@Mani ATH 87, sent you a PM about trying to contact the person you borrowed the Ypsilon from, wanted to discuss with him/her about how they do their build and also possible other sources for parts to do a build.
Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion
- Thread starter MattTCG
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waflet
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Hello,
I'm new here & just getting into HiFi. I have Hifiman He-400i running off an SMSL m3 driven by my computer & an antlion modmic 4. These are my 1st "nice" HiFi headphones. I have gone from what ever's cheapest, to Plantronics rig 515hd (surprisingly good?!?!?), and through Hyper X Cloud II to get here. Now that I have made the jump & spent some real money on nice headphones, I'll never be able to go back. Damn, something else to make PC gaming even more expensive...
On to the real reason for this post...
While I absolutely LOVE the sound of these cans, the cable that came with them (crystalline balanced cable) SUX! I'm looking to replace it with something that is built well, is longer, & is more flexible. I have looked through the thread some & found several manufacturers that are more expensive than I want to spend ($100+/- & under). i.e. toxic cables, double helix, signal cable, cardas, forza. I have found a few on amazon that sparked my interest, but I can't find any info on the makers of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MG4V9HH/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ISOGS14/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012KD6T5Y/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GAZLJXK/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS6CH0J/
The 1st 3 appear decent. The problem is they are very close in price to Impact audio cables that have been recommended here & look VERY good for the price (I'm leaning very heavily towards them...). Has anyone had any actual experience with any of these?
The last 2 seem to reek of cheap. The only reason I mention them is because they include a mic & would be a much more elegant solution than the antlion modmic (not that it is bad, just not pretty :/ ). Has anyone tried any of these? If not, I will probably end up buying one of these with the expectation of throwing away $20 for my efforts & buy some other nicer cable later or at the same time.
I'm new here & just getting into HiFi. I have Hifiman He-400i running off an SMSL m3 driven by my computer & an antlion modmic 4. These are my 1st "nice" HiFi headphones. I have gone from what ever's cheapest, to Plantronics rig 515hd (surprisingly good?!?!?), and through Hyper X Cloud II to get here. Now that I have made the jump & spent some real money on nice headphones, I'll never be able to go back. Damn, something else to make PC gaming even more expensive...
On to the real reason for this post...
While I absolutely LOVE the sound of these cans, the cable that came with them (crystalline balanced cable) SUX! I'm looking to replace it with something that is built well, is longer, & is more flexible. I have looked through the thread some & found several manufacturers that are more expensive than I want to spend ($100+/- & under). i.e. toxic cables, double helix, signal cable, cardas, forza. I have found a few on amazon that sparked my interest, but I can't find any info on the makers of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MG4V9HH/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ISOGS14/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012KD6T5Y/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GAZLJXK/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS6CH0J/
The 1st 3 appear decent. The problem is they are very close in price to Impact audio cables that have been recommended here & look VERY good for the price (I'm leaning very heavily towards them...). Has anyone had any actual experience with any of these?
The last 2 seem to reek of cheap. The only reason I mention them is because they include a mic & would be a much more elegant solution than the antlion modmic (not that it is bad, just not pretty :/ ). Has anyone tried any of these? If not, I will probably end up buying one of these with the expectation of throwing away $20 for my efforts & buy some other nicer cable later or at the same time.
cbl117
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Is there any issue using 2.5mm mono connectors rather than 2.5mm stereo connectors on the 400i? i just realized my custom cable was built using mono (two sections) rather than stereo (3 sections). Thanks.
harpo1
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Mani ATH 87
500+ Head-Fier
Yeah, both work fine with the 400i. You may notice that the plug connects tighter on one side of the headphone and takes a bit of force to get in there vs the more loose side. I've noticed this with my custom cable and have talked to others that have also noticed this. Should still work fine though without any issues.
AT Khan
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It works ok. I'm using mono cables. What they've done is excellent and should be a default selection by every manufacturer.
Mono or stereo 2.5mms, both work just fine. The benefit of stereo is you can use either side but can just look at the cable when putting cans on...
iAudio365
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Any idea on what price these will be?
mrs1986
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These are 399 on amazon right now, but they go up and down, usually you can get them for 250 more or less...
xcom
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I just try the 400i for the first time last night and I was amazed by the sound! I can't wait to see what the new pads will do!
MWSVette
Headphoneus Supremus
I would not say usually $250.00. That is however that is the lowest they have been on Amazon lately.
The Hifiman store has these for $229.00,
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he-400i-506.html
iAudio365
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iAudio365
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cbl117
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Is it common to think the 400i's sound a little thin? As in, lacking body. I feel like they are lacking the body and resolution of the HD650. On the 400i, the highs are slightly grainy, followed by slightly resessed mids, and tight bass without a lot of impact. The soundstage is pretty nice though. Does anyone else feel the same way? I'm starting to wonder if I want to hang on to these. Is there a certain genre that works well with the 400i? My assessment was with bimby/yr2 and on a second system using dragonfly red. May try my AKs to see if it thickens them up, especially the AK Jr.
I don´t agree that HE-400i sounds thin or lacking body (e.g. in midrange). I have older style stock HE-400i with backplate though . This headphone sounds quite balanced to me, with transparent and rich mids (lots of body in vocals male/female), bass impact is very good especially with lossless material and good DAC/head amp. Treble doesnt sound grainy to me, maybe slightly polite and not as airy as on e.g. HE-560 but still with a good extension and detail without shrillness or digital glare. I´ve listened HE-400i with Audioengine D1, iBasso DX90 , Oppo HA-1, Marantz HD-DAC-1.
AT Khan
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Hmmm well i have almost the same thoughts cbl117. I myseld find them thin in comparison to the HD6XX. The impact is less, yes. Though they are more neutral overall - they dont miss anything but the impact is certainly more on the Sennheisers. And yes the soundstage is better, yes.
Though I'd like to keep them both... the 6XX sits just between the Hifiman and the E-MU Teak for me. I use all three and get a different flavor depending on my mood.
Again... that's what I found, and I now know that I'm not the only one.
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