to bend both headbands.  HD-650/600 were worse since they both gave me a headache after an hour while the HE-400i/560 took about 2 hours to get to that point.  Both my He-400i/560 had the ear pads compressed against each other when they were new to give you the starting point.

You guys must have some big heads!! 

 

[DavidA]

Quote:

  You guys must have some big heads!! 

Brand new the 400i and 560 had the pads being smashed together, I had a spacer to keep the pads from being compressed while not in use.  After bending them I don't need to use the spacer to prevent the pads from being compressed while not in use.

Above is what I used to do to keep the pads from being in a state of constant compression

 

[Ancipital]

  I'm really shocked that people think the clamp on the HE400i is as strong as the HD650. HD650 has been my most used headphone by far over the last two years, and I find the HD650 clamp to be much stronger then HE400i out of the box. There are many, many people who find that the HD650 has a very strong clamping force, it's a well noted fact over in the HD650 thread. I have the HE400i on all night tonight and unequivocally the clamp is much looser for me then the 650's. Even after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours with the 650's I still feel the clamp is relatively tight. My head is on the larger size and I just don't find the HE400i comes anywhere close, it actually feels somewhat loose to me, like just barely enough clamp that it doesn't slide down.

 
I'm inclined to agree that the 400i, and indeed the HE-560 aren't tight. They're actually quite comfortable, though because the capsules are quite thick, it feels like there's a lot of mass a long way off-axis, so they become noticeable if you turn your head too fast, something about angular momentum. The HD650s are much "flatter" against the head and don't do this- and the interior of the pads are more comfortably clear of my ears. I can wear either without being uncomfortable, but both have their quirks.
 
The headband design of current HFM cans is a clear improvement over the early ones, though, that's in no doubt. However, Sennheiser still smash it out of the park with the comfort of the HD800, even if you look a bit like an extra from 1980s scifi while wearing them.
 
On the upside, none of these headphones are uncomfortable per se- they're not Audeze. It's nice to have choices.

 

[fjrabon]

I'm pretty keen on owning something made my Schiit. I really like that they manufacture in the US. Couldn't I just upgrade the tubes in it instead?

Sure can. My point was, for my tastes, I slightly prefer the type of tube the EF2C uses to the type the Vali2 uses. But by no means does everybody agree on that. The Vali2 is a great amp (and I say this as somebody who hated the Vali 1) and with a gold lion on there, it's actually quite formidable and can hold its own against amps multiple times it's price.

The other point I was going to make is that you shouldn't even consider the EF2C if you're going to use the stock tube. The Vali2 with stock tube runs circles around the EF2C with stock tubes.

If you just want a "buy it and forget it" amp: Vali2 hands down. If you want to tube roll, the question is a bit trickier. If you just want a Schiit amp, buy the Vali2 and don't think twice about it, it's great.

 

[fjrabon]

I'm really shocked that people think the clamp on the HE400i is as strong as the HD650. HD650 has been my most used headphone by far over the last two years, and I find the HD650 clamp to be much stronger then HE400i out of the box. There are many, many people who find that the HD650 has a very strong clamping force, it's a well noted fact over in the HD650 thread. I have the HE400i on all night tonight and unequivocally the clamp is much looser for me then the 650's. Even after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours with the 650's I still feel the clamp is relatively tight. My head is on the larger size and I just don't find the HE400i comes anywhere close, it actually feels somewhat loose to me, like just barely enough clamp that it doesn't slide down.

Welcome to the world of HiFiMan quality control. The reason you can't believe this is that you've only ever seen your pair, which apparently were on the light side clamp wise. I've seen like 10 pairs of these and they all varied a pretty good amount on amount of clamp straight out of the box. I've seen some pairs that clamp so tightly out of the box that it compresses the pads if they're just hanging on a hanger style stand. So yes, some pairs of HE400i clamp less than the Hd650, some much more. Luckily this is an easily fixable problem though. With some elbow grease they stretch to whatever clamp you want.

 

[Ancipital]

Welcome to the world of HiFiMan quality control. The reason you can't believe this is that you've only ever seen your pair, which apparently were on the light side clamp wise. I've seen like 10 pairs of these and they all varied a pretty good amount on amount of clamp straight out of the box. I've seen some pairs that clamp so tightly out of the box that it compresses the pads if they're just hanging on a hanger style stand. So yes, some pairs of HE400i clamp less than the Hd650, some much more. Luckily this is an easily fixable problem though. With some elbow grease they stretch to whatever clamp you want.

 
At least that's a fixable problem- if you get a pair with a massive driver imbalance, it's far more annoying.
 
(The worst I had was a sealed unit delivered where the internal "presentation box" was dirty and damaged, I got away lightly so far.)

 

[MartynB85]

Well I received mine today, I've only had about 20 minutes with them while I was on my lunch break.
 
Not a great start I must say  

 
Plugged them into my iPad Pro, it does drive them but not at the levels I like. So I tried them with the iPad but driven with my Mojo, this is when the fun started. The left ear was dead, and would crackle occasionally. Tried the other port on the Mojo, same, when back to directly plugged into the iPad, same again. I went back to the Mojo, wiggled the left cable with no change. It would come on for a second or 2 then go back off again. Checked all the cables on the cans, and the mojo all looked fine. Then it just came back on and worked for the next 15 mins, very strange.
 
The headband does seem to clamp quite a bit, it wasn't uncomfortable but it might be after a long listening session. I'm guessing it will relax after some use. Also they do look very nice indeed, as does the box. I also like the braided cable, not really fussed about the right angle.
 
Now the sound. I could hear the detail right away, mids are lovely. Top end was also nice, but did get a little bright at high volume on some tracks. The bass punch is disappointing, bass seems very accurate but there just isn't a lot of it. Do the HM5 pads add much? 
 
I need to spend more time with them, if that left can goes off again then they will be going back.

 

[Ancipital]

   
Plugged them into my iPad Pro, it does drive them but not at the levels I like. So I tried them with the iPad but driven with my Mojo, this is when the fun started. The left ear was dead, and would crackle occasionally. Tried the other port on the Mojo, same, when back to directly plugged into the iPad, same again. I went back to the Mojo, wiggled the left cable with no change. It would come on for a second or 2 then go back off again. Checked all the cables on the cans, and the mojo all looked fine. Then it just came back on and worked for the next 15 mins, very strange.

 
It's worth connecting the cables the wrong way around, to see if the fault swaps sides- just to satisfy curiosity about what's wrong.
 
Sadly, HFM's quality control is very patchy, in comparison to the likes of Sennheiser or Focal. If you get a good unit, you're golden, but if not, it can be a nightmare. I hope that you got them from a dealer with decent service/returns!