[dakanao]

  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.

How do the highs of the HD 650 compare to the highs of the HE-400i?

 

[circlecrystal]

Lovely to hear that you actually found an endgame solution!

Actually HD600 is no where near my endgame.

A pair of well tuned HD800/800s (leaving alone those headphones better than HD800/800s), easily outperforms HD600 without any doubt. Just that these headphones are much much harder to tune than the relatively easier tuning HD600 (much harder simply means, I need to spend more money and more time, more everything for HD800).

So HD600 is more approachable to me. Therefore if I'm not to spend a lot more efforts on my system, going for HD600 is a better option for me.

The same logic tends to HE400i as well: If I'm to spend even fewer efforts on my system than the current HD600 system, HE400i will be the better option for me.

 

[Jesse Oh]

I bought mine from an authorised eBay seller for $229USD plus about 30AUD postage. The condition was "new, never used", rather than "brand new", which means the box has been opened but the headphones are unused.

 

[br4lin]

These were a great improvement over the orginal HE400s

 

[circlecrystal]

These were a great improvement over the orginal HE400s

Actually HE400s is the newer / later / updated version to the original design HE400i.

But HE400i had later received a design upgrade after HE400s released, which made it the latest model of HE400 family design-wise.

Several things to know before you choose HE400i or HE400s:

1) HE400i has better instrument separation than HE400s
2) HE400i scales slightly better than HE400s with the system upgrades
3) HE400s sounds noticably smoother/warmer than HE400i (Just like how HD650 is warmer and smoother than HD600), HE400i sounds more analytical than HE400s
4) Currently, in Asia, HE400s costs 1.7x the price of HE400i --- which makes HE400s a more expensive headphone
5) Most HE400s users in Asia are very satisfied with their HE400s
6) HE400s has lower impedance than HE400i, which makes HE400s easier to be driven on mobile devices
7) Innerfidelity has reviewed HE400s the FameOfWall product, not HE400i
8) Some users of both headphones have said HE400s has a less problematic ~7kHz tremle peak problem than HE400i

I personally would recommend HE400s over HE400i if you are aiming for general use headphones. However, if you are aiming for the better femal vocal or violin sound , HE400i is the better option.

 

[Jesse Oh]

I listen to a lot of dub techno and going by the descriptions i've read of the 400i's, they would suit the genre well. Could someone listen to this on their 400i's and give me their impressions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0cq_JkDki4
(I know my pair is on the way but i am impatient and can't wait for them to arrive 

)

 

[xcom]

  I listen to a lot of dub techno and going by the descriptions i've read of the 400i's, they would suit the genre well. Could someone listen to this on their 400i's and give me their impressions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0cq_JkDki4
(I know my pair is on the way but i am impatient and can't wait for them to arrive 

)

 
I listen to alot of EDM and as I write this post I am listening your reference song and sounds amazing with amazing low and nice mids.

 

[Jesse Oh]

   
I listen to alot of EDM and as I write this post I am listening your reference song and sounds amazing with amazing low and nice mids.

Good to hear!

 

[Mani ATH 87]

Actually HE400s is the newer / later / updated version to the original design HE400i.

But HE400i had later received a design upgrade after HE400s released, which made it the latest model of HE400 family design-wise.

Several things to know before you choose HE400i or HE400s:

1) HE400i has better instrument separation than HE400s
2) HE400i scales slightly better than HE400s with the system upgrades
3) HE400s sounds noticably smoother/warmer than HE400i (Just like how HD650 is warmer and smoother than HD600), HE400i sounds more analytical than HE400s
4) Currently, in Asia, HE400s costs 1.7x the price of HE400i --- which makes HE400s a more expensive headphone
5) Most HE400s users in Asia are very satisfied with their HE400s
6) HE400s has lower impedance than HE400i, which makes HE400s easier to be driven on mobile devices
7) Innerfidelity has reviewed HE400s the FameOfWall product, not HE400i
8) Some users of both headphones have said HE400s has a less problematic ~7kHz tremle peak problem than HE400i

I personally would recommend HE400s over HE400i if you are aiming for general use headphones. However, if you are aiming for the better femal vocal or violin sound , HE400i is the better option.

 
The 400s is not better then the 400i, sorry.
 
I listened to both of these headphones before I bought my 400i, and the 400s sounded simply like a down graded version of the 400i to me.
 
Not that price really reflects what's better, but since you mentioned the pricing in Asia...
 
The 400i is double the price of the 400S on HiFiMAN's website. It's double the price from my local shop. It's double the price on Amazon.
 
I don't believe that HiFiMAN designed the 400S to be an upgrade to the 400i, it's their lowest entry level planar headphone. If you prefer the s to the i, that's fair, but I think most people will simply disagree.
 
I don't visit innerfidelity myself, but in the review for the 400S he doesn't even compare the S to the i, which seems absurd to me. In fact if you look over the website it's as if the 400i doesn't even exist, which is quite strange.

 

 

[Mani ATH 87]

  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 never found the he400i to be thin at all. I feel like it has a rather nice mid range and bass presentation, with a slightly elevated treble. It's not as rich sounding as the HD650 is, but I prefer the bass, the treble and sound stage of the 400i. The richness of the midrange on the HD650 is almost top of the line, not even just in it's price range, but across the board. 
 
The bass is a bit light out of the box, but with a bit of EQ and depending on the equipment it has nice impact. I have some various EQ settings I use with the HD650 and HE400i using equalizerAPO and I definitely prefer the bass impact of the 400i.

 

[MickeyVee]

So I got the HE400i again for a second time as they had a great deal over Christmas.  
 
They're a great compliment to my HD800 and I find them just as enjoyable.  The thing is, they still need decent amplification. On my AK300, they are nice and a little thin but I do get the wow factor when I plug them into my Naim DAC V1 or  McIntosh. Yes, a little overkill as these are my main units for the HD800 but I think something like the iCAN would do nicely and from what I have been reading as it's on the warmer side of neutral has plenty of power. May be a food match.  
I would look for a warmer amp give m experience with the Naim and Mc.
 
Glad I got them again. Now I just need a longer cable with a 1/4" plug.

 

[drwlf]

  I listen to a lot of dub techno and going by the descriptions i've read of the 400i's, they would suit the genre well. Could someone listen to this on their 400i's and give me their impressions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0cq_JkDki4
(I know my pair is on the way but i am impatient and can't wait for them to arrive 

)

 
Be wary of how resolute the 400i are, they do point out production "choices", errors and oversights Obviously this depends also where you're coming from, what your previous system was/is.
Tried the Tidal hifi-version of the song, skimmed through the rest of the album quickly, some aspects of the production didn't really click, for me that is! I know these are quite personal opinions, but I have to admit that the bass isn't produced overly well, generally lacks texture which the 400i could easily reproduce, which I find lacking in an ambient electronica album/dub version of a song tbh.
And I wouldn't expect a bass slam monster out of the 400i, the bass is definitely there, with a lot of detail, but I could imagine enjoying that particular album from a very forgiving and a warm system more.

 

[KepinCemit]

Actually HE400s is the newer / later / updated version to the original design HE400i.

But HE400i had later received a design upgrade after HE400s released, which made it the latest model of HE400 family design-wise.

Several things to know before you choose HE400i or HE400s:

1) HE400i has better instrument separation than HE400s
2) HE400i scales slightly better than HE400s with the system upgrades
3) HE400s sounds noticably smoother/warmer than HE400i (Just like how HD650 is warmer and smoother than HD600), HE400i sounds more analytical than HE400s
4) Currently, in Asia, HE400s costs 1.7x the price of HE400i --- which makes HE400s a more expensive headphone
5) Most HE400s users in Asia are very satisfied with their HE400s
6) HE400s has lower impedance than HE400i, which makes HE400s easier to be driven on mobile devices
7) Innerfidelity has reviewed HE400s the FameOfWall product, not HE400i
8) Some users of both headphones have said HE400s has a less problematic ~7kHz tremle peak problem than HE400i

I personally would recommend HE400s over HE400i if you are aiming for general use headphones. However, if you are aiming for the better femal vocal or violin sound , HE400i is the better option.

 
As a previous owner of 400s, i mostly agree to what you said.
 
I bought the 400s last year @ regular price from amazon ($300 + shipping to indonesia, at the time i couldn't justify getting 400i for $450 + shipping, not to mention local import tax)
 
However, during last christmas sale, i bought 400i for the $250 discounted price.  It's a no brainer for me after listening and comparing my 400s to my friend's 400i.
 
400s will sound great unamped or even straight from your phone, but you'd probaby need to spend at least another $25 ish to get brainwavz pleather pads to replace the original velour pads
 
400i will need an amp
 
To my ears. 400s is warm-ish neutral, 400i is more bright-ish neutral (compared to 400s). Overall, 400i is a more refined sounding headphone than 400s, at least for me.
 
For MSRP, 400s is good for what it is, but getting 400i on sale price is seriously a no brainer.

 

[Jesse Oh]

   
Be wary of how resolute the 400i are, they do point out production "choices", errors and oversights Obviously this depends also where you're coming from, what your previous system was/is.
Tried the Tidal hifi-version of the song, skimmed through the rest of the album quickly, some aspects of the production didn't really click, for me that is! I know these are quite personal opinions, but I have to admit that the bass isn't produced overly well, generally lacks texture which the 400i could easily reproduce, which I find lacking in an ambient electronica album/dub version of a song tbh.
And I wouldn't expect a bass slam monster out of the 400i, the bass is definitely there, with a lot of detail, but I could imagine enjoying that particular album from a very forgiving and a warm system more.

Hmm, i see what you are saying... the bass on some of those tracks is a bit one dimensional. I will give my impressions upon listening to that album when my 400i's arrive.

 

[Mr Makarov]

240+ hours continuous burn in.
2nd quick impressions:
Like them a lot!. Not love them. Not the best headphones I ever heard. But they are very good!
There is something about the overall sound presentation that I like very much.
Mids are pretty good and not as recessed as those of HE400 but not really very forward.
Bass is "reserved/polite/shy" compared to HE400 but very well controlled. Just less bass (less extension). 
Soundstage is on the "intimate" side and while I normally hate that, in this case it works pretty well. HE400 soundstage is much much more open/wider.
Highs are...hmm. Better than those of HE-400 by a lot - they do not sound as unnatural but I would like more extension. 
Imaging and separation is pretty decent.
Overall (to me) they sound somewhat dull/hollow and lack some "body" but at the same time natural and coherent. I like them more with a decent bass boost. Miss the HE-400 bass.
Will post detailed impressions soon.